My blue tooth keyboard.
Folds into this.
Those of you who know and love me understand I am not the most technologically savvy person around, yet I have become victim to a few new gadgets and apps for this trip. Before I get into that, here’s a story that epitomizes my love/hate relationship with tech.
On the plane ride to Oslo yesterday, I was happily seated next to my husband, a frequent flyer with a partner airline of Air France. So, we sat in “plus seats”. Not first class, not business, but roomier than the cattle stalls, otherwise known as coach. And I will say…the booze flowed freely in this section of the plane. For those interested, the plane was some kind of huge airbus, two-story…first class folks were all lying in full-sized beds with voluminous quilts thrown over their luxuriating bodies…(so it seemed).
As the plane arced into the glossy blue sky over San Francisco, I decided to read, as all writers must do on airplanes to show the rest of humanity that the written word is mightier than the screen, but eventually, I had to see what was showing on my entertainment system.
Yay! The Vikings I shrieked in my head. I’ve been told about this series and have been wanting to watch the story for a while now. Here it was…my guilt-free chance to binge watch something that might actually teach me about my family of origin. Plus, I’m heading to Norway, the land of the Vikings. This will really help with cultural sensitivity.
So, I started watching while drinking that red wine the flight attendant kept pushing on me. My tech was working perfectly. I finished the second episode of The Vikings and was getting ready for number 3 when my screen went blank.
At first, I started pushing buttons. I knew there was an easy fix. Eventually, I pushed various buttons (probably the ones I should never have touched…because, you know…tech works that way…if you touch the wrong button, it will punish you, but then, desperate binge watchers do desperate things. That was me.)
Meanwhile, Jason was finishing up episode 3 of The Vikings and tried to help me out a bit, by giving instructions on what I ought to do and pushing a few buttons on my console, thinking he could figure out the problem. (I think he probably broke it even more). Finally, he encouraged me to ask the flight attendant for help (he did not tell me…Jason never “tells” me to do anything, but he tries to the best of his ability to deftly lead me toward enlightenment…and most of the time, I am grateful.)
Instead, I shrugged and started reading again, but every 1/2 hour or so, I would push a few more buttons. As Jason was finishing episode 5 of The Vikings, he encouraged me more firmly to ask the flight attendant.
I pushed a few more buttons and ignored him.
After episode 6, he asked me. “Why don’t you want to ask for help?”
“They’re busy,” I said, “and I should be able to figure this out.”
Voila! And this is my tech dilemma and my constant stressor. I know I need to figure out my tech problems, yet I also realize how much MORE others understand about everything I’m trying to do. There are some people out there who want to help me, Like Bora, Jason, Chris, Abby, Loretta. I just need to ask.
Well, I did finally ask the flight attendant and two of them worked on the issue for a while, to no avail. They rebooted my computer twice and eventually offered me a free bottle of French wine because they felt so badly that I had no screen. If they had offered me the tv in first class, I would have taken it. They fell short of offering me that.
So…for this venture, I am trying to blog on WordPress for IOS. Easy. Piece of cake, you say! Yeah, right. We will not be trekking our laptops across Spain, though a part of me really wanted to do that. Instead, all my posting will happen on the phone, with my nifty keyboard (see photo). I will be learning how to do it and hopefully, how to do it well. By the end of July, I should be an expert on blogging via the phone. I will delight in helping you in any way, if you are a person like me who is on a learning curve and you want to blog from your phone. I owe it to humanity to help you because so many have helped me and will continue to help me.
And if I can’t solve your tech issues, I’ll just bring you over a bottle of wine!
you’re a pro blogger now! great post!
(also, I thought “The Vikings” was a euphemism for “Game of Thrones”)
You could VOIP dictate to me and I could type your blogs for you? But I get your nifty keyboard. :-O Go get em, Susi!
I felt like I was in the plane with you and the Viking guys keeping Jason entertained, just sorry you had to experience TV equipment failure. Bummer!
And, hey, here’s a great story. A friend’s mother was flying from Dallas to Portland when she suffered a heart attack on the plane. In a panic, the flight attendant asked if there were any doctors on board and EIGHT cardiologists stood up WITh all their equipment. They were headed to a conference in Portland and–voila!–they were able to save her life.
I wonder if the “asking for help” dilemma will become a theme on this pilgrim journey. Take a page from the enneagram and when you feel resistance to asking for help, try asking for help and see what happens and how you feel! Nice work on your phone. Incredible.
Also, in solidarity with you, I will be making all my comments on my phone!
U are smart and with Jason next to you, we are not concerned about anything being messed up on your trip. Thank you for thinking of us while you travel and have lots on your mind. You are so amazing and we wish you an amazing trip. I just finished the Camino de Santiago book and will read it again. The chapters will help us walk along with you. Love you, love you
Good information. Blessed me I reach on your own website by accident, I bookmarked it.