Blessings and Curses, Curses and Blessings!

I had such an easy time (well, easy time for me) formatting my blog that I deluded myself into thinking this blog posting is going to be a piece of cake. Wrong! I never learn. Nothing new for me on a computer ever comes easy. While some of you have wondered; "Jim, where's the blog you promised?" "Jim, did you forget to email me with the link to your post site?" I just wasn't ready to post beyond the first posting, until I learned how to download photos. I hear you snickering, "Oh that's easy." It's always some simple step I fail to see, or when I apply someone's written directions they just don't work the same way for me. After spending three hours Monday evening, another two hours Wednesday evening after my son, Marc, demonstrated to me what to do, and another hour Thursday afternoon attempting to follow my son's email instructions; I still can't download the photos from Photobucket to my blog.

I finally had lunch with Marc today before he travels to Maryland, so we could go over my transferring photos from my camera to my laptop, and so we could see what my problem is with downloading photos from the computer. Well, as you can see, I managed to get two photos posted. Neither of them is the same size. But this is the closest I'm going to come to a victory. I lost a third photo into cyberspace, which is probably lost forever. I ran out of time to post the fourth photo of Marc. Unless another miracle happens, maybe I'll get a photo of you, Marc, posted as well when I'm in Cuenca. I've worked on those photos for six hours today, since Marc and I parted. I guess I'm stubborn as a mule, because I should have been packing for Monday's trip.

Quite frankly, I have little experience with wifi and laptops. If I have connectivity problems in Cuenca, this may be the last post you'll see until I return. If this obstacle infuriates me beyond my breaking point, I may also steam-roll the computer into a permanent part of the road pavement.

I have little patience with all this technology, but a great deal of perseverance. It never fails that after I struggle with some software, someone will then come along and lickity-split, "That's all you had to do, Jim." I love computers when they function as they should, which means not expecting me to do anything more than what I already know how to do. Marc soothingly says, "Dad, the computer is not your enemy, it is your friend." "Don't let it get to you." Yea sure, coming from the computer whiz kid. I know growth often requires trials and tribulation. However, it gets frustrating when there is no gain for the pain, until someone instantaneously shows me what to do. Blessings and curses, curses and blessings.