Dear Readers,
Computers and I have a tenuous relationship. I can’t live without them; they are integral in the work that I do. And yet, they aggravate me to no end, plaguing me with issues and problems that keep on cropping up.
Take the other day.
I was trying to connect my Wi-Fi in order to use the Internet. My computer should be doing this automatically as soon as I log on. The problem was, it didn’t. My computer was stuck in airplane mode, and the Wi-Fi connection was disabled.
There’s a simple solution to this, I thought. I pushed the Wi-Fi “On” button on the screen. Something seemed to be happening; the circle going round and round told me that my computer was working on connecting. Except it didn’t.
I restarted my computer. Same issue. I tried pushing the Wi-Fi button “On” and airplane mode “Off” over and over again. Each time, it looked like it would work, only to be stuck in the same airplane mode, unable to connect.
This was frustrating. I needed my Wi-Fi. And I was determined to get it to work—on my own.
Deep breathe. Try again. Try troubleshooting. More deep breathing. More rebooting.
Nearly an hour later, I admitted defeat. I went to ask a family member. He fiddled with the buttons, over and over. He, too, wasn’t having any luck. He looked up the problem online, and apparently, Dell laptops can sometimes get stuck in this mode. At this point, I was desperate for my computer to work and even ready to call tech support at work headquarters.
But then my son (a computer genius) arrived home from out of town. I was sure he wouldn’t be able to do anything, and I really didn’t want to bother him the minute he walked in, but I figured it was at least worth a try. Two minutes later, he called out: “Ma, it’s working now.”
“You’re kidding?!” I was shocked. He pointed to a physical button at the side of my computer. “You see this button? It must have somehow been pressed, and as a result, it turned off the Wi-Fi. Next time, just make sure this button is pushed to Wi-Fi and you shouldn’t have a problem.”
A little physical button at the side of my computer? I could manage that!
Buttons.
Sometimes, the wrong button is pushed in our psychological or spiritual composition. We wake up on the wrong side of the bed; someone says something that triggers us; something happens that makes us feel deflated. We may try to overcome our foul mood, but nothing seems to work. We’re just not connecting. Not to our inner selves. Not to others. And we may not even be aware of what actually is causing these feelings within us. We try to reboot, but it just doesn’t happen.
What’s the magical button you use that can help you reconnect? I’d love to hear.
Chana Weisberg
Editor, TJW