Somebody pull my plug!

I just finished reading "Mona Lisa Overdrive" a darkly futuristic novel by William Gibson. In the story, the internet has evolved to a point where data can assume actual shapes, like buildings, scenery, and even human form. In order to navigate the web, you connect yourself to your computer and mentally enter this alternative world.

One of the characters, Bobby (also known as "the Count") decides to "move" full-time into the matrix. He hires a nurse to take care of his body, keeping his physical self alive while his mind takes up permanent residence in cyberspace.

I know just how Bobby feels.

It seems as if I've been living inside my computer lately. Between doing research on the internet, reading the online news, updating the Incidencia Democratica homepage, editing digital images for illustrations, and trying to keep my own homepage current with journal entries and photographs... well, I spend more time in the virtual world than the real world.

Which is infinitely ironic when you consider that my job, and part of my personal calling, is to analyze, interpret, and share my views on Guatemalan and international "reality" with others.

Don't get me wrong... I love what I do, both professionally and personally. I love the fact that the lines between those two parts of my life are blurred to the point of nonexistence. I love the fact that I'm constantly challenged, creatively and intellectually.

Heck, I've been giving my brain such a workout lately that I'm beginning to develop massive mental muscles! (Hoo-ah!)

But still I worry that I'm missing out on the world beyond my laptop.

In the book, the Count's body finally withers away, leaving his consciousness trapped for eternity in cyberspace. To avoid a similarly tragic fate, I need to seek a better balance between the screen and the street, the web and the world.

I'm open to any ideas or suggestions. In fact, I'm Count-ing on you!