I've held this belief that if you bypass, intentionally or unintentionally, a technology use or application when you are older (meaning past middle age, however you might tally that), then chances are you will not ever have an easy time of it if you choose to engage in that technology later in life. It will have moved on and you'll left without even the slightest comprehension of what functions it serves.
Ed doesn't agree. He thinks you can learn anything anytime, so long as you retain a can-do attitude, give yourself time, and maintain total patience. He has all three -- the attitude, the time, and perhaps most notably -- the patience. He would like to think that if I applied myself, with time, I could even install the on-demand gas water heater downstairs, in the same way that he did it. Sure, it took him a week to get it up and running, and many weeks of prelearning. He'd say it would probably take me longer, but there is nothing, absolutely nothing that would prevent me from being an A+ water heater installer if I applied myself.
We had this conversation because the weather outside was cold and yukky (gray and nippy) and, importantly, yesterday my new smart phone was delivered to me. My old one was barely serviceable. It's been many years. I needed the upgrade.
But of course, I hardly use a fraction of its smart capabilities. I do resist new technologies for too long. I was late to get a smart phone, late to start texting. (Now I cant imagine life without either.) So... maybe I should delve into the phone more deeply and learn about its hidden secrets? Maybe I should schedule a tutorial on some of its more obscure (to me at least) features?
After a very brief walk in the morning to feed the animals...
... and a few minutes devoted to the initial phone set up (I admit it -- in the past, I let the store geeks do it for me), we pause for breakfast...
... and then I await my training session. 11:30. I'm like a nervous student: what if they probe and find out how much I really don't know? I must sound smart and knowledgeable! Student, wanting to impress teacher all over again...
Okay, mistake number one: the training is supposed to be 11:30 Pacific Time. Oops.
Finally, at the proper time, I enter the chambers of the training space. Or, more acurately, the dude calls me and I pick up the phone. I tell him (meaning I brag) that I already did the transfer of data from my old phone and now am just happy to learn any new tricks about this new device. We have 25 minutes together -- he tells me. Oh, I'm sure I can let you go sooner! -- another puffed up hyperbole.
And he does have tricks and I make the appropriate delighted noises.
Honestly, I will probably never use all (perhaps any) of what I learned today. I like my own smart phone orbit. I don't need to know how to pick favorite accessories or do any of the other things I've already nearly forgotten. Still, I almost feel that Ed had a point: I took the time, I was patient, I learned a few things.
In the afternoon, I zoom with my friends.
I do think that we need solid, physical time together, more than what a zoom call may offer. It's hard to comfort, to move a mood, to convey feeling through a computer screen. Still, we are stuck in this pandemic and the calls are a incredibly valuable.
Evening supper. As I go about the usual kitchen prep work, I think about how this week has had its share of rough spots for many whom I love.
We're all hanging in there though. For this I am so grateful.
With love.
