cgavula
07-26-2006, 12:44 AM
As I mentioned the other day, I made a big move 1000 miles south (from Detroit to Mobile, Alabama) to take on a new job and restart my life. Not an easy thing when your young, and it gets less easy as you get older and have a home, family, and other commitments. But sometimes, as I talked about in my last blog, personal technologies can make things a little easier and more bearable.
So now I’m living in Mobile. It’s a culture shock and a major adjustment. Everything is different here – none of the old things I took for granted hold true here. But again, the available technology can help overcome the lack of knowledge.
The weather is a good example. It’s nothing like what I was used to back in Michigan (except both are very hot in the summer). My PDA and laptop have helped me track the weather since the patterns down here are very different than what I’m used to and without them I’d be somewhat at a loss as to what to expect.
My cell phone, of course, has helped people keep in touch with me who hadn’t gotten word that I’d relocated. On the down side, that same cell phone can’t go with me to work because it has a camera and I’m working in a secured facility. The technology worked a bit against me there, but it still had an impact!
The Internet, along with Google maps of the Hurricane Katrina flooding, have helped me know where NOT to look for a house, although I’m getting really familiar with the phrase “flooring and sheetrock replaced” - it's not a good phrase to hear.
Realtor.com and bestplaces.net have helped me examine lots of houses and check out crime stats for various zip codes so I can avoid bad neighborhoods. Youhave to take the info with a grain of salt, thouhg. A zip code can cover a lot of different neighborhoods,not all of which will be as bad or good as the stats indicate. Realtor,com has also allowed me to see how my old home in Detroit is being marketed and, together with email/PDF files and my cell phone, I’m able to manage the sale and marketing process together with my realtor across the country.
Video chat and email have enabled me to keep in close contact with the family, friends, and old co-workers I’ve left behind. I think my mother would still be crying about my departure had I not been able to assure her she could see me on video chat. And even as write this from my hotel room, I’m using the hotel’s wireless Internet capabilities to deliver this content to pocketnow and you.
Sometimes we need to step back and take a look at all these things and just how much our lives have changed from them. For me, this move may not have been feasible without them.
I've seen from my previous posting that these same kinds of things have an impact on us all and again I ask you - how have the technologies of personal electronics changed and/or impacted your life?
So now I’m living in Mobile. It’s a culture shock and a major adjustment. Everything is different here – none of the old things I took for granted hold true here. But again, the available technology can help overcome the lack of knowledge.
The weather is a good example. It’s nothing like what I was used to back in Michigan (except both are very hot in the summer). My PDA and laptop have helped me track the weather since the patterns down here are very different than what I’m used to and without them I’d be somewhat at a loss as to what to expect.
My cell phone, of course, has helped people keep in touch with me who hadn’t gotten word that I’d relocated. On the down side, that same cell phone can’t go with me to work because it has a camera and I’m working in a secured facility. The technology worked a bit against me there, but it still had an impact!
The Internet, along with Google maps of the Hurricane Katrina flooding, have helped me know where NOT to look for a house, although I’m getting really familiar with the phrase “flooring and sheetrock replaced” - it's not a good phrase to hear.
Realtor.com and bestplaces.net have helped me examine lots of houses and check out crime stats for various zip codes so I can avoid bad neighborhoods. Youhave to take the info with a grain of salt, thouhg. A zip code can cover a lot of different neighborhoods,not all of which will be as bad or good as the stats indicate. Realtor,com has also allowed me to see how my old home in Detroit is being marketed and, together with email/PDF files and my cell phone, I’m able to manage the sale and marketing process together with my realtor across the country.
Video chat and email have enabled me to keep in close contact with the family, friends, and old co-workers I’ve left behind. I think my mother would still be crying about my departure had I not been able to assure her she could see me on video chat. And even as write this from my hotel room, I’m using the hotel’s wireless Internet capabilities to deliver this content to pocketnow and you.
Sometimes we need to step back and take a look at all these things and just how much our lives have changed from them. For me, this move may not have been feasible without them.
I've seen from my previous posting that these same kinds of things have an impact on us all and again I ask you - how have the technologies of personal electronics changed and/or impacted your life?