You're Almost There ...

It has been an interesting week. My goal of getting up an hour earlier than usual has been met with unforeseen obstacles which have hindered my ability to start my mornings with leisurely writing. Here is one more tale of my saga.

I start my mornings by signing into my work computer, checking emails, banking and taking care of any immediate work requirements. I proceed to make my morning smoothie and head into our den to do my online puzzles, check into the blogs I follow, do my own personal banking and utilize any leftover time to stop here to write.

As you can see, my morning routines are pretty wrapped up in the ability to access our internet. This was the message that started yesterday morning:

I panicked. I thought the problem was related to my work computer alone. Then I decided to check my personal computer. Then my WiFi access on my phone. No internet.

Our internet provider also provides our telephone and cable services. I checked the phone. No dial tone. I turned on the TV. Our cable connection was still alive and well.

I called for technical assistance. They weren't open yet. So I did what any logical person would do. I made a cup of coffee and sat down to watch TV. It was the only convenience available to me, wasn't it?

No.

As I sat and savored my coffee, I started counting my blessings. We had power. I had a cell phone to use while our house phone was out of service. There was nothing stopping me from writing but simple lack of motivation. 

A day without internet and a telephone started to take on a whole new look. I could clean up and organize my office files. I could shred my personal documents. I could vacuum the house; wash windows; tend to the weeds that are overtaking the catwalk beside our fence. 

Oh, the things I could do without the outside interference of a telephone and internet connection. I started to feel joyful at the prospects for the day.

But I had to persevere. Telephone and internet access are a big part of my work-from-home requirements. So I continued to call our cable provider every hour on the hour until there was an answer at 7:00 a.m.

I have only applause and praise for the person who answered my call and walked me through the hour that followed. 

Apparently my problem was my problem alone. It wasn't something affecting our area of the city. It was specific to my account. I was promised I would not be abandoned. "Please be patient with me and I will not end this call until your services are restored".

As promised, our call did not end until I had a work-around for every issue (and the issues seemed to compound as our call went on) and I was able to function within my home office as required.

Again as promised, I received a follow up call when all emails were restored, to ensure all my problems were resolved. 

I was in awe of a second incident of Excellent Customer Service within the first half of my work week. I thanked this customer service person profusely and ensured they knew how appreciative I was of everything they did to assist me.

The unfortunate part of my story is the original "You're almost there ..." message continues to be displayed every time I try to access my webmail on a Chrome browser. I've found a workaround solution to the problem but am haunted by the words. 

I have been re-watching the Gilmore Girls for the umpteenth time. I recently watched the episode The Road Trip to Harvard: 

"We're almost there and nowhere near it. All that matters is we're going." ~ Gilmore Girls

Hmmm ... is this yet another sign within the many signs that have been appearing within my life? 

You're almost there ...

Know When to Walk Away (know when to call a professional)

Don't you love when the little things in life just fix themselves?

In the land of computer technology, often the best thing you can do is reboot, restart, walk away and come back later. I find this strategy works wonders with a lot of things.

At an impasse with an interaction that is going no where? Say no more. Keep your emotions out of it. Agree to disagree for the moment. Reboot. Restart. Come back later. The issue at hand is still on the table but a fresh perspective may be all it takes to make a difference.

Having trouble with a math problem? The more you stare it down, the less you see. Walk away. Think new thoughts. Come back later. Sometimes, not always, but sometimes, the answer is staring you right in the face. I do this all the time with my Suduko puzzles. It amazes me every time that I couldn't see what was so obvious when I rebooted my brain.

I have used this strategy on health, car, appliance and home repair situations with varying degrees of success. 

Whenever overwhelmed, it is simply best to walk away, regroup, rethink and strategize. Some things fix themselves. Some things don't. 

Which leads me to my eyes ...

In this world of COVID and my lack of desire to go anywhere unless it is an absolute necessity, my eyes have been a concern a time or two.

The first time, it was an eye irritation? Inflammation? Infection (I don't think so)? The discomfort was real, long lasting and persistent. But at no time was I in extreme pain or overly worried.

I tried some eye drops my eye doctor had prescribed for an inflammation. After a week, my eye was worse instead of better. I read the side effects of the drops and hoped I hadn't done irreparable damage to my eye. Instead, I used eye lubrication drops. Day and night. I slept with the eye drops (I think it was the middle-of-the-night drops that made the difference). Thankfully, after three weeks, my eye situation rectified itself. I can still see and I am simply grateful for my eyes to continue working as they normally do.

This was soon followed by a white head looking growth on my bottom eye lid. Would this go away on its own? Get bigger? Was it an infection? I googled a little bit and decided to just let it be. The last thing I wanted to do was irritate it. 

Weeks came and went. I was grateful my little white growth was not growing. But it was not going away either. It did not interfere with my life as I was living it so I just chose to ignore it. I rebooted, restarted my thinking and just walked away.

You can imagine my surprise and delight when I looked at my reflection one morning and this little white growth had miraculously disappeared.

This instilled my belief in the healing powers of rebooting, restarting and walking away.

