Typing
Vidat's request asking me to blog,which I had put in the back burner assumed the urgency of a condemned man's last wishes as days slipped by and I hadn't the heart to overlook it though it would entail the shedding of the straight jacketed existence ,marked by ritualistic cooking, cleaning, shopping and a cranial activity that had gone into a deep slumber like that of Rip Van Winkle,I had worn to avert martial discord for the past 25 years.
I didn't know the ABC of the alien creature called computer.I learnt the basics under the gentle prodding of Vidat after he created this blog for me which I noted down in a book as I was sure that I would forget his instructions if I merely stowed it away in my memory.
Earlier I had thought much to the amusement of Vidat that all that need be done to start a computer was to press a button like in a TV .I didn't bargain for what I was up against when in my enthusiasm to be up to date and in par with my youthful sons I was confronted with a complex procedures to followed just to get it started!All those numerous switches ,handling of the thing called mouse that tested my dexterity sourly,icons and and labels that kept popping up with the sole purpose of confusing me ,left me baffled .I was petrified with fear lest I click something and erase settings and programmes and earn the ire of my sons .
Exercising my parental authority I had kept my children out of bounds of various house hold appliances and matters .The entry of the computer into our household signified a noticeable shift in balance of power . This new gadget unknown to my generation and viewed gingerly from afar played into my sons hands beautifully to keep me out of bounds!It was a holy cow too sacred to be touched .
By trial and error and reading my notes I managed to start the computer and go to the blogs. Another huge problem cropped up.I could write on reams and reams of paper with a pen, articles regarding my views and experiences ,but how am I going to transfer them onto the blog as I was totally unfamiliar with typing .Of course every one belonging to my generation attended typing classes .But I missed the bus .I bravely started punching the keys .It took me an hour to type a single sentence.Fed up with my snail pace I embarked on the mission of finding a Guru.
Vidat had learned to type in Porur.Watching his fingers glide over the keys of the computer effortlessly like an expert pianist I had thought that typing was easy .No it isn't .It takes me hours to type a paragraph and that is one of the main reasons that my articles are short.I was beguiled by Vidat's expertise in making hard job look easy who had true to his nature had excelled in that field .It was his wont to excel in any field in which he had put his heart into. .
I searched Tnagar far and wide .My' padayatra' took me to several promising destinations that invariably drew a blank.The institutes had either shifted to the suburbs or had disappeared altogether.Finally I located a typing institute operating from a highly dilapidated house stalked by a stern old man supervising docile kids clicking at the machine .My relief was short lived when that old foggy glowered at me through his thick glasses and demanded how I could learn typing by allocating only 3 hours a week ? My explanations that I had a house to run and several other work fell on deaf ears .I backed away at his belligerence.
I came home blistering under that old man's tongue lashing.Would I able to weather his temper if I made a mistake which I was sure to make?But I had to learn to type .I kept mulling at this when I remembered the suggestion of the female typist who occasionally types my documents to go about it on my own and that constant practise would simplify my problem.This view was seconded by my second son.I took their advise and here I am plodding on doggedly.
I have a lot to blog but my lack of typing skills is hampering the process .This is either a boon to my viewers[if I have any] to be privy to my thoughts in small doses or a bane to such viewers who revel in my emotional outpourings!
I didn't know the ABC of the alien creature called computer.I learnt the basics under the gentle prodding of Vidat after he created this blog for me which I noted down in a book as I was sure that I would forget his instructions if I merely stowed it away in my memory.
Earlier I had thought much to the amusement of Vidat that all that need be done to start a computer was to press a button like in a TV .I didn't bargain for what I was up against when in my enthusiasm to be up to date and in par with my youthful sons I was confronted with a complex procedures to followed just to get it started!All those numerous switches ,handling of the thing called mouse that tested my dexterity sourly,icons and and labels that kept popping up with the sole purpose of confusing me ,left me baffled .I was petrified with fear lest I click something and erase settings and programmes and earn the ire of my sons .
Exercising my parental authority I had kept my children out of bounds of various house hold appliances and matters .The entry of the computer into our household signified a noticeable shift in balance of power . This new gadget unknown to my generation and viewed gingerly from afar played into my sons hands beautifully to keep me out of bounds!It was a holy cow too sacred to be touched .
By trial and error and reading my notes I managed to start the computer and go to the blogs. Another huge problem cropped up.I could write on reams and reams of paper with a pen, articles regarding my views and experiences ,but how am I going to transfer them onto the blog as I was totally unfamiliar with typing .Of course every one belonging to my generation attended typing classes .But I missed the bus .I bravely started punching the keys .It took me an hour to type a single sentence.Fed up with my snail pace I embarked on the mission of finding a Guru.
Vidat had learned to type in Porur.Watching his fingers glide over the keys of the computer effortlessly like an expert pianist I had thought that typing was easy .No it isn't .It takes me hours to type a paragraph and that is one of the main reasons that my articles are short.I was beguiled by Vidat's expertise in making hard job look easy who had true to his nature had excelled in that field .It was his wont to excel in any field in which he had put his heart into. .
I searched Tnagar far and wide .My' padayatra' took me to several promising destinations that invariably drew a blank.The institutes had either shifted to the suburbs or had disappeared altogether.Finally I located a typing institute operating from a highly dilapidated house stalked by a stern old man supervising docile kids clicking at the machine .My relief was short lived when that old foggy glowered at me through his thick glasses and demanded how I could learn typing by allocating only 3 hours a week ? My explanations that I had a house to run and several other work fell on deaf ears .I backed away at his belligerence.
I came home blistering under that old man's tongue lashing.Would I able to weather his temper if I made a mistake which I was sure to make?But I had to learn to type .I kept mulling at this when I remembered the suggestion of the female typist who occasionally types my documents to go about it on my own and that constant practise would simplify my problem.This view was seconded by my second son.I took their advise and here I am plodding on doggedly.
I have a lot to blog but my lack of typing skills is hampering the process .This is either a boon to my viewers[if I have any] to be privy to my thoughts in small doses or a bane to such viewers who revel in my emotional outpourings!
posted by K.C. Sujata at
1:26 AM
3 Comments:
Everyone takes baby steps. You are not alone. It takes an awful lot of time to be fluent. I used the computer for entertainment purpose and hence in the process learned to type fast. Given a purpose, in your case blogging...will improve your typing skill.
If my guess is right, Vidat had 8 years of experience fiddling with the keyboard
Dear Vetri Nice to hear from you.Thanks for the tips.
Hope the new year is treating you well .
Dear Vetri
We acquired the computer only when Vid was in the 2nd year of college so that makes it only 4 years .Vidat used the comp only if he had to.He wasn't very fond of it.But having set his mind he plunged into it headlong [typing,coding etc].There were no half way measures for him .
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