Not having internet at home for the last couple of months has really
made me realise just how reliant we are on our wee computers - mine
being especially wee as it's a netbook. Since my return from South
America, I`ve had a lot of stuff to organise and, although organising
makes me happy (totally sad, I know), it has been extremely frustrating
how much I really required the internet to do said organising.
Thinking
about it today, there's a lot of stuff I`ve needed the internet for
over the last 3 months:
1. Looking for a job - pretty
much the only way to get a job these days is through online job boards
and emailing your CV to agencies. 200 + job applications and five weeks
later I finally landed a good one
2. Finding a flat - Gumtree is one of the only decent
places to find what you`re looking for in London, and then most of the
time you have to email people with what can only be described as
something akin to an online dating profile: "I like cooking, going to
the gym and a enjoying a glass of wine with friends"
3. All online
banking in the four countries I've now accumulated accounts in - trying
to get my Canadian tax refund to the UK was a bit of a hassle and in
the end I had to use Western Union. Suffice to say I will never be using
them again - their website says 'Can sending money be easy? Yes!'.
Well, I say 'Apparently not!'
4. I've bought a new camera - I
broke my last one on the last day of my trip, in Mexico, while trying to
take a picture of myself in a hammock (having to take your own picture
most of the time being one of the joys of travelling alone) - as well as
a few books and DVDs from Amazon
5.
I`ve used it to buy tickets to, funnily enough, events with a
distinctly Kiwi theme, such as Flight of the Conchords, Toast NZ and Fat
Freddy's Drop
6. Put all my photos up online from South America -
well done to anyone who looked at them all - you get a gold star
7.
Booking flights for the blink-and-you'll-miss-it trip back to good ol'
Aotearoa for a family wedding
8. Setting up direct debits for the
gym, my phone bill, various household bills and most recently, for Love Film - now I don`t even have to
leave the house to get a DVD!
10. Skyping family and friends -
what a wonderful invention. Except when, due to time differences, I talk
to one of my friend's who's fresh-faced and glammed up for a night out
when I've literally just rolled out of bed, hungover and still wearing
yesterday`s eye make up half way down my face.
10. Looking up
random facts, such as Jay Kay, who currently holds the record for the
fastest lap on the 'Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car' segment on Top
Gear, is in fact that
guy from Jamiroquai. Or showing my flatmate the literal music
video of Total Eclipse of the Heart (that still cracks me up every
time)
11. And yesterday I needed to buy some roofing felt for the
hole I melted in the roof when I had a bbq (don't ask) and I could go
online, find my nearest hardware store, order it online to be delivered,
or even see how many rolls were in stock at my local store (12 in case
you were wondering) which I could then reserve to collect - how's that
for roofing felt certainty?
So thank you internet, I
don't know what I would do without you - seriously, the bathroom would
be flooded, I'd never speak to my mum, my bills would never get paid and
I wouldn't be able to entertain my friends with random YouTube videos.
So this my shout out to you, internet - I got yo' back anytime.
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