Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Abandoned

Monday was David's birthday. The BIG birthday, 21. He's in Texas for his internship, but that didn't keep Susie and me from celebrating.


In absentia birthday cake

We took a video of us lighting the candle and singing Happy Birthday and sent it to him. Then we ate all the blondies ourselves. It's the thought that counts, right?

Remember David? He used to be our tech guru around here, before Brian was old enough to care about such stuff. Larry and I were terrified when David departed for college, left alone as we were in a sea of technology we didn't understand. As it was, Brian stepped in to fill the gap and we've been happily coasting along on his know-how for the past 3 years.

But now Brian's left us, too. And, as if on cue, my computer has gone berserk. First the sound got stuck at 100%. That's LOUD, in case you were wondering. No matter which sound thing-y I used  - keyboard buttons, slider on the monitor, slider on the actual video - I couldn't get the volume to decrease. In a panic, I hit a bunch of buttons, then I hit mute and it shut up (the mute button hadn't worked previously). Now I can't get any sound at all.

I look around to see who will fill Brian's shoes and things don't look promising. Rachel couldn't care less (although she could probably figure these things out), and Susie refuses to even consider any tech beyond her beloved YouTube, filled as it is with ukulele lessons and crafting tutorials.

Hyacinths, courtesy of Susie and YouTube

There's no one to save me this time. I'll become the old person Brian has grown to dread - the one who shows up at Best Buy and peppers him and other sales staff with myriad tech questions, all accumulated since the last time their grown kids visited at Thanksgiving. Or maybe I'll end up having to beg random teenagers in the neighborhood to solve my computer problems.

Think I can bribe them with some paper flowers?


9 comments:

  1. I'm no tech guru but an in-depth Google search and lots of tech forums usually save the day for me. Good luck getting the volume issue solved. I hate computer problems!

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  2. AnonymousJune 14, 2018

    maybe you'll find a neighbor kid with his mad skills? That would be a tough loss. Though those paper flowers ARE really pretty...

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  3. Google generally helps me out. But the trick is to make sure you phrase it *just* right. I'm still looking for the magic phrase that will lead me to the solution of why my phone - and only my phone - drops our home wifi all the time.

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  4. Oh and happy birthday to David! And I love those flowers.

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  5. Our ENTIRE family dreads getting the "tech call" from my parents. One time, after my parents returned from vacation, my mother grilled me as to why I never answered any of her texts. "I sent you so many beautiful photos and you never responded!" As it turns out, she was texting everything to OUR LAND LINE. Enough said.

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  6. Happy birthday to David! I still get that jarring paradigm shift whenever you mention how old your kids are. I mean, *mine* have grown up but why aren't yours staying the same age?

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