I do NOT recommend this strategy on all health situations. It has recently come to light that just going back to bed and sleeping it off could have cost a person their life. 

I am grateful for all situations where rebooting and restarting is the solution. This also does not work on broken computer hard drive. The answer there is to turn it off and call a professional. 

Know when to walk away. Know when to call a professional. If in doubt, call a professional. Better safe than sorry.

Giving Up Verses Giving In

One of life's most important lessons just may be: "Know when to call for help". This renewed piece of knowledge is brought to you by The Need to Get A New Computer.

This is how I thought the conversation went:

Me: I bought the computer using no other information than what you told us. It has 8 GB of Ram with an Intel processor. It is untouched, still sealed, new in the box, just in case we have to return it. I have never bought a computer before. My Previous Computer Guy always did everything for me and brought it to me when he did whatever had to be done. My boss said to have you take care of setting up the new computer.

Computer Guy: All you need to do is turn it on and let the updates run. That will save me time ...

So that is how I got myself into a situation that was way above my pay grade.

I knew I was in trouble when the absolutely very first thing I did when the computer came to life and asked me the simple question: 

What language do you want to use? "United States - English or Canada - [I didn't stop to read any further - I just knew I lived in Canada so I clicked before I read]"

Warning! Warning! Warning!

Always read before you click!!!!!!!

I clicked "Canada - ________" and apparently the word after Canada must have been French because from that point onward the computer spoke and typed to me in Canadian French.

The day steadily went downhill from there.

The next day, my Computer Guy came to install data from the hard drive which had crashed and our conversation went something like this:

Me: I got myself in way over my head. I've never done this before and I made every mistake known to man.

Computer Guy: That's why I always like to set up a new computer myself.

Me: I thought you said all I had to do was turn it on and let the updates run.

Computer Guy: [after a calm discussion of what he thought he said and what I thought I heard] There is no sense in wondering about what happened yesterday. We can only go forward from here.

Me: So apparently, when the VERY first thing you do is wrong, you quit and call an expert in the field.

Computer Guy: [short version of a very long answer] Yes

Lesson learned. 

I have become as wise as I am due to all the things I have done wrong before I find the right way. My personal motto is "I rarely take a direct route to where I'm going but I always get there in the end." Sometimes? Just sometimes? I need a little help getting there.

All of what I have learned in life has come from doing it wrong before I got it right. Or finally figured out that I should simply give up and/or call for help.

Giving up verses giving in. This ongoing battle will continue to be part of my life story. 

When do we finally get to the part where we are simply wise? I guess when we stop trying new things. I am starting to believe learning is highly overrated.

“Once you stop learning you start dying” 

~ Albert Einstein

Turning Down the Connections

I attempted to take a mini-break from technology this past weekend so my promise (to myself) to blog regularly suffered in the wake of my weekend off. Nothing stopped me from grabbing a pen and paper to write regardless of my Internet disconnection, except for a lack of words. Writing without purpose is equivalent to speaking when you have nothing to say. Perhaps I should take a break more often.

Instead of wasting a day on the computer, I opened a book. Actually two books. I read. All day. It was wonderful. I think I need to do this more regularly, to regain a longer attention span. The computer, the Internet, social media and the instant communication devices we have in our possession these days have resulted in my attention span being equivalent to that of a gnat. My thoughts flit, flop and fly away. I can't hold onto what I was thinking a moment ago and little things are escaping me on a regular basis. Something has to change.

Reading is more time consuming than playing on the computer but I believe it is a better investment of time. Yes, I could (and did) put my book down at any point of the day but I was reading a book that completely captivated my interest and I had no desire leave the story that was unfolding before me.

My enjoyment of the day I was living resulted in me turning down an invitation I had time to over-think. I know I should have accepted the invitation for what it was and simply showed up. The more I lost myself in my day, my book and the moment I was in, the less desire I had to pry myself out of the house and interject myself in an uncomfortable social setting. I took the easy way out. I backed myself out of the commitment and stayed home.

I much prefer my invitations to be of the "Want to meet for lunch in half an hour?" variety. Which I received on the second day of the weekend.

As much as I was enjoying my second book, I hesitated but a moment to get dressed and join the day in progress. No time to over-think. No time to even think. Just go with the moment. It is my favorite way to go.

This was followed by another small request which was just as easy to say "yes". "I'm on my way over, would you mind if I came for supper ...". The mantra "If I cook it, they will come" ran through my thoughts as I easily said "yes" and turned the oven a little higher to speed up the cooking process.

My guest had one final request - a cup of coffee. Caffeinated. Who am I to let someone caffeinate on their own!? So I had a jolt of energy late in the day which resulted in the ambition, motivation and desire to mow the lawn once I was home alone again.

I didn't quite turn "off" my technological devices. I simply turned them down. I sat still with my thoughts and in the aftermath of the weekend I do have a few words which have accumulated in my word bank. I'll be back ...

I Got Luke!

