You know that feeling you get when the electricity goes out during a storm, and stays out for more than a few hours? That disoriented feeling as you try to remember not to open the refrigerator more than absolutely necessary, when you shake your head as you walk into a different room and flick on the light switch from force of habit even though you’re holding a flashlight in your other hand, and when you start to wonder – especially if you have an electric stove – what you’ll be doing for dinner, since even microwaving leftovers is out of the question.

I’ve been going through a spell like that this week, although it wasn’t because of a lack of electricity. It was a lack of computer. And just as power outages remind us of how much we depend on electricity and take it for granted, the same goes for my computer.

My old computer – emphasis on the word “old” – had an operating system that had become obsolete, so we bought a new one. Due to several other issues, including an accidental deletion of programs and files that had just been transferred to the new computer, I was without my computer at all for a few days. This was very disorienting, even though I still had access to the outside world through my cell phone and landline.

I didn’t enjoy feeling like I was just marking time until my computer was up and operational again and I could get back to normal. And I didn’t like admitting to myself that “back to normal” means spending a fair amount of time each day sitting in front of my computer, whether it’s to read or respond to email, catch up on news, or work on any of my writing projects.

I’m happy to report that I am now, indeed, back to normal – although I’m still catching up on some things that slipped by the wayside during my downtime, and I’m still getting used to the new computer and some things that are operating in different ways than I am used to. But I know I’ll get used to them in time, and that I’ll enjoy and appreciate the upgrades and improvements once I do.

As long as the electricity doesn’t go out anytime soon.

January 24, 2020
©Betty Liedtke, 2020

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