Living a Tech Life

Ask my daughter what I do, and she will tell you that I am always on the computer or texting. Which is pretty much true.

A few months ago, I upgraded my cell phone to a Palm Pre, and now I can check e-mails and get on-line anytime I want. If the computer is turned off, and I get a sudden urge to look up something, I can. No more putting it off & forgetting about it. (hence my daughters thinking that I am texting since I am on the phone).

If you would have told me 15 years ago that I would be so vested in computers, I would have laughed in your face. My friends from High School can back up this sentiment as well. When I had a report due that needed to be typed up, I would get one of them to do it for me. I was your classic "two finger typist", and didn't think that I would ever be comfortable on the computer.

I still remember my first PC in '96. I was living with my boyfriend of the time, and we bought it, mainly for him. It was Packard Bell, and the BF thought he was computer literate, and was always messing with the stupid thing trying to re-format it and compressing it for more space. needless to say, it was always crashing. And being a guy, wouldn't let me touch it to try & figure it out. No, we would have to wait until one of our actual "tech savy" friends could make it over and fix it. At this point though, I had learned to like the stupid computer. I am not sure if "computer withdrawals" were common then, but I had them. And being the impatient person I am, waiting was not an option. When he was out, I started tinkering and guessing on what to do to fix his mess.

Now I own a PC & Laptop. Both of which are about three years old. The laptop is hooding up well, but the PC is shared with my husband & daughter, and needs some more RAM to keep up with things. In the last year, it has really become my daughters computer. In fact she is on it right now. Did I mention my daughter is only six? She can barley read, but put her in front of a computer and she is good to go. Most of the time, she doesn't even need me to read instructions.

The things I do on a computer have changed too. Back then it was Solitare and a typing tutor program. I thought we were pretty high tech because we used it as our answering machine, w/seperate voice mail boxes; one for me, one for him & one for the alligator. Eventually I was introduced to AOL, instant messaging & "Warcraft: Orcs & Humans". When I finally broke it off with him, the one thing I made sure to take with me right away was the computer, didn't feel like I could live without it.

Today, I still feel like I can't live without my computer, and some things are similar. AOL is out, Google is in; now "WoW" is the game of choice; instant messaging is here, the location though is Google or FaceBook; and now I am productive by creating Web Pages, promoting businesses and organizations on-line and volunteering for a web-based non-profit.

Earlier I mentioned my new cell phone. Seven years ago, my cell phone didn't even have a color screen, let alone a camera. I was soo upset when I had to upgrade my phone because I didn't need all the extras. Now I don't know how I managed for soo long with such a plain phone. Two years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of texting. Ask me if I could live without it now!

My poor husband is not as adaptive as I am, but was forced to learn texting for work. What an ordeal that was! He is some what of an odd ball in our family. Not only am I & our daughter pretty tech savy, but so is his dad. I have been trying to get him to open a FaceBook account, but unless he has to for a professional reason, I can't see it happening.

It is amazing how technology has come, and how we have all evolved with it. I am aware that I ahve become quite dependent on it, but I am fine with this. And I can't wait to see what the future has in store.

2010 Relay For Life

My Reason to Relay

Relay For Life is my personal opportunity to fight back against cancer by raising funds and awareness. I fight so one day no one has to ever face cancer.

It's amazing to think that millions of people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. But, by taking part in Relay, I am helping the American Cancer Society save lives by:

• 
  Helping people stay well by helping them take steps to prevent cancer or detect it early, when it’s most treatable
• Helping people get well by being in their corner around the clock to guide them through every step of their cancer experience
• Finding cures by funding groundbreaking research that helps us understand cancer’s causes, determine how best to prevent it and discover new ways to cure it
• Fighting back by working with lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and rallying communities worldwide to join the fight

Please support my efforts by making a donation or by joining my Relay For Life team. Together, we have the power to make a difference!

New Year

So, a New Year has started. I can't believe we are already 16 days into it. I had this plan at the end of last year of what I wanted to accomplish this month. And so far, I have gotten almost nowhere on this list.

Thanks to my friend Dave & the wonderful technology at my fingertips (FB chat & Google chat), I have gotten some motivation, and am working on starting this "to do list".

First step, get my blog back up, and to actually use it. So, here is my first post in over two years. I can't promise what I write will be interesting. But I feel like I need a place to just say a small portion of the scrambled thoughts in my head. Hopefully it will help me make sense of things and retain some sanity.

As I am typing this, I am noticing my outdated punctuation. I can't seem to stop putting two spaces after a sentence. When did this change happen? How many of us "oldies" follow the new rule? It sure makes typing hard when you are so used to doing it a certain way. Please forgive my posts, until I have trained myself all over again (if it is possible).

Well, goodnight all. Here is to a New Year full of hope & change.