I have been following where my Internet connection takes me this morning (see why I need to unplug from all things technical?! It is almost 12:30 p.m. and I have spent the past 5 hours attached to this silly computer) and it led me to this quiz at Buzzfeed: How You Feel About Rory Gilmore's Life Choices Will Reveal Which "Gilmore Girls" Guy Is Your Soulmate

The result? I honestly thought my answers would take me to one of Rory's love interests, but my result? "You got: Luke Danes". I knew it!

"You're destined to be with Luke! You're looking for someone who is dependable, loyal, and an all-around good guy. While it might take a little while for him to show true feeling for you, you'll have an epic romance nonetheless. Luke is your perfect match!"

While the very last thing on my mind is finding a "love interest", I always knew I was looking for a "Luke". Someone who had been part of my life all along, who was everything he showed himself to be. And then (in my fairy tale mind), there would be the moment:

"Luke can waltz" ... "Luke can waltz?" ... "Luke can *waltz*"...

This revelation, which was no revelation to me, has led me down a Gilmore Girls soundtrack marathon. All I can say is, if I get hit by a semi and don't survive my up and coming road trip, please play "Reflected Light" by Sam Phillips at my funeral.

It is now almost 1:00 p.m. and I have frittered away half of this day at the computer. Yes, I need to be on a mountain top, unplugged from all things technical. Maybe I'll find myself there. Maybe?? I'll find "Luke"!!

Rolling With the Times

I'm trying to roll with the times after a little bout of kicking, screaming and whining. I downloaded "Windows 10" last night and after waiting for the system to accept my settings and reboot itself this morning, I don't think I will regret the decision.

The computer at my bookkeeping job was updated to Windows 10. Because it wasn't my computer, I didn't wake up to the prompts to guide and assist me to the settings I needed to change, to make it operate as it had done in the past. I navigated it the best I could, instantly took a disliking to it and never gave it another chance.

Then I woke up one morning and my very own computer had decided to update its system to "Windows 10" while I was asleep. Apparently it was part of an automatic Windows update but I was aghast to find this change take place without my permission. I restored the computer to a previous date to undo this intrusive activity and felt like I had beaten the system.

I googled this travesty and (as it is when you wade through the world of Planet Google) I found many others who shared my frustration over this unasked for and unwanted change. It felt like my computer had been hacked and a change I didn't ask for was being forced upon me. My back was up and I was going to put up a fight. I don't like change. I especially don't like to wake up to discover my computer is fraternising with the enemy.

During my google search, I did read that Windows 10 was actually a good system and there was really nothing to fear or stand up and revolt about. But as these experts in the field dealt with users just like me who did not ask for, want or feel the need for change the discussions, were answering the concerns of those who were of a like mind. And I was one of them.

Then my youngest son rebuilt his computer and took Windows up on their offer of a free upgrade to Windows 10. I waited until he had a chance to use it for several days before I asked his opinion again. Should I update the computer after all?

My son assured me that everything worked as it had in the past. There were a few minor modifications, one of them being able to ask questions. "Something like Siri on the iPad", he explained. Well, Windows 10's "Siri" is named "Cortana". I have been asking Cortana everything on my bookkeeping computer because it was the only search engine I could find on her newly reconfigured computer. Apparently Cortana is pretty smart because I had no idea who he/she was and she directed me down the right path anyway. I guess she doesn't hold grudges against the uninformed and those unwilling to accept change.

Change is inevitable. It is part of living and growing and evolving. When we buck the idea of change, for "change's" sake, I suppose we are opposing the opportunity to grow. The older I get, the faster this world is starting to spin and technology is taking the idea of remaining stagnant out of our hands. Especially when our computers start making decisions on their own while our backs are turned!

Thankfully some things stay the same. My favorite two year old pillow is not working its magic the way it did in its prime. Last night, I was driving by the store where I bought it. I walked in and was immediately greeted by a sales person. The same salesman who helped me out in 2012. Yay! I did not want to waste any time looking. I just wanted "one more of what I had bought in the past". My wish was his command. He typed in my phone number, found a copy of my sales purchase from May 10, 2012 and confirmed that "Yes!" they still have those pillows and how many would I like.

THAT is service, my friend!! Unfortunately the price of the pillows have increased substantially due to the rising cost of the U.S. dollar. My chin dropped to the floor when he quoted the new price. It was crazy. I was about to abandon ship when he offered me the same pillow I had bought two years ago for the same price I bought it for then. Sold!

Now if only that store sold jeans, undergarments and my favorite pajamas. I would love to walk into a store that knew my brand, kept it in stock and honored a two year old price. Oh, to walk into a jean store and say "The usual, please! Make it two!!" It is what my dreams are made of.

We Are Not Alone (just Google it!)

I have a feeling you have the ability to find whatever answer you may be looking for in the land of Planet Google. I can think "I'm the only one questioning this". Then I google my query and find pages upon pages of others who are experiencing the same phenomenon.

Yesterday, I finally remembered to google my hypothesis about my sore wrist. I not only found hundreds of others who came to the same conclusion but I will soon regain about $160 I spent almost six months ago.

I bought a Fitbit to encourage, motivate and cajole me into moving more. For the most part, it placated me and convinced me that my daycare does keep me active enough. I move an average of 10,000 steps a day throughout my weeks and my daycare responsibilities involve lifting "weights" (children). I quickly discovered I did not move enough to justify or burn up the food I ate but that is another story for another day.

