I have an unusual job this morning. A magazine editor contacted me yesterday and asked if I would update an article I wrote for him in 1997. The article has some tips for staying connected with your long-distance grandchildren. Since technology has changed in the last 15 years, they will need a revision before publishing that piece again.
Speaking of technology, I had an email conversation with a friend this week about using wireless services when traveling. Most hotels and motels—even bed and breakfast establishments, etc.—offer free wi-fi. But the hotel where I stayed in San Antonio did not. There was a daily charge. I learned that if I joined their hotel membership program, however, all charges were dropped. The membership is free. There are other benefits as well—some of which I hope to use at some point in my travels.
My friend mentioned that she needed to be hooked-up while traveling to her computer, Iphone and Ipad. I was surprised that someone needed all of these things when traveling. I carried my computer this trip and my cell phone, camera and Kindle and that was almost electronic overload, when you consider all of the plug ins, battery chargers, etc. But she had even more gadgets and evidently has different uses in her business for the different communication devices. She lost me in the explanation of it all.
Remember when we could travel with a small purse (for women) and maybe a newspaper in hand for men? And you dressed for the trip—no shorts, sweats, tanks, flip flops or even jeans. You simply walked into even a busy airport a few minutes before your flight, strolled directly to your gate, got on the plane and flew away. While in the air, you were served a meal—as I recall, at no extra charge. And the flight attendant spiel did not include mention of electronic devices.
Yes, I’ll have quite a few changes to make to my 1997 article on how grandparents communicate with their long-distance grandchildren when I work on that article this afternoon. But first, I have to check email in 3 different places, check cell phone messages to see what time my daughter wants to walk this morning and email my mom in the next city to make sure she is doing okay this morning. I could go on facebook to see what my own grandchildren are up to this week—one just got back from Florida, another is heading for Tahoe for his wedding anniversary, another one is scheduled to fly his plane in a competition and I’d like to learn whether one got the job she was applying for.
How long does it take you to check all of your electronic devices each day? How much time do you spend in communication mode using electronics? I’d probably be surprised by your responses.
I have a couple of editing jobs coming in. But they won’t take long in case you need help with your manuscript. Contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com. I’ll give you a free editorial evaluation and sample edit.