TODAY'S MESSAGE
It's a bad sign when your computer emits a death rattle, so before mine tick-ticked its last gasp--and I could no longer pick its fried brains--I bought a new one. Early Christmas gift to myself, you might say. The shiny machine came loaded with an "Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300" bladdy-bladdy-whatever-they're-talking-about. (ZOOM!) Windows 7. Extra fancy software to make and edit DVDs. (As if.) I also upgraded a couple software programs; the old editions were no longer supported by the manufacturer. (Boogedy-boogedy, all-NEW-NEW-NEW!)
Can you see me now, sailing through tasks, blazing the internet, waxing poetic and generally livin' in the technology fast lane?
If you said yes, like me, you are a dreamer. WAKE UP!
After a week of torment--gnashing of teeth, yelling, trying to remain calm, frustration, righting a first tech support's wrong, then righting the second one's "corrective" errors which ultimately made things worse, then dealing with a "level 2" technician who made things "okay"-- although I am not exactly boogedy-boogedy, I am, at long last, puttery-puttery. But what I am most thankful for is that I am finally "Charlene" again. Let me explain.
Two days after I got my new machine home (I found it to be fun and intuitive--YAY!), I saved my first document. That's also when the first hint of trouble flashed across my screen. The machine wanted to save it to a user file named "Elizabeth."
Huh? Elizabeth? Wassup with that? When I booted up, the machine showed my name in that center icon, so I quickly dismissed the incident as an unrelated quirk of my flittering fingers. But later that day, I engaged the machine in its first backup and ... it wanted to back up the "Elizabeth" user file in my (read MY) computer named "Elizabeth-PC."
"Okay," I said to the new machine, "you can refer to Elizabeth once, but when you decide you are transforming ME"--(did you know machines have names, which are supposed to be YOURS?)--"I'm afraid I'll have to search the depths of your budzillion megs of hard drive and stifle your evil identity robbing inclinations!"
Whoa! I found Elizabeth everywhere, which is when I called the guy who set up and installed my new machine and software and asked, "WHO IS THIS ELIZABETH?!" Profusions of apologies ensued. Apparently he was working on two machines the day he set mine up, and ... You get the picture.
He also said his error could not be fixed without an entire reinstallation of my whole operating system.
I raised my eyebrows, but then I thought, well, we are all human; we all make mistakes. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but the wrong name will never hurt or truly mislead me. Right? My machine rocks, so no biggie. I even went so far as to consider the error funny. "Hey, I'm a HUMORIST!" I said to the tech and myself. "I'll just call my sons and assure them that if I die and they need to deal with my computer, I was not living an alter life as Elizabeth!" Ha-ha-ha.
But after three days of Elizabeth this and Elizabeth that (and a review of the sum total of my spendy bill), humor faded. I needed the names of the depositories for my thoughts and fingertips to be MINE, for ME. Thus began my week-long quest with multitudes of tech support folks to right this terrible wrong.
Relentless days of stress and "fixes" later, my machine is now appropriately named "CHARLENE BIGBOY"and my user file is "Charlene." I am relieved, yes, but I am also exhausted. A few files were lost along the way and much of the joy in my life was seemingly high-jacked during the drama, but still, I needed what I needed: my name--my given name--on my computer.
What's in a name? Why did--why do--I care so much?
Perhaps the root of the reason is rooted in the season.
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuael," which translated means, "God with us."
Matthew 1:23 NASB
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 NASB
Jesus. There's just something about that name.
Thankfully, no tech support or human error can change it.
So no matter the holiday hurry or scurry, drama or trauma, take a deep breath and rest in that.
Who doesn't need a reminder?!
