Life Needs an "i" Button

Last weekend my husband and I drove to Nashville TN to visit our kids and see our grandson.  Since my car was in the shop getting some work done on it we rented a car for the trip.  This was a brand new car with lots of fun techie toys included in it.  We had a great time with the radio because it had Sirius/XM still installed on it.  So we were driving down the road reveling in "60's on 6" and "80's on 8" and all the other fun stations with lots of music.

One of the best things on the radio was a little button just above and to the left of the display.  It was an "i" button.  We found out that if we were stumped on a song we could just press the "i" button and we could find out the song title and the artist.  How cool!

I don't know about you but often when we hear a song and can't figure out the title or the artist it drives us nuts.  My husband is an encyclopedia of music trivia, having worked in the business for several decades.  Often within the first few bars of a song he can tell the title, artist, who else did remakes of it and, depending on the artist, also has a story of when he worked with that artist.  But occasionally we are both stumped and cannot remember the song or the artist.  That is where the "i" button came in so handy.  How fun to be able to push the "i" button and we knew who was singing on the radio.

Wouldn't it be nice to have an "i" button for everything.  I know Staples has the "easy"button but what I really want is a universal "i" button.  Sometimes I run into people who look familiar and I know but I can't remember their names.  If I had a universal "i" button I could just push it and know who they are.  That would alleviate me having to say, "Remind me of your name?"

Just think what else it could work for.  Those days when I go to the grocery store and have not written down my list.  The "i" button could remind me I need hot sauce or napkins or whatever before I walk out of the store.  Now I know all you techies would say you can put a grocery list on your smart phone and I do.  Still I need something to nudge me and say, "Recheck your list, you are forgetting something!"

Even when I walk into the kitchen with a task in mind and then can't remember what it is.  Just press the "i" button and it will tell you what you intended to do but forgot.

Now I know most of this is because I am "older" but I'm challenging all my young tech-savvy friends to think about this.  You could change life for those of us who are Baby Boomers.  No more forgotten things or tasks with the universal "i" button!

How do you sign off?

I am currently an instructor at a community college in Indiana.  I teach psychology classes, Introduction to Psychology and Lifespan Development.  In the Lifespan class we talk about humans through all the stages of life, pre-birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood.  One of the stages that is very interesting is the Emerging Adulthood stage, roughly ages 18 through 25.  In this stage humans are transitioning from childhood and adolescence to adulthood.  It is characterized by stretching limits, trying new things and often acting before thinking.  When my son was in this stage he was making many unwise decisions, which is very common in this stage especially for human males in the United States.  He was taking many risks as part of his emergence into adulthood.  My husband and I used to comment that he and his best friend could not make a wise decision between them. 

During this time I became so concerned for his safety that I thought that every time he and I said "goodbye" to each other would be the last.  I was so concerned that after we saw each other he would make another one of his poor choices (along with his best friend) and that would be the end of his life.  So during that time I decided that he would never leave my presence or get off the phone without me telling him "I love you."   I did not want his last thoughts on this Earth to be of me yelling at him and telling him he had done something wrong again. 

That practice has carried onto his adulthood now (he is 31 and his best friend is 33).  Both of them and the beautiful women in their lives have survived.  In fact my son became a father this year himself.  So now when I talk to him, his fiance or my new grandson I tell all of them than I love them before we say goodbye.  This is not because I fear for their safety and choices but because I want them to know that my love for them is steadfast and continuous. 

I continued this practice with all the other people in my life.  This has been very comforting to me since my mother died in November of last year.  I know that the last time I saw her she did not know who I was becuase of her advanced Alzheimers disease.  I'm sure that as I was leaving she was wondering who this stranger is who is telling her "I love you, Mother."  Yet I hope as she took her last breath on this Earth she knew that she was loved by the people who were important to her. 

So how do you sign off with the people in your life?  Do you just say "goodbye" or text an "LOL" or do you let them know how much they mean to you?  Take a second and make sure that those people who are important to you know it and they hear it or see it in a text.  This is important.  As I tell my students during class, "Write this down, it will be on the test."  Remember, sometimes you may be stacking the deck in case something happens in the case of my son and his wild years.  Or it may be the last words you say to your parent or someone you love. 

This and That - Reaching Goals and Looking Ahead.

So this week is the last week of classes for the spring semester at the community college where I work.  Graduation is on Saturday for thousands of students will be getting associate degrees or certificates.  It's a pretty exciting time for these students and their families.  For me I have finished teaching and have posted grades for the students in the class I teach (Introduction to Psychology).  On a personal note I received grades for the last two graduate classes I had to take in the journey for my doctoral degree.  I am now officially "ABD" - All But Dissertation.  I have been in a semi-shock that I am so close (yet so far) from the end of my educational journey.  This is where so many doctoral students get stuck because the remainder of this journey is a lonely, personal one.

