New tech...

When I left being a professor, finding a job with a Ph.D. was rather difficult.  After a long road, I ended up in communications (and grants management, event management, and knowledge management), which turned out to be a wonderful professional challenge.  But it was a long road.  I wish I could have landed there first and had a longer career before my health declined.

When I finally, finally landed a job, it was with a man who owned many, many companies.  I was, essentially, his Gal Friday.  And, in that position, I learned a lot, chief amongst those lessons was building management, which I credit for my greater skill in responsible home ownership.

Back in those days, in addition to the 1,001 I did for him, I was the defacto IT department.  When he switched the employees in his construction company from radios to cell phones, I was the one who programmed them all.  You know, back in the days when you had to program your own cell phone after buying it.  I also managed the server and all the computers.  One of my first big tasks was to install Windows 98 on all of the computers, ones with 256 RAM, and re-install all of the programs the company used.  It was a multiple hour process on each computer.

I had my own computer and my self-sufficiency with it led me to being his IT department.  I knew nothing about servers, but I learned quickly the basics I needed to know, primarily how to add users and manage their settings.  I never really thought about what I was doing or learning.  The work needed to be done and I did it.  The biggest change I brought to the company was when I talked my boss into getting a T-1 line for Internet access.

In the five years that I worked for him (I think it was that long), technology radically changed.  He upgraded the computers twice, the server twice, the Internet connection (we eventually got DSL), the phones five times, and countless versions of new software.  If I am honest, I would admit that by the time I left that job, I knew that I was losing the ability to serve as Chief IT Boss (the title I preferred).  One of the last tasks I did was to learn Net Objects Fusion and create a website for my boss' main company.  It was laughable, but he was one of the first construction companies to have one.

As I moved into the non-profit world and communications, I left behind my IT role, but I brought that  knowledge with me.  IT folk loved me because I was always able to handle my own upgrades and never called for silly problems that only needed someone to hit the Escape key.  Or a restart.

Because most of the calls for IT help were things I could solve, I started helping my co-workers.  I think that many of the problems stem from what I call the Happy Clickster.  If in doubt, folk would just keep clicking, not understanding that the computer, when freed up, would still need to do all the actions from the clicking.  Sometimes I would say in a deep voice: "Step Away From the Mouse!"  It was my way of lightening the moment.

The bittersweet part of my becoming the unofficial HelpDesk support, was that I heard, over and over and over again:  "You are such a great teacher!"  Or I would hear:  "You should be a teacher!"  Oh, how I still miss teaching!  The truth is, though, that whilst I am an excellent teacher, I am horrible at school politics.  I left because I believe that students needed to read their books, take their own notes, and study for their exams.  That stance was at odds with how colleges were beginning to cater to students.  I do not know, had I remained in public schools, if I would have succeeded.  However, finding a job in public school with a Ph.D. was as impossible as finding one in the business sector.

One of the things that I first noticed about my cognitive decline was my growing confusion with technology.  When I tried to talk about it, folk would scoff at me and treat me like I was hinting for compliments.  I wasn't.  I knew what was beginning to happen in my brain.

The days when I can understand technology have long, long gone.  And I am to the point that I simply refuse to try things that will confuse me.  I don't discuss it.  I actually try to hide it.  Not from pride, but from exhaustion.  I am weary of having to convince others that I am confused and struggle with so very many cognitive tasks.

Well, I read an article that strongly recommended that you back up your data.  I am probably the last person who doesn't use the "cloud."  As long as I have had an iPhone, I have backed it up to my computer.  Then, I regularly back up my computer.  Back-ups, I understand.  Clouds are a mystery to me.  The problem is that, with my broken rememberer, I have come to rely more and more and more my Awesome Note app.

It is a note app, that has grown and grown and grown in capabilities.  I, however, still just use it for note.  You can organize your notes by folders and I very much depend on those folders.

The one I have used the most is the shopping folder.  I keep a running list for each store I visit in that folder.  I also have specially running lists that I stick at the end by putting the letter "z" in front of them.

Since I mostly re-read now, I have the need for ready access to the order of the books in my favorite series.  You know, because I cannot remember what order they are even though I read and re-read them all the time.

I haven't been all that great at recording information that is important for my doctors to know, but I am trying to get better at that.  I start and then fall off in my diligence.

My latest folder is for the tasty (but a tad unhealthy) treats I will sometimes have.  Since my ice packs take up so much space in my freezer, I have those treats just in their bags, rather than in their boxes.  So, I created a folder for their cooking times and temperatures.

I have folders for hymn lyrics and house tasks and financial jobs and To-Do items and family info and liturgies and songs that I want to buy and online viewing (streaming) and things that are important to me.  I adore this app and depend on it more and more.

One of the upgrades Awesome Note did a few years ago was to make it so that you can sync it with Evernote.  I created an account and tried that, but I ended up with duplicates and a mess in my folders.  So, I stopped trying to back-up my folders.  But now I needed to know that all my notes would be secure if I lost my data in the current iOS upgrade.

I am very, very, very proud to note that I figured out how to 1) create a back-up of my folders and 2) how to use Apple's iCloud feature to back up the back-up.  Actually, what I think I did is 1) sync all my folders to the Cloud and 2) create a back-up and save that to the Cloud as well.  This was a monumental accomplishment.  As in ... I should be given another advanced degree for learning this because it is that much of an accomplishment for me.

Of course, it turns out that all that worry and hoopla was for nothing.  The operating system upgrade on my phone took forever, but it went without a hitch or glitch.  All my data was present and accounted for once I was done!