Being disconnected during the day is now starting to seem like standard procedure, rather than a hardship. It’s still an inconvenience at times. I got used to Googling everything that I had a question about, and now I have to wait, which often means forgetting it altogether. It might be nice to have an Internet connection during the day tomorrow, since that’s the only place I’ll find play-by-play of the Giants’ spring training game. The first two games have been on the radio, which has also helped me not miss the Internet yesterday and today.

It’s easier not to waste time now, I’ll have to admit. When I would be Googling (or IMDbing, or tinkering with my Netflix queue, or listening to my Pandora station), I’m focusing instead on what I need to do to get through the Big Project. I’m at the tedious point where I’m trying to do cost reports for all of the jobs we worked on during the past year, and reconciling them with the source cost and cash records. All of this will eventually tell the Boss where we made money and where we lost it.

That’s important to know, especially now that jobs are far more scarce than they were. I think this is the time of year I actually earn my keep, because I don’t believe anyone else could do this to the Boss’s satisfaction. They could do it better, probably, but not the way he wants it done. So I’ll gladly give up Googling for now, for the prospect of staying employed for the foreseeable future.

Eventually I’m going to want to have the Internet as a tool during the day again. I’ll also want it as a diversion, but that’s a little harder to justify. For now I’m okay with signing on at night and signing off when I go to bed. And come to think of it, maybe that’s why I’ve been going to bed later and later. Soon I will be staying up all night and sleeping all day and not getting anything done, but at least I won’t be thinking about Googling all day.