Sunday, April 1, 2012

One Little Word Blog Hop - April Edition on Storytelling Sunday

Hello! Whether you arrived here from Kara's blog as part of the One Little Word Blog Hop, or from a linky from Sian's blog as part of Storytelling Sunday, or you are here because you love me and drop by regularly... Welcome! I love visitors!
The entire One Little Word blog hop goes live at 8:00 a.m. Pacific (11:00 my time) so if you are early, just check back later to catch everyone!
Today I'm going to tell you something you don't know about me, but you have to promise not to laugh first. 
Promise? 
Because this is kind of embarrassing. 
I mean really, PROMISE??? 
okay, here goes...
...
...
I'm afraid of technology.
There, I said it. I'm afraid of technology. I can't pick up a device and just start playing like my kids do. Yes, you'd never know it seeing as I have a blog and obviously know how to create a post. And I digi-scrap and clearly have learned my way around (at least parts of) Photoshop Elements. But really and truly, technology scares the beejeebers out of me. All those buttons. How do you know which ones to push and what they do? And why oh why does nothing these days come with an owner's manual or written instructions??? ... really, it's terrifying.
This is terrifying:
THREE remotes. At our house it takes THREE different remotes just to operate the DVD player. I had never learned which buttons to push for what because someone else was always around to start the movies.
Apparently, the silver one powers up the television. The long one is used to change the "input" so that it is pointed to the DVD player instead of to the Comcast box. The last one actually operates the DVD player.

I got these exercise DVD's for Christmas:
I tried to use them in January when I was away at a scrapbooking retreat - tried to play them on my laptop. And couldn't get either one to work. No surprise... the laptop doesn't come with instructions either. Bleh.
But I really did want to incorporate these into my "movement" routine.
As the March assignment for One Little Word, Ali asked us to commit to "one little thing" - one action related to our word. My word is FOCUS - and for March I was focusing on MOVEMENT. And I wanted to start using these videos.
So I committed to getting Jay to teach me how to use the DVD player. And then to actually use those DVD's at least three times each.
(Note: I still have plenty of the page protectors from last year, so I'm doing the March assignment with those, not how Ali has it set up this year).
I made that commitment back on March 2nd or 3rd. And then ignored it. For half the month I did nothing to honor that commitment. Not only was I skipping out on moving a lot of days, but I had also gone hog-wild (pun intended) eating every kind of bad carb imaginable. I couldn't get enough sweets.
And by mid-March I was ready to write off the entire month as a failure of epic proportions.
But as you can see, I didn't! 
On the 18th, I finally prevailed upon my dear spouse to teach me how to use the DVD player. I learned what all THREE remotes are for and which buttons to push. And I wrote it down in a notebook because I knew I would forget!
Of course, I did forget. I had to refer to those notes the next three days in a row as I started using the DVD's. But I finally got it! I no longer need the notes, I know how to operate the DVD player, and I have put the DVDs to good use.
I have conquered my fear of the DVD player and the stack of remotes that go with it.
Now if someone could teach me the finer points of using my Blackberry...

If you want to read more stories, visit Sian's blog for all the links. If you are following along for the One Little Word Blog Hop, your next stop is Catherine's blog. If you get lost or a link is broken, you can come back here or go to Margie's blog to find your way.
Jen      www.jenritchie.com
Kaylea    www.myscrappylife.com

25 comments:

scrappyjacky said...

I have to ask for help with the DVD player as well.....I really need to learn to do this by myself....well done to you.

orange gearle said...

This cracked me up! Thank you for sharing your secret!

Sian said...

I am a complete technophobe and I am delighted to see that Jacky has already owned up to her DVD shortcomings, which are the same as my own! Honestly it was scrapbooking that got me into learning how to press any buttons at all - before I started I barely even emailed anyone, had never been on an online forum and didn't even organise my photos on the computer. You are not alone!

Missus Wookie said...

I empathise - we have three remotes to opperate things in our living room plus the Wii remote which we use to watch iplayer. Sheesh. Nice to see you are using the Pink Paislee page protectors as well - do love their interactive aspect.

