Screen Life

There was a time, in the not so distant past that I had, what is commonly known as a social life. This memorable epoch in my life occurred before I met and married the lovely Dana and we decided to re-populate the Jewish gene pool with our offspring.

Please don't misunderstand me. I love my life and wouldn't want it to be different in any way. This is how things have panned out. I just miss having that "social life" I so used to enjoy.

We'd go out on a Saturday night, a whole bunch of us and enjoy the shmooze, donuts, milkshakes, movies....and conversation. The latter element was the bit I liked the most. We'd talk total nonsense, but it made sense to us at that time in our lives. Now, my friends and I have moved on, got married, been blessed with children and become the archetypal Jewish parents, which is not a bad thing.

But, oh...that social life!

I'll be honest here. I don't have much of one these days. Who has the time? During the week, Dana is out tutoring her kids and I'm at home, doing this'n'that. Our friends come home from work, tired and stressed, so weeknights are out.

Shabbat is spent with the family, trying to keep the kids occupied. Saturday night, with Shabbat going late means that there's not much going on there and Sunday is another family day. By Sunday night, the most exciting thing I can think of, is occasionally going out to the cinema, sometimes with a friend. That is my social life.

Enter the third millenium and my moribund social life has transmogrified into a two dimensional experience. This translates as me no longer meeting people in the flesh, but still managing to have conversations with them, sometimes late into the night (dependant on where they live) thereby maintaining my contact with the outside world (i.e. beyond the four walls surrounding me). I am living the social life of the 21st Century - through MSN Messenger.

I have to say that it has reinvigorated my sense of belonging. Once again I am able to talk with friends, old and new, albeit through a screen - but for someone like me, who craves sociability, its been a sort of lifesaver.

Am I the only person to be living this sort of existence or is my situation symptomatic of the way society itself is evolving? It is fascinating, yet frightening. However, for me, it is nothing short of being fantastic.

So, switch your PC on old friends and log in - I'm back.