It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
– F.D. Roosevelt, 1932
This morning I had a CD emergency. My husband and I were sitting
around drinking our coffee and peering out the window at my strawberry patch. The
sun was shining, the skies were a brilliant blue, and the birdies were chirping.
One robin was chirping a little more vigorously than the other birds,
however, because he had sauntered into my strawberry patch. Fortunately, we have
those crank-type windows that make a lot of noise, so just opening a window scared
him off. However, the birds clearly had latched onto the fact that the strawberries
are ripening. It was time to take action.
Here’s where the technology comes in. Since Logical Expressions, Inc.
develops software, we have a subscription to the Microsoft Developer’s Network
(or MSDN). What this means is that you have access to all kinds of great
information on CD-ROM. It also means you get 10-30 CDs every month or so, depending
on how many software fixes Micosoft has come up with lately. These 10-30 CDs
replace 10-30 CDs you already have in your possession, which are nicely
arranged in a software library for quick reference (assuming you haven’t just thrown
the box in a corner instead, but that’s a different problem). So, if you’re following
me here, it may have dawned on you that we have a whole
lot of out-of-date, obsolete, ostensibly useless CDs.
Because CDs are made of plastic, we never had the heart to throw them
away so they could sit in a landfill for the next 2,000 years. Instead, we generated
huge towering piles of plastic disks in our offices. In addition to the MSDN CDs,
like everyone else, we’ve received our fair share of free AOL and Earthlink CDs.
(And for the record, no, we still don’t want to join!)
So returning to the overly smug robin in the garden, I ran outside and strung
25 CDs above the strawberry patch. As Roosevelt points out, sometimes you
just have to do something. And sometimes just doing something adds more joy to
your life than you ever could have anticipated. Even though Mr. Robin doesn’t like
the CD mobile I’ve created, I do. They sparkle and spin and add a little more fun
to my yard.
I’ve been wrapped up in a tangle of stress for the last few months. Seeing a
CD sparkle may sound silly, but it really makes me feel better. So, here’s hoping
that everyone can do something this summer to add a little sparkle to their lives too.