What did we do without the Internet? No doubt we all got by just fine, but it’s just so easy to find and communicate with each other now we can search, email, chat, blog…
And even though I complain about email - I find it difficult to manage and often very badly used, especially in the work situation - it does have its benefits.
Yesterday I received an email from an old school friend. We went to primary school and high school in Malaysia together. It was good to hear from her, because I have been very slack about keeping in touch and had lost her email address. She took a punt and searched at MPOW (I have been there long enough now!) and found my work email address, and so we are now back in contact. This time, S, I promise I won’t lose your email address!
I’ve written in the past about family members all the way in distant Netherlands finding me and writing with news. It’s strange thinking of these people I am related to, so far away, and whom I have never met.
Even here in Perth much of the family uses email very effectively to organise events and keep in touch. It’s a very useful tool when you’re trying to get ten people together for dinner, or to sign the document from the Public Trustee organising Mama’s estate.
Published on 20 February 2007
in renungan.
What have I got to be grumpy about, really?
I’ve just been looking at the online diary of Saad Eskander, the Director of the Iraq National Library and Archive. The challenges he describes - I can’t imagine living under such horrendous circumstances, much less trying working in such conditions!
In December last year, he wrote:
On Sunday, I learnt that Ahmed Salih, who was on leave, was murdered by a Death Squad in his own house. Ahmed came from a poor family. After his father’s death, he raised his younger brothers and sisters. He worked very hard to educate them. I also learnt that Ahmed was engaged to a girl two weeks before his death.
On Monday, I received more bad news. The older brother of Maiadah, who works in the Periodical Department, was murdered by a group of terrorists.
I can’t imagine turning up to work not knowing if I am going to survive explosions or kidnappings, or if all my colleagues are going to turn up that day.
Thanks to NightHawk for the link.
I think I’m Unreasonably Grumpy about things at the moment.
Listening to the radio this morning, I felt really annoyed at the fact that one of the AsiaPacific journos keeps referring to the Japanese royal family as the Chrysantheum Throne. It’s the ChrysantheMum Throne, Linda LoPresti! Tsk!
Ah. It was good to write that gripe down, because I suddenly no longer feel grumpy about it. Just amused that a radio journalist can consistently make a mistake like that.
Come to think of it, most of the other gripes I had seem completely inconsequential, now, too. Some should not even have made me cross - like hearing the news that Elizabeth Jolley’s passed away (I thought, “Damn it! Not another death!” I did say I was unreasonably grumpy, didn’t I?).
And one peeve, it’s just occurred to me, might be worth researching further and could even be the subject of another paper. Hmm…
