I don't know about anyone else, but sitting in an office (or just staring at a computer screen) for more than a couple hours on end brings me to a certain point a dementia, madness, insanity - you get it.

Don't get me wrong, I love technology and how easy it makes my life, but (sorry Brandon) incessant "tweets", Facebook notifications, and other note-worthy social media network alerts only do so much for me.

I've noticed that although newer technology is making our lives more convenient, it's making us completely oblivious to our actual surroundings. Recently a cellphone commercial even proved me right! Some guy is doing a million plus things on his phone and, not paying attention to his surroundings, he winds up getting lost in the woods. But then he hits the magical GPS app and all is well (of course). Yes, being on hold with your phone company, while finding a recipe for tonight while paying your bills and uploading a video of your kid picking his nose, all while taking a call from your mom is fantastic and mind-blowingly amazing but I think all this "convenience" is just creating a dependence.

What better day than Earth Day to "shut down" and take some time off from technology? We get so used to our phones and computers being a staple in our lives that we forget what it's like to not have these things and then we think that we can't like without them. That's where simple pleasures come in. Things like friends and family (REAL people), a nice glass of wine/beer, a book (a REAL book), taking a walk, playing some bocce, whatever you enjoy doing the most.

So next time you're about to update your status to "OMG having the best time ever doing (blank) with (so-and-so)", put down your damn phone and just enjoy the moment!