brownypoints: Turning down the noise

For the month of August, I decided to completely quit Facebook cold-turkey to focus on family, work with zero distraction, and enjoy the summer, which seems way too short here in the North. The decision was made to tone down the noise in my life a bit. You see, I work in a fast pace environment and my work requires that I'm on the computer all the time, with 3 monitors to boot; on top of that, I manage some social media work accounts too. So, all the news and flurries of information can get a bit too much - it can truly feel saturating at times.

I must admit that the minute I logged out of all my personal social media e-leashes (PC, phone, tablets), I felt quite euphoric. Staying off was a lot easier than I thought it would be also. Or perhaps I was just truly too busy to even think about it. Coming back online was a different matter. I felt nervous, hesitant, because I wasn't sure if I really want to jump back in. But I did. I enjoy catching up on all my family and friends' activities, but I think I'd probably unfollow a few groups and also make it a routine to go off the grid every now and then to take a breather.

So, what happened on my hiatus? I had a big presentation at work; I traveled to DC on business for 4 days and didn't get to see any friends. (Life can be so cruel!) I took a 9-day vacation with the family to Upper Michigan. This was the best week of the summer. We drove to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and divided the vacation in 3 parts, setting up home bases in Mackinaw City (Farthest East) for 3 nights, Marquette for 2, and near the Porcupine Mountains for 3. It was glorious. I'd recommend this route to friends, and posting it here for those interested.