Admitting the addiction

You don’t know how much you depend on something until it’s not available.  This statement can be said in reference to many things and I have realized during the last couple of weeks how dependent I am upon a little word that encompasses all kinds of things and makes my every-day life run much more smoothly.  Technology.  The internet specifically, since we’ve been living with limited internet during the last couple of weeks.

We’ve been trying to arrange internet since the moment we arrived in Belgium.  There are many options and many different combinations of TV and internet.  Christophe has been much more patient and diligent than I would have been if I were making the decision of which company to go with.  The process of deciphering all of these options has been quite complicated due to the fact that each service operator seems to give different information regarding the same questions.  So, during the last few weeks we have only been able to sporadically check our email and surf the web.  I found myself sitting on the bed, in my usual web-surfing position, a bit perplexed at what to do with this machine on my lap since it wasn’t connected to the vast entertainment possibilities of the internet.  This was when I realized all of the sites that I was really missing.  I decided to do a blog post about this to share some interesting websites in the case that others don’t know they exist and are missing out on what they have to offer.

1. I usually start my morning off with a coffee (Christophe has a brilliant coffee maker that I’m thoroughly taking advantage of every morning) and the previous day’s episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  I also sometimes watch the video feed on CNN.  The offbeat news is particularly entertaining and watching the US video feed gives a good update of things that are happening in the US.
2. While doing anything on my computer I usually like to listen to music.  8tracks is an excellent website that allows you to listen to playlists created by other people or upload music to create your own playlists.  Just choose a playlist and the website will play that playlist and then continue to play other similar playlists.  It’s nice to see what comes up and be introduced to new songs or just pleasantly surprised to hear a song that you haven’t heard in a long time.
3. There are a lot of people out there that just really don’t understand Twitter.  I didn’t really get it at first either but now, after a few years, I find it a bottomless source of information and entertainment.  I’m looking forward to doing a post about Twitter that might provide a better explanation of how it works for me and how it could work for you.  This will come when we have a more reliable source of internet.
4. NPR.  So many things to read and to listen to on this site.  Love it.
5. One of my favorite YouTube series lately is called ‘kids react‘.  Absolutely hilarious videos of kids being kids and displaying their priceless reactions concerning current events, entertainment, and thoughts about other YouTube stars.
6. The website that never fails to put a smile on my face is CuteOverload.  My delight is often met with a roll of the eyes when Christophe insists that the squish-faced Persian cats are the ugliest cats and I contrarily think that what is popularly considered to make them ugly in fact makes them quite adorable.  This site can provide hours of happiness for me.  Maru, the box-obsessed cat, is a good place to start.
7. Quizlet is a fantastic site for the language learner.  I’ve been using this site to study some Dutch in preparation for my upcoming Dutch classes.  Surely many many posts will be to follow about this experience.
8. WatchSeries, although it comes with really annoying pop-up ads, makes it possible for me to be able to watch nearly all the shows I enjoyed watching while living in the US.
9. When I can’t find something on WatchSeries or if I want to watch something more educational I really enjoy watching documentaries on DocumentaryHeaven.
10. StumbleUpon is a great website that shows you websites specifically catered to your interests.  Just create an account, choose some of the topics you’re interested in, and then click the stumble button.  When bored of the site just click the stumble button again and a new site will load.

Hope you all enjoy these sites and I look forward to enjoying them again and creating more blog posts when reliable internet arrives!