Technology and I, a love story?

My husband and I have a love/hate relationship with technology! In large part because the essential nature of technology is constant change. We don't like change. Once we figure out the text-book-sized, how-to manuals for most new electronic gadgets, they either become obsolete or they break, after the warranty expires, of course.

Even though the DVD revolution happened more than five years ago, we have only owned a DVD player for one year. Honestly I just didn't, and still don't, understand the attraction. So far, the only bonus from DVD's has been the ability to watch the extra features at the end of the Napoleon Dynamite movie, but other than that, videos work just fine for us.

Our most recent leap into the world of technology is the new 27" TV we bought a couple of weeks ago, which is giant compared to the 20" TV we have owned for years. People have been known to take a look at our previous TV and make statements like, "That's the smallest TV I have ever seen, can you really watch anything on that?"

The two things that bring me the most joy and the most stress, technologically speaking, are my cell phone and my computer. Both are incredibly convenient and easy to use, while at the same time both can be a thorn in my side. Here's why:

CELL PHONE
LOVE IT: The convenience of leaving my house and having a way for my kids and my hubby to reach me is wonderful. Honestly, it puts my mind at ease. And who can get enough of those adorable little ring tones!

HATE IT: They can find me! "Who?", you ask! My family, of course. They just don't understand that, occasionally, under my usually calm exterior lurks a stressed-out mommy trying to run away! One who need some UNINTERRUPTED time! When will they learn?

COMPUTER
LOVE IT: Ease and convenience are the hallmarks of the computer. Online banking, shopping, email, and, my personal favorite, blogging! All of these amenities without piles of papers to mess with!

HATE IT: The computer seems to be aware of my level of need when it decides not to work. Only when I desperately need to check my bank balance or when I have a fabulous post to blog, does it fail me. Now, for me, the Control Panel and My Computer are the only avenues I am familiar with to fix the computer, and believe it or not, that puts me light years ahead of my hubby! Of course, we know some "computer people" who always say witty things like, "All you need to do is...XYZ," or, "Just play around with it, you will figure it out, you can't break it!" Well, when we first bought our computer, I decided to be casual and unafraid and I played around with it and then spent half an hour trying to remove the software CD from the floppy disk drive it was stuck in. This was the end of playing around with the computer! I have since learned that not using the computer for a few days often fixes minor problems.

So, there's my story. Can't live with them, can't live without them. Don't they say that about men, too? Maybe I can address that issue in another post. For now, my husband and I can be found in front of the DVD player, trying to figure out how to set the clock so it will stop flashing "12:00", 24 hours a day!