When doing by hand gets out of hand

As I create my second website-based homework assignment for my information systems class, I find that the more complex I'd like to make it, the more futile it gets to do this kind of thing by hand. I think I get Dreamweaver now.

There is something to be said for handicraft and the time and effort that goes into it. I really enjoy doing HTML by hand. The tags and the Notepad document might look like one hell of a mess, but turn it into a Firefox/Internet Explorer/etc. page and you've got yourself a pretty nifty website. It reminds me of those decoder markers I used as a kid to reveal pictures in something that looked like a black hole on paper.

Oh yeah... that's the stuff...
But once I really get into it, stare at the screen, and sweat it out for several hours, I think, "Wow...as fun as this is, it's taking way too long. And this is probably the seventeenth time I've changed my font." Then I go off on a tangent and think of all the other things we do that are unnecessary because someone/something else will do it for you. There are some things I will let slide into that realm (i.e. not laundering everything by hand, hot water, light bulbs), but come on... there are still those things we tough out the hard way because it's more fun, rewarding, masochistic (hey, to each his own), or tasty (refer to my previous entry).

Again, coming back around to my main point, there is a threshold after which point the costs outweigh the benefits when you're doing something with your own two hands. Why sit and rub two sticks together when you can turn on the stove top (camping trips excluded)? Our day-to-day existence doesn't permit this kind of hard work with its slower-paced, blood, sweat, and tears mentality. We want efficiency because there's always something else that needs to get done. We want to see where any of our effort is getting us, and we want to see it now. Results have always been important, but it seems like now we want results to come before everything else. Hey, when it comes to homework, I don't argue that point so much, but it does make one wonder about the state of humanity's input/output... what we want, where we're going, and how much effort we're willing to put in to see it all happen.

Making bread vs. winning bread

I have had my little purple binder of recipes open for over a week now, with the page open to my grandmother's (mother's mother's, etc.) bread recipe. I have wanted to make this bread, but I need about three hours (yeast must rise, bread must sit). To get three hours I would have to have either a) no work, b) no homework, or c) no boyfriend (or a boyfriend who lives a little closer to where I do). And seeing as how "c" is not really an option, as I am quite happy with that situation and know it will soon be resolved, I will have to negotiate work and school. It's most likely school that will be taking the hit, which had gotten me into thinking about my home life vs. career life.

Alright, so I'm not married with ten kids... that doesn't mean I don't like to be a homebody every now and then. For example, I'm a huge proponent of fresh or homemade foods. If I'm going to eat bread, it better be crusty and from a bakery or made with a sack of flour, eggs from the carton, and my own two hands. I know I am a girl (and, in my family, will have been automatically taught to cook anyway), but I have found myself having followed my father's philosophy, which goes a little something like: "I like food, so I learned to cook." To put it another way: "No self-respecting person of a food-enjoying nature will permit him- or herself to thrive on Hungry Man dinners." No sirree, Bob.

But as you age, time begins to be taken and not requested of you like it used to be. Convenience falls prey to necessity. I like food, but I also have school/work, which I need to do (although I like these enough for them to keep me occupied with thoughts of what I'm doing and where I'm going). Then there are those things that I don't like, but I have to do anyway (i.e. laundry). Believe it or not, I don't always enjoy downtime either. Okay, so there's the downtime you plan, as in, "Gee, it's been a while since I've read a book for fun. Why don't I go curl up and do that?" Then there's the downtime that takes you -- the kind you need after a long day that causes you to fall asleep by 9pm. Regardless, all of it is time. There will never be enough hours in the day for the things I want to do and all the things I have to do.

The key to any happy life is balance (although I suppose you could also balance a perfectly horrid life as well). I have to remember that I can't always focus on just homework, or work, or lazing about, cooking, exercise, and what have you. There are things that will always need to be done -- things like paying bills, doing homework -- the steps that are necessary to achieve desired goals above and beyond the immediate (i.e. having a roof over your head, getting a degree). But there are also the things that "need" to be done -- things we tell ourselves we should do, have to do, but it would otherwise not make any difference if we did them or did them to the degree we want to or not. It is here that we must look, because this is where one can start subbing in something different/new/fun to keep the peace within ourselves. Some people have an internal mechanism that takes care of regulating all of this, as well as getting things done that need to be done. I think I have one. It's how I survived high school and college, and it's how I'll survive grad school. But it needs to be wound. We need to keep reminding ourselves of the difference between needs and "needs". I know I have to work on this homework, but do I have to work on it now, or do I have time?

The hamster in the wheel in my head is running, its beady little eyes focused on work, work, work. But even a head hamster will want to do something else after a while. Will that bread recipe be sitting on the counter too much longer? I'm hoping not. Before I start working on my homework, and before I even start dinner, maybe I will proof some yeast.

Technology a go-go

In an age of infinite possibilities of ways to communicate, schedule, document, and otherwise share with and express ourselves to others, I ask: Is all this really necessary? Not that I'm a complete Luddite, mind you, but this is a thought that we should all be keeping in the back of our minds. Whether we're salivating over the newest i[insert gadget here] or trying to figure out the best way to get in touch with someone for work or play, we must ask ourselves: What is the simplest way? The most direct way? The clearest way?

I have been thinking about this in the wake of my introduction to the Sakai site (a relationship which, fortunately, has become less and less trying). Don't get me wrong, this site is a good tool for the class for which I'm using it. The fairly basic interface is not the least bit offensive or distracting. But in the beginning, I thought, "Why are we using this instead of Blackboard? So we need a Wiki page. Does that really constitute having to use yet another system to keep track of our classes?" For the most part, I would say, yes, the experience has been worth while... although I am sure there are others who would argue the other way, and for obvious reason. Read: It's just something else to keep track of!

Today's generations are learning to multitask, manipulate, and manifest in ways which those in the days of yore only dreamed of doing. Before we crash like our computerized friends, it will always -- always -- remain important to ask ourselves in the face of any "innovation": Are we being fancy or are we being fruitful?

Salutations

Strange that I've never been a blogs person, but it was a school email regarding a blogs and wikis class that made me think, "Hm, I bet I could do one of those things." Well, here it is. Be gentle.