Living in an Internet World

You are so BLESSED to be able to work from home!! Jobs like that are few and far between.

I work at home too but it does have its pitfalls, electric goes out due to storms etc., internet goes down for long periods of time . all in all though its great.

Lynn - I completely agree! The only reason I am able to do this is because I worked for the company for 7 years before moving to Arkansas. When the programming position opened up they offered it to me since I am good at what I do and there is a huge learning curve since the system is unique to our industry.

Good for you Tonia. Hearing about it is sooo much better than having to shovel it!

Richard - that is so true - I am grateful that my shoveling days are a thing of the past. If it snows here, it is usually only a small amount and since I work from home I don't have to dig out in order to get to the office. Yes, life is good. :-)

Are you sure you're not in India?

I work at home too and I love it.

(Andrea, no one can ever be sure where we are.)

You are darn right there's a snowstorm in Massachusetts. I got up at 3:30 because I wanted to write a story about Walter Baker's Chocolate Mill in Dorchester where I went yesterday for a photo shoot. When I stepped outside I was relieved...just rain. I started writing my story, downloading pictures and having a heck of a good time. Then I went back out on the porch for a cig....and what do you know, my world had turned white. At 5 I got a call saying "No School" those wonderful words I love to hear. Imagine, a whole "free" day on Gather. WRONG! Power went out about 8 and has been off and on all day. No gathering or little gathering today.....damn! Even when I had power, it took tooooooo long to click from one page to another...so I finally gave up....took a long, hot bubble bath and finished Aaron's book. Then I started writing my review.....so maybe it wasn't such a BAD day after all! Smile. How are you and Deb coming along with Aaron's book...I see you host the book tour the week before me.

What an interesting job. The internet has opened a the whole world to us.

So you get the low down personally on what's going on in other parts. That sounds rather nice. And after reading this I cut on the t.v. to the weather channel. I wouldn't mind a little snow. THe kind that doesn't stick to the streets.

Tonia, I count my blessings everyday, that you can work from home the way you do. :) I also feel blessed with every temperate day we have here during the winter months.

Bob, I loved Aaron's Tremolo. Looking forward to the review!

Here in NH and it is snowing and I do love it! Have been writing all day and the laundry pile threatens to topple me...ho hum. Back to work I guess!

Just took Tuck out into the heavy wet snow...he loved it....as for me...walk up the road and back again...tooooo windy for me....and the road is all slush!

Yeah Tonia!
practice safe surfing, step by step article.

I think this is one of the marvels that the Internet has opened up for us. We can visit each other a world away and still feel like we are sitting in the living room talking to them.

I am so with you that that's cool. I was so impressed, the huge long comment I was going to reply with became an article of it's own.

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977229882

Good for you. Working from home is perfect for some jobs. I just love the internet.

Just one of the many marvels we are blessed to experience today! This isn't even taking our internet families into consideration.

Yes, technology and the Internet have immensely changed our world. In general, I like what technology is doing for us.

If I'm employed by a company, I like the option of being able to work from home occasionally to let in a service person or for another reason that may require me to be home. However, I prefer doing work in a workplace environment with other people. I like having personal contact with a variety of people. There are more resources in the workplace--it's easier to keep up with my field. I have contact with people from outside the company who are calling the company with a request. If I have a question or a problem, I have people nearby I can discuss it with. I get training and learn the viewpoints of others. Had I worked from home, I would never have had all the wonderful opportunities that helped develop my skills, broadened my worldview, and made my job so interesting. Best of all, when I'm in a workplace, someone else takes care of my IT problems and cleans my office.

At home, I tend to eat when I take a break or get distracted by some chore that needs to be done.

What I'd like is being able to work part-time doing interesting work appropriate to my abilities in the workplace. I don't feel up to working a 50-hour work weeks required to do my previous job, but I think I still have a lot to offer and would enjoy working with colleagues again.

I can agree it's odd hearing those that have weather different than you. As many before me have said, you are very fortunate to have the opportunity to work from home.

As this becomes common place for us, I can't help but wonder what our children/grandchildren will find amazing. It is the same experience of discovery with each generation. The only difference is what's coming next.

It does never cease to amaze me the wonderful world of the internet. From here at home I talk often to my friend who owns the isolated mountaintop ghosttown, and another who is a ranger at Bodie, a ghosttown preserved as a state historic park, also in the backcountry. I can also spend some great time with all of my friends in Death Valley...and none of us have to leave our homes or worry about the time, day, or weather to communicate.

I do miss somethings out there though - but I'll catch up with it later this year! Have a great day, Miz Tonia. Salud.

This has generated some awesome commentary. I do remember when the personal computer was just coming into the classroom in my high school and we could do some really "cool" things with BASIC. So much has changed and it intrigues me to see all the ways that folks have responded.

And Verie - it is sometimes very difficult to work from home when there is the potential of so much distraction. I have a lot of motivation to make it work though so I try to put on an "office" mindset when I am logged on to work. It helps.

when I first encountered a computer, it was in highschool - and one took a whole room.... we were to fill in the dots on the cards with pencil and put the cards all in order to make the computer print out our name or something.

I could not do it! Swore I'd never work on computers again LOL

I remember, when I was in high school, they were using the fabulous TRS-80s (with the cassette memory taking the place of today's hard drive but MUCH SLOOOOWWWEERRRR and MUCH SMALLER). When I went to college, my parents went all out and bought a PC Jr (though I was the only in the house that knew how to use it).

Ah, the bad ol' days.

And think of the gas you save!

I am of the generation many consider to be tech savy and yet I'm amazed at how fast and how much the technology has changed. I didn't start using the internet until I was in college and it's such a strange concept to me that children now grow up with it as a fact of life. I suppose the TV and microwave were like that for previous generations.

As to the snow -- here in Minnesota winter is MUCH nice when there is snow than when there isn't!