Addicted?! Who, me?

Ceci was the first one to mention it. To say it out loud. "Dude, you need therapy". At first, I thought she was just being funny, although therapy is hardly ever fun (of course, there are exceptions which we might talk about later on), but then again she sometimes has her strange ways. Only this time she really meant what she said. And I had to admit that, to an extent, she was right.
It goes like this.
I don't particularly enjoy mornings, hence my grumpiness and low energy level. Actually, there's about enough energy to power two crucial things: making coffee and turning on my computer. Whichever comes first. And then it takes something like half an hour to be fully awake and functional. Coffee does not fall under the "addiction" category, it's just coffee and that makes it vital. Being online, well... that's a different story. It's not vital, it's not even a necessity every morning. It's just something I have to do. It might happen that I completely ignore my computer after making sure I'm online, but if I'm not, then hell breaks loose. That's the guarantee of a pretty screwed up day. And if the problem persists, there's a nervous breakdown guaranteed before I contact the network administrator. Who, most likely, is in for a screwed up day as well
In the past five years, there have been quite a few places that were to become "home". Short or long term. And the first few days were, with no exception, awful. Guess why? There was always some sort of a problem with the internet connection. I used to think home is where your playlist is. Then I figured out home is where you are successfully signed in. No matter how excited I was about moving, decorating, shopping as if there was no tomorrow, having housewarming parties and sleepovers, my fun was ruined by this one major absence. I would postpone work, school projects, I would have postponed life itself until I was online.
Last month, while still struggling with the very basics of Polish, I've managed to enrich my vocabulary with technical terms and set up a network under the supervision of a network administrator who obviously only spoke Polish. Having to purchase a cable (one of the basic conditions in being connected), I became familiar with different types of cables, which was not spectacular in itself, if we leave aside the fact that it also happened in Polish... my survival & elementary Polish. The process was abnormally long and tiring, so in the meantime I got to know all the pubs, cafes and restaurants where I could enjoy the benefits of wireless connection. I was one of their most faithful customers.
There's something odd about my addiction. It's not like I'm the kind of computer wizz-kid who's into the newest, hottest, trendiest technologies, gadgets and internet goodies. Some of them are just another foreign language, about others I don't have the slightest clue, and there's sooooo many that don't even exist for me. So basically, I just have to be online. And then I can carry on with my life.
And yes, I have other addictions. South Park. Can't really fall asleep without at least one episode. Lip balm. Using it about 30 times a day. Cigarettes. Tried to quit, managed for one month. I still stick to my idea that coffee does not count as an addiction.