My website--on life support

My last website overhaul came when I redesigned it in early 2009. I created it on my ancient laptop using Dreamweaver which was another example of antiquity. But I had worked with it in years past and would only have to review procedures instead of learning all new ones. It is not perfect but it is serviceable. To be honest, I have not been putting much effort into my website lately. With Facebook, Twitter and other modes of communication, it seemed unnecessary. And, too, I wasn't sure where I was headed artistically, so it would have been the case of putting the cart before the horse if I were to revamp it again. This March, I was interviewed by a college student for a Sociology of Art class. I was not surprised when she sheepishly told me that my website wasn't coming up. I looked into the matter and discovered that due to a credit card change, I had missed payments and the site had not been online for 4 months. Low priority.

I got it back online. Just in time, it seems, because my agent called me with an opportunity to convert my book into an ebook. The ebook process was fast, taking us about two months to nail it down and send it out, but it did mean a lot of work for me. I did not have time to create a whole new website. Today I am in the process of updating my site to prepare for the ebook launch which happens on May 28. Here is the thing. I am working on a slow and heavy Dell laptop. I say prayers every time I turn it on. (Is there a goddess of technology?) The only reason I even keep this beast is because of the website design program and content I have stored on there. It would not be easy to move it to another computer because the design program is dependent upon pathways that exist to the multitude of files I am using for the site. I have said it before about the fast pace of technology and what it means for me as a writer/artist. I keep moving forward, though I do feel as though I am only keeping my head above water (and it is hard to write novels and paint masterpieces when one is under water).

My son has taken some web design classes in school. I do believe I will employ him to rework my site and make it very simple and pared down. I do want to keep it, but it is only one fraction of my e-presence these days. And after recently teaching some classes on green art, I have some lovely ideas for turning my old laptop into a piece of sculpture!

My Bad Techno-romance

A lot has changed in my life since my book came out. I started substitute teaching. My running time has slowed to something just above a walk. (I continue to call it running because I am breathing hard.) Three years ago, I created a Facebook page-- ostensibly to help create some momentum for the Lancaster Literary Guild web page. In reality, the Facebook page, along with the iPhone I got around the same time, has reshaped my daily life. Whereas previously, I could not even remember to take my cell phone with me-- I now keep a death-grip on the thing. My electronic self and physical self are Siamese Twins. Of course, I had to buy an iPad. My new obsession only larger. For my ADD mind, these devices are both saint and demon. They help me with the tasks I need to plow through, but I believe that they have also rewired my brain so that I have an even greater difficulty focusing and being present. When it comes to details, I am slipping. I had a great memory for details, but now my husband says I am unreliable if we are talking about anything in the last 3 years. I am still allowed to win arguments when the facts in the case date prior to 2009.


More recently, I have begun to see technology as a Hydra monster. As soon as I master one branch of it, nine new offshoots take its place. Helping my son through his college search, planning a family vacation to Europe. I can find any information I want, but ultimately that information leads me down five other paths until I have a hard time finding my way out. Enter into this a new mission to make my author self a force in the digital world. I am overwhelmed. It isn't enough to have Twitter and Facebook and a web page; they must all be linked. I need to create creative, dynamic content. I recently talked (who am I kidding?—we conversed on Facebook inbox.) to an author friend of mine. She said that she spends more time on social media than actual writing. That thought almost sent me to live under my covers. It isn't that I don't like Facebook. I do. I am thinking of having the post office forward my mail there. But the thought that the world of writing has evolved into this computer game where you rack up points for followers and only have so many lives to keep in the game is scary and unappealing.

I finished reading A Moveable Feast by Hemingway. I was reading it because we are getting ready to journey to Paris. When I think about the romance of Paris, it will forever include images of writers sitting in cafes with their cafe crèmes and their notebooks with a few sharp pencils and their own words for company. That is something to long for. This longing for stillness, for knowing our own minds and finding out our own identities under this madness of technology, is a theme in the novel I am writing. If the world keeps spinning the way it is, I think it will wind up in the fantasy section.

Technology vs. Simplicity

My husband is a tech guy. He has our house wired. He makes things out of spare computer parts and these things do tricks like announce telephone callers. I would not say I am a technophobe; I'm not. I just don't like technology when there is a simpler solution. For a couple of years, on my husband's urging, I switched from a paper organizer to a PDA. We both had the same model. I was supposed to be able to beam my schedule to him. We were going to have a household synching station with a screen that displayed a common schedule. That never happened. Instead--once a month, I'd print out my calendar and give it to Mark. He would ignore the printout and ask me things like, "Don't we have something going on this week?" Now, we have a magnet wipe-off calendar that is divided by weeks. We have 8 weeks worth of family agenda, color-coded by person, on the fridge. It's the best family tip I have. Low-tech.

Still, there are things I use technology for. I do all my writing on computer. I depend on email to keep in touch. Don't try to take my digital camera away from me. But this week technology seemed against me. Computer problems. ATM card had a malfunction. Phone calls didn't go through. The sensor I have been wearing on my shoe to track my walking miles just went dead for no reason. It's been a pain.

Hubby just showed me a new camera card that automatically loads your pictures to a website over your wireless network. It sounds great, but the more I hear about the advance of technology, the more I long for simpler things: the feel of a book in my hand, a rocking chair, a hand knit scarf, warm soup in a handcrafted bowl, and a snoring dog by my side.

Mark and I have given some thought to building another house. It's probably 10 years away, but we ahve fun dreaming. I think it'll be something like Star Trek meets Little House on the Prairie.