Being Plugged in....

It's amazing how much of our lives is run by electricity. You don't think about this....until you prepare to move overseas and realize that taking all of your devices that run off of 110v won't be useful or wise. It's just better to buy what you need there. Zorig made this very clear as I walked around my kitchen and asked about my steamer...and he reminded me that no, I really shouldn't bring anything that needed power. (But the Pampered Chef hand chopper--absolutely bring it!)

There are some exceptions...for example, my new Macbook Air will come with me and I was easily able to purchase the adapter that makes my powercord useful there. And I've purchased a host of adapters and a 4-port USB charger for my iPhone and iPod. 

I'm also taking my Big Jambox by Jawbone speaker, using one of the adapters to periodically charge it. I have also already shipped the zebra leg lamp--a gift from Dad--and something that each of us kids has. It is the ONLY home furnishing (of a sort) that I kept and did not sell. I couldn't bring myself to put it in the container shipment--so I shipped it, along with my degrees and some other odds and ends, by air about a month or more ago. It arrived in pretty good shape and Zorig has already reassembled it and it sits in the second bedroom. It will require a rewiring job OR the use of an adapter to be plugged in and operate. 

Zebra lamp in background.

But there are a few things I love which I'm not taking--for example, my 2-deck Oster Steamer which I've had for over fifteen years and use almost weekly. However, I suspect I can purchase a steamer there and one that is built for 220v. I won't take my blender or my crockpot. I won't take my wii Fit (I know it's old!). I won't take either set of my hot curlers. I rarely use them anyway, so why bother. I have to say that I've been a bit surprised at how many things in my life require power.

WIMPY!!

But that DOES bring me to the haircare department. I DO use a blow dryer and a curling iron almost daily. I initially thought about having Zorig get these for me, but then I remembered the wimpy hair dryer that I used while I was in UB at the hotel. That thing took FOREVER to do anything to my hair. So I opted to use the POWER of Amazon to acquire this item here and take it with me. So I now have a hairdryer that says "Asia" on the box, as well as "Not for use in USA." It looks like the hairdryers I'm accustomed to...and will hopefully pack the power of the Conair I've been using for years. 

Hopefully powerful!

To the other meaning of being "plugged in," in about 55 days I will no longer be living my relationship through the virtual realm. Technology is both a blessing and a curse. Without it, Zorig and I would not be where we are. I would probably NOT be moving around the world. Yet I do look forward to putting down my phone and my laptop and to just being PRESENT with him, in the same space--able to hear his voice and kiss his cheek. To listen to Enji play the piano or violin while watching his hands move across the keys or hold the bow. To not checking my phone every so many minutes or hours in the expectation of being in communication with them.

Then it hits me. I will soon be in virtual communication with my father, siblings, and friends in the USA. My "plugged-in-ness" will never go away, only shift. But there will be times while in Mongolia when I will be off the grid for a number of days at a time--and that's something that I think is harder to do here in the US and getting harder and harder to do as more and more cell towers go up. We have less and less areas that are remote and untouched by technology. That's not true in Mongolia. While I think they have great coverage for phone service (I can't tell you how many herders on horseback we saw on their cellphones!), the wifi is not accessible in the countryside. 

So I'll leave you with this question, how do you go about balancing the technology in your life? What is it good for? And how does it hinder you?