National Day of Unplugging

My heart races. Of course, the first-person shooter is designed to achieve that effect. I press an immutable string of inputs- the keys A, W, S, & D to maneuver while I point and click in response to myriad permutations in these 2 minute rounds.

I mean, I'm up this late, half past midnight. The ashtray is fuller than me at this hour. I listen to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra play themes from Bond flicks. My man in Denver spits his truth, from where the samples come from to walking away from personal highlights because it's not about the glory.

I use electronics almost 24/7.

So what does a day of unplugging look like to me?

Is it no computer time? Is it travel outdoors? Leaving the phone behind?

The questions get existential when I run out of things to say. I'm like that one friend who likes that you listen. You know what I mean? I'll keep going and going... you can't play without pause.

In a way, unplugging is inviting silence. It's refusing the prompt to open your phone. It's setting your phone on Do Not Disturb. It's reading a book instead of sitting at your computer.

I piqued some interest today at the dentist's office. I'm one of the few they say, who are happy to come, to be there. And I can understand. Visits can be painful, while they chide you on what you don't accomplish.

Yeah, see, you're bleeding because you don't floss enough, I'm afraid. Is that right? I'm not a medical professional but I'm certain that the sharp, hooked instrument has something to do with it. Factor in that "water-pick" and I'd say I have two prime suspects for the crime- tender, leaky gums.

I can't explain why I enjoy my visits to the office much. My teeth look good, they say most times. Other visits, they drain me. But this one in particular, I did something different.

I unplugged. I read a magazine while I waited for Melani. This Men's Health issue was from 2016, too- a relic of a bygone era of publication. I could see why I like the dentist. It might be the isolated space of the office, the soft rock jams by The Cure or The Killers, the genuine interest in my health, or this most likely.

I've always liked picking from the treasure chest- a box with toys for the kids. Today, after so many years without, I asked and got a basketball-shaped stress ball.

I don't make it past The Ugly First Draft in a lot of my blog posts. I'm beginning to think that I enjoy rushing or fear succeeding. But I'm not afraid of the dentist or the cold. While my definition of unplugging requires more writing, reading, and proofreading, the question of importance about healthy catharsis may have a simple answer.