To Unplug, Or Not To Unplug

In two days, my wife and I will be jetting off on our grand 10th Anniversary vacation to Hawaii.  Two weeks of fun activities, beautiful scenery and warm temperatures.  It's the perfect place and opportunity to get away from it all and just relax.  That is if I am willing--and able--to actually unplug.

The first time we went to Hawaii, I had a very "non-smart" cell phone.  It was one of those where you still had to use the number pad to text--hitting some keys three or four times to produce the letter your wanted.  It could not receive email, I could not call up the internet.  It was pretty easy to just leave in my backpack if we were hiking on the volcano or lounging on the beach.  Plus, cell coverage was spotty on the islands in those days.

But now, I have a smart phone that is plugged into pretty much everything I do.  All of my work-related and personal email is sent to it.  I get text alerts on breaking news and weather alerts.  I can access my computer here at work from it.  And of course I have all of the social media apps as well.  It is really a miniature office and radio studio all in one--as I have record features and an app that connects me to the station directly.  And based on the coverage maps provided by Verizon, it looks like the island we are going to are nearly covered by 4G cellular service--meaning the internet is just a touch away.

As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time on my smartphone--for both work and entertainment purposes.  I "always need to be in touch"--just in case all Hell breaks loose in Oshkosh and WOSH News has to be on the scene--or in case Frank Kaminsky breaks his foot in practice and is lost for the rest of the year for the Badgers.  So it will be very difficult to "disconnect" from all of that--especially for two weeks.

Add to that grave concern among the muckety-mucks here at the Radio Ranch caused by the staffing cuts that make it nearly impossible for the station to function with one person taking such an extended period of time off.  You can imagine how this trip to paradise may not be as relaxing as I had hoped.

Recently I saw a picture on social media of a guy typing away on his smartphone while sitting on a boat--as a Humpback whale is breaching right next to him.  He is totally oblivious to the wonderful natural scene unfolding before him--as he sends an email to Steve in Accounting about the TPS reports that were filed last week.

I REALLY don't want to be that guy.