Your life without a computer: what does it look like?
My life without a computer looks like a vacation. I can go a full week without my laptop. I can do almost everything I need to do (including responding to this prompt) on my phone – except work. And I can even do some work on my phone, including e-mail & calendar, accessing our CRM system, and Workday (our HR system). There’s an app for just about everything now.
However, my life without a phone would be very different.
And by “phone,” I mean a tiny powerful smartphone that reportedly could be used to guide more than 120 million Apollo-era spacecraft to the moon — all at the same time.
I have studied French, Italian and a bit of Spanish, but never became truly fluent in any of them. It would be great to speak a second language really well.
I’m currently using the Mango app (on my phone), which is free with your public library card, to study French. I recommend it. It’s easy to use and way less annoying than DuoLingo!
I think I’m past the age of worrying too much about the details. For years, I felt like I had to be on top of all the details of everybody’s lives. From toddler meals to travel basketball to college applications — the family schedule was a big deal. If you messed up, someone ate something that they were allergic to, or an important event was missed, or someone got left waiting outside in the cold.
One good thing about being an empty nester is that your time is bascially your own, outside of work.
Now, I’m more about the big picture. The “details” I care about are the optional ones that make life more meaningful like catching up with a friend, seeing a performance, talking with my book group, or traveling someplace with my husband.
I’ve had two friends (my age) recently tell me that they prefer spontaneous, rather than planned, get togethers. They don’t like putting things on the calendar way ahead and then having to cancel or reschedule because someone is sick or whatever. I can see their point. Although I’m still basically a planner, I will call or text people last-minute if I’m nearby.
They say the “devil is in the details,” so screw the details. Just do what you want, with people you like, whenever you can.
Sadly, this advice does not apply to young parents. You have to put your kids first for at least 18 years, but you’ll be shocked at how fast that goes by.
Accuweather predicts “patchy fog in the morning; otherwise, mostly sunny and very warm; a gorgeous day to be outside.” So I will be doing as my weather app suggests, and prioritizing a long walk or bike ride tomorrow.
This is when it’s great to work remotely. I used to always go to Boston on Tuesdays. Now I can take my commuter time and use it for whatever I want.
After all the rain we had in September, I’m hoping for a beautiful October.
Here’s what the last day of September looked like around here. The last few blooms of the season.
In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?
I worked as a grantwriter for a wonderful arts school for many years. It was not a full-time gig. I was a contractor/consultant. We needed to raise $12 million for a new theater building. Financing for the entire $20+ million project was dependent on us raising our share. The school badly needed this new theater building, which also would house several state-of-the-art music and dance studios. The old theater was more than fifty years old and had no orchestra pit or air conditioning.
It was 2008 and the economy was terrible—the Great Recession. We were having a difficult time getting that capital campaign going. I worked very hard to bring in a large state grant to get us started. When we finally got the grant, it was exhilarating. I remember we jumped around and screamed when we got the good news.
Here I am with two dear colleagues holding the big celebratory check. That was a great day and definitely one of my most fulfilling moments at work.
I went to summer day camp with a neighborhood friend when we were about 10. On the last day, the counselors gave each child a superlative award: “MOST (something)”
My friend Carolyn, who I knew adults found challenging but was very creative, got “Most INQUISITIVE.” I remember thinking: is that their way of saying “biggest pain in the neck?”
I got “Most DEPENDABLE.” Huh, was that their way of saying I was good, but boring?
In any case, I am dependable and always have been. I do what I say I’ll do. The trick is to get me to agree to do it. I’m also pretty good at saying no.
Our neighborhood dressed up as the Red Sox for Halloween in 1975 . Carolyn & I are top left. I was Luis Tiant. She was whichever player wore his hat down over his eyes a lot. Maybe Butch Hobson? Our shirts said “Wait Til Next Year.” We waited 29 more years til they won the World Series.
List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter.
Three jobs that sound fun to me are fragrance tester, ice cream taster, and street photographer.
Perhaps I’ll pursue one of these when I retire, although I bet they want people with younger senses for the first two.
So maybe I’ll look into street photography. I recently attended a talk by Izzy Rodriguez, a Providence street photographer and it made me remember how I had liked it once.
I took a photography class for fun in the late 80s at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. I enjoyed going out on the streets of Boston with my camera. It was a 35mm Canon. I developed and printed the film in class. Here are some photos that I took. These people were all strangers to me, except the last one is my sister.
This one is my favorite. The girls were just pretending to talk on the phones – playing grownup.Boston’s famous “Make Way for Ducklings” ducks My sister
I’m half Italian. My father’s father emigrated from Italy, through Ellis Island, in 1905. He was 15 years old and arrived with $12. His occupation was listed as “peasant.” He worked on farms, taking care of boilers that heat the greenhouses. He became a US citizen in 1913 and was a successful farmer himself, although the state twice took his land by eminent domain to build highways. Sadly, he died young from what should have been a routine surgery, when my father was just six years old.
My grandmother carried on as best she could, but eventually lost the farm when all the young men went to fight in World War II (nobody was left to work on the farm). After that, she had factory jobs, but was able to raise her four children successfully, with two of them joining the Air Force, including my father who was then able to go to UMass Amherst on the GI Bill. He studied electrical engineering and eventually co-founded his own company with another engineer. They sold it in 1983 and I was able to go to a fancy private college on the proceeds, without incurring any debt at all.
So we went from “peasant” to “liberal arts major” in just two generations. I took all sorts of useless classes in college—poetry, drawing, art history, concert choir, etc. It was great. In my defense, I did take both economics and calculus my first semester, but dropped calculus because I didn’t think I could pass it and also be in the musical. Priorities, people.
One of my many fun classes was Italian. I took three semesters, one of them in Rome. What a beautiful language. I’m not much of a cook, so I’d have to say that the aspects of Italian culture I’m most interested in are the language, art history, and music. And by music, I mean opera, not that cheesy Italian pop.
My hardworking grandfather Giovanni in one of his greenhouses
I’m a New Englander, so definitely LL Bean. Their return policy is amazing. They’ll take anything back, forever. I also like Land’s End and Eddie Bauer.
For cars, I’ve driven Hondas for years now. I really love my CRV.
What other brands matter – besides clothes and cars?
Oh yeah. Coffee. As previously mentioned, I’m Boston-centric, so Dunkin not Starbucks.
Two colors most people would never wear together are pink and orange, but somehow it works for Dunkin.
I’m trying to be a better listener. My friend Carla who passed away last year was an attentive, thoughtful listener. She really gave you her full attention. I’d like to be more like her in that way.
So, I’ll keep this short and make a point to read other people’s responses to this prompt. I’m all ears.
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