“We have it bad these days,” a kindly gentleman told me recently. “Worse than any other generation.”
Since I tend to consider myself a see-the-glass-half-full kind of girl and therefore wanted with all my might to disagree, I had to ask, “What do you mean?”
“You know, in terms of technology. Things change so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up! My great grandmother’s life was not very different from her great grandmother’s life. I, on the other hand, have to call my grandson over to fix my computer every time my wife and I screw it up. Which is quite often,” he said. “Video games, computers, internet… kids these days have it so different than I did growing up. Fast-growing technology is just a way of life for them. But us baby boomers have had to go through radical change. ”
“Wow, you’re right,” I said, sad that my optimistic mindset could so easily be swayed. But how could I refute such truth?
And then he went on. “People suffer from Alzheimer’s and depression and all sorts of other mental problems, and I think it has something to do with the fact that our minds are overwhelmed, overworked, just TIRED.”
I, too, suddenly felt tired. And depressed. And, generally, like I was sitting under a dark raincloud. What’s wrong with us?! Why are we so technologically driven?? Technology must be the enemy! I thought.
No sooner had he walked away did my better half call: “Hey, go check out your blog! I just figured out how to put links to Harvey and Joshilyn and Central Avenue Press!” He then so cleverly put my profile picture up and also tinkered with my “about me” stuff and figured out how to fix and rearrange this and that and do things that I’m sure have a jargon all their own but that I haven’t taken the time to learn quite yet. For example, he arranged it to where I get a nifty email notification when people posts comments. AND THEN when I bought the domain www.catherinedix.com, he ever-so-conveniently figured out how to make my blog show up when you type said domain into the url callbox thingy!
This man of mine is NOT a web designer or any other form of computer geek. But by no means does he have the unwariness of a twenty-something, either. I’ll tell you what he does have, though. My abiding gratitude. And if I do say so myself, YOU ROCK, Sweetie Pie. Thank you for getting my blog up and running. And thank you for not losing your patience with me when I get flustered and pessimistic trying to edit one of those link things and then accidentally delete the link entirely then feel it necessary to call you in a panic because nothing is working right. But mostly, thanks for reminding me that attitude is everything. As I fumble my way through learning the dos and don’ts of blogging and how to maximize this space and how to NOT become a train-wreck site where people come to watch a girl fall apart or lose her ever-lovin’ mind in the midst promoting the art of writing… I need to remember what you convey to me on a daily basis through your actions — technology is no different than anything else; it’s only the enemy if I let it be….. AAAAMEN.
Since I tend to consider myself a see-the-glass-half-full kind of girl and therefore wanted with all my might to disagree, I had to ask, “What do you mean?”
“You know, in terms of technology. Things change so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up! My great grandmother’s life was not very different from her great grandmother’s life. I, on the other hand, have to call my grandson over to fix my computer every time my wife and I screw it up. Which is quite often,” he said. “Video games, computers, internet… kids these days have it so different than I did growing up. Fast-growing technology is just a way of life for them. But us baby boomers have had to go through radical change. ”
“Wow, you’re right,” I said, sad that my optimistic mindset could so easily be swayed. But how could I refute such truth?
And then he went on. “People suffer from Alzheimer’s and depression and all sorts of other mental problems, and I think it has something to do with the fact that our minds are overwhelmed, overworked, just TIRED.”
I, too, suddenly felt tired. And depressed. And, generally, like I was sitting under a dark raincloud. What’s wrong with us?! Why are we so technologically driven?? Technology must be the enemy! I thought.
No sooner had he walked away did my better half call: “Hey, go check out your blog! I just figured out how to put links to Harvey and Joshilyn and Central Avenue Press!” He then so cleverly put my profile picture up and also tinkered with my “about me” stuff and figured out how to fix and rearrange this and that and do things that I’m sure have a jargon all their own but that I haven’t taken the time to learn quite yet. For example, he arranged it to where I get a nifty email notification when people posts comments. AND THEN when I bought the domain www.catherinedix.com, he ever-so-conveniently figured out how to make my blog show up when you type said domain into the url callbox thingy!
This man of mine is NOT a web designer or any other form of computer geek. But by no means does he have the unwariness of a twenty-something, either. I’ll tell you what he does have, though. My abiding gratitude. And if I do say so myself, YOU ROCK, Sweetie Pie. Thank you for getting my blog up and running. And thank you for not losing your patience with me when I get flustered and pessimistic trying to edit one of those link things and then accidentally delete the link entirely then feel it necessary to call you in a panic because nothing is working right. But mostly, thanks for reminding me that attitude is everything. As I fumble my way through learning the dos and don’ts of blogging and how to maximize this space and how to NOT become a train-wreck site where people come to watch a girl fall apart or lose her ever-lovin’ mind in the midst promoting the art of writing… I need to remember what you convey to me on a daily basis through your actions — technology is no different than anything else; it’s only the enemy if I let it be….. AAAAMEN.
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