Reflections

Sometimes I would go home after doing a particular session and tell my honey "We need to do this!" I would be so excited about something like Flickr', that I thought we could use for our art. Some things seem so much a part of the future and the future is where things are at. As I go out into the web world, I can recognize the skill involved in some web sites, things I didn't fully appreciate before. When one of our art sites expanded their site to include a blog, video and pod casting, social networking sites and a host of other refinements, I could really appreciate the work someone had done to make them that interactive.

Doing some of these things takes practice, using them over and over. If you don't use them, it's really easy to forget how. I am still somewhat puzzled by social networking sites and how to best use them. I need to get out the directions every time I try to go to my Facebook account. And all the passwords become a blur. Now that I have all these accounts, how long do they stay active? Will I eventually get dropped off if I don't keep using them? Do I need to go in and delete them somehow? Doing some of these activities would be greatly enhanced if I had more than dial up at home. I would try to apply them to our sculpture website, but for now it would only lead to frustration.

If I had the opportunity to do something like this again, I would wish for more time and more application. Fitting the adventures into a busy week was sometimes a challenge. It would have been nice to focus on one thing for a couple of weeks before moving on to the next. It was more difficult to do some of these things because we share machines; so on-line chatting for instance had a narrow window of opportunity. In this work application, it's use was limited. Some of these skills are a tool, just like a hammer or a crucible or a furnace is a tool. Sometimes I'm more comfortable with the hammer or the crucible and the furnace. But trying them out was good for my brain and a good challenge.

I was sorry that I didn't get the opportunity to read more of other people's blogs and make comments on them. It is still my goal to read all of them and make a comment. People worked hard on them. It was a real challenge for some people who guard what they share of themselves. I appreciate how difficult it was sometimes.

There is the issue of time. How much time am I willing to give to this part of my life? I am beginning to accept that I don't do things as quickly as I used to; it takes more time to do the dishes, the laundry and make dinner than it used to. Time goes by far too quickly. I have things that I really want to savor. I love seeing my almost 90 year old mother who is so much fun to be around. I challenge anyone to not come away with a smile after an encounter with her. You just have to appreciate life after a few minutes with her. I love getting smiles from my grandchildren, or a talk on the telephone with them. So what do I cut out to give myself the time to do these new activities? Do I stop working in the garden, even though I know it is good for my blood pressure? Do I give up my hour or two of T.V.? Reading? When I stop to think about it, I am not surprised so many people have stress related illnesses; our worlds are going so fast now and exponentially there is so much to learn. So for now I will be satisfied that I was introduced to these concepts and hope that I can apply some of them to my on-line life eventually.

Sucking You In

When my grandson was two, he could play Jimmy Neutron faster than I would have thought imaginable. He could barely use the mouse, but he could use keystrokes to do anything he wanted. He would get up in the morning and after cuddling with his mama, he would jump down and start his game. Then about half an hour later, he was ready to visit and get on with his day. He seemed to have an automatic shut off, where he just stopped. I know games and gaming will be a big part of his life, so I am glad that he still wants to go outside and watch the blueberries get ripe in the afternoon sun.

For myself, gaming is something I avoid (usually); I just don't feel the need (most of the time)and certainly don't have the time. My new goal is to get my house cleaned up before Thanksgiving, so spending an hour playing some game on the Internet is counter productive to that. I guess it goes back to the 'getting a life' aspect of this process. I think games can allow a depressed person to ignore the things in their life that are troublesome and contribute to their depression. I'm sure it is a good way to fill the void for some people.

Sometimes it seems like a value thing; cleaning up the house has become less important for most people, just like cleaning up their desk at work. Why take thirty minutes to clean up when you could use that same thirty minutes to play a killer game of something? I am sure it has an impact on the workforce; in any situation you will have a range of abilities. If it takes one person two hours to do their job when it takes everyone else five hours to do the same work at the same level of accuracy, what do they do with that other three hours? They can play on the computer! They say some of the games are really good for your brain, so I'll use that as the explanation for why one might want to. But for me, I'll just keep on trying to manage what little free time I have without Spider Solitaire calling to me every time I turn the computer on.