Boasting

After reading Betsy's latest blog about her recent adventures, I realize I should be tooting my own horn a bit about my life, rather than just chronicling it. It's a realization I came to a while ago, that I am not selfish enough, and take too much time worrying about, and taking care of, other people and their projects, instead of taking care of me and going for the things I want in my life.

When I look back on my 61 years, though I must say this last year has been a bit dreary, adventure-wise, I have done amazing things. And even though in the past year, I have pretty much stayed put here in the PNW (although I did go to South Africa last year right around this time) I have put my time to good use.

Mostly, I have transferred what I know and have done for the past almost twenty years of editorship and photojournalism into becoming a multimedia communicator. Back in 1996 in the early quokka days, my interest was piqued by the technology we were using to create the first multimedia web site - that was WAY before anyone knew what multimedia web sites were! My first real taste of it, besides writing and photographing the sailboat races etc and waiting for them to be processed and "pushed" onto the site (usually crashing it) was working with the IT geniuses to create the very first race viewer. I just had a sense then that they could do it, and with no technological training on my part, asked for things I wanted it to do that had never been done - and they figured out how, and it worked!

So I was hooked!

I have watched technology blossom into what the internet has become, and at times felt so overwhelmed by it all, had to leave it alone, not having the time (and often the inclination) to keep up with it.

But it never got too far away from me and so when www.mymixednuts.com came along, I figured, hell, I can do this. And did it! And although I am probably old enough to be most of the young IT guys who work on the site in India's grandmother - or at the least, mother - I have kept up with it. And now working with wicked-pr, I am learning the subtleties of Search Engine Optimization.

Many times I wish I wasn't chained to the computer and was out adventuring like Betsy is. And then I think, "I know I will be out there again soon," but next time it will be with a video camera and laptop doing podcasts and other cool stuff. I am looking at what I am doing as my own personal university (seeing as I never went to one as a youngster) and plan to get as much out of this time as possible. Although often it is frustrating and taxing, other times it is exhilarating, like when the site got relaunched on Friday and it looked great, until I found that all the pages I had worked on for two weeks were missing! Frustration! Actually, I was totally pissed off and in tears about it after going to bed really late the night before, getting stuff done and then getting up at 4 to catch the guys in India before they left for the weekend. So of course, nothing could be done and I have had to cool my heels over the weekend and wait for them to come back to work tonight.

And I also know I must write my "memoir," not necessarily for general publication, but for my family and my grandchildren, because there is so much that I have done, and so many places I have been that very few people see or do. And I don't want those memories to disappear when I head off into another dimension.

So in the meantime, I am enjoying the wonderful spring weather, and working on my Kangen water business. And I am congratulating myself that I have my first team member join me! Thanks Pam, we are going to grow a great team and make lots of money that will fund my travels and adventures!