Why Don’t You Have a Picture of Your Adorable Sons as Your Default Picture?

The internet. It’s like one of those things you understand but don’t really understand. Like building a chunnel. I’m not sure if it’s this way for most people but with nebulous concepts like these, I like to be able to have an image to help me kind of try to get it. The world wide web. This is a little easier. A web, I get. I can see that and make sense of it. But “internet”? 3G? 4G? Wifi? These are concepts for which I can conjure no image. So they remain in that part of my mind where a guy with SCUBA gear is pouring concrete, waving to fishies.

I am told I am at that critical point where the digital age is going to pass me by, where I’m going to start talking like my parents. “Do you have your Skyper ready to talk?” So I’m trying to keep up. (Has 4G become 5G?) Before we left I realized it’s true. I might just be at this technological tipping point. I’m using Google voice, we got a Vonage account, and I stream Netflix over Apple TV but honestly, I don’t really get any of it. Someone can call my old cell phone number (which has been replaced by a new Chinese number) and then I get a email that plays their message (from my old number). How does that work? Maybe it was just my parents (who cannot send a text message) who called me tech savvy?

So my beloved Mac computer is ill but only when you try to connect to the internet. It works fine as long as I don’t make it connect to the Chinese internet. I know, it’s all the same internet but I didn’t have this problem until we moved here.I It works fine at the Apple store so trying to get a diagnosis of, or solution to, the problem has been a bit of a challenge. I have called the Apple helpline and thrown out words like modem, router, and wireless network, but I’m like a politician throwing out buzzwords hoping something sticks. Alas, the techies on the other end have been unable to help. Long story short, I can’t get my pictures off my computer and that is why I have some random (albeit Chinese-looking) picture up and not one of my adorable sons.

Fear not however, my computer wiz husband has reminded me I can simply email some from my phone and them download to this loaner computer. But that’s a whole other step and who has time for that when it takes a month to write one blog post? Besides, he’s taken most of the good pictures and already has them posted on his hip, Tumblr site. You should really go check those out. But don’t tell him how much you prefer his micro picture blog to my wordy nonsense (that has revealed nothing about China but I will, I promise!).

I’m still learning my way around this site but as I do, hopefully you’ll find it interesting enough to check back once in a while. And actually find out about what it’s like living in Shanghai.