I'm Lindsay Ferrier, a Nashville writer with a passion for family travel, exploring Tennessee, and raising kids without losing my mind in the process. This is where I share my discoveries, along with occasional deep thoughts, pop culture tangents and a sprinkling of snark. Want to get in touch? Use the CONTACT form at the top of the page.
November 11, 2005
So now that we’ve made the horrible mistake of buying 15 an iPod for her birthday, we’re frantically pouring all of our earnings into trying to make the damn thing work.
$200, a computer technician and several hours’ worth of updates later, we’ve yet to download a single song. I won’t bore you with the details, but they involve a wireless router, a network, and a renegade laptop with a mind of its own.
I’ll master this problem, though. I just know it… Yesterday, my computer guy told me I have the mind of a techie.
“BWAH HA HA HA HA HA!” 15 burst out, doubling over in laughter when I repeated the “compliment” to her later.
“The mind of a TECHIE?! Yeah, right!”
I expected a more appropriately awed reaction from 12 when I repeated the story to her over dinner.
“HEE HEE HEE HA HA HA HA HA!!! Yeah, right!” she chortled into her hands.
Hmm. Was my family doubting my intellectual abilities?
This morning, I called my professional ubernerd for a little more help. He walked me through a complicated set of instructions that involved deleting a network gateway.
“Okay, so now I see a little green thingy on the bottom right part of the screen? It’s blinking. Okay, so I’m clicking on it. And now there’s a box. I’m going to hit “no.” Okay?” I said, cradling the phone between my shoulder and jaw.
“Exactly!” he chirped on the other end of the line. “And do you see that red thing on the left?”
“Yeah, I just clicked on it. Okay, I deleted it. Yeah, it’s deleted. The thingy is blinking now and the little orange thing is gone. Hey, it’s working now!”
“Great!” he said, excitedly. “Hey, you did really well with this. You really could be a tech, you know.”
“Yeah, well tell my family that!” I snorted.
“I’m serious,” he insisted. “I’m looking for some new IT people for my business and you’d be perfect for that. You’d make a great apprentice. Not that you’d ever want to change careers!” he laughed.
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” I said. “Hey, thanks for helping me. Take care,” I said before hanging up the phone.
Great. I used to get invitations to party with rock stars. Now I get invitations to learn how to be a geek.
And according to my family, I don’t even qualify for that.
“I still can’t download music,” I whined as Hubs watched me futz with the laptop for a few more minutes this afternoon. “Every time I try to download iTunes, I lose my Internet connection.”
“So it’s still not fixed?” Hubs asked.
“Nope.”
He shook his head.
“But I can do it,” I pouted. “I know I can. I’m a techie.”
“Honey,” he said, putting his hands on my shoulders. “I just don’t think you’re techie material.”
Hmmph. I think I detected a note of jealousy in his voice.
My family’s doubts and derision have only made me more determined than ever to prove them all wrong. I’m going to establish a wireless connection, all right. The best damned wireless connection anyone’s ever seen. They could never be techies. But I could.
Darvin said so.
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