Sunday, September 19, 2010

Is it Friday yet?


Well, I guess that's a pretty silly question since it is now Sunday and the DREADED MONDAY is only hours away.
This past week, my IPod touch died. Yes, just died. I had it on my computer recharging, and the screen went blue. The Ipod wouldn't turn on, no matter what trick I tried. Finally the ITunes icon showed with the little cord thing requesting me to plug it back into my computer, where I was told that it was wiped and needed to be reset to it's factory settings. I did, and every file, that wasn't an App, was wiped from it's memory.
You probably don't understand who awful this is for me. It probably seems like audio files are the casualties, but that is the least of my problems. Right now, my husband, a daughter, and I are going to a bunch of different doctors. Many of them are new to us. Many, I don't know the names of, only where their practices are, sort of. So, not only do I need to deduce the doctor's name, and then find their telephone numbers by calling the referring doctor's office, I also have to find out when the appointments are.
Thankfully, my previous PDA, a Palm Pilot, still has files on my computer (to the best of my knowledge, IPods don't do that with your calender or contacts) from pre Christmas 2009, so the damage isn't as bad as it could have been.
From now on, my handy dandy IPod will be for playing games like Bejewelled and listening to audio files. But for serious matters? My trusty Palm Pilot, that I bought when it was already a late model, and now I've had it for five years.
I have to say, I'm really surprised that my earring give away has only one entry. According to my counter, I've had a bunch of visitors. So what is going on?
Tomorrow is Scary Monday, which I always look forward to. Thanks so much Wendy for putting it together, and thank-you Lily for pointing me me in that direction!
Monday is also the 20th anniversary of my brother Michael's death. He was only 17 at the time, exactly a month away from his 18th birthday. He had graduated High School the previous June, had a girlfriend and loved computers. He was also one of the early, dedicated gamers and loved Metal. He and a friend had tracked down Dio in Connecticut and got his autograph. Michael was buried with it. He had wanted to get Ozzy's autograph also.
My Michaelmass daisies buds are starting to swell, and they will bloom soon, usually in time for Michaelmass on the 29th. They always make me think of Michael. I wonder, if he had lived, what would he be like? Would he have "sold out" to society, and cut his long blonde hair? Would he be married? Would he have children of his own? Would he still be a gamer? Would he have still loved computers?
I often wish that I knew someone with an age-progression computer program. I would love to see what Michael would have looked as an adult.
Instead, I remember him as my baby brother with long blond hair that flowed behind him, as he did his "rock star gait,' with a light sprinkling of freckles across his nose. Still and always, just a kid.

6 comments:

Sunny said...

Do you think we rely on electronic devices too much? I don't have an iPod of Palm Pilot, but I do use my desktop computer extensively for all my financial information. I try to back up regularly but always have a horror of it crashing and losing everything.

Mary Bennett said...

I think I do. I just live in a really small house, and trying to keep track of address books etc is hard. My little Ipod that goes into my pocketbook, is soo much easier! Plus, if I'm running late to a Dr apt or whatever, it is so much easier to have all my info with me. But when it crashes???? Oh my! It's days and I'm still trying to recover.
The Palm Pilot though sycranizes right to the computer, so if it ever does crash, all my info is right on the puter. And I can print it all out too. Also, you can put so many more notes on your contact list or calendar than you can on the Ipod.
The altenative is to cary around a DayRunner, and they are sooo heavy!

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Hi mary, many thanks for visiting me over at Pen and Paper where the kettle is always on. Nice to have met you, sorry to hear about your i-pod we don't realise just how much we rely on them until something goes wrong, I've enjoyed my visit.

katlupe said...

Mary, I am sorry about your brother. 17 is such a young age to die. I bet he would have still loved computers! Especially since he was into them at such a young age twenty years ago. {{{{HUGS}}}

Mary Bennett said...

Kathleen, thank-you soo much. Today is the hardest day of the year for me. So many seem to think that I should be "over it" by now, which makes me feel more alone.

Linda Pressman said...

Mary, thank you for visiting my blog the other day. I'm over here visiting you and now following.

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your brother. I'm so sorry. It's wonderful that you're able to keep the memory of him alive by writing about him and letting us know him too in a small way.

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