This week I am on PTO….and I’ve readied this post in advance as a challenge to myself, to see if I can stay at least somewhat disconnected…except for emergencies. The question is…what is an emergency, when you are an addict?

The funny thing is, I resisted getting a Blackberry. When our then head of IT arrived in my office with it, I reminded him I hadn’t ordered one, and didn’t want one. I told our CEO that I didn’t need to be efficient in the morning car pool line, because I am multitasking all day long, and maybe five minutes of simply listening to the radio each day would be good for my psyche, my stress level or both. I was ahead of my time…today Oprah would hail me as a hero for not wanting to text and drive. (Note to clients desperately trying to get on Oprah’s last season….Think long and hard. Because she is going to make you take this pledge.)

Today, I am a Crackberry addict. When it doesn’t work, I panic. I check it at red lights (Oprah, if the car isn’t moving, is that OK?) If I forget my headset at home, I worry about calls I need to make from my car. Every minute of the day is scheduled…OK overscheduled. And being disconnected makes me anxious. I was fascinated by the story about people (including a PR person!) who lived without Blackberries for 72 hours. Being disconnected adds to my long list of complaints about business travel….no e-mail in the air.

So my heart leapt when I saw this headline:

Making Connections at 35,000 Feet.

Finally, someone was going to stop requiring me from turning off my non-approved electronic devices.

Except this story isn’t about Wi-Fi in the air. It’s about the joy of an unexpected connection made by conversing with people you meet while traveling.

cwinters General Corporate Blackberry, Oprah