Okay, then. I've been here at steemit for three whole days now (quick edit, it's actually four - this post didn't get finished in time so another day has passed) and I'm feeling like an alien on a new planet.
Photo by Free-Photos on Pixabay
My post may say Day 2, but that's because landing day was a day not counted. I was too distracted just getting my bearings.
Planet Steemit - It's fascinating and colourful but also completely incomprehensible.
Photo by Nigel Tadyanehondo on Unsplash
I am doing my best to get into some kind of routine with writing, while also checking out other people's blogs and looking into all the different sub-planets that orbit Steemit.
This is not so easy when you have a full-time J.O.B. and are a wife and mother. There are only so many hours.
Yesterday evening, when I returned from work and after I had eaten my dinner, I passed out on the sofa in an almost comatose state.
But, that being said, here I am again, with my little voice clamouring to be heard in this new world with a cacaphony of voices.
If I just had to write my original piece and leave, that would be fine, but I have already realised that the addition of photos is an important must to this blogging malarkey.
So I trawl through pictures on pixabay and unsplash looking for beautiful images that other adventurers in other online planets have shared.
It amazes me that the world wide web is still so relatively new. I remember a time when phones were JUST that.
Ours was placed in the hallway under the stairs.
You had to stand in one place when you wanted to speak to somebody. You had to dial a number by placing your finger tip in a hole and move it the required amount to show the number you wanted - and then wait and repeat. It was a slower process than today.
Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash
You also had to either keep your friends numbers inside your head or store them in an address book. This was a real book that you flipped the pages of and wrote in.
Nowadays a phone's least used tool is the one it was invented for.
Nowadays you can surf on your phone. Take selfies. Play games. Check the weather. And so much more that a complete list would fill out this entire blog post.
Now your phone is your mobile communication tool. It allows you to enter the world wide web from anywhere and everywhere. It has become the manifestation of a young girl's dreams.
Okay, it is a little grander than my younger self's dreams. All I really wanted was