Changing With The Times

Do you realize that we are almost a full decade into this millenium? It’s 2009 and times are a-changin’! I’m sitting here with a computer on my lap, typing a bunch of mumbo jumbo that I’ll eventually shoot off into cyber space for you to read. And who are you? Some of you I know, some of you I don’t. You’ll fire up your laptop and open your Google Reader and Roots & Rings will be bold. You’ll click on it and read something written by some girl in Texas. Very, very weird.

They say that every time you buy some new fancy piece of technology, within months (or even weeks) it’s already out of date. You spend $200 on the latest cell phone and a month later a new version comes out. One that can do something especially fancy, like turn on your oven when you’re at work. I just realized that my laptop has one of those webcam things attached to it and lookie here, I can take a picture of myself while I’m writing. This is what I look like when I’m blogging… only I don’t smile the whole time. And sometimes I blink.

This is when people often pull out the term “old soul” and throw it in my face. It’s probably true. Besides my email addiction and this little site here, I’m pretty out of touch with technology. Before I got this new fancy cell phone a few months ago, I always had the freebies. I couldn’t understand why anyone would need anything more. Now I check my email at stop lights.

But as I take a look around, I see how technology seems to intertwine itself into my life. Instead of consulting cookbooks, I pull up Recipezaar or Pioneer Woman on my laptop in the kitchen. I listen to music online at work because I can’t stand to listen to flushing toilets or burping men any longer. I snuggle in my bed with my laptop and catch up on television shows I’ve missed.

I think there are some things out there that I just can’t quite get the hang of. Ginormous flat screen televisions. I’m not on that boat yet. I have yet to be able to justify spending that type of money on a product I already own. I have a television. I actually have 3. They all work and have remote controls. Why in the world do I need to spend a few weeks’ pay on a new one?? I’m just not there yet.

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post that began with words like WordPress, Google, Stats, Bing, and click. It confused my mom. I guess she doesn’t understand the irony behind the sentence “I googled something on Bing today.” She’s not there yet.

Technology has always been changing, things have always been improving. I’m sure there was a caveman who looked at fire and thought “I’m just not there yet.” Or when the first car was invented, someone probably thought, “You know, I think my way is working just fine. I don’t understand this car thing. I’m really not there yet.” And so on.

This Saturday I was having a discussion with a few people about dishwashers. Someone said that they felt bad for people who didn’t have dishwashers. Having to wash everything by hand, how unfortunate! But then what’s even more shocking are the people who own dishwashers but never use them. “No thank you, I’d rather soak and clean these dishes by hand. Machines aren’t better than people.” I don’t get that.

Then someone chimed in with one of the best stories I’ve ever heard in my life. I will call this person Petunia. Her name is not Petunia, but I don’t know anyone by that name so it seems like a safe enough alias. Petunia is a sweet woman… Arguably the sweetest woman I’ve ever had the opportunity to know. She’s cute and thoughtful and did I mention that she was sweet? Because she is so sweet, I will not give her away. I will just tell you her story.

During this dishwasher talk she stated, “Well when I lived in my first apartment I had a dishwasher but I never used it. I washed everything by hand.”

We turned and looked at her. “But why, Petunia? Why would you do such a silly thing?”

She had her answer ready for us and in the most serious tone she answered with genuine honesty. “Well you see, I used the racks to file my bills.”

…I’m sorry, what? (It should be noted at this time that Petunia is one of those ‘accounting types.’)

“Well yeah. I had to. I didn’t have a file cabinet back then.”

I think that’s when I peed my pants.

Petunia needed file cabinets. But dishwashers, well, she just wasn’t there yet.