Technical Difficulties

Have you ever watched painfully as an older person struggles with a computer? My job, fortunately and unfortunately, is very much computer-driven. When you have to deal with 600-plus applicants to your school, you better have a damn good database and people that know how to use it. And if I may say so myself, I know how to use the damn thing..... Unfortunately, Babs doesn't.

We received a new database program 2 years ago and we both learned its intricacies through a lengthy training session with some guy who came to us all the way from Virginia. Unfortunately, Babs has never been completely comfortable with computers in general. She has always had little problems with really simple operations (hmmmm.... anyone want to come teach a 65 year old how to minimize and maximize windows?), so I guess it should come as no surprise that advanced databasing migh be just a tad bit too much for good ol' Babs.

We recently decided to upgrade our database, which means two fun-filled days away from the little shop for computer training. My hope was that Babs would really buckle down these two days, invoke the spirit of a 5 year old kindergartner and learn how to use a damn computer. I was shocked to see that she was actually able to follow the lessons pretty closely, and dare I say, she seemed to be learning! By 4:30 my brain was swamped with some good information, and I was honestly feeling really good about what this new product could do for our office. I turned to Babs and stated: "I think I'm gonna like this upgrade... the new good stuff seems to really outweigh the stuff they messed up." Babs looked back at me and retorted, "Well, I'm glad you like it! I don't even remember chapter 1 [of our training manual] anymore!"