A few months ago, I talked with a friend who is also a personal trainer. She set out a challenge for me to walk without children at least three times a week. I decided to do better than that when I consciously decided to make the effort to take better care of the body I live in and took it out for a walk every morning. Until walking started bothering my hands (because I had let them dangle at my sides when I walked for the first few days) and most especially my thumbs. Crazy! Isn't it? Yes, I came home with tingling hands which (I assume) irritated the arthritis I have in my thumbs. My thumbs have not quite recovered from those five days of walking. That was about seven weeks ago.

Every morning, it seemed my thumbs were becoming more tender than the days before. Then my left thumb soon overtook my right thumb and the pain started shooting up my wrist. "What in the world am I doing with my left hand that I am not doing with my right?!" I wondered for at least a week. It got to the point where I couldn't use my left hand to turn off the water faucet. Nor could I lift a cookie sheet full of  fries at the day's end (usually my aches and pains disappear throughout the day). What in the world was going on?

Then one night, I rolled over in bed and a pain shot up my left wrist again. My Fitbit! I took it off and tossed it on my night table and that is where it has stayed ever since. My wrist pain was noticeably better that very same morning. It has to be the Fitbit, I concluded. There must be something within that electronic gadget that communicates with other computer devices that is causing this pain in my wrist.

Then I went about my days and forgot about it. Until I remembered. I googled this phenomenon late yesterday afternoon only to find several forums and discussions about this exact same thing. I was NOT alone! I made a phone call to Fitbit's customer service department and told them my tale. A few hours later, I received an email from Fitbit support and they are going to send a FedEx label so I can return my "problematic tracker" to them for investigation. AND they are going to give me a full refund.

Do you know what is even weirder? Apparently I am not the only one in the world who feels a phantom piece of tape stuck to the bottom of my big toe either. I am either becoming a hypochondriac or else I'm helping my doctor solve my own medical mysteries before they become a bigger problem than they need to be.

It's nice to know I'm not alone in the world and when I start to doubt that, I can just go Google it and find so many others thinking the same. Then again, perhaps my attachment to this electronic gadget called a computer is my biggest problem of all. Maybe I should google that ...

P.S. I had barely pressed the "Publish" button on this post when I went to "quickly" vacuum the carpet before my daycare day got busy. I realized I needed to change the vacuum cleaner bag and then the cover to the vacuum got stuck in the open position. It took almost a half hour of jiggling, wiggling and google searching before I finally found my answer via my best pal "Google". I had to open the lid to the attachment cover which is on top of the vacuum bag cover. And it worked like a charm. Google saved the day. Again!

Technology Overload

After a six hour mental work-out of my brain, I found myself feeling a tad overwhelmed with the technology at my fingertips. As it is with most things, when everything works it is wonderful. When the dominoes start to fall and it feels like technology is taking you places you never wanted to go, it is quite another.

I wrote a little blog about it over at MyKawartha:

http://www.mykawartha.com/blogs/post/6256293-technology-overload/

Wednesday is a Very Good Day to Conquer the World

I hate when little, pesky annoying things intrude upon a regular, ordinary day and make the day all about "pest control" instead of accomplishing great things. Or even just surviving the day and accomplishing one small item on the never ending to-do list of life.

As I walked innocently into the day yesterday, I received word that "I" had sent out some more annoying "phishing" types of emails to a group of family members. Again.

I contacted my email provider in the hope of finding a check list of what to do in a case of someone infiltrating your email account and I was sorely disappointed. "Google" provided a more comprehensive list of things to do and check.

So I devoted more time than was allotted to that task in the middle of a day where my sole purpose is supposed to be tending to children. I could have done the leg work and started changing passwords (again!) when my kids went down for their naps but I didn't. I went on strike instead.

I tuned out the "hackers" of the world and turned on an episode of Grey's Anatomy. Then I nodded off to sleep and slept lightly while I had time. "Life" would still be awaiting me at the end of my daycare day. It wasn't going anywhere.

"Life" weighs heavy on my mind when I can't deal with things as they come along. I hate putting things on hold. I prefer it when I can tie things up neatly with a bow and cast it aside.

There was far too much untended business to deal with at the day's end.

Like a typical procrastinator, I started with the thing that mattered the least. I vacuumed. Then cleaned cat litter. Then made supper. While supper was cooking, I took apart and cleaned out the cat's water fountain. Yup. I took care of all the hard stuff first.

After a supper and Grey's Anatomy break, I pulled up my socks (yes, I need socks now that the temperature has dipped and my sock stockpile is not large enough to get me through the week) and I tended to business.

First off (still procrastinating, but in a productive manner), I deleted all my ads off Kijiji and relisted them on an auction site. Is it possible that my friendly neighborhood hacker is one of the hundreds who has responded to a Kijiji ad??

And finally, finally, finally I changed all my passwords and double checked that which I had already checked right after I found out my email had been "compromised".

