Betty Behemoth Part 2 of 3

Technology!!! (Grrr….)

The following are conversations I’ve had with myself trying to use the tools of technology. (You’re in for a ride!)

(Like I said before, describing the process of “Betty” is a different sort of post. I’ll be back to my normal style after she’s done, I promise!)

The iPhone

Someone graciously gave me an iPhone (pretty amazing, huh?) so I could connect more via texting. When all this started I was barely learning how to text, let alone learn everything else! My words are in blue below:

“What?  I tried to turn down the volume on my phone and I put it on mute?  All these text messages came in and I didn’t hear the pings??“

“Oh, when you swipe in the Gmail app on your phone it doesn’t delete messages in your Gmail itself? Bummer.”

Understanding and using Facebook!?&!

Figure out how to comment on and “like” posts, not comment on the wrong line, not hit “send” when you only want to hit “return”…

"This wikiHow teaches you how to create a line break when hitting enter in Facebook Messenger instead of sending the message. This is only necessary when using the Facebook website, since the Enter/Return keys are separate from the Send button on the mobile app.”    

“Ahhhh, okay, so you use “shift+enter” when you don’t want to hit “send” by mistake (and look really weird to the whole world)!!”

“How am I supposed to keep up with my friends as I try to scroll through their stories everyday? Facebook determines what I see and keeps updating constantly? WHERE did I leave off?“

Yeah. I know, I know, …I’m so far behind!!

I see all your eye-rolls!! 😉

Check Gmail, check regular email, check phone, check blog, check GoFundMe, check CaringBridge, Check on the kids????  Check differently on various devices (phone, tablet, computer)…Do you press that or tap that or swipe that?

Snail mail?

“Oh dear, I really should write an old-fashioned letter – Those are so fun to receive in the mail and I know others feel the same way.”

“Wait – WHO are my friends I need to keep up with? And what WAY do they like to communicate?” (text, email, phone call, fb messenger)  –-Oh, yeah…. “There’s an app for that!!”

So, the app is downloaded. ✅ – It’s called: “BOND with people that matter.” (I’m sure there are more sophisticated apps, but I was desperate to get some sanity one day, so that’s what I got.)  I can put my peeps in there and say how I want to communicate with them and how frequently (because that’s what you do when you start having memory problems!!)  

“But wait!! I downloaded the app awhile ago and I “forgot” about it!!  Can someone come over here and teach me how to do this thing? 

Oh no….can’t do that now. It’s pandemic-time.”

The Computer

Switched from my beloved Windows 7 to Windows 10 because support expired, and everything looks totally different!!  Pressing the Windows icon at the bottom left:

“Accch, STIMULATION OVERLOAD!! What’s all this? Create, Play, Explore options and a million colors and icons on the screen?  Get me outta here! Can someone PLEASE come to my house to get rid of this for me?  Just give me a calm wallpaper and a few icons please!!!”

Email

“WHERE did my SIMPLE Outlook go?” 

I google and find that others are having the same problem with missing their old Outlook with updated versions, but there is no solution to making it look like before – Alas!….

“Oh, yeah, I just remembered! I need to keep building my email contact list.” (Long story why it’s not ready to go right now.)

“Oh dear, I need to learn how to mail merge. Didn’t I do that ONCE a million years ago?!” Hmm….

Lastly, I discover that the links on my Youtube video were wrong when I first released “Betty.” I was logged in as “administrator” on the GoFundMe site and on my blog when I copied the links, so the links were broken to people viewing on their end – grrrr……)  The links are fixed now!!!! 👀 😃

Learning Curves!!!

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not doing ALL of this DAILY in a flutter. Truthfully, half the time I’m standing in the middle of the family room saying to myself:

“Whahhhdya supposed to be doing NOW, Laura??”  🤣

When technology gets overwhelming, I walk away and sometimes remember to:

simply PRAY

because James 5:16 says, “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.“

Then I just move on to the next thing I CAN do.  Maybe at most, I do two or three of these things in a day.  And that’s just fine! Because, this fuzzybunny needs to remember:

Aren’t you glad you don’t have to DO anything? That God loves you just the way you are! – JP

One of my goals regarding Betty was to connect and communicate with people. A side benefit is that I find writing therapeutic! 😉 While I obviously desire to raise enough funds to work on the cancer and improve my health, my deepest desire is that we would all draw closer to the Lord through ALL of our experiences in life. This post was more about the practical steps involved in the creation of Betty. In Part 3, I move into more of the spiritual outworkings in my soul.

I am your

fuzzybunny