Peace and quiet? Phooey!
Like Pavlov's conditioned dogs at the sound of a bell, I salivate at the sight of a computer keyboard. Yes, yes, drooling, itching to write! After so many years of running a writing and editing service (www.timesolvers.com), I feel like a pianist without a practice piano, afraid that my fingers will lose their fluidity, my brain will lose its agility, if I can't post a blog, let alone work on my next book or edit someone else's. Just can't do that longhand stuff any more.
I went to university when "cut and paste" really meant cut and paste, and when you typed a page on the manual typewriter (without mistakes), you had to leave plenty of room for the footnotes. Otherwise, it was -- oops! -- type it all over again. Took reference notes on little index cards in long hand because photo copiers were not invented yet, let alone scanners or email.
So peace and quiet without the Internet...no computer, no telephone, no handheld? Phooey! I just spent a week without them all. No, it not a vacation week; it was a realization week that my family and I have become utterly dependent on electronic communications.
A few months ago, we changed the phone system in our house to one that is routed through the Internet because it is cheaper, but, when we set up two home office spaces this week for convenience (and because our telecommuting work requires the space!) instead of one, it meant that new phone jacks had to be installed, along with lots of other things to be schlepped around. July being July, with so many sensible folks on vacation, it took a little more time than we thought -- ten days, actually.
My daughter thoughtfully forwarded my office phone calls to my cell phone, but, guess what?, she forgot that I had changed cell phones and forwarded the calls to my OLD cell phone number. Some lucky person (hopefully on vacation) has been receiving all my calls for the last ten days.
Finally got that one straightened out!
So now the land lines and cell phones are ringing off the hook in TWO offices in our home, the computers are computing, the hand-helds are text messaging, and I'm WRITING again. Bells in my head going off!!! Dog sleeping under my feet at the computer!!! Aah!!!
Peace and quiet? Well, it's okay, in its restorative place, but let me at that computer early in the morning and I'm happy. Gotta post this blog before noon because I'm going swimming this afternoon. Since I live in California, I can toss a coin -- ocean or pool today? Either way, there will be lots of July people. Super cool.
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Belle Yang says:
Hi, Corinne
Thank you for your reply to my question this morning.
I have to tell you, I was so tickled to be mentioned in paragraph of AARP for living a fulfilled life with my parents. I did not join my folks when they were on the way out, but when they are still vibrant and there is a world of knowlege and laughter to share.