Ruth said...

You are absolutely not alone in this ~ well done for persevering!

debs14 said...

I guarantee that whichever remote I pick up , it will be the wrong one! And then I'll point the tv one at the dvd and wonder why it isn't working. So pleased to hear I'm not alone!

Maria Ontiveros said...

I totally hear you! I have given over learning how to use technology to the kids. I simply refused to learn how to do things and told them that if they want to use the stuff, they have to figure it out!
Rinda

diane said...

I have a fear of technology too!!!!!
LOL
I just love reading your blog!
:-D

Ginger said...

yup - you definitely are not alone on this!! Hubby and I just had a disagreement this morning about my shortcomings! I don't mind learning how to use things, but sometimes it is jut so complex!! Good for you for learning how to use those DVDs!!

Anonymous said...

love your story (am a complete technophobe aswell).....

kelly said...

this is just so awesome! our home theater system is something of an electrical engineering marvel so i totally get it. LOL :) congrats on your accomplishments. oh and i love your page design!! well done! love, kelly

ScrappnBee said...

LOL! I can totally relate! The first time that we had pizza & movie night after my husband deployed my 3rd grader had to start the DVD! I am now proficient as well...but it took me almost 3 months! Love the use of the 2011 page protectors! Thanks for sharing and hope to see you next month as well! -Amanda (Scrappnbee)

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your month! I feel like such a motor moron when it comes to remotes, my blackberry, the internet (it's embarassing to not really understand hashtags!). And congrats that you were able to pull yourself out of the sugar haze. I guess it doesn't matter where you start as long as you end it in a different place. Thank you so much for sharing. Have a great April!

Karen said...

I am no fan of remotes either, and frequently have to try several things before I can get them to work the way I want. My daughter has been teaching me the finer points of several apps we both have on our phones (via our phones!). I am not a person who just plays around, so lots of times I only utilize a tiny portion of the features of any software or technology. You are not alone!

JulieJ said...

My Mom has a similar problem - except she doesn't even understand how they all fit together and work. And the Wii doesn't get used because they can't figure out how to get it going.
Conquer your fears - just think what's the worst that can happen? It's not like you're going to break anything and generally turning things off and tuning them back on usually resets everything.
Alternatively get SCART cables and a system that automatically sets the TV to the right channel when you turn on the device.

JulieJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
jillconyers said...

What a great post! Love how you prevailed :)

Alison said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog...glad that you got to the DVDs eventually..it's a great sense of achievement when you actually work out what buttons to press!
Alison xx

Melissa said...

Go you! I'm so excited you took action! :)

furrypig said...

congrats on conquering your fear, we have too many remote controls here I get confused sometimes!

alexa said...

I don't like all those buttons either! and struggle to remember them - though truthfully, it's partly because it doesn't matter to me that much whether I watch a DVD or TV or not! You have done well to conquer your anxieties and any inertia and you are inspiring me to shake off my own. :)

Melissa said...

We have FIVE remotes that go along with our TV, DirectTV, DVD/Blu-Ray player, VHS player (yes, we still have one), and the sound system. I have finally mastered them all and can exercise to a VHS or a DVD at anytime . . . so why aren't I?? UGH

Enjoyed reading about your fear, and I definitely didn't laugh because I'm still putting off upgrading to a smart phone!

Cheryl said...

I can relate to this - I screw up playing the DVD every time I try! Congrats for conquering it! I just spent my first cup of tea catching up on your blog, oohing and ahhing over your LOs. They're all beautiful! I especially love the one of your cats, the soundtrack of your life, and the two girls, one cake. I hope you are feeling well and that you have a happy Easter.

Anonymous said...

This made me smile! Great post (and sorry it took me so long to hop).

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Oh, Cheri, I smiled and nodded all the way through this post! I seriously wouldn't know how to play a DVD on our TV if my life depended on it. I'm proud of you for taking the time to learn the process though, and maybe I should do the same!