progress

the operating system for my 'new' computer has finally arrived (one of those great deals through work things... took forever) so i'll take that to my my computer whiz kids, who built me the 'new' computer for Christmas. and hopefully i'll be back blogging at home soon. this sneaking in a few minutes at work doesn't go far.

:o)
gf

life goes on

it's such a treat to have some down time. studying for the exam took up every waking hour for several weeks. suddenly i have a life!

but still no computer at home, so the blog time is minimal. this is my coffee break at work, just now.

so, now that i have some idea why this cyber-neighborhood is such a thriving community, i'm wondering what your 'space' is like. from 'why do we blog?' to 'where, and how do we blog?'

when i'm at work, i'm at a very big, quite pretentious desk, as i work for a big oil company - the first person everyone sees as they come in the door - and presentation is everything!

but at home i'm usually in my jammies and slippers or comfy jeans, a t-shirt and big wooly socks, as i sit at my own desk with a cup of herbal tea. i'm surrounded by pictures of my kids and friends, piles of books and sheet music often as not heaped on most every horizontal surface. there is a tall, thin window flanking each side of the desk and the room is flooded with natural light. everything in sight is 'vintage' and comfortably worn.

where do you blog?

resolution

finshed the exam with 81%... back at work

nerves

i'm sitting in the exam room at the local institute for higher education, awaiting the beginning of an on-line accounting final exam

nervous

WHAT IS TAKING THEM SO LONG!!!!!?

still in limbo

i'm still without a computer at home, so can only peek a bit at work during lunch, etc. and my blog visits are few these days.

it's deep winter here in waynorth, but she's been uncharacteristically gentle so far this year. the long range predictions are that she'll continue to be. though i lived in the Yukon for 6 years, and thoroughly enjoyed the winters there, i've come to hate the intense cold so common in the north. this winter has been like something out of a wonderful dream. there's an outdoor skating rink just down the street from my house. i'm working up the nerve to dig up a pair of skates and try it out. i loved skating as a child. one of my former violin students is now studying architecture in Ottowa. i have this idea i have to make a winter visit to her before she finishes, and skate on the Rideau Canal.

i told a neighbor about my dream of skating the Rideau. he proceeded to tell me a lovely story about his grandparents' courtship. he was a violinist, living in Ottowa - she a nun there, who played piano. they began as soloist and accompanist. he used to skate along the canal, carrying his violin, to go rehearse with her. all very romantic. of course, my neighbor wouldn't be here to tell the story if they hadn't fallen very much in love, married and had children. now i really have to skate on that canal.

i blog, therefore i am

i love research. especially primary research involving contact with other people ... i suppose because we humans are such fascinating, many-faceted creatures, and i'm very much a herd animal (small herds). and in researching a subject, we LEARN about it.

i learned a lot from the answers offered to the question, 'why blog?'

i'm also slow to warm to technology. if the technological progress of the world were up to me, we'd all still be cooking on wood-fired stoves, (whid i did for many years) or over a campfire (which i've also done a goodly share of). i'm not AGAINST innovation... i can, and do warm to things that prove themselves useful and worth making the adjustment for, but they must prove themselves first.

on the other hand, i spend much of my workday at a computer, employed by a company that keeps on the leading edge of technology in its industry. And i enjoy it... it's that love of learning.

so i guess it's only natural that i approach this whole blog thing with much curiosity and a sprinkling of skeptical caution.

WHAT I LEARNED

a blog site is a very personal, very private place where we don't have to please anyone or follow anyone's rules but our own. a blog is a 'ME' thing. something we do just for us. no one knows what we need better than ourselves. our needs are many and varied. it seems that no one person, or even one family, or possibly even one community can meet all our needs. it's a healthy thing when we realize that, and realize also that it's not anyone else's job to see that our needs are met. our own wellbeing is our own responsibility.

a little selfishness is a good thing

though my exposure to the blogger population hasn't been huge, i haven't come across a single person who appears to take this to the extreme. all so far seem to have pretty rounded lives outside of cyberspace. sites are filled with delightful photos of friends and family, breathtaking scenery, art and craftsmanship, exchanged recipes, encouragement, exchange of ideas and advice.

a common thread is a feeling of uniqueness. that we're not quite the same as those around us... even those close to us. that, though we may well be where we are, with whomever we're with, for good reasons, and in good situations, there are still needs unmet. so we look to enlarge our cirlcle of acquaintance, and of experience, to include those things that our nearest and dearest have no interest in. and hopefully, they do the same.

ideally, our lives are like trees. our roots are firmly where they are, but we're reaching out, growing larger and stronger, and encompasing more all the time. this electronic link to another part of our world is one branch of a life that, if we're healthy and strong, provides shelter, nurture sustenance and stability to those who live in it with us.

BUT... the skeptic says...

this is all very pleasant in a comfortable, intellectual way. i sit at my computer, still in my jammies and big wooly socks. it's half past 12 on New Year's Day afternoon, and i'm leisurely sipping on steaming mugs of my favorite tea, waxing philosophical. no one is going to conradict me or interrupt me as i peck away at my keyboard. if my opinions cause someone to roll their eyes in derision, i won't see it. if someone scans what i've 'penned' and snorts, "boring", the words never reach me. for the most part, only those of like mind, who enjoy this sort of cereberal ping-pong will respond...

there are no blogger neighbor's dogs dumping steaming piles of previously enjoyed Ken-L-Ration on my lawn. no dying elderly neighbor who needs the garbage taken out, or his feet washed or toenails clipped. i don't have to deal with anything unpleasant on any but a superficial level.

so is this just another earmark of our consumerism? are we just shopping for disposable friends?

grannyfiddler