Women Are Like a Bag of Tea!

Eleanor Roosevelt once said that women could be compared to a bag of tea, so you only know how strong it is after it comes to a boil.

I have been boiling since Thanksgiving all due to my computer woes, old hands that knot up and skip a beat, a slow brain that does not understand new technology and a severe lack of patience.

Transmitting a howling scream of frustration in words on a piece of paper seems impossible, unless I think of myself as a tea bag dropped in boiling water and left to stand for hours on end.

After months of my right hand little finger hitting the insert key on my laptop and deleting, rewriting, and moving the words around, imagine the feeling of hot tears running down my face and my heart racing because my brain told me I couldn't do it. I couldn't finish my writing project. I couldn't type. I punched the wall of negativity with my voice in a low growl eventually elevating to a roar that sent the outside birds at the feeder to the nearest bush. My right hand pounded on the table. Storming out of my studio I bundled up and stepped outside to kick the soccer ball with Murphy. 

One ball nearly flew over the fence, and I watched Murphy turn and look at me as if I were superhuman. I finally buckled in laughter and frustration. 

With my mind and brain swept clean of cobwebs, Jack and I sat down to use his computer to see if it (not me) typed any better. It did not.

Little did I realize the concept of when and how I learned to type, 1963, made a difference in what my fingers do or don’t do. My fingers learned to type on a typewriter with a large space between the keys, much like the original keyboards with a desktop. My fingers and brain had no training at keeping my hands close together on a tiny laptop computer!  That knowledge or language alone would have helped to ease my frustration.    

However, on Jack's laptop with a slightly larger keyboard we accidentally discovered that Microsoft Word 365 gave me more options and a more efficient spell check for writing blogs and my Miami Country Club History writing project. We bought the program the next day, along with a new HP printer. 

Even with Microsoft 365 my fingers still created errors. At last, I called my neighbor, Stacie, and begged for help. She walked down that cool evening and downloaded the program successfully and shared some geeky info on steps and processes. Once she understood what my fingers were doing, she turned to me and said, "You need a new keyboard." 

Unable to grasp why a new keyboard would help, I also discovered the next day that my downloaded Microsoft 365 was not talking to me or the computer because I have two Google accounts and we downloaded it to the wrong account. How does that seem possible!

The next rescue came from Karena at Norman Nerds, who cleared up my mismatched google accounts and a few other errors. She also pointed her finger at me and told me to buy a new keyboard. With an online search she pointed out which one to purchase—the one with the dastardly "insert" key placed off to right bottom, away from disaster’s results. How sad to think that one key could make a difference in how a person computes! 

Wavy Keyboards for those over '60. 

*Logi Tech MK670 Combo, Wavy Keys 

With the purchase of a new wavy keyboard and another month of learning where function keys are and how they work, I began to relax. Thanks to coaching from Karena and young folks at the Norman Public Library I use the Microsoft 365 to type all my blogs and then transfer to the Blogspot pages. 

I also have learned that standing 5'4" and sitting in chairs made for larger adults can present issues on reaching the keys comfortably. I have learned to balance my elbows (since the chairs arms don't pull in enough to support my arms) on my torso so that there is no stress on my shoulders or elbows. Large chairs cannot accommodate my small stature. 

Before I add up the cost on solving the problem with my stiff fingers, let me share that a hidden costs that came in the evenings when I consumed several bottles of wine over the holidays. No, I am not proud. 

As for the tea, I discovered that I am mildly strong woman who might have made Eleanor proud. I begin the day with a mild tea and end the day with a herbal tea, and I still am using the computer and writing. 

**On a personal note, I highly recommend Bloomin' Desert Teas. Rosalind recommended that I drink the herbal Ginger Tea, and that has settled my stomach and nerves each evening and allows me to enjoy the evening without my tasty wine. Jack much prefers the "Red Rooibos" teas. 

I’m only getting healthy and my computer skills have improved with age!