I woke up this morning with a relatively clean slate. As long as nothing unexpected comes along, this day should go pretty much as planned. I could very well tie a few things up with a bow and mail them off.

Tending to "big things" like paperwork and taxes and details isn't impossible. In fact, if I didn't have to deal with the little pesky "mosquitoes" hacking into innocent people's emails, those "big things" wouldn't feel so large.

As it is with life, it is the little stuff that weighs you down just as much or more than the big stuff.

I shall put on my "mosquito spray" and forge through the forest today. It is Wednesday. Wednesday is usually my break through day. The day where I have recovered from the work-weekend which has depleted me and I haven't geared up and gotten myself into a tizzy over the upcoming work-weekend.

Wednesday is a good day to conquer the world. And so I shall.

And so ends the post about nothing.

Star Gazing Verses Facebook Scrolling

It is 8:30 on a Sunday morning.

I was scanning through my Facebook feed and as I was doing so, I noticed the exact moment a friend post a video to my timeline.

I was gazing at a picture of my son, standing beside his hay bales and just as I was taking note of the people who "liked" his new profile picture, the names changed in front of my eyes. My sister liked his picture at the very same moment I was looking at it.

Oh what a feeling it was, knowing that I was sitting still in the quiet of my Sunday morning with my coffee at my side and I knew a friend and my sister were doing exactly the same thing I was doing, at the very same time.

I "turned on chat", on the side of my Facebook page and saw at that exact moment in time two of my cousins, my cousin's daughter, my nephew, a friend and my sister were all on Facebook at that very same moment.

I remember thinking how romantic it was, to know that two people could be separated by thousands of miles, yet look up at the same sky and see the same moon at the same time. 

It doesn't seem quite the same, knowing all of those who happened to be scrolling down and reading our Facebook feed at the very same moment in time.

Facebook is closing the distance within this great big world of ours. But I still think staring out into the skies above, knowing we are all looking out the same "window" into the vast universe, puts life into perspective better for me.

It is comforting to feel connected despite the miles and time we have been separated from those we know well. I give Facebook credit for re-establishing several connections I thought I had lost. I just hope I never lose sight of the myriad of ways I can keep in touch with those I wish I saw more often.

Don't forget the value of a phone call, a note or letter, an email or stopping by for a cup of coffee. Pick up the phone, gaze out into the sky at the same time as the person on the other end of the line.

It's a small world. Keep yourself connected and engaged with those you value. You'll never regret it.

Feeling Compromised

A month ago my credit card was used fraudulently. Yesterday, it appears that my email account was compromised. What else is going on behind this computer screen that I have no idea about??

My antivirus program is one of the best and has the thumbs up approval from my computer guy. I pay the extra because I am naive to the ways of the cyber world and I need all the help I can get. Yet I am still slipping through the cracks.

I make on-line purchases without a second thought. I send off emails to a group on a sporadically, regular basis. I write my personal thoughts out loud and put them out for the whole world to see. 

The internet connection is hard wired into my being. My connection to the world outside of these four walls I live in, is feeling threatened by the beasts who break through the passwords, encrypted connections and antivirus programs. It feels like someone is breaking through the deadbolt locks and security system which protect our home.

I feel violated.

Worse than that, is the fact that a group of people on my email list have been affected. 

When I sent out the word that there were a few suspicious emails going around that I was aware of, I woke up to messages from a few others on that specific email list saying that they had received similar, but different "important" email messages from people they trust.

Where did this begin and where does it end?

In my fast and furious consultation with Google this morning, one source says that sometimes a person's email is hacked, multiple emails are initiated and sent out from that email account and then the hacker moves onto its next victim. Other times, your email may be taken over by an unknown party and they stay and create a little havoc for a while.

I quickly followed the leads I found. Immediately I changed my passwords and notified those who I knew were affected and passed along all that I knew. I double checked my email settings to ensure my emails were not being forwarded to an unknown destination. I made sure the hacker had not changed anything to give them easy access to my email account.

I didn't find anything suspicious so I am slightly relieved, mostly annoyed but above all else I am feeling violated.

That is twice. Within one month. To the day.

Gadgets. Computers. Smart phones. Tablets. Internet connections no matter where you may be. We are far too connected (right, Mom?). Now people are stepping in and violating those very connections.

A smart person may turn off all of those connections. Remove the opportunity for anyone out there to steal our passwords, our credit card information, our identity and our peace of mind.

I think our world has moved too far in this highly connected cyberspace direction. You can't stop progress once it has started. Having everyone hand in their cell phones and disconnecting from the internet is akin to going back to the horse and buggy. It can be done but it isn't effective. 

There is always someone out there who will "steal our horse". It isn't the horse I'm worried about, as much as it is our sense of security.

Play safe out there in this big scary world. Arm yourself with security measures and enough information so you know what to do if you have been violated.

I am on a first name basis with my "computer guy". I try not to abuse that privilege but it is nice to know I have someone I trust at times like this.

It doesn't hurt to get on a first name basis with "Google". And your antivirus team of experts. I think that may be my next move. I will ensure I am utilizing all the tools my antivirus program provides. 

