Where have I been?

Well, folks, I got a brand new Apple Macbook.  And therein lies a tale.

I'm semi-familiar with using a Mac, having used Mac Minis for a few years.  However, I was using a keyboard and a monitor I already had, because that's what you do with a Mini; which is why they are Apple's cheapest option for a computer.  The current Mini is running so slow, especially when working with photos, that I avoid it at all costs.  A tech said he could put a solid state drive in it for $500; he said it's slow because the system can't handle the latest updates.  So I could have spent less money doing that.  But I do like the idea of having a laptop, sitting in an easy chair to write my blog, which is the only thing I couldn't do to my satisfaction on the iPad.  There are apps for blogging, but I found those wouldn't let me do a very long entry because after a certain point, I couldn't scroll down to write more.  Pictures were a problem, too, with the apps.

So here I am, the proud owner of a brand new but more expensive Macbook ("expensive" is one of those words you could qualify by asking, "more expensive than what?).  

It reacts smoothly and quickly when I surf.  I actually do like it very much!

BUT:  On my Mac Minis, I never spent the time I should have to learn many of the perks, shortcuts, and so forth of a Mac.  The older I get, the less I like having to learn new things, and I've always been lazy, going with the flow.  So I made do and thought nothing of it, using my own workarounds.  You know, being too embarrassed to ask questions of my Mac-wise friends because I knew I'd appear stupid.

Guess who's doing her best to learn those tricks now?  This seventy-five-year-old woman, that's who.  And I'm getting there.  You see, I hadn't used a keypad for ages.  For the most part, I used the apps on the iPad, only going to the computer if I wanted to do a blog entry.  

I believe I've gotten used to the keypad on this thing, although I'm still learning new swipes and gestures to use.  Because it's a 13-inch Macbook, the keyboard is sort of scrunched up, more compact than the one I've been using, although I'm doing pretty well with it now except for the letter "P", and I've just about gotten over that slip.  My pinky finger just doesn't want to reach to that exact spot for some reason.  

I have a whole story to tell you about the process it has taken me to actually USE this computer.  All my life I've bought new computers, fired them up, and used them within a half-hour of getting them home.  My experience with this one allowed me to do that.  But when I began getting my Apple ID and such, things got hairy.  This time, through no fault of the Apple corporation or my Macbook, it was a journey in realizing how difficult old age can make things, because I get flustered so easily when learning new things.  I will be sharing this story with you to let you know that everything came out right in the end.  

Don't you hate it when people tell you the end of the story first?  But I hate sad endings, so I like to know a story will end well, before I read it.

As to what I've been doing?  After I transferred the files and folders to this new computer from the Mini, I began a task I've needed to do for years:  I'm cleaning up my photos, starting with 2007.  They would go back to 1998 when we got our first computer... no,, it was probably the second one, because I didn't have a blog at first...  anyhow, back then I didn't even know how to post a picture online.  Most of my computer skills through the years have been self-taught.  In other words, I had a fool for a teacher, because I was clueless.

I'd take ten identical pictures to make sure I got a good one for my blog, but I never took time to delete the ones I didn't want.  There wasn't any organization as to where the files lived on my computer, and sometimes I will find there are several copies of the same picture in different places.  I hadn't been giving myself a way to find any one single picture I wanted to see because I just didn't know how to access them.  I'm fixing that as I go, so if I want to see pictures of Cliff, I can type in his name and all pictures of him show up.  Of course I should have done all at the time I downloaded the photos and was done with them, but as I said, I'm lazy.  Now I'm paying for it.  

I'm only through about half the year of 2007 with this project, and there are 12 more years left to go through; so I'll be doing it for quite a while.  Wish me luck!  On the bright side, in more recent years I haven't taken nearly as many pictures.  So it should get better.

Yours truly,
Donna