Old Dog/New Computer

You know what they say about old dogs and new tricks, and I am an old dog. This new laptop and I are still in the “getting to know each other” stage. It is amazing how we fall into a routine and how much we dislike getting out of it. I am very used to my old computer and all its oddities. My new laptop does have some issues that need fixin - like the left shift key doesn't always work. My computer doctor says he will fix that soon. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to figure things out - like email. With a little help from Toby, I thought I had it all worked out, but now my email will not send. A bit irritating. It is bad enough that it is not the same old Outlook Express that I have used for years, but now it is, well, different. Then there is the Word issue. I thought computers came with some sort of program to write documents. Apparently I was wrong. I could just write my blogs in Blogger, but for some reason the spell checker does not always work - is it my new laptop or Blogger? A bit frustrating. Buck will tell you that spelling is not my strong point, and I need something to check me. Of course, he would tell me to go with Firefox as my browser and that would solve all my spelling problems. But that would mean something else new. It would also mean downloading something on my new computer, which scares me. You see, my old computer had some odd problemas - some of which I think were caused by me and my downloading, or was it uploading? I just hate to junk up my new laptop - kind of like getting a new car and not wanting to drink a coke in it. Eventually, you just have to live your life and use your stuff. You have to take the plastic off and sit on your new couch. But a computer is different. I get myself into some fixes, and no one wants to help me get out. Yesterday, Jes and I were glazing some pottery at the kitchen table. Toby wanted to use my camera to take a photo of his mom’s car (which we are selling - a long story) and put it on the online ad. First of all, he has not ever used my camera and needed help with that. Then he had to have me show him how to put it on the computer. He’s a smart boy and did well, but after showing him the how-to’s, I sat back down at the kitchen table,went back to glazing, and hollered, “If you need any help, just holler.” Jesse piped in, “I think he is smart enough to figure it out on his own.” Me, “I was just being helpful - thoughtful.” Jes, “He is smart and can figure it out without our help. It is good for a person to figure things on their own.” Me, “Does that mean you think I am smart, and that is the reason you won’t help me with my new computer.” Jes, “Yep.” She is pretty tricky wouldn’t you say? I mean she flatters me by saying I’m smart, but it also means that if I ask for help I would be admitting I’m not so smart. Darn. Just so you know, I have written this post in some sort of Google Doc freebee program. It checked my spelling, and I didn’t have to download a thang. The good news is that the Google Doc worked great to check my spelling. The bad news is that it would not in any way move to my post. I spent a great deal of time working on this - since I wanted to prove to Jesse how smart I was. Eventually I admitted defeat and showed her what was happening with the Google Doc. She didn't help much, but was sympathetic, which counts for something. Actually she was busy with her own blogger stuff and you should go by and see her old blog to find her new blog. In the meantime, I turned on the old computer to see if it Google Doc would work on it. I did have a bit more luck with it, but Google Doc was in a different language and I could not get it to the Anglais. Still I muddled through and was able to save my writing to my thumb drive and then move it to my post. Yes! I did it! And it only took me all morning and a few cuss words. To top it all off, when I went to publish this, I could not divide it into paragraphs, and I tired over and over - Ugh!