There is no sense in having a security system if you don't arm it, for fear of a false alarm. It is better to become familiar with all the ways it can keep you safe, so anyone who dares break that barrier is thwarted at every turn.

Be wary of emails you receive from those you trust that don't look or "sound" like a message your friend, co-worker or family member would send. 

Don't click on a link that you don't know and trust. And whatever you do, never, ever give out personal information (passwords, banking information, credit card numbers, SIN numbers or anything else that is your business and your business alone). 

It has become a world of "safety first", no matter where you are playing.

Rebooting and Restarting the Day

Getting up at 5:30 in the morning, after a week of holidays, certainly had a way of taking the wind out of my sails. I was toast by 1:00 yesterday afternoon and sawing logs on the couch before my supper was digested last night.

I thought that waking up with my alarm this morning would reset and reboot me and my day. It didn't quite happen that way.

I hate when a morning starts with the need for troubleshooting right from the get-go.

Our antivirus program did not automatically update and I couldn't figure out how to solve the dilemma without the enlisting the help from their support staff. About an hour later, the issue was resolved and I was on my way to try and salvage what was left of my time before "my day" walked in the door.

Then I tried to print off a utility bill but I couldn't sign into my account. I tried, tried and tried again. Remember that definition of "insanity"? Trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? I thought persistence would win. I was wrong.

The inability to print off my bill reminded me that I hoped to figure out why I couldn't balance my credit card yesterday morning, so I headed off to my credit card account to solve that mystery.

After I succeeded at that mission, I came back to my utility account with a fresh eye and realized I had been using the wrong user name. Here I thought it had something to do with our antivirus program not renewing ...

I was hoping to have time to update my daycare blog, write a little here and still have words, time and inspiration to send off a few emails and a letter. I failed. Well no, I didn't fail at everything. I wrote the emails that were at the tip of my fingertips and trusted they must have been the words that most needed to be written.

Then my daycare day began.

I don't know if it was me or if it was the kids. But we had a morning of "testing limits". There was more crying here this morning than there has been in the past two months.

I tried downloading a new game for our LeapPads, to make them more alluring to the younger set, who think they are old enough to play on the iPad. Guess what? More troubleshooting was necessary.

Eventually, we made it out for a walk and I thought the spell was broken. Then I went to continue to update my daycare blog and all the pictures I downloaded yesterday turned into little icons and I had to do more troubleshooting to finally get them working again.

So here I am, approximately where I had hoped to be at about 5:45 this morning.

Is it too late to reboot and restart this day?

I'm Back in Business!

It had been ten days since my 'irrecoverable error' on our dear, departed computer. The error where I ran a disc when I (mistakenly) thought I was cleaning up my hard drive (or some appropriate techno-jargon) in a last and final attempt to rid our system of a 'bug' it had picked up. I quite thoroughly and completely erased Windows from our antiquated Windows XP computer instead.

My trusty Computer Guy saved the day. We had been talking about the need to update our old computer and I had been dragging my heels. In fact, I was still kicking and screaming "I cannot afford a new computer right now!" when I was trying every trick in my book and broke our old system.

That very day, he ordered the parts for our new computer. He started building it the following Monday. He picked up our old computer and tried to save what was on it three days later. When I heard from him the following day he was quite optimistic that all was not lost. He said that the files were transferring over when he walked out of the house. Yesterday, our new computer was ready to come 'home' ...

It arrived in all of its glory, with all preexisting files, emails, music, photos, scans, documents, garbage and junk fully intact. My brain is back!!

My Youngest Son has been chomping at the bit, very patiently waiting for me to upgrade our computer so that he could play some of the computer games he I just bought for it. The moment our Computer Guy left, he was on the computer. He was still there when I went to bed last night. I had warned him that I had hours of catch-up-work to do once my Daycare Day was over. He was ready, willing and able to hand the computer over to me at any time. But (as usual) my brain and body quickly shifted into shutdown mode at the end of my day. And here I am this morning.

This computer is fast! I am pretty sure it is faster than our old one. But compared to the netbook and my phone, this one is leaving me behind in the dust. In fact, I think my hair is blowing in the wind that this computer leaves in its wake.

I accidentally slept in twenty minutes later than I had hoped to get up but I am pretty sure that I gained those twenty minutes back once I sat down at the computer and it quickly went where I wanted to go. I sped-read through my morning blogs, installed Google Chrome, the weather eye and tweaked a few minor things so that it is just like I am back at our old computer (because I quite detest change, so I do my best to make all-things-new work exactly like a previously existing model). And I am about a half an hour ahead of where I usually am at this point of the morning.

I now have a small pile of paperwork to tend to as I reacquaint myself with my old friend. I have missed you so ...

Now, I am off to tell our new computer just what we have been up to since we last met. This could take a while.

Point of interest: My Middle Son (and his 'family') left for the 'weekend' on the very same day that I crashed our computer. I hadn't heard from him since (just when I was going to call and ask if they had moved out and forgot to tell me, his girlfriend walked in the door, so I knew all was well). Ironically, My Son dropped by for a few minutes yesterday (the same day our computer came back home) and he asked if was like people said it would be (that we would miss little things about living under the same roof after he moved out). I could tell by the way that he asked the question, that his answer was "Not even a little bit!"and I did reply that I felt safer when there was more coming and going (and a few barking dogs) in our world. But upon realizing that the exact same number of days had passed since our computer left us, I could quite honestly say (because I knew that all was well in my son's world) "I missed the computer more!"

Technical Difficulties

The day started to go awry the moment that I hit the 'Publish' button on yesterday's blog post. I went to read/proof my post and I noticed "Friendchecker" pop-ups all over my blog. I deleted a picture that I had uploaded to my post, thinking that it was related. But it wasn't. Our internet explorer homepage kept changing itself back to 'Bing'. The computer was acting like it was possessed. Oh no.

My Youngest Son had possession of the computer all weekend. He was downloading games. He was Skyping. He was Skyping, while playing games with his friends. The computer was crashing on him on a much too regular basis.

All of this made me rather nervous. My central nervous system is attached to this computer. Or at the very least, about 85% of my own personal memory. Pictures are the least of my problems. It is all of the bookwork and writing that I have saved without back-up paper copies. So Sunday night, I did back up the computer. I thought we may be at risk of losing it all, so I was battening down the hatches.

Then the computer started acting up first thing the next morning. All I could think was that I backed up not only the computer ... but also whatever infection the computer may have at the moment. Oh. No.

I did everything I knew how to do.

I deleted all programs that didn't appear to have a purpose. I restarted the computer. Then our antivirus program was full of 'red boxes' (never a good color to see when it comes to antivirus warnings). Subscription problem. This problem. That problem. I think that I saw the word 'corrupted' within the many (red) warning messages that I read. Oh. No!!

Once again, I started running through that-which-I-knew-how-to-do. The list isn't long. But it is time consuming. Eventually I ended up on the phone with a tech from our antivirus program. He told me to do everything that I had already done and a few more things. He couldn't pinpoint the problem so he emailed me instructions on how to do a 'deep scan' in safe mode.

I tried running this scan but the computer kept shutting itself off. During one of the times the computer was running, I emailed my tech support and they advised me to create a Get System Info report and email it to them.

I did all that they asked me to do. Somewhere within all of these processes, our computer started acting like the friend I have always known it to be. It became complacent and left our internet home page alone. The pop-ups on my blog seemed to disappear. It felt like we had averted a crisis-of-the-computer-kind (all, without a phone call to my own personal computer tech-guy ... I was pretty pleased with myself for handling this like a responsible adult).

I continued to clean up disks, defragment, rescan and error-checked disks well into the evening. I had the laptop computer at my side, as I attempted to update our daycare blog during this computer maintenance period. The laptop required updates. My cell phone battery was almost dead and it was recharging via a computer port as well. I was all hooked-up and going nowhere fast as each one of these technological devices were incapacitated in one form or another (my phone was still hooked up to the WiFi connection so that was where I started updating the blog).

It is frightening to see how dependent that I have become on computer technology. I try to blame my lack of attention span (that of a gnat, is my common refrain) on the ages of the friends that I keep throughout 50 hours of my week (trust me, your brain cells may start to resemble those of 1 to 4 year olds, if they were your constant companions). But I must wonder if I am starting to slack off because I have my technology to assist me in all-that-I-must-keep-track-of.

If all systems were to fail me and all that I had left was my brain, a notepad and a pen ... how would I manage?

Perhaps I need to back up a few more files within the memory that cannot be touched by computer viruses. But even that is not fool proof. Memories shift, fade and disappear over time. A back-up plan is still a good way to go.

Prevention is key. Maintenance is crucial. Not holding all your memories on one computer drive is recommended.

The threat that all is not as it should be is a good chance to investigate and take preventative measures. Good computer health and good physical health are more closely correlated than one may think.

Go and look after your own personal Me:drive today!

Where Would I Be Without Google?

Apparently, I am a master of wasting time. The lack of a television set in the living room hasn't changed a thing.

I now fritter away endless hours at the computer instead of the TV. The difference between then (TV addiction) and now (computer addiction)? I stay awake. And I utilize more of my brain.

Any time I have an unanswered question, I google it. As I was googling one of about a million queries lately, I stopped for a millisecond and wondered 'what would I do if I didn't have a computer?'

I would become my mother. I am almost sure of it.

Mom has always had reference books in the house. I was very young when she got her first set of World Book encyclopedias and also a set of Childcraft (which undoubtedly played a part in my instinct to refer to reference materials when in question). Decades later, Mom still refers to her encyclopedias to find an answer that she is looking for.

I have never in my life met a person that quite literally wears out dictionaries. Mom does.

Atlases, school readers from when she was a child, history books from each of the small towns that were in the farming community where she grew up and lived half of her life, biographies, books on the royal family ... these are what you will find predominately in Mom's library.

 Mom has a thirst for knowledge that is never quite satisfied. She enjoys being around people who have a 'quiet' intelligence. If she had grown up with the opportunities that we have these days, I cannot begin to imagine what she would have done with her quest to learn.

There is one reference book that she doesn't have. It is the one that has the lyrics to all of the songs that she remembers. We have chatted on the phone at times when she was be talking about a verse she couldn't quite recall. I googled it as she spoke and she was (initially) quite amazed at this arsenal of information at my fingertips. Since that time (and it makes me smile each and every time I hear Mom's voice utter the words), she has phoned on occasion and asked, "Can you google _________ for me?"

As my curiosity is quickly satisfied by my ability to google anything and everything ... I cannot help but wonder what reference books I would surround myself in, if it were not for the convenience of the Internet.

We are a very fortunate generation. The one thing that frightens me is what do we retain, when we have so much ... so readily available? Will my brain go lazy because I know that I can find the answer quicker than I could try and recall an answer I already know? 

Thankfully, I live with a few of those from the Google Generation (and the History Channel; the Learning Channel; and a wide variety of other educational television channels), and I am amazed and astounded by the retained knowledge of those following in my footsteps.

Television and the Internet are often given a bad rap. There is a lot of garbage out there. But the potential to learn, expand and satisfy the quest to learn is at our fingertips. "Seek and ye shall find."

Radio Silent … The Sequel

Our connection to the ‘outside world’ (Internet) is still down. It seems hard to believe in this day and age, that our technology could fail us for two days running.

Thank goodness it is only the Internet. It is enough, but it is truly an added luxury that a person doesn’t require to survive.

What if we were facing our second day without water? Or gas to run our furnace? Or power?

It’s funny how inconvenient it may seem to be without Internet, cable TV, telephone or cell service. But in reality, these are all trivial.

What has our world come to, when we rely so heavily on things that we don’t need?

It was peaceful to be without the added distraction of the Internet connection yesterday. I utilized the time to work on a course that I’m taking. I sat back and relaxed in the evening … talked with my children, wrote a letter to my mom … went to sleep when I was tired.

I didn’t fritter away my day at the computer yesterday. I did waste the better part of Saturday mindlessly checking into this, that and the other thing via the Internet. I was disgusted at myself for doing so. I am actually quite grateful for the ‘disconnection’. It has reconnected me to my real-life world, which is oh, so much more rewarding.

I just hope ‘destiny’ is not trying to email me … because I’m not answering. The connection is down, but I’m still here. I hope ‘destiny’ tries another method of communication before it gives up!

Radio Silent

Our Internet connection is down this morning. And my world is silent.

I can’t send or receive emails. I can’t check the ‘Weather Eye’ at a glance to find the weather forecast. I can’t use Google to complete the last answer to the crossword. I can’t lurk on Facebook or the blogs that I read. I can’t watch a ‘missed episode’ on our local TV channel websites. I can’t even work because I need to be connected to the Internet for that too.

All of a sudden, my world is very still.

And this is good. Different … but good.

Wish Granted

I didn't quite get 'a second Sunday' as I wrote about yesterday ... but I sat down this morning and thought I have to do something about this overload situation I'm in. So I emailed my supervisor at work before I did anything else and asked for the first available Saturday off. And I got it! A perfect Saturday because I can't foresee using it for some of the upcoming things I know about. Two days off in a row. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.................

I've downloaded my 'Vintage Family Album' as a slideshow for the blog this morning. I had to demonstrate just what has been overloading my days ... as I downloaded and organized the 213 photos that I have amassed. I have scanned and labeled all of them with the correct 'dpi's for 'The Book'; have printed, labelled and organized the 'hard' copies of almost all of them. I think I am ready to return the last photo albums to their rightful owners. And then .... I can get on with the business of actually writing something!! The photos I accumulated took on a life of their own. And now I think it is time to put them to rest.

My next project is to send off some letters to my aunts, requesting information for 'their chapter' in the book. While I'm waiting for the responses to that, I hope to start putting the rest of the 'story' together in a conversational tone. I glanced at the 25+ pages of information I have typed up so far and my knees went week. I am wondering how in the world I can tackle all of this. One chapter at a time. I'll start at the beginning ...

My 'sick' computer remains intermittently ill. I called my 'Computer Doctor' this morning and he said it sounds like it has got a bug and he is coming by Wednesday morning to make his house call. It will be so good to get this problem looked at by a professional. I called all the technical help people I could find, and tried everything they suggested. But it only cleans it up for a short period and then I'm back to receiving the odd messages again.

My Ebay transaction that went awry is just about fixed up. When I finally got ahold of the seller, he was more than willing to refund my money as soon as I mailed it (the Microsoft Works program that was not only not what I had ordered, but it didn't even work) back to him. I believe that is days away from 'money in the bank'. Then I can go shopping in a real store to buy the Microsoft Word program I need. And I'll be up and running ... and ready to write!!!

A fresh new week ... already the week has started off 100% better than last week. My babysitting families are not throwing me any curve balls. In fact one family called me and we have figured out a way to keep me 'in the know' for the next time their schedule goes crazy. I think the week was pretty topsy turvy for a lot of people in 'my world' last week. We've addressed the problem and we all know where we stand again.

Life is good.