Sunday, November 4, 2012

A Low-tech Blogger Strikes: Memory Booster


Have you ever run into an acquaintance at a party who gushed about how good was is to see you again, and you could not, for dear life, remember her name? That blooper happened to me recently. So, I decided it was time for some memory boosters.

We all know about the benefits of physical exercise, socializing, a good diet with lots of fish, and mental  calisthenics. The only problem with me is lack of ACTION. So I am now trying to incorporate most of these memory boosters in my life.

As a form of mental calisthenics, I chose to learn how to use the computer beyond word processing and email. I know, I’m such a Troglodyte. But hey, I’m guessing that some of us have children, grandchildren, or office staff who do the fancy things for us like Keynote, PowerPoint, iMovie, spreadsheets, graphs, etc.

This might sound silly, but the first thing I did was make a notebook using an old Economist Magazine cover especially for my notes on how to operate my laptop.

I have to jot down my daughter’s coaching/instructions. You see, I get confused and overwhelmed by all the icons, tabs and dropdown menus. Sometimes, okay- several times, I accidentally deleted files, or copied files in the wrong folders. Whenever those things happen, I remind myself that I survived catholic girls’ school (at least until first year high), and I won’t let this two-pound bundle of microchips intimidate me.

By referring to my notes, I have so far made two iMovie videos of pictures taken during family activities. Feeling more confident, I thought of blogging. So here I am, trying out for the first time, something that a lot of others have been doing for more than a decade. I feel the way I felt when I first learned to ride a bike. And like that long-ago time of scrapes, skids, and exhilaration, I intend to continue blogging, mis-steps, mistakes and all.

What about you, what kind of memory boosters are you doing?


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