Saturday 25 September 2021

Medal

 I am awarding myself a medal today - alright, so it is big-headed but I think I deserve one!

My computer skills plus my ever-worsening shaking hands mean that by no stretch of the imagination would you call me 'computer literate'.   Yesterday, with the help of friends S and T I also bought a new'run of the mill 'mobile phone.  So far so good.

After breakfast, when my carer had gone, I thought I would have an hour trying to get to grips with my new phone.   It reminded me very much of when Windows 10 in their wisdom decide to change for instance the format of e mails.  They often give you a choice and say you can stick with the old way if you like but then - reading the minds of the people who have changed it - you know that in about a month you will have to do it anyway, so you might as well do it now.   For two or three days it is absolute murder sending an e mail because you keep forgetting the new format, then suddenly - without warning - you have got it and have completely forgotten how it used to be.   Well that is how my mind works anyway.

And so it was with my phone.   I am struggling.   I sent S a text and accidentally sent it in three parts because I kept somehow pressing a 'send' button.   When she finally rang me it was to say had I sent her some gobbledegook (well she was tactful enough not to say that, but it was, I assure you) I had sent it to her landline anyway.   And as she was gardening I don't expect she was jumping for joy.

I persevered and sent one to my carer half an hour later - she confirmed it had arrived .   Step one completed.   Then I decided to empty my old texts (well over a hundred) - had a few attempts which failed but finally found the right button and it is now completely empty.   Then I went through my list of people I wished to have listed in my phone book - cleared it out nicely.   Jobs done.

Then I went over to my computer where my Grandson sent me a resume of 'American Gods' by Neil Garman, which is our Book Group book.  (not for the faint hearted).  It is his favourite book and he is doing some sort of higher degree in English at University.   I wanted to print it off to read at our meeting.   Could I remember how to copy an e mail and print it off?   It is ages since I did it.   I struggled, rang my son and he kindly talked me through the process without losing his cool - heaven knows how as he had to keep repeating himself.   Eventually I did it, thanked him, rang off and went to my printer (also quite new).   I started the process and on the little screen it told me that the paper was jammed.   Could have been the last straw but no, I persevered and finally have done it.

Medal awarded for perseverance - off now to reward myself with beans on toast with plenty of brown sauce.

32 comments:

The Feminine Energy said...

You do indeed deserve that medal!! If it had been my phone, it would now be somewhere in the backyard, thrown there by me!! :-) Enjoy your meal as you've more than earned it!! ~Andrea xoxoxo

Tasker Dunham said...

I think that's worth both beans and eggs on toast. It's what we had last night, akthough it wasn't earned.

JayCee said...

Weaver- 1
Phone and printer - 0
Result!

Rachel Phillips said...

That's a brave thing to do to cull the phone number list.

Joan (Devon) said...

Well done to you! I don't know what I would have done as I'm afraid I have no understanding of technology at all. Even my mobile is an old Nokia as I haven't any patience in learning how more up-to-date models work. Well done again.

Virginia said...

“You’re a better man than I am, Gungadin” YOU ARE INCREDIBLE! Your new phone will give you good service, if you persevere in learning it’s tricks. I know you said it wasn’t an iPhone but I’m presuming it’s capable of connecting to the internet? Most of my friends now use our phones exclusively- no land line left !

Woohoo! Clever you!

Virginia said...

Yuck! Correction! “It’s tricks” should definitely read “its tricks”. I HATE autocorrect that is autoINcorrect!

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

You deserve a medal after that lot. I'm usually fine with my laptop but I detest all kinds of phones and only use my mobile for emergencies.

Sharon in Surrey said...

Congratulations!! I still haven't figured out how to delete my old messages & phone numbers on the damn phone. And I'm still using the one that's 6 years old so I don't have to learn how to use a new one . . . .

Yellow Shoes said...

I'm possibly an exception but I've loved tech stuff since I could afford it.
My dream of owning an iPhone and a MacBook Air has finally come true and I'm a very happy septuagenarian!
Both come with no instructions but I've loved learning, with the help of YouTube.

Sue said...

Awesome! I'm ashamed to say that I rely on Paul to sort my phone out.

Heather said...

You most certainly have earned that medal - congratulations. I've had a new mobile phone for months and am still waiting for my daughter to have enough time to sit down with me and explain how it works! I purposely bought the same model as hers to make it simpler for her. I can use it for phone calls and accidentally took an awful photo of myself, but don't know how I did it! Such is the extent of my technical skill.

Bonnie said...

Congratulations! A well-earned medal for perseverance, patience and talent in learning new electronics, a challenge indeed. When I get a new phone, it seems to take me a bit to get used to it and then I am fine. It sounds like you are doing a quick job of learning your new phone!

CharlotteP said...

That's really impressive...still thinking about getting a 'smarter' mobile...do I really need one?
I had a good day today, too. A very kind friend came over and finished scraping my ceiling; in exchange for a dinner of fillet steak - a very good deal (for me!)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Well done to you Anne -I lose patience with any technical stuff before I start - I just seem to switch off.

I did try this afternoon to down load the instruction book but got half way through and then something went wrong - I see I have the icon on my desk top but nothing emerges when I press it.

Tom Stephenson said...

Well done Weave.

Terra said...

You have earned that medal. We are lucky people around us are patient. I saw a cute cartoon with a young grandchild disparaging a grandma's computer or smart phone skills and grandma saying "I taught you how to eat with a spoon." I thought that was funny.

Susan said...

Great job Weave. Technology is not intuitive yet you accomplished everything that you wanted. You earned that medal.

Debby said...

You earned your medal AND your beans!

Red said...

Your medal is fully deserved. I can tell you that it's very difficult to start with something new.

Brenda said...

I use iPhones and iPad easy
HP laptop easy
I need a new phone
This one is at least six years old

Cro Magnon said...

My Canon printer jams regularly; I think I need a new one.

Derek Faulkner said...

Like I commented on your last post, my phone is basic and simple, technology can be far to stressful to some of us, especially when things like phones expensively up-date at regular intervals.
Have you tried the various flavoured baked beans, I only eat the Heinz Curried Baked Beans, they're delicious, hot or cold.

thelma said...

Clever you. I'm Android but family is Iphone (I think I got that right) so I can't upload the family calendar of who is where. Note; I am not a robot in disguise!

Jennyff said...

Well done, you have more patience than me. I’ve had a pay as you go mobile phone for years, I never use it, it’s for emergencies. Recently after our landline contract ran out MrFF decided we’d just use our mobiles and persuaded me to have a proper contract. So far all it’s done is run out of battery, I’m recharging it almost every day but don’t use it.

Sue in Suffolk said...

Well done you!
I need a new phone, keep putting it off as I dislike having to learn new gadgets

Rachel Phillips said...

Once you have a smart phone one usually follows on from the next and there is little or nothing new to learn, especially if one sticks to Android technology which has no glitches and information is transferred from one phone to the next.

the veg artist said...

Well done you! I felt like that when I set up an on-line account for my electricity readings. We always had a local chap who came to read the meter, but I received a letter last week saying that they were very behind due to C., and would I enter my readings on-line. The process for doing so was simple, much more user friendly than such things were a few years ago, but I can't help but feel sorry for the meter reading people who will now be out of work. (I know, it's cheaper, but people need jobs too!)

Rachel Phillips said...

I haven't had a meter reading in at least 10 years so meter readers have been out of a job here for a long time. I give my own readings via an old fashioned landline.

Derek Faulkner said...

I'm the same as Rachel, although for the last couple of years the readings have been done via a Smart meter.
I do insist though, on going through a manned checkout in supermarkets.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Derek I shall put curried beans on my order. I always have Heinz anyway.

Thanks everyone - I am making slow NS steady progress.

Joanne Noragon said...

Well done, truly.