By Joe Rector
I’m perplexed right now. Things are bouncing around in my head that have me so confused that I feel like screaming. Of course, any time I use some electronic device, I make a mistake that brings on panic and frustration.
I wrote a column on Monday. I felt proud that for once I’d completed my work so early in the week. I left the piece on my Chromebook and turned the machine off. I always go back to read my work and make changes in wording and grammar. I finished that today and sent it on to my editor. She wrote me back this afternoon to suggest I look at my work because the one I’d sent had already been published. Well, DUH! I felt like an idiot and opened Word to get the right piece for publication.
When I looked for the correct column, I had no idea what I’d titled it. That’s my age showing, isn’t it? My next action was to go through the most recent pieces that the program listed. This unknown titled column didn’t show up at all. For a couple of hours, I’ve searched to find the darn thing, but I’ve had not even a close call in locating it.
The only thing I can think of is that I didn’t save the work. Why would I do something so ridiculously stupid? Yes, I struggle with using Word on this Chromebook. Things are much different from my old computer. I’ve not found a way to write pieces in Chrome and then send them to my editor, whose technology is set up in Word.
The same problems arise when I use my phone. To be honest, all I want from a phone is that it allows me to make or take a call, that I can send a text message, that I can check email, and that it plays my music. I’m not much into all the grand apps that others use. Games don’t grab my attention, and I don’t really care how many steps I take; if I take enough, I’ll be tired.
Of late, I am struggling to sync my phone with my watch. It seems as if any time I do something to one device, the other one goes haywire. Instructions on what to do to fix problems on either one baffle me. Most of the time, I can’t even begin because I don’t know where the right button to push is. Some people have watches that can serve as phones. All I can ever think of when I see someone talking to a watch is Dick Tracy.
I am concerned that many of the problems I have with these items are the result of my age. I just don’t think in the same ways as younger people do. My grandson asked for a graphics card for Christmas a few years ago. He and his dad were building a computer. We gave him the money for the part because neither Amy nor I had the slightest idea what the thing was. My grandson is building computers, and I can barely use one.
If anyone out there knows how to write in Google Docs and then send them as Word documents, please get in touch with me. That would make life so much easier. Oh, and if anyone sees a column running around, grab it and send it to me, or please tell me how to find the thing on this Chromebook.
