Friday, April 17, 2015

Do You Give Good Internet? I'll Be Right There.

Somewhere in the hell that is Nevada.
Internet is essential when one travels as much as we do.  Honestly, I don't know how truckers did this job before cell phones and Internet.  I will insist Ed drive miles out of our way to get a good signal, especially if I know we'll be in a particular place for a few days. Ed started driving pre-Internet and cell phones.  He has told me stories about how he used to have to pull over and find a pay phone to call his dispatcher.  Or anyone, for that matter.  What kind of hell is that?

Ed has been using computers since he was a kid.  He learned how to build them from scratch - you know, motherboards and all that mumbo-jumbo.  I first worked on a computer in the late 80s and was instantly amazed by it, but it would be years until I owned my own, and I'd never even seen a laptop in person.  In fact, Ed was the first person I knew with a laptop and I got my first laptop just 10 years ago.

And I loved it.  Loved the laptop.  Loved the portability of it. Loved the Internet  LOVED when I got my first iPhone.  Technology is truly amazing and I haven't even tapped into the tip of its pinky.

It has changed me.  I don't know if that's good or bad, but it is.  Here are ten things that have happened to me as a direct result of technology and the Internet.

1.  In some ways, it's affected the way I socialize, like myriad articles say it's done to many people.  I'm not anti-social or anything like that - that'd be crazy, especially knowing how much I like to talk and interact with people - but in most cases, these days, I'd much rather email or text. I'm an obsessive email checker and I'm usually available when texts come in, even in the middle of the night.  I'll crack a tired eye just to make sure I don't miss anything.  


2.  I usually only talk on the phone or a long time if I'm driving, because that's the one time I have no distractions.  If I'm not driving, I'm surfing the Internet or checking email.

3.  I research everything.  Mid-sentence, mid book-reading, even mid phone call.  If I want to know something, I stop what I'm doing and Google it.  I love being able to do that.  And some of the extra knowledge that seeped into my noggin has often come in handy.   

4.  I don't watch the news on TV or listen to it on the radio, but with the Internet I can read about any story happening anywhere in the world.  I'd never been much of a news bug but I like that I can quickly skim a few sites and feel like I'm caught up.  In addition, I have friends who email me stories they know I'd be interested in, and there are always the people posting pertinent happenings on Facebook and Twitter.

5.  My hand actually gets fatigued when I use a pen and paper.  I can't write for an extended period of time without needing a nap.  Oddly, typing doesn't do the same thing.

6.  I swipe anything with a screen.  

7.  I'm annoyed by random comments online from friends or strangers.  Things I would have never heard prior to the Internet.  I would never be subjected to the pathetic postings of Someecards telling me how, if they're single, they should be loved more because they're a great catch, and if they're married and have kids, I have to read about how fantastic their husband is, or how amazing their kids are.  I can't click away from the screen quickly enough and because I've already seen it, and I still want to punch them right in the lip.

8.  I have wasted days planning vacations because I can't turn away from the Trip Advisor reviews.  I click and click and click.  Like a drug addict.  I read reviews about the same exact place that range from "worst vacation I've ever taken" to "I can't wait to go back, it was the trip of a lifetime".  It makes me so uneasy, I'm always one click from canceling my reservations.

9.  I've always been pretty smart - really, ask my mother - but as smart as I think I am, using the internet does make me feel as if I'm way way way smarter.  I mean, helloooo, the information is right there before my very eyes.  At the very tips of my fingers.  In my hands at all times.  It's wonderful and maddening at the same time.  


10.  I don't watch nearly as many videos as some people do - some people really have no lives - but I do waste plenty time looking at stuff like this and this and this (I can't even count how many times I've watched that one).

And even though most of these things have completely changed my life and caused me serious eyeball strain, I still love the Internet.

In fact, I just told Ed today - when we were in an area where we were having trouble getting the satellite TV to come in - that I could easily go without TV.  But the Internet?

No way.  Never.  I wouldn't survive.
  



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2014: Where Are We?

2013: Where You'd Go For Camel Repair
2012: The Color Of Happy
2011: Taking Possession Of The Sound
2010: The Bridge People
2009: Knocking Us Off One Candy Bar At A Time
2008: How To Entertain Yourself When Hanging Out With Sight Impaired Adults
2007: Is It REALLY Such A Mystery??
2006: Heading South And Going Country
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!

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