I think I've got it.....

Still feeling like I am in the plebe stages of blogging and the internet in general, I find myself looking to all sources for help, even over the most miniscule of problems. How is it that the world got so ahead of me?

Many years back, I used to work for a wholesale optical company in New Hampshire. They were trying this new thing called a "computer" that would take all the orders we would type in and print it out for the lab to fill and make eyeglasses. Being that computers were still in the new stages of usage, and no one had one in their home back in the late 70's, were felt saddled to this huge machine in the next room. It didn't always get the information correct, no matter what we typed, and had fields that would only accept certain characters, and certainly not what you wanted it to accept. Docters calling in orders would have a hard time waiting while you figured out what faux pas occurred during your typing process. Since most of them were cranky, I used to write mine out in long hand, then go back to type them in on my own time... a procedure which eventually got me fired. No big deal.

My love of computers did not blossom in those days as I found them to be a nuisance, and couldn't imagine why anybody thought they were the next best invention. In those days, microwave ovens were the rage, if you could afford one.... and I couldn't, but still didn't mind using the old fashioned oven anyway.

It's only been since 96 that I've had to learn how to use this invention called a computer.... and I was really bad at it, but learned the necessary programs to do my job, and that's all. At the time, all of our catering sheets were formatted to a supercalc program. Easy to learn if I had my trusty notes alongside, which I always did. Besides, practice makes perfect... and if you do something long enough, you no longer need the necessary cheat sheets to see you through.

Then came Y2K. The computer now became more sophisticated, and I had to learn Quickbooks,
Quicken, and a whole host of other programs that were as foreign to me as fixing a toaster. Mechanics was never my strong point, and I always had a fear that I would hit a key, and everything would go blank. I learned the word SAVE pretty quickly. To this day, I have a wonderful friend who is my bookkeeper. She comes over to my office and straightens out any mess I make or incorrect entry, along with a host of so many other duties, I don't wish to be bothered with. After all, I'm still new at this, considering the scope of so much to learn. She has also made me feel comfortable by telling me that there wasn't much I could do wrong on the computer, other than dropping it or throwing it across the room in frustration; a feeling that has crossed my mind several times.

Now, with the help of my new buddies in the blog world, I am taking another step where I feared stepping before: actively taking on the internet. I held out for as long as I could, and felt the embarrassment that my son knew more than I did. (Yeah, I could have gone to him for some help, but he's not a good teacher and was frustrated showing me things.... or maybe he thought I was a bad learner; we'll never know as he's not talking about it....and I'll never bring it up again.)

The world is so close to my fingertips now. I can find out the latest news, weather and even apply for grants to higher education.... all this without leaving my home. Wow.... maybe this computer thing was alright after all; what's to be afraid about embracing change when it's for the betterment of your world? Now if it could only do my house and yard work.....