A Little This and That

Earlier I posted that I still have trouble with the time changes since moving from the west coast to the east coast. I have now come to my own conclusion on why so many westerners think easterners are surely and unfriendly. Frankly, we are tired! Take Monday Night Football as an example. If you are watching in Seattle it starts at 6:00 p.m. In Milton, Delaware it starts at 9:00 p.m. That means it is after midnight before the game is over. The same is true of the political conventions. I have for as long as I can remember liked to watch the conventions (both). However, in our "Must Play to Prime Time" mode the happenings are condensed to those few hours when most people in all of the country will be viewing. When the speeches and all end for the evening folks in Pacific Time have time to go out for a nice late dinner and enjoy the rest of the evening. Folks in Eastern Time scramble to get some needed sleep before the grind of the new day begins. Sometimes, time just gets in the way.

On another note, I should have posted special birthday wishes Monday for our daughter Erica. I was so frustrated that her birthday gift had not arrived that I forgot to post a message. She and Geoff moved last weekend. They just purchased their first house together. We are happy for them and know that they will enjoy it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Erica. We love you.

Memories: I was so pleased to hear from all the sorority sisters I sent an email to when I published my last posting. Only one posted a comment but I heard from all the rest. Email is wonderful for staying in touch especially for those of us who procrastinate so when it comes to writing notes. Memories and technology are very compatible.

Again with the Email

It must seem that I am obsessed with email. Truly, I am not but I find some things that happen to be pretty amazing. There are days when I feel the world is huge and I am very insignificant in the scheme of nature and such. Then there are days when I am in wonder of how small the world is. Email is one of the vehicles that keep me wondering. Here are couple of examples that have entered my mailbox in the last few days:

• I received an email which had a cartoon of "Michael Vick's Jury." It was as you can guess a jury of famous cartoon dogs. I thought about forwarding it but decided to wait. That was probably a good decision because I have since received four more of the same cartoon from friends across the country. The folks who sent these are very different. Besides being friends of mine and animal lovers, the commonality here is that each is or has been in an education profession. I find that quite interesting. I also believe that I will received the cartoon at least two more times within the next month when other folks return from vacation and others opt to forward.

• Last night I opened an email from a childhood friend. I love getting hers because they are usually very humorous. I clicked the forward envelope and before I clicked on the very amusing attachment I was drawn to the forward trail by a name I recognized. So, I peered down the page and was amazed at the people (5+) whose identities I recognized. This was not like people I see or have seen in the last few years. This moment was seeing names of people I knew 45-50 years ago. The true irony of the moment was that the attachment was a humorous but sad political one. I had a great feeling that in the heart of uber Republican Idaho there are still some free thinking Democrats or a few least social liberals.

email -- revisited

Early last month I wrote about email. Today has been one of those days when I really love having email. Yes, I received and forwarded the requisite number of jokes. The jokes of late have been somewhat stale. Today, they were all fun and fresh. I also received a couple of notes from old friends. These notes made me feel good for the whole day. That's all, just had to say again why I like email.

email

This is one of those times I wish were a poet. Alas, I am not so my jumbled thoughts will just have be in my jumbled prose.

When first introduced to email about 15 years ago now I found it to be an exciting business tool but it was ever so slow and unreliable. I preferred the fax and especially the telephone for quick communication. Better still, when time was not as important, was a good letter. My, oh my, how things have changed!! It seems as though everyone uses email now and not just for business.

I got into the habit of checking my email first thing in the morning for work. Old habits have a hard time dying as I still do that today. As technology has advanced so has the use of email and other electronic messaging. It's frustrating to get spam and other junk emails just as it is for snail mail. But, communication if almost instantaneous and that has become the model for business. I still prefer getting a formal letter even if attached to an email to an email with stuff here and there. With the need for the instant message style and content has been abreviated to say the least. But, it is, nevertheless, a valuable tool that is here to stay.

On the personal front I am grateful for email. It has done what would probably not have happened for me. It has connected me to friends and family in a way that gives me the "warm fuzzies" every now and then. Sure, 80% of the messages are forwards of jokes or poems of love and friendship, but there is a frequent "Hi" attached. Through some of these silly emails I have been able to reconnect with childhood friends and sorority sisters. I have been able to maintain a line of communication with friends and associates who have entered our lives at different stages.

The 20% that are not of the forward variety come from the same friends and family in the form pictures, updates, and just "thinking of you" messages. How cool is that? Whether good news or bad, I love receiving email. It makes me laugh, it makes me think of those I love and care about, it keeps me informed.