For Day 4 of The Great Write of 2009, Dan Hocking wrote about taking the weekend off from technology. He says:

I could really use the break to disconnect. I’m turning my phone off for the entire weekend; something I haven’t done since I was in Cuba in February 2007. While being constantly connected has become part of my lifestyle, I’ve been talking about slowing things down and going dark – now, I’m doing it.

Wow. While saying “I haven’t been disconnected since February 2007″ sounds like a really long time, I’m sure that without my travels, it would be a statement I would have probably be saying myself. However, thanks to traveling, I was completely disconnected from the world – without cell phone, internet or landline – for weeks at a time. Sometimes it was tough, as I missed my then-boyfriend, or friends and family, but sometimes I reveled in being mysterious and incognito.

This actually reminds me of when I was in New Zealand. I had my cell phone on for time-keeping purpose but had thought that because I hadn’t bothered to unlock my phone no one was able to contact me. I found out about a week into being in New Zealand, when a text message from my now-roomate, Maggie, rang out at 3am, that I was wrong. So it turns out that my phone was able to receive text messages and I was just unloved rather than it didn’t work!

(I kid, my mommy tells me I’ve very loved.)

Anyway, I’m hoping Dan enjoys his weekend off and heading into the dark side. Good job on making it under the wire and good luck on Sunday!