My life in Mac

Who would have thought that a big city girl with her big city dreams and a husband who supports Apple Computers like they’re going out of style, would have fallen prey to the world of Mac? I’ll be the first to admit that I did not think it could happen to me. Growing up we were very fortunate to have computers readily available in our lives. We attended schools that supported technological education and our mother made sure that there was always one working computer in the house. Now, those first few computers had one color screen (green), accepted both floppy and hard disks, and Oregon Trail was what I seriously thought the West was like. Eventually our lives were “upgraded,” whatever that meant, and we were on top of the world with our ability to chat online and look up information that was probably sort-of true at times.  I never really payed much attention to whether or not I had an Apple or a PC. I knew that there was a difference, but it didn’t seem to matter. I cruised through my freshman year of college sharing one desktop computer with my 3 other roommates. We had dial-up internet and while it may have taken 45 minutes to log-on and check our e-mail, we somehow managed to share and even got a few papers typed and printed. Mind you, back then we were not required to type our papers and I soon learned that handwriting took up much more space than printed pages and so I often stuck to the handwriting to fill those 5-10 page papers. Still there were those suckers who thought they were so cool with their fancy fonts and double spacing. Way to go you!

I eventually made it through college, learning how to download my syllabi and assignments off the internet. In some classes I was lucky enough that the professors actually put their lecture notes online after class. I was also fortunate they didn’t grade students on attendance back then, at least not in the classes I was taking. Our university’s computer labs were upgraded and I enjoyed the free internet use in the public libraries. That was where I had my first real Mac experience. There were very few Mac’s in that lab. PC’s dominated the horizon. I would usually just sign up for the first available computer and scurry on over with my backpack and winter coat and boots and gloves and scarves and lunch and well, let’s just say I had a lot of stuff with me. I quickly caught on that the Mac’s were always being reserved for the IT students. That intrigued me and yet caused a bit of fear in me as well. They all had such stern looks on their faces like they were doing something so important us mere mortals would never understand. I steered clear.

The rest of my college career was spent on a variety of PC’s and eventually a HP laptop. I was content. No, I was more than content. For a long while I was happy. Things got done, papers were written, research was completed and my means of communicating with the outside world was up to par. I moved out of state and took my laptop with me. Things were going so well until my boyfriend at the time bought a Mac. Something in him changed. It was subtle, but after a while he was speaking a language I couldn’t understand. He was speaking of things that were beyond me. That were beyond my PC. He was speaking Mac.

I ignored it for so many years. And then I married that Mac man. I stayed on my side of the couch with my PC and he stayed on his with his Mac. We didn’t cross contaminate. Then Christmas 2006 found itself on our doorstep with the looming lure of a Macbook Pro. John got it and convinced me to take his old Powerbook. I did so reluctantly. I didn’t really care what type of computer I had, I just needed a way to use the internet and respond to e-mails. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like change. In fact, I loathe it. But I thought I’d give the Mac a chance.

The whole reason I’m writing the blog is because I’ve had a change of heart. Last week I was asked to helped a friend out on her computer. I was lost, shocked, maybe even stunned to find myself trying to navigate the miserable patterns of the PC world. I found myself with a pounding headache and a new appreciation for the features my computer offers.  I am embarrassed and proud to be a part of this new club.  We go to an Apple Store almost every month even though we know exactly what they carry.  We even go there when there are no new products to buy.  We dream of Apple products that will revolutionize our TV watching experience and we talk of the latest applications.  I admit that I enjoy using Mac’s in school technology labs and I can help most K-6th graders with their Mac questions or problems.  I am happy with my computer.  I am happy with my Mac.

This blog is dedicated to my husband who deals with my insufferable inability to handle change…

Setting the Cruise Control

John and I (along with a few of our friends) went on a cruise in the Western Caribbean. We staked our claim on the Carnival Valor and set sail for the open waters. Did you know that Valor actually means: boldness or determination in facing great danger. That really set my mind at ease! Miami was our first port and went spent some time at ports in Grand Cayman, Honduras, Belize and Mexico.

This was my first cruise AND my first time out of the United States (wait, I did spend about an hour or so in Canada as a child). We had an extraordinary time and my favorite memories include:

Getting lost in Grand Cayman with the Cannon’s and finding the prettiest little beach, Snorkeling on the Barrier Reef in Belize, Snorkeling and swimming in Cozumel, playing Mafia (I’m still not sure who to trust these days!), Eating dinner with our friends, My 2-year Anniversary actually spent with my husband!!!, the waiter who announced “Oh, so you want the cheap wine then!” but in an accent that made me question his intentions in stating that, finding out that the tv stations were all Denver local channels (how unusual), watching a guy walk into a statue (from the motion of the boat) and then angrily staring the statue down, walking on the deck on a very windy night, towel animals, falling in love all over again.

Once back on land, I spent the next day swaying back and forth and occasionally grabbing for a rail or counter top to steady myself. I guess all that time rocking on the boat had changed my sense of balance and stability, although you’d also think that after 8 days on a ship you would start to get used to all that motion, and yet I never did!

We were so happy to be in the States that we practically volunteered for Jury Duty. As random as the selection of jury duty may be, somehow John and I ended up being called for duty on the same day. We both served and never actually made it on a jury panel. I did learn some interesting things about our government and spent time near the offices of Mr. Hickenlooper. What a great name!

Summer is swell

I do believe the last time I posted I was making references to John and I riding bikes. I believe it was soon after that time that we stopped riding our bikes. You see, the snow melted and we soon discovered that we had 3 flat tires out of a possible 4. I think on an essay that would have gotten us a solid 75% grade. However, in flat bike tires it quickly amounts to a lack of bike riding. It is now many months later and we have finally repaired those tires. Thank goodness, because in those four months we certainly could have used those bikes to, ummm, stop world hunger or something. My, was that really 4 months ago?

Since then so much has happened. You may have read from John’s blog that we moved. Rather quickly at that. In fact, many of our friends and family weren’t even sure where to find us. To this day, Fed Ex cannot properly deliver a package to us. We keep receiving a message that “our address is incorrect or cannot be found.” I can assure you that our address is correct and can be found and unless our home is something like the hidden home of #12 Grimmauld Place in Harry Potter, and Fed Ex is controlled by Muggles (as this is a kinder word that I can use for them than what I would like to use), then there should be no problems. And yet…there are problems…lots and lots of problems.

Uh hem, back to my blog. So we moved and our home has now been deemed the “Summer house” by our friends because of our access to a pool, tennis court and the “oh so glorious” Wii. It’s enough to keep us busy and mostly out of trouble. We’ve had a few fun adventures this summer. I went camping in the mountains and had my closest experience with bears ever. Close enough to freak me out and send me scampering through the woods back to our campground (I mean, who wants to be walking in a field of bear poop anyways!) We’ve now been on a few bike rides and gone rock climbing. The rock climbing isn’t all that bad once you get up the treacherous hike that nearly takes your life on the way up. We also had a nice trip to Oklahoma to stay on our friends houseboat. John had his first experience on a wake board. He was also quite the chap at both water skiing and tubing. I rather enjoyed relaxing in the sun reading Harry Potter. At some point this summer Relient K’s bus caught fire, we went to a Rodeo and we’ve had lots of family members and friends come out to stay with us. Needless to say there has been constant excitement and activity around here. Hardly a dull moment at Hacienda Warne’s.