So how am I going to make sure that I continue toward my goal?  First of all I am telling everyone my goal for completion - May 2014.  So this makes me accountable to my family and friends to complete my journey when planned.  Also, my research is on perseverance and persistence toward achieving educational goals.  I would have to be a total screw up to not reach my own goal when my research is about reaching goals.  

A few months ago my doctoral adviser and I worked out a plan for completion of my degree.  Now I don't know about anyone else but give me a grid with goals and dates and I will do everything in my power to complete the task.  My worst enemy is a goal with no deadline.  So even though I will not be sitting in a class and meeting deadlines for a professor I am faced with that plan every day and know I must persist until I am done. 

I guess one of my biggest inspirations is that for years I have visualized myself walking across that stage at graduation in full academic regalia having the hood placed over my head for achieving my degree and receiving my diploma.  That has sustained me though countless late nights completing papers and plodding through research.  So I will complete this task.  There is so little left to do in comparison to what I have accomplished. 

In the end I want to be done because I have several novels clanging around in my head wanting to be written.  I can't start working on them until this goal is completed.  

Hitting the Digital Wall

For the last few weeks I have been feeling pretty confident in my abilities and knowledge about computer programs.  A couple of weeks ago I was able to connect our wireless printer to our wireless network.  That may not sound like much to those of you who are digital natives but for me it was a major accomplishment.  Now I can print from my laptop in the family room to the printer in my office/craft room.  I was so proud of myself because I did it all on my own and was able to even set up my husband's laptop to print! 

This semester at school I have been taking two statistics classes which rely heavily on SPSS (IBM's Statistical Package for the Social Sciences).  I have also been able to navigate that program quite well and successfully complete all my homework assignments.  Then we got to the last assignment that was Confirmatory Factor Analysis!  It uses a statistical package called "R" which is developed by statisticians.  Well,  I hit my digital wall.  I installed R on my laptop using the directions from my professor.  Then I tried to complete the analysis using the software.  Unfortunately this package was not developed by someone who is a digital immigrant such as I am.  I read the directions, watched the video from class, looked online for tips, tried it again and again and got NOWHERE.  So all my confidence evaporated in an instant!  It seems that "R" depends on FORTRAN programming language and that may as well be Klingon for me.  I just don't get it.  Now I'm sure if I had someone to walk me through it I could understand it but for the assignment it was just impossible.  So I did something for the first time in my academic career, I told the professor that I could not complete an assignment. 

These were also my last two classes for my doctoral program so I was just over it.  Hopefully I can still pass with not turning in one assignment and will have my classes all completed. 

It's interesting to me that when it comes to digital type things that I seem to take one step forward and sometimes take an occasional step back when something just does not make sense to me.   As with life, I can choose to focus on my lack of knowledge about digital things or I can just continue to learn and move forward.  I choose to move forward.  Defeat is not an option! (Except when it comes to FORTRAN based statistical programs) 

Vortex of Chaos

Have you ever had a week when you wonder "What in the world is going on?"  My last week seems like that.  I have had the most odd encounters with people the last week.  This morning as I was driving to work on the interstate a woman passed me who had a book on her steering wheel and she was reading!  We are traveling at 70 miles per hour in rush hour traffic and she is distracted with a book?  What the heck?  I'm just glad she passed me and moved on ahead.

In the last week I have had a police officer honk his horn at me when I stopped at a traffic light that was yellow and turning red.  He did not have his lights and siren on I guess he was just in a hurry.  If I would have run the light would he give me a ticket.  Again, what the heck?  I'm sorry I'm in your way Mr. Policeman but most of us have to abide by the traffic laws.

It just seems like I have had multiple incidents of oddness, rudeness or outright idiocy occur in my day to day activities of life.  While shopping in the grocery store I was yelled at by an old lady who thought I was moving too slowly in the aisle.

I'm not sure if the cause of all this odd activity is because it is tax time in the United States or because the Aurora Borealis is active right now because of sun spots or what is going on.  All I know is that I seem to be stuck in some type of vortex of chaos that won't go away.

My husband and I were talking about this the other night and trying to decide what was going on.  He thought we were stuck in a cycle of evil.  Even though evil things are happening - just look at the carnage at the Boston Marathon and the hundreds of lives devastated by the act of someone.  Yet my experiences seem to be more odd that evil.  That is why I named it the Vortex of Chaos.

I will probably revisit this idea over time as other odd things happen.  I'm just hoping that my life gets back to the point where the oddness moves on or I just don't notice it! 

What do you collect?

Recently my husband (the Pack Rat) and I have been involved in a project to clean out our house.  It was getting to the point in our garage that I was embarrassed to open the door because I feared one of our neighbors would call for a hoarder's intervention for us.  Now cleaning out is a hard process for us (Did I mention that my husband is a Pack Rat?) because it usually involves shouting and tears (on my husband's part).   I don't understand what is so emotional about donating 30 year old suits that no longer fit and are out of style.  My husband says that he may lose weight so they will fit and and he could wear them again.  Really?  They are no longer in style and have been stored in totes for years! 

Now to be fair I also have things I collect.  No, not 30 year old clothes or all my papers from elementary school (those were a gift from my husband's mother - the Pack Rat Matriarch).  I have two things that I cannot resist.  The first is pens.  My husband calls me a Pen Whore because I will walk up to any table, display or anything where they are giving away pens.  I don't know why I need so many other than the fact that I am always on the lookout for the perfect pen.  I love gel pens with soft grips that just flow so nicely when I am writing.  Not that I write so much any more with a pen.  Most of my writing is done on a computer.  But I still do that occasional note, "to do" list or grocery list and a pen is a necessity.  Usually I will collect pens until they are everywhere and then I will go through them and get rid of the ones I don't particularly like by taking them to work for the front desk or faculty resource room.  So I don't really hoard pens, I just appropriate them and then recycle them at a later date.  I am really doing a service to my employer bringing in lots of pens for staff and faculty to use. 

The other thing I collect are tote bags.  You know the ones that are made now to bring home groceries or purchases.  I also collect canvas tote bags, straw bags, microfiber, leather and any other bag that will carry stuff.  The best are the free ones that are given away by vendors or businesses at trade shows or community events.  Last summer one of the local banks gave away very cool purple tote bags at the weekly farmer's market we visit.  What a coup!  I got a new bag every week and now have a great collection of vibrant purple bags.  I can carry stuff everywhere.  I do the same things with the bags as I do with pens, collect them and then give them away when I get too many.  The students at the college where I work love it when I bring in extra bags.  So again someone else benefits from my pathological collecting. 

The difference between my husband  (the Pack Rat) and me (the Collector) is that I collect for a while and then either sell my stuff in a garage sale or give it away.  He would gather his around him and just keep it there if he did not have me prodding him to get rid of stuff. 

Still I know I am not perfect.  Things get messy in my life because I get too busy to clear out stuff I have collected.  Often when I am cleaning out things I wonder what was I thinking when I acquired those things.  Yet my stuff gets circulated and culled out periodically.  You always need room for new stuff and you never know when you will find the perfect pen or tote bag! 

Spring Cleaning and Stuff

Now that comps are done for school I am looking around the house the realizing that I need to give it some attention.  For the last several months I have been just dropping things and setting them aside rather than maintaining order.  It's becoming so bad we are starting to look like hoarders! 

So the last two weekends I have been giving attention to my craft room.  It was a total mess and had piles of stuff everywhere.  You could not sit in the chair or even get to the computer.  My sewing machine was a disaster area.  I have patiently gone through everything, cleaning out things I no longer want or need and throwing away, giving away or donating stuff that I won't use. 

I don't consider myself a pack rat but oh my gosh!  I have stuff that I am looking at and thinking, "What was I thinking when I bought this?"  I found multiple yards of the ugliest fabric imaginable.  It must have been a great deal and I had a coupon to buy so much and then set it aside.  I can't even remember why I bought it other than it must have been on super clearance.  Then I found skeins of yarn which I will not use.  So after patiently going through all this stuff I bagged it up and gave it to a friend who is retired and an avid crafter.  She was thrilled to get this and will either use it or give it to her friends to use. 

Next I attached my gift closet.  Usually during sales or after a holiday I look for bargains that I can put away and give to people the next year at Christmas or other occasions.  This also got a critical eye and I bagged up 6 shopping bags of items I probably will never give away.  They went into my garage sale pile and will be sold this summer when we have our annual sale.  If they don't sell they will be donated to Goodwill. 

Finally I went through my clothes.  Again, they were hanging in the closet and laying all over the room.  I was ruthless and got rid of everything that I had not worn or hardly worn in the last year.  Again, being a bargain shopper if I go to Macy's or somewhere else I hit the clearance racks.   If something is marked down, then with additional off and I have a coupon I just can't resist.  Unfortunately some of those items which looked so good in the store and were a great bargain are still hanging in the closet with the tags on them....never worn.  So I bagged everything up and donated them to Goodwill.  Hopefully someone else will see my bargains and be able to use them. 

What I learned from this was that I really need to look at bargains with a more critical eye.  Even though I find a dress for less than $10 on the clearance rack at Macy's it is still not a bargain if it is hanging in my closet two years later with the tags on it.  Gosh - what was I thinking? 

I will continue this process throughout my entire house.  My goal this year is to become less mired in "stuff" and enjoy the feeling of less.  I will also have to stay away from the clearance sales when I have a coupon for extra off the price.