Still Starting Over

      Happy Raggedy Ann and Andy Day! I can’t believe that’s the first thing that came up. It hits home, having grown up being accused of looking like Raggedy Andy. If you’re not sure who those are, I suggest looking them up, it’s a bit ridiculous. It’s hard to believe that two dolls described as “raggedy,” have gotten so much worldwide attention over the years. It’s also Jerky Day, which I wish I had known, because I would have used the excuse to buy some at the store, or make my own. Along with those, it’s also Superman Day, Peanut Butter Cookie Day, Falafel Day, and Red Rose Day. As always, there are more, but those jumped out. I keep forgetting which site I look at to “get the truth” about what day it is. I want to be consistent, so I keep looking for the same one. No matter what I ask Google for, I always have to scroll down a little to find it. Luckily, it “highlights,” so I know I’ve been there before. It’s the only sight, of the ones I looked at, that seems user friendly, and put in a palatable, non-clickbait, kind of way. Plus, I like the “feel” of the sight. I just can’t ever remember what it’s called. I know there is something called a “bookmark,” which I can supposedly use to help remember things like that, but I haven’t taken the time to figure out what that means, or how to use it. Until then, I’ll keep scrolling until the “highlight” lets me know. Although now I’m a little nervous. And it all has to do with last week’s theme. Well, let me start by stating that obviously, my font experiment worked! However, it has made me hyper-aware of how drastic the different font sizes can actually be. It’s wild to think that 12 is not 12 across the board. It might be 12, but take up the same space as another’s 14. Wild! That’s information I wouldn’t have gotten without a little curiosity.

     And now, back to last week’s theme: 2 things happened of note last week, that really put the “starting over idea” drilled into my head. And, incidentally, why I may be nervous about relying on “highlights.” 1) For a while, every time I went to log into one of my Gmail accounts, (yes, I have multiple accounts. My personal, and then 1 for each band) I would have to log in again. It would accept my code, the Gmail would come up, so I could see it, just for a second, then it would close, and I would have to log in again. It worked fine after that, and was more annoying than anything. However, I started to get curious, and a little nervous about “malware,” so I looked it up. I found a link that helped. But, it totally erased all of my easy access codes, along with all of my Google shortcuts. So, it helped the problem I was having, but created a situation where I basically had to “start over” with all of my convenient access. Luckily, my laptop stored enough information to help me re-organize my conveniences, but still, I felt like I was “starting over.” Another odd thing was: I tried to go back to the site that helped me, but I couldn’t find it anywhere! You know how a lot of times they’ll ask you: “Was this post helpful?” Well, I did find it helpful, and I wanted to let other people having the same problem know that this worked for me. But no matter what combination of words I used to try to find the same advice, I could not find it. So now, I’m a little hesitant of relying on the “highlights.” Because, sometimes, they’re just not there anymore. I feel as if I’m too close to the end of the paragraph to start in on the other issue I had, so now, I’m just curious if I should set up my “shortcuts” again.

     I never set those “shortcuts” up anyway, they just appeared! 2) And, this one is mostly my fault. I got clickbaited! This little “new driver” icon popped up on my screen. It looked official. I never click on those! But this one said there was an update for Audacity, a program I use every day. I had never seen such a thing, and I knew it had been a while, so I clicked. Come to find out, I’ve been using version 2.3.3, and now they’re on 3.7.3! It really had been a while. Well, after it set itself up, I couldn’t recognize it! It was Friday, just after I had written to you about the joys of “starting over.” Yet, I could not find the joy in getting to know a new system, while I had practice in the can! (A term used to refer to having the recording, recorded, but not yet ready for public dispersal) I was a wreck! It still basically worked the same way, but lots of things were new, and most of the stuff I use on a regular basis was not there. Then, after trying a little bit, (And I did try) I found the applications I usually use in a folder called “legacy.” Legacy! That sounds old! I gave it about 4 or 5 songs, I really did try, but I was not in the mood. I had just finally gotten all of my keystrokes down, and workflow smooth, after years of learning. I was not ready for the change! It looked different, acted different, and I was not ready. I tried thinking about what I wrote you, I couldn’t help but think about it! However, I couldn’t continue, not knowing whether it was the new system making practice sound funny, or if practice actually sounded funny. We’ve got a show next week! I can’t “wonder” whether or not things are working properly, I had to “know!” I had to download the “old” version from a different site. It took me days to figure it out. But now, it’s working the way it used to. Yay!