Ever notice how easy something is after you've learned how to do it...

 T’s* View
 Ever notice how easy something is after you've learned how to do it, and how impossible it seemed before you learned it?  I remember the first time I was put at a desk with a phone that handled more than one line. Now that I know how to put someone on Hold, it seems impossible that I had so much trouble with the contraption back then, but at the time, I managed to cut someone off the line at least ten times a day. Then there was my first typesetting job. I started on a machine we called "the old klunker," which sounded like a machine gun in use and showed no typed material but punched holes on a yellow tape to signify which letters were used. I swore the first day I worked on it that I'd never last more than one day on the job, only to stay with that company ten years and go on to more and more advanced machines. Today it's the computer. The first time I saw the one I work on now, I was sure I'd never, never learn how to use it. Every time I pushed another button I was afraid I'd erase a whole week's work or foul up the whole mechanism. (And when a computer gets fouled up, it's FOULED UP! That's something it certainly can do better than any human can, as any of you who have been billed incorrectly by a computer must know.) Yet you can't stop progress and I figured if I wanted to hold a job I'd just have to conquer my fears. After all, there are millions of computers all over the world now and everyone seems to be using them, so they must be conquerable I told myself. And I have to admit that the procedures I learned seem very easy to me now, although there's still so much more to learn, I don't feel completely out of the woods yet. - Another item that gained popularity in these modern times is the microwave oven, although that, too, scares some people half to death. I have a friend who's had one in her home for almost a year now and has yet to use it for fear of blowing up the house or getting herself filled with radiation. - Then there's the computer codes used on groceries these days. I'm sure the system saves time and avoids human error, but every time I shop at a market that uses the codes, I can't help but feel that some of the sale items are being charged at the regular price because someone didn't program the sale price into the computer. And everything goes by so fast, I can't get the groceries on the counter and watch the register at the same time. And how about watches these days? You can get one that tells you the time all over the world (in digital, of course), as well as the date and temperature (some even have built-in calculators) but your eyesight better be good to be able to see it all. Personally, I'll stick to my watch with the good old hands that point to numbers I can see without using a magnifying glass. I guess what I'm trying to say is that progress is fine but it's all happening too fast and by the time I'm ready to get used to the newest invention, it becomes obsolete and there's something new to learn to live with. I remember reading Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock" a few years ago and thinking that he must be exaggerating, but from the looks of things, he knew what he was talking about. Guess I'll just have to speed up my system to keep up with the times, but don't say I didn't go down fighting! -
 *Terri the Typesetter
September 23, 1984