Computerized Family

 

 

Passions!
By Michelle Pitman

I'm talking about those little obsessive things we do that nobody else in the family understands! Those hobbies and interests in life that take us out of the real world and into a unique realm beyond distraction and pragmatic awareness. Like the painter who becomes so focussed on his current work that he cannot hear a phone ring or music play, we all have something we love to do so much, we tune out everything else. For some it's a craft, for others it's a book, for me it's the computer!

I cannot now imagine life without this contraption. I spent years computer-less and ignorant of its many attributes. I nursed my babies without online "support" forums. When my husband and I disagreed over something, I didn't pour out my troubles on the boards. I shopped locally and banked at the branch, down the street whereas now I can choose to shop and pay bills online. We conducted our business on paper, copious amounts of paper, but now I just click the wages or invoices through. Today, our business is done with electronic software rather than pre-printed forms from the local stationer.

I wrote copious amounts into journals and diaries with a pen but now it is the keyboard that thrills me. I sought my information from the local library but now I wonder how I did without a Google toolbar*. I used to keep recipes on scraps of paper in a drawer but now I can keep a recipe file on my computer. I can, if I choose to, do my budget, plan a roster for the kids in Excel™, and keep my CDs coordinated in an Access™ database. I write my blogs in Word™, do the church newsletter in Binder™, an Quota: unlimited - not sure what this does to my hosting space - I was told to keep it fairly cleared out if it's webmail. I’d keep track of my schedule in Outlook™**. I write more e-mails now instead of letters, and I can have more mailboxes inside this one box of wires than a post office can provide me in a single lifetime!

Once upon a time, I lived for my books. I was a bookworm whose level of concentration when reading was so great no earthquake could've roused me from the page! These days, as my eyesight begins to struggle with tiny text, I find that it is "easier" for me to read things here on the computer, so this is where my new hobby has become my obsession. The computer combines effortlessly the two greatest loves of my life, reading and writing, serving them endlessly and beautifully.

Sometimes I fear that I'm going to look like a computer soon. I'm sure I noticed that my eyes had taken on a distinctly square shape when I last looked in the mirror. I live, breathe, work, and entertain myself these days all on the computer. Without it, I tend to feel like a ship lost at sea with no idea in which direction is land! As much as I love my husband and my children, without the computer to give me respite from the demands of being a wife and mother, I think I'd have gone spare long ago!

Here under my fingers is the power to express my deepest thoughts, joys and fears. Here online in the evocative virtual reality of the Internet, I can engage with friends, read about lives, study a course, experience a wonder, and laugh at something stupid. The paddocks of this phenomenon are so many, so diverse, so packed with interesting things to discover, I am aghast when others in my 3D world claim complete ignorance of its potential and little desire to discover it!

My eleven-year-old daughter gets frustrated with me. She notices me at one of my favourite chat forums. She chastises me in her childish way, claiming that "The Boards" must be more important than her needs, which right at this moment is a serving of ice cream.

It's true that this obsession, this passion I have for the Internet and the computer can make me singular in my focus! I struggle, endlessly, balancing the duties of being a partner and parent with my own "need" to be engaged inside this virtual world.

I'm not an introvert; I don't use the Internet to isolate myself in order to re-energize. In fact, I am an extrovert of the first order, clamouring for information and interaction with other people in their writings, their ideas, in chatrooms and weblogs, forums and possibilities.

I love both my worlds! The real world and the virtual world! I am passionate about my family! I am passionate about my friends! I am also passionate about the world here online and the opportunities this technology has given me.

I live a full life and it's wonderful! I'm passionate about that!

*http://toolbar.google.com - All about the Google Toolbar
**http://www.microsoft.com/ - Access™, Binder™, Excel™, Outlook™, and Word™ are all trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA.

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Known as Mitch to her friends, Michelle has been writing since childhood. She has a passion and love for the English language and used to read the dictionary in Primary School "just for fun," much to the dismay of her classmates. She has written skits and short plays for church groups and has had many of these published online at www.dramatix.org and in print [Mega Drama: Reproducible Christian Drama Resources. Volumes 3, 4, 5 & 6. Openbook Publishers Adelaide South Australia 2002]

From Horsham, Australia, Michelle has been married to Greg for 13 years. They have two children. mpitman@AdviserCentral.com


 

 

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