Cue theme music

I understand the communication junkies. The folks that always have a cell phone/laptop/pda glued to their hand and/or ear. The texting during any time that qualifies as "downtime." The obsessive need to find out what's going on.

Most times of year I am not a slave to technology. I have candles on top of my piano so that I can play when the power goes out. I like to read, and exist nicely sans tv. I do have a weak spot for the iPod, but if I forget to charge it I just sing. Loudly. All around the house. I answer the phone and email when it's convenient for me, rather than when it rings or dings. I read the newspaper - in print - and do the crossword in pen.

But by mid-summer I transform into Gotta-Know Girl, the newest Marvel superhero! My primary powers?

• Eavesdropping on conversations in adjacent offices and cubicles
• Texting at hyperspeed until my thumbs bleed data
• Accessing email, contracts and spreadsheets at lightning speeds through the direct download port I had installed in my brain.

Ok, so maybe none of that is true, but it certainly feels like there's more information coming into my brain than I can process. And it seems that time is less kind, that things need to happen faster, responses need to be knee-jerk quick. So I'm wedded to the laptop and the iPhone, spending waaaay more time on them than I should be. I should be taking better care of myself, hanging with buddies who are only here for the summer, and settling into my pretty house instead of checking the Drudge Report, Bloglines or Facebook a million times a day.

Counting down the days until this superhero retires...can't wait to take off this spandex!