Days Without the Internet

About three days ago, a break in two fibre optic cables in the Mediterranean Sea disrupted communications across the Middle East and into India and neighboring countries. Suddenly, I wasn't able to video call my wife in Singapore, no Facebook updates, no Youtube, no online newspapers, no movies download and no otlob.com for home delivered meals.

I understand perfectly how my life has been and will continue to be entwined with the Internet. But when reality hits, it was simply too painful to bear. The blessing in disguise was the greater amount of time I put into revision. Being too lazy to cook my own meals, I had to drag myself outside for meals. I hate to dine alone outside the comfort of my home.

Fortunately, the breakage was repaired and here I am back into the virtual world. Two weeks from now I will be on my flight to Singapore. Much has been accomplished so far and I have found the apartment to stay when I returned to Cairo with my family in Mar 08. I am glad that I can do away with the prospects of househunting around the chaotic city with my wife and toddler. With the accommodation settled, I will be able to concentrate on taking over the work and get off on a good start.

The Lunar New Year is drawing near. This is not the first time I will be missing the reunion dinner. But I never wanted to be at the table with my family so badly in the past. This will be my son's second reunion dinner but sadly his Daddy will not be there to give him his big angpow.