And although I have spent nearly every waking hour on one computer or another, I haven't been able to check blogs or even write blog posts. I can't even tell you the last time I was on Twitter. (I guess that's how I managed to write 25k.) I said to myself, (last night as a matter of fact), I can't remember the last time I watched television. I'm actually in bed most nights by 8:30. And even then it's a struggle to keep my eyes open. (I get up most mornings around 5am. Even when I don't have to. And I know a lot of you do too.)
I could ramble on with the litany of how-busy-my-life-is-bullshit, but I won't bore you. Let's say I've just been flat-out 70. With the up-coming Easter break from school (12 days) I told Monster, "That's it! We're cleaning this house." Yes, I know, I threaten to clean at least once a week. It doesn't actually get done above once a month. But now I have time to do the "BIG" clean. Windows, walls, curtains, rip up the rest of the carpet in the kitchen, rearrange furniture, have a yard sale. Yeah, "BIG".
I looked my desk the other day. It's a nightmare. No. Really. I can't even begin to imagine cleaning it. I have notes, three levels deep. I have a dinner plate covering the little trash can on my desk, so I can open a folder for more flat surface. My research books are buried under more notes. My four tier shelf is now eight. I would take a picture and show you, but I would be utterly mortified if you saw the mess it truly is. Hey, out of chaos comes order. (I dream of an office "suite" with a nine foot long table to spread out on. And lots of drawers and a built-in bookcase.)
On my desk, at the base of my angel-reading-a-book statue, I have a stack of scrap paper that measures about two inches high. Passwords to all the sites I'm on, business cards, bookmarks with author information, web-site addresses, phone numbers.
I have said to myself over the last few years, I really should invest in a Rolodex. Spin the wheel, find what you want. I get giddy just thinking about what information I could keep in one. And it would help straighten out one little corner in my life. I had one in my hand at this wicked cool thrift shop I frequent; a flat box container, with a lid, with all the cards intact, practically brand new, that 1970's mustard color, for $3.00, and I put it down. It didn't spin. I don't know why, it has to spin.(Yes, I'm sure there are devices or apps that keep that information for you, but that's way too technical for me. Like I said, I'm on information overload. I don't think my brain could handle learning one more thing.)
I like the idea of touching the thing itself, tactile, the spinning, the thick, hard, brown plastic base. Oh yes, I want an old one. Like Maxwell Smart had on his desk. Or Darren Stevens. (I like old things.) They served a purpose, were functional, and didn't fizzle out if you accidentally dropped it in water. Or lost all your data because the battery died. Or someone stole it. Back then you didn't have to worry about safe guarding devices because they were only dreams, or things that appeared on Star Trek. You just had to open the lid and spin the wheel. (Yes, I do realize that lugging this bad boy around everywhere would break your back, but I'm still old school, that I only do "business" from my desk in my office.
I miss this little baby too. Smith-Corona Electronic with self-correcting cartridges. I still have ink and correcting tape for it. I'd love to find another one. I lost my original in the move to NC. When I got it for my high school graduation present, that was the best thing I could have gotten. It served me very well for nearly 20 years. In college I upgraded to one of these.
I still have it. And all the disks. I wrote all my papers on this. And the typewriter. They have interchangeable ink cartridges. Groovy huh. That little time machine cost me $350 at the time. Computers were first coming out and they were $1500. I thought I was getting a steal.
And, I was just saying to my assistant in Gift Cards, how I hate the new pencils. They just don't have good lead anymore. Not like the old Ticonderoga's we used in grade school. (I do despise pencils for writing, but with the numbers we use, we need pencils in the gift card office.)
My friend Nancy and I were talking about what kids today have and what we grew up with. We're about the same age. It's a wonder we survived into adult hood. Things were so much simpler back then. We didn't have it all in our "face" 24/7. Sure, it was bulky, and heavy, and somewhat less functional than it is now (I couldn't live without my pc), but it was somehow less hectic. There was more time to enjoy life, more time to just be. I think the "old things" remind me to do just that.
Here's a small list of things we came up with.
We didn't have Wii and Gameboy, we went "outside" to play. We came home when the streetlights came on.
We didn't have bicycle helmets or shin guards.
We had phones that hung on the kitchen wall with a tangled up cord that could stretch 20 ft.
We didn't have to buy water, it came out of the tap.
We had three television stations and PBS. (When I was a kid, our tv was black and white.)
We listened to a.m. radio.
We never wore sunscreen unless we were at the beach. It didn't have SPF.
Everybody could eat PB&J on white bread.
You needed a dime to make a phone call from a phone booth. You called the operator for information.(My family and I once had a phone that was three-party, and only had to dial out 5 numbers to reach the "village" where we lived.)
Only rich people had automatic dishwashers.
We wore cotton because polyester hadn't been invented.
Ah, the good old days.
Tell me -- what do you miss?
Anne Gallagher (c) 2014
7 comments:
Well, I don't miss my Rolodex, because I still have mine. On the last day at my old company (where I'd been for 23 years having starting there when paper files were state of the art) I tossed it into a box to bring home with me. Now it has all my passwords on it. Those last years at work though, people laughed at me for still using it, but I was the only one who had phone numbers when the computers went down.
I have a Rolodex (the spinning one) but I don't use it anymore.
Instead since everyone has business cards, I have several card holder 'books'. They're narrow notebooks with plastic sleeves.
What do I miss? Hmmm... Besides my youth or a skinnier body, not much, I guess.
But something I can add to your list: an address book where you write down the street addresses of your friends and family (as well as their phone numbers). I tried looking for one in the store a couple of years ago (thought it would work great to hold my passwords), and couldn't find any! Man, that just made me feel OLD! :)
Liza -- Exactly my point. When the computers crash you can't get any information.
Maria -- I have those too from when I worked in transportation.
Stacey -- OMG! I know exactly what you mean. It took me a long time to find one.
There's a business online that converts old typewriters to digital. So you can type on the typewriter, but it shows up on your PC, or your tablet. I kind of want one, but they're not cheap and i don't know how much i'd actually use it, you know?
I miss good pencils. It's hard to find one with an eraser that erases. I miss good safety pins. This crap that comes from China won't pierce a piece of gauze. I, too, like to "touch" things. I miss the library card files you had to rifle through to find a book. I don't care if the new systems are more efficient. I don't like it!!!
And, Anne, if you aren't keeping up with social media, it means you're being productive. I don't do stupid Twitter anymore. I don't care what the know-it-alls say. I found it pointless and irritating.
I'd rather be writing.
I remember playing outside when I was younger (though I liked playing inside much more) and having limited supervision, not because our parents weren't careful, but because that's just what people did. There were no cell phones to use to check up on anyone. You just came home by a certain time.
Sounds like you've got a ton going on! I wish you good luck with the BIG cleaning and everything else.
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