When spam was ham in a can....

     It took me a long time to embrace modern technology. Three years ago, the only thing I could do on a computer was send and retrieve emails. And even that didn't always go well. Until a few months ago, I didn't even know what spam was. I always thought it was ham in a can. It never did appeal to me, so it made sense when people would use that word with a look of disdain on their face.
    
   I've come a long way, and I am proud to report that I am completely self taught. Which means that I have made a a lot of mistakes along the way. I have unknowingly breached online etiquette, unwittingly looked like a nit wit, and have often appeared downright ridiculous as well as unsophisticated. But, I learned a lot.

    Early in my timid exploration of this form of communication, I was invited to join two online communities. One encouraged participation and dialogue among it's members. I guess the other one didn't, which I discovered after committing an online faux pas by responding to a conversation. Apparently the "conversation" was all one sided, and I was rewarded with a very public, brutal and humiliating verbal attack. Online, of course. My "friend" would never have the nerve to speak to me that way to my face. I was so upset I had to seek professional help. It took a few weeks to realize that I wasn't the one that had the problem, but it still took a while to recover from that. 

    I did recover, and I got back on the horse (or the keyboard) and continued to learn the magic of modern technology. I still make mistakes, and sometimes I make the occasional and unintentional faux pas. I just don't beat myself up over it anymore, nor do I let anyone else do it, either.

    In reality, I really am an old fashioned kind of girl. I prefer face time over screen time. I prefer holding a hand instead of a smartphone. To me the sound of a voice is much sweeter than the sound of a keyboard. Most of all, I prefer a lively conversation rather than the silence of a written response. After all, I can talk faster than I can type, and with a lot less mistakes as well. 

    Besides, I'm also a people person. I love meeting them, talking to them and working with them. It is my life's work. I need to embrace that part of myself just as I continue to embrace this wonderful but often confusing high tech world we live in. 
  
    But, I still do miss the days when spam was ham in a can. Everything just seemed easier back then. 



Be healthy!
Cheryl Ilov, PT, GCFP