A wonderful thing happens when I sit down at the computer. I capture the universe in my monitor, the world inside and outside my imagination is brought to life on my generous 24” screen. I am able to control it with a tap of the keyboard and a click of the mouse. I play, I research, I read, I write, I create. I keep in contact with new friends and old friends, some I really know, some I only feel like I do. I think, I share, I learn. I LOL and WTF. I retrieve, I adapt, I save. My memory is outstanding. External, that is. I discover images both new and familiar. I get ideas both unique and inspired. I put those wonderful influences and abilities to good use with the help of my computer.

A horrible thing happens when I sit down at the computer. My butt grows roots into my well worn swivel chair and my desk erupts with stalagmites of papers and printouts. My eyes glaze and my fingers tap in need of one more fix. I need to check my three e-mail accounts one more time. Check Facebook one more time. What’s new with In Print? How about the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame? Collect:Art Gallery might have new images… One more time. Even though I just ran through this litany of clicks five minutes ago. Fifteen minutes ago. An hour ago. Again.

Write work. Work-work. Fun work. My computer is my friend, my confidant, my accomplice, my co-creator. I am its bitch.

Research is fascinating. Click, view, print, pile.
Writing is exciting. Words spilling from my head to the screen to the page. Print! Pile!
Designing is exhilarating. I can scan, draw, copy, paste, manipulate and produce.
More printing. More piling. That pile? No this pile. No wait… huh, new pile.
I print on both sides of just about everything now. Less about waste, more about space.

Very few have any appreciation for the time-suck that is research, writing, or designing. Edit. Tweak. Revise. Print.
That model is no longer available? Okay, research, replace, resave, resend. An errant ‘z’? No problem, I’ll just delete, correct and what? The dimensions need to be altered?
Sure, no problem.
Repeat as needed.

On top of the outside instructions, there continues to be that inherent draw… everything is just a click away. Only take a sec. Very few have any sympathy for the time-suck that controls the computer junkie.*
Repeat as needed.

For all the good I’m capable of creating on the computer, an innate problem is that I’m on the computer.
As long as I’m here, I might as well go online…
Waiting for a file to load? Check my messages.
Waiting on the scanner? Just a pin or two or twelve on Pinterest.
Twenty minutes later, I’ve often forgotten what I was downloading or scanning!
You know what just might jog my memory? Words with Friends.

I have non-PC artistic hobbies. I am part of a card-swap club and meet monthly for other paper-crafting release. Participating in the gallery show was good for me. It got me off the computer, tapered my PC addiction. It was really nice to craft with my hands. To feel the pen in my hand, the cold wet of the paper pulp, the scent of the old books as I altered their pages. I bought several interesting vintage books at the Cherry Valley Library Used Book Sale (going on all this week). The titles, images and content have my creative ideas spinning faster than a hopped-up hamster on a wheel. One of the tomes is called Little Mary and is dated 1861. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it, but I know it will not be computer related, and I revel in that.
(Of course, they’re just one more pile on my desk!)

I may be back, click-click-click, but not to the extent I was before.
The best of both worlds! I am officially a creative hybrid.
*You do know that reading my weekly blogs makes you an Enabler.