Change + Technology

I am change resistant. By nature. Completely reluctant to do things that create major change. I know. Hard to imagine for the girl who moved to India for 3 months after college or married a guy from a different state or settled on one house to purchase. I guess I don't entirely DISlike change - I just don't like it sneaking up on me. And little changes I can take - just the big stuff that gets to me. Changes that effect my daily work or life and make me alter my plans - those are the worst.

So, come about oh....18 months ago-ish, our office went to an entirely Google based system for everything. Email, saving documents, calendars, etc. - all based on Google. We use Google hangouts for meetings, share documents and work collaboratively on Google Drive, and chat on Google+ - we went in hook, line, and sinker.

Except this girl (and a few other brave hold outs).

I refused to switch over to an entirely Google based world so I stuck with Outlook for email and I use a paper calendar (I know - mind blowing.). I copied everything in both the paper version and the electronic Google version so people could use that to see where I was and schedule meetings with me but I always rely on the paper version the most. I save documents on my personal hard drive which is saved to our internal server and backed up daily in two places. I create documents in Microsoft and then upload them to Google so I have the originals.

Yesterday - our Google crashed. I mean completely bit the dust. I am not sure how everything works in the technology world but apparently all that stuff we had saved - documents, calendars, email contacts, email history, etc. - its all gone. Apparently to never return.

And this girl - not freaking out. Lots of folks are and I understand because MANY MONTHS worth of work - important, time consuming, valuable work - has been lost. There are a few documents that I had been working on that were saved on Google so that my entire team or project team could work on them that I have lost and are irreplaceable. One huge spreadsheet of research for my project team - which can't really be replicated because the info came from emails which are also now lost - is gone and that is probably what I am the most bummed out about.

But, my paper calendar and Outlook are still around. And still fine. So, here's my lesson to myself: be you and know you. If something doesn't make you happy or help you work more efficiently, don't use it. If it doesn't appeal to the way you know your brain works best, use something else - something that works for you. Don't change because everyone else is doing something - whether it is using Gmail or jumping off bridges as the old adage says or trying to keep up with the Joneses. Just be you. Paper calendars and all.

A Summer of Travel.

I shall reiterate again that I truly do love my job. There aren't many people I know who can say that (and most of them are my co-workers!) so I know I am among the highly blessed. However, my dedication to said job + my guy's work schedule keep us away from each other more than we would like. This has led us to make some changes to our lives, to be more intentional with our time together, changes that I would have liked to not have to make but are necessary. I schedule my flex time when I know he will be off work and we can spend some time together and I try to be available the weekends that he is off work. However, if you thought my 6 weekends in a row this spring were busy, this summer looks even busier (mostly because the travel is more extended with fewer nights in my own bed!).

It started with a 7 day work week this week - Sunday at a celebration for girls who have achieved the highest honors in Girl Scouting - the Gold and Silver Awards. 5 days of normal work including 2 days in Knoxville and this Saturday will be spend co-leading a training for most of the day. Next week I just have one day in Knoxville and the following week I will be in DC from Wednesday to Saturday. The last week of the month holds 2 days at camp and then 3 days - over the weekend - in Virginia at an event that another council does for older girls that we are going to chaperone/check out. July brings a week long trip to Columbus and Biloxi with my parents (our 3rd Annual...or is it 4th?), a couple events, and 2 more 2-day trips to camp.

As I said in an email to a friend, I'm tired just thinking about it.

change.

I think a big change is coming around on the blog. I have been pondering it for a while...stay tuned for more details.