CenturyLink Havoc

Nationwide, CenturyLink customers experienced outages, and we were unfortunately lumped into the group of unhappy people without access to the internet. The internet provider was experiencing issues not just here in New Mexico, but also in Idaho, Minnesota, L.A., Montana, and many other places in the United States.

I will admit to not knowing much about the ins and outs of the internet, and at the same time I will admit how dependent I am on the amazing convenience of instant knowledge and entertainment granted to me through the internet. For the 12 hours CenturyLink outages were in effect, I realized how much of my modern life was affected by the lack of internet service.

The disruption affected my doctor's appointment this morning. The hospital staff was in a frenzy, with their lab being offline they were unable to order or receive necessary tests, and check in was a nightmare. But the nightmare didn't end there. The pharmacy I use didn't receive the prescriptions my doctor had sent over, as it is an internet based service they use to fill medications, causing a delay in necessary prescriptions for me and others.

Of course the internet outage wasn't entirely bad. We used the outage as an opportunity to venture outside, away from our screens we are so reliant on. We lingered over a long lunch with beloved company, not once bothering to check something on the internet, instead engaging in lively conversation. And we spent quality family time together, working on an engrossing art project that was a delight for us and the toddler.

I'm grateful to be back online, but I'm also grateful to have had the day free of the vice.