Can I enjoy my vacation if I’ve left my cellphone at home?

Can I enjoy my vacation(vāˈkāSHən,və-) if I’ve left my cellphone at home?

By Heather(ˈheT͟Hər) Martin(ˈmärtn)

Standing at the Montreal(ˌmäntrēˈôl) train station, ready to board, I experienced a brief moment of absolute(ˈabsəˌlo͞ot,ˌabsəˈlo͞ot) panic(ˈpanik). Where was my phone? I turned my bags inside out, frantically(ˈfran(t)iklē) searching for that little magic square(skwe(ə)r). But I knew in my heart of hearts that, tragically(ˈtrajik(ə)lē), I’d left it in a different purse(pərs), one that was hanging in my bedroom closet(ˈkläzət). This sure knowledge(ˈnäləj) seeped(sēp) in. I was about to spend a long weekend in Toronto(təˈrän(t)ō) off the grid. No. Connection. Four. Days.

Even the most insouciant(inˈso͞osēənt, inˈso͞oSHən) and unplugged(ənˈpləgd) would feel a frisson(frēˈsôN) of alarm(əˈlärm): no text, no phone, no Google, no camera, no Instagram, no maps, no Uber, no e-mail. And that’s just the beginning. Depending on your apps, this list can be much, much longer. Just you and your thoughts, plus an old-fashioned book if you’re lucky. It’s what we might expect on some exotic(iɡˈzädik), far-flung(fləNG) vacation, but in Toronto? I’d be a foreigner(ˈfär-,ˈfôrənər) in the midst(midst,mitst) of a buzzing(bəz) metropolis(məˈträp(ə)ləs) whose main currency(ˈkə-rənsē,ˈkərənsē) is data.

As problems go, there are certainly far worse fates(fāt). This was but a small dent(dent) in my weekend visit with my sister, surely not worth the rising(ˈrīziNG) tide(tīd) of anxiety(aNGˈzīədē). Let’s face it: The loss(läs,lôs) of a wallet(ˈwälət, ˈwôlət) remains much more problematic(ˌpräbləˈmadik). But just by a hair.

Determined(dəˈtərmənd) to make the best of my lot, I decided this was an opportunity to record(ˈrekərd) a snapshot(ˈsnapˌSHät) of what this unplugged reality looks like in 2019; the highs, the lows, the boredom(ˈbôrdəm), the inspiration(ˌinspəˈrāSHən) – and the surprising(sə(r)ˈprīziNG) truth.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-can-i-enjoy-my-vacation-if-ive-left-my-cellphone-at-home/