Breaking Lolita Internet Addiction

Ramble Rori's post on Internet addiction made me realize just what a huge problem it can be to our demographic, and even I'm a victim. I've been so holed up in my room these past few weeks, busy with not only blog-work but school-work that I almost didn't realize it was nearly summer! I stepped outside yesterday and saw people with perfect tans all over campus and I thought, already?! I had no idea the weather had been so nice, but it had, and I had been missing it because I was "too busy." Me, the queen of stopping to smell the roses, too busy to spend an afternoon in the sun?! So here are a few tips I came up with to get out and away from your computer:

If it's warm:

• Go to a park! Take a walk around your local park or wildlife reserve. Bonus points if you pick flowers or leaves as mementos.
• Have a picnic - a perennial favorite of mine!
• If you absolutely can't get away from the computer ("ahhh finals ahhh essays fml!!" has kind of been a summary of my last two weeks), buy yourself a nice big bouquet of flowers to bring the outside inside. Or, better yet, convince a gorgeous suitor to buy them for you!
• Go out to lunch with friends. My favorite is cupcakes and sandwiches at a local bakery.
• Find a good book and a parasol and just veg on your favorite spot of grass. Mine is at my parents' house, in the shore of the lake - I bring an mp3 player, book, blanket and smoothie and soak up that vitamin D when I need a break.

If it's cold (I didn't forget about you, Southern hemisphere!):

• Take in some local history. In my area, most of our towns have a Historical Society where they have pictures or fun facts about the area from when it was first founded to the present. If not, I'm sure you have some kind of museum or historic landmark nearby. Lessie of Intravenous Sugar did this here when she explored Europe without leaving her home city of Buenos Aires!
• Taste-test every hot chocolate in your city. Make a day and go to every cafe you can find. Normally I'd suggest tea, but let's mix it up a bit, shall we?
• Go ice skating! I'm lucky enough (?) to live in an area that gets ice-covered ponds and lakes in the winter, but if you're in a warmer climate, search out a rink instead.
• Head into the closest city for a day of shopping with your girls. When I get this hankering it's Tokyo Rebel, here I come!
• Even if it's too cold or blustery to go outside, you can still take time to yourself! Draw a picture, paint your bedroom, curl up on a nice carpet with a good book - bonus points if there's a fireplace involved!