"The Blacker The Berry, The Sweeter The Juice..."

    
     So was said in reference to Mrs. Parker, by the sage "Craig" and "Smokey" in the classic film "Friday", which I rank right up there in cinematic relevance with "The Bicycle Thief", "Citizen Kane", "Un Chien Andalou" and that movie with the French guys crashing into the moon... I cannot tell you just how mistaken they were! Recently at work, I have been put into the... enviable... position of carrying two blackberries and two laptops. Mind you, this brings the total number of ways to reach me for business purposes to seven... the aforementioned  4, my office line, my work PC and my personal cell, which my clients still posses the number to, and that's not even counting Sametime (The IM you love to hate). This has caused a sort of 'over-connection' for me, I call it that because I cannot think of a better term to describe this phenomena.

     This morning, I forgot my #1 Blackberry, I believe in pimp terminology it's known as your 'bottom bitch' and I spent the day unable to retrieve my messages at the flick of my wrist. And I *do* mean flick! Because as anyone who has wielded a blackberry for more than a few months knows, once you get that magnetic hip holster, your ass is akin to a white collar Doc Holiday... Honestly, I can outdraw people with my eyes closed, and re-holster without missing a blink. Although I may sound proud of this, at the end of the day it is nothing to be proud of.

     I will never forget checking e-mails for work at Machu Picchu hidden from the eyes of my ex-girlfriend... Or the 11pm replies to work emails from clients who don't know when to call it a night. It is a pandemic, a pandemic of over stimulation, of over communication, over exposure, of excess access! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, until June of this very year I was a black slave... a black-berry slave. So what happened?

     Simple... After a messy breakup 2 weeks before the trip of a lifetime, that being 2 weeks in Alaska, I found myself in Whittier, thousands of miles from home, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the most beautiful scenery, amazing weather, on a massive ship. And I made the mistake (or the wise choice) of turning on my blackberry... One of my clients was absolutely RAILING on me for something that wasn't at all my fault, it was personal, and scathing, and in that split second two words rung through my mind, a moment of Satori, those words were "Fuck this". At the end of the day my friends, life is too short NOT to disconnect.

     This last weekend in the Bahamas I was completely disconnected, and it felt GREAT! I had time to enjoy with my friends and those I care for and didn't for a second think of work. I know that this sappy message my fall on deaf ears (after all, carrying 2 blackberry's leaves you earless) but I hope that it will at least ring true for one or two people... in this very short life we are given, is it really worth being connected 24 hours a day? The answer, as far as I am concerned, is a resounding no. Take the time to be with your family and friends and those you most love... At the end of the day, the marriage/relationship/friendship/life you save may just be your own...