MANILA, Philippines- Like many people I know in the civilized world, I start and end the day with a push of a button connected at some point to an electrical power source. This happens from the moment my finger touches the light switch, a few hours before daylight pierces the window to poke my eyelids, to the moment I touch the same switch before retiring after an 18-hour day.

My index finger never rests during those 18 hours of wakefulness. In fact, it is the most abused digit on my hand. After hitting that light switch, my fingers course through my hair and rub from my eyes Mr. Sandman?s nightly gift. More light switches are subsequently pressed as I move from one room to another, eventually leading me to the work area where my finger then presses on the PC?s power button. As Windows boots up and drives me into the long wait to which I have been accustomed, I drop into the sofa as my fingers search for The One Gadget.

Ahhh, the TV remote. One Remote to rule all TV channels, One Remote to find them. One Remote to bring them all into the living room, and in the darkness blind them.

Again, using my fingers, I channel-surf through the news (Okay, okay, so I also drop by HBO and Jack TV?sue me) and see if I missed out on any news the day before. Being in the media industry, it is imperative that I stay on top of what?s happening. Thus the need to be always "tuned in."

By then I would hear Windows? familiar chime, and know that instantly I?d have access to the Internet. A quick check on the website and I?m off to answering missed e-mail and deleting spam with craftily spelled words like ?vi@gra? and ?p3nis.?

My day has begun.

I have been telecommuting?or working from home?for more than a decade. It is not that I do not have a physical office; it?s just that I go to the office only when I have meetings. I actually have my own office with a view of Makati, but after weeks of not visiting it and keeping it locked back in 2002, the janitor found a dead rat in it one day. That was when I decided to donate that office to another?and might I add, lucky?officer of the company. That was also when I realized that I had been working and running the team smoothly albeit remotely using technology.

To telecommute, I need to be surrounded by equipment that would bring me information from the outside world. These are primarily the computer, the cellular phone and the television, in that order. When I am at home, all three are always on. When I am away, my e-mail follows me through the Blackberry, and a wireless cellular device attached to my laptop connects me to the Internet as I roam. My other phone gives me access to TV via mobile broadcasts.

Yet work doesn?t occupy my 18-hour day. At home, the iPod is constantly plugged into the awesome Jabra speakers to set the mood. Nothing like a good dose of Van Halen, Pearl Jam or Coheed and Cambria to get you going, or any of the other songs in my playlist, which occupies more than 70 gigabytes. At home, I also enjoy playing video games on the Wii and the Xbox. I watch movies from my PC, an entire terabyte drive of films are waiting to be viewed at my desktop. When I?m away, I take my iPod and PSP with me, so the music, films and video games are literally on hand.

But there are some things you simply cannot replace with electronics. I exercise a lot and read a lot of books (not the e-book or audio kind, mind you). These are two things I always squeeze into my schedule no matter how hectic the week turns out to be.

So yes, I am a tech junkie, and my finger presses gadget buttons every single day. Yet more than anything else, I utilize this equipment to gather and process a whole lot of information and to communicate with my staff. It is the need to communicate that drives the use of technology, not the other way around. It is the sociological requirement of communications that drives this use; it is not technologically deterministic.

Okay so, what do you do when the Internet is down? You turn on the TV. What do you do when there?s no electricity? You turn on your cell phone. What do you do when the cellular network is down? You go out and talk to your neighbors. What do you do when you have to get in touch with someone from afar? You hop into a car and get your butt over there. What do you do when fossil fuel finally runs out? You walk. Or send smoke signals like the Indians did.

The point is that we do all these things to communicate, to send a message and receive information or feedback from someone who is physically distant. Granted, we can do it the way the Indians did, or light a relay of torches from one mountaintop or building, but where?s the convenience in that? And how much information can you send or receive?

Barring any apocalyptic scenario like the one described above, I would still rather start and end my day with the push of a button. Sure we can live our lives totally without technology?but honestly now, given a choice, would you?