The news was devastating—e-mail only available 10am-6pm in 15 minute intervals! Sign up on a list and wait behind other people to get my e-mail??

I spent this past week traveling with family. While I thought I had prepared myself for a few days away from Washington, it was evident upon my arrival that the only way I could have prepared adequately would have been to ration my Internet usage in the days before my trip in order to avoid the shock.

Once the plane left the U.S. my BlackBerry was out of commission. I just stared at the screen willing it to buzz and glow with a news alert. No such luck. Within a few hours of being out of touch the phantom vibrations started.

I took some satisfaction in knowing I was not alone. Within hours I was cooped up in the tiny Internet room while tropical paradise carried on without me outside. This became my routine for the trip. Each day I walked 45 minutes to the Internet room and waited behind the others to get a glimpse of the latest news, pressers, and updates.

Feeling disconnected left me thinking about life in Washington, DC. Although many might say that the government moves slowly—working on Capitol Hill is as fast paced as it gets. Members of Congress, lobbyists, political pundits, media, and government all cross paths in the offices of Senators and Representatives each day. Again, while many speculate that our lawmakers are hardly working, I can attest that they are hardly ever still.

That’s where the BlackBerry comes in. It’s essential to chasing Phil English, John Peterson, Bob Casey, and Arlen Specter around town. With the shoot of an e-mail the meeting time changes, the location gets switched, a press conference is called, a briefing is cancelled!

With the erratic hours, BlackBerry buzzing, and gear lugging involved with being a one-man-band reporter my friends always tell me they think I’m crazy. But when I step into the chamber and watch legislation being made during a vote I realize it’s all worth it.

Sitting on the beach with my brother Frank during my days away he turned to me and said, “This is the life.”

I nodded in agreement but secretly noted that I missed my town of movers and shakers. It seemed weird to walk around without my camera and tripod, to go into a building and not go through security 5 times before getting to my final destination, and to look up at a sky bare of roaring government helicopters and planes.

I may only have been out of my country for a week, but I was certainly out of my Washington world. I suppose it wasn’t the BlackBerry I missed… but really the Washington buzz.