Month: March 2017

Outrunning Technology

/ Cat Harvey / Leave a comment

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So, I have a new laptop.  It’s only my second laptop.  My first laptop still runs.  It’s just that it has Windows 8 on it, and I hate it.  But my files are still on it.  So, I’m writing this on the new laptop, and I’m really liking the feel of it.  With as much writing as I do, I have to love my laptop.  So far, so good!
 
This laptop is a beast.  I tend to stick with machines for a while, so I need to get the best in class when I finally upgrade.  I always get the most badass cell phone on the block.  Then, I take care of it.   So, it still works well years later, when I’m getting laughed at for being out of date.  I usually get shamed into upgrading.
 
I sold computers in the nineties, when most people did not have a computer in their home.  I usually had to talk in analogies, since people would come in and say, “My kid needs a computer for their schoolwork.  I don’t know anything about computers.”  I said things like “Your hard drive is like your closet.  You put things there when you’re not using them.” Customers said things like, “I’m going to buy this computer, but only if you guarantee that I’ll never have to upgrade it.”  I would answer “You buy a new car.  It will stay good for a while, then you have to change the oil.  You have to buy new tires.  Eventually, it makes sense to buy a new one.”  I wonder if any stubborn customers are still using their Packard Bell.  Hmmm…probably not.
 
The excitement of AOL chatrooms.  The ba-ding-ba-ding of your 14.4 modem.  Good times.  The thing is, it was all so new and modern. We couldn’t even imagine then that people would walk around now with computers in their pockets, or strapped to their wrist.  At that time, cell phones were hard-wired to your car.  Big bulky things, and you had to pay someone to move them when you got a new car.  Now, your car tells you if someone is driving in your blind spot.
 
The point is, in twenty years we will be doing something that we cannot even imagine today.   And, it’s hard to think about what you can’t even think about!
 
I hate to dwell on it, but I wonder how the flying cars are coming along ?????
 
– Cat
 
 
 

What’s Holding You Back?

/ Cat Harvey / Leave a comment

 

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We don’t all strive for greatness.  Some people are content to just put one foot in front of the other.  Getting through the day is important, but it that all there is?

I think that most of us can agree that we need to do a better job with keeping all our plates spinning.  There’s a lot of buzz about work/life balance, but let’s face it; most of us struggle with the juggle.  Special shout out to career minded grown ups with little munchkins at home.

It’s still self-doubt that trips us up in the end.  The negative talk we generate in ourselves can really stifle our dreams.  Like any new habit, resolving to stay positive takes a while to get the hang of, and even longer to make it stick.

There are a million and one excuses and victim statements that keep us from leading the kind of life we want.  We don’t have enough education.  We don’t have enough money.  We don’t have a significant other.  We don’t like our job.  We’re too tired, depressed, angry… whatever.

Are you happy thinking about the reasons you can’t live the life you want?  Or are you ready to actually get started working towards some life goals?  Do you have a clear picture of where you’re going?  Maybe you’re on your way.  If you are, reach down and help the next guy up. We all need encouragement.

This week, try to identify and remove one negative self talk tidbit from your life, and replace it with a new positive affirmation.  If you think it sounds corny, keep doing what you’re doing.  If you’re interested in positive change, give it a try.  It’s free!

-Cat

Quotable Quotes

/ Cat Harvey / Leave a comment

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I’m not sure why he came to mind tonight, but he is a person that I treasure in my memories.

I graduated from high school early, when I was sixteen years old.  The only way you could do this at the time was to take Summer School English.  Senior English was always British Literature. I had taken a lot of English courses, even English electives, throughout high school.  But, nothing in my education remains with me like the Summer of Mr. Meehan.

The students in this class couldn’t have been more different from one another.  People graduating early, people repeating the course after failing.  I befriended a girl that was pregnant after her Junior year. Going to high school while pregnant just wasn’t done back then.  So, we all had different reasons for winding up in Mr. Meehan’s class. Because it was Summer School, it was a concentrated course, every day for three hours.

He was a big fan of Marshall McLuhan, and was fond of reminding us that “The Medium is the Message”.  He loved photography.  He was devoted to his wife, and talked about her often.  But, one of the things I loved most about the class was that every day, everyone had to bring in a “Quotable Quote”.  So, here were teenagers from all types of backgrounds, finding meaning through words every single day.  I did not understand how powerful that was at the time.  We would start class by going around the room, sharing a quote.

Mr. Meehan retired in 1995 from teaching.  I looked him up online, and found his obituary from 2007.  It was on a Washington Post archive page, sandwiched between two ads for a Jeep Renegade.  Ironic… the medium is the message.  I’m not sure how he would have felt about that.  He did have a great sense of humor.   There were lots of students who poured out their hearts in the guest book on his obituary.  So, I know I’m not alone when I say he played a big part in my education and love for language, words, literature, and quotable quotes.

Here’s one for the road:

Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.  – Malala Yousafzai, activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate.

Goodnight, Harry *

-Cat