Our internet connection has been off and on since Saturday. Some sites are completely inaccessible while others load veeeeerrrry slowly. It’s been so bad that I keep Great Books next to the computer and can read an entire page while waiting.

One of the first sites I couldn’t get to was LiveJournal, which of course gave me palpitations. I started making contingency plans in case blogging sites were being blocked - where I should move my blog, how I would notify everyone, how I would continue reading everyone else’s LJ and blogs on other platforms, and how I could continue to leave comments. I was relieved when I could connect to LJ again after half a day, but of course, other sites that were previously ok now were and still are not.

Not having reliable Internet access cramps more than just my social life. It means I am unable to do the research necessary for the Genetics and Public Health Blog as well as the Children’s Books, Toys and Things Blog, both of which I take as seriously as any paying job. Last week, I considered applying for a freelance editing job that involved evaluating medical websites. It was perfect for me except that I’d probably miss the deadline because the Internet is down every other day for at least one to two hours.

I now understand why it’s difficult to get excited about getting stuff done when tools are not available or in decrepit condition. I’ve been so frustrated these past few days that I’ve spent less than half my usual time online. No wonder many kids in inner city schools don’t care about doing well because they sit in dilapidated classrooms with torn textbooks; Africa is struggling to make economic and social progress because their people and natural resources have been exploited; and people in countries with oppressive governments don’t rebel because they have so little to work with, both materially and spiritually.

A couple of weeks ago, Stephen and I were at the bookstore where he found an inexpensive kids book on astronomy. It looked fine until I saw a more beautiful space book, Escape from Earth, that had real photos of stars, planets, satellites, rockets, and astronauts. Escape from Earth was more than three times the price of the kids book and my helper told me I should just get the cheaper one. I disagreed.

It is much more inspiring to have the best materials we can afford than the cheapest we can find. If only my internet service provider felt the same way.