TODAY, WITH A sigh of relief, I return to the world of technology. I had never before been aware of how wonderful it feels to sit at a desk, face the computer screen and have my fingers dance on the keyboard. My mobile phone has never seemed so appealing. It feels so good to dial, its shrill ring music to my ears. I just want to clasp it tightly in my hand and never let it go. It may only have been five days that I've been trying to live without technology - no mobile phone, no fax, no computer, no Internet, no e-mail, no CD, VCD, DVD - but I missed them.
I've been feeling like a modern-day Robinson Crusoe, but at least my 'desert island' has television and ordinary land-line phones. I'm allowed to use them. Until now, the thought of living without gadgets or gizmos would have been too awful to contemplate. But the gauntlet was thrown down and I picked it up. How would someone like me, 23 years old, raised in the technology age, whose daily life is immersed in the cyber-world, cope without these daily necessities?
It's going to slow me down to a snail's pace. Can I meet my writing deadlines without a computer? The thought of using a typewriter is dreadful - that's something I've never really tried. Will I lose touch with my friends and contacts when I don't have my mobile phone and e-mail? Do I have to go back to the days of writing on paper instead of using a Palm Pilot?
I try to think back to how I managed four years ago before a mobile phone became a permanent fixture in my handbag and my life. Remembering a time without computers isn't so hard. The keyboard and screen didn't become a daily necessity until senior secondary school. I never relied on the Internet and e-mails until I started working. ICQ is the online communication tool I use heavily but it's never been a necessity. That part should be fine - I've only been living like a geek for less than two years. Where the phone is concerned - well, if people need to find me urgently, they will manage with the land-line. This should just mean some minor adjustments to my lifestyle ?
But it is not as simple as I imagine. Technology is an integral part of the way the world functions. The first morning of my technology-free five days dawns and already I miss my mobile phone. Technology has made things simpler by combining several tools into one. My mobile is not just a phone, it's also my living partner. I use it as my alarm clock. It makes an extremely loud and annoying sound that would make anyone jump out of bed. Without it, a $20 Hello Kitty alarm clock is standing in. But this cheap deal doesn't work. It takes me 20 minutes to realise the soft beeping is my morning call from Kitty.
Normally, I don't waste time staring out the window on the 35-minute morning ferry ride from Cheung Chau to Central. The first 15 minutes are devoted to make-up, the rest either to breakfast or planning my daily schedule. At the same time, I listen to the radio, for the news, weather report, gossip and the latest Canto-pop trends. The technology that lets me do this is designed to maximise use of my time. But this morning is different. I can't listen to the radio because it is attached to the phone. So I salvage what I can of my routine, with a nagging sense that something is missing.
