Is It Worth It?

Problems with Blogger continue and I’ve tried doing all the recommended things like getting rid of cookies, logging in & logging out, unticking keep-signed-in boxes and restarting the computer to no avail.

Meanwhile I can comment on 2 or 3 blogs as me, a few as anonymous and not at all on others. What with my computer seizing up every 10 minutes or going so slow it would be quicker to write a message on a passing snail and send it - and the internet going down every 5, I could scream.

I have come worryingly close to banging my head on my desk in sheer frustration. So when I am without internet, do I get my head down and get some writing done – of course not, I keep clicking on websites and send/receive just in case I can bully it into working again.

I’ve used a few choice words lately about the internet, my computer and Blogger. I’ve considered ripping my computer from its wiring and hurling it out of the window.

So is it all worth it? Well I was looking back to a time BI – before internet and thought about it and I have to say it IS worth it.

First of all I have made so many friends via email, good friends, people I have come to care about more than I thought possible. I have met some of them in Real Life too, something I never dreamed possible twelve years ago.

I have learned that I am not the only writer to receive rejections – and yes, I really thought I was and that the other names I saw in magazines were selling everything they submitted.

BI I had only ever met one other writer, but he is my cousin-in-law and family so of course I’d met him.

And speaking of rellies, I have recently been reunited with a cousin I hadn’t seen for over 40 years – thanks to the internet.

For someone with an aversion to telephones, email is – well not a lifesaver because I’ve never felt like dying over making a telephone call, but it is wonderfully liberating.

And shopping. Being able to do it from the comfort of my own chair, not having to fight the crowds in shops as well as the panic that often accompanies me on shopping trips is wonderful.

Once I started thinking of the advantages, I stopped getting wound up about the problems. In a few months I will be able to get a new computer and perhaps then things will start working as they should and hopefully by then Blogger will have got its act together.

I haven’t been completely wasting my time while things have been going wrong. I went through my Favourites folder, got rid of some websites that are defunct and found a few treasures I’d forgotten about.

While I was sorting out, making new folders etc. I thought I’d share some of my favourites with you, my fellow Internetians.

So what do you think? Is it worth it?

Popular names over the past 130 years. Handy if you want to name characters from the past.

The Mystery Place - now accepting email submissions.

Common Errors in English - useful!

Meet the Author - see your favourite writers talking about their books.

Dr Hadwen Trust - if you're against animal experimentation.

Unusual and bizarre - take a look, it's fun!

Save me - group founded by Brian May - yes that Brian May.

Daily Puzzle - from the NYT. Mini workout for your brain.

Our Planet - loads of facts.