A Better World?

Will somebody please stop this technology merry-go-round so that I can get off?

I already have far too many gadgets in my life that do far too many things that I don’t really need them to do. My kids insisted that I get text messaging on my old phone. According to my youngest, verbal communication is for emergencies only. I guess I should be happy that I hear from her mostly in short typed sentences. As a member of the “way over 40” age bracket, it was almost impossible for me to type out a message on my old phone (which also did plenty of things that I didn’t need it to do, like take photos of my dashboard when I tried to answer it while driving).

My new phone has a keyboard. That allows me to type a complete sentence, period, space, space. Just like us old folks were taught to do in school. Gone are the days of simply calling my daughter and asking her if she will be home for dinner. Now I send her messages like “ARE YOU GOING TO BE HOME FOR DINNER? I AM NOT YELLING AT YOU. I PUSHED SOME STUPID BUTTON AND I CAN’T TURN THE CAPS OFF.” My daughters reply “LOL C U @ 6”. I had to call her to ask her what that meant.

I already have a website, a webstore, this blog, a community blog over on the www.myquiltvillage site, YouTube instructional videos and now my friend Sandy Brawner has asked me to link my Facebook account to her “I bet I can find 1,000,000 people who love quilting” group, which I would happily do, except that I don’t have a Facebook account because I just cant bear to memorize yet another password with 6 digits and at least one letter and one number that is case sensitive. If you have a facebook account you are welcome to join Sandy in her quest to link together 1,000,000 quilters.

Right now I am too traumatized by having to change my email address. My TWELVE YEAR OLD email must change. Twelve years. That address is on everything I own, all of my publishing, all of our handouts, business cards, all of ….. everything. It is with every friend, vendor, supplier and customer. Now I have to remember everywhere that I put that old address and make the change. I’m longing for the good ole days when you just dropped that little card off at the post office and your mail found you.

I feel the same way about trash. Remember when trash was trash? We are going green at the shop and now have a recycling dumpster. In it we can put cardboard, office paper, metal, plastic and glass. Office paper must be separated from the other items and in a clear plastic bag. Metal, plastic and glass can all be combined in the same plastic bag – but it must be clear. Even though opaque plastic bags are recyclable, if I have a hundred of them I want to get rid of, I have to put the opaque bags in a clear bag to throw them out. Now I’m buying bags to throw away my bags.

My great grandchildren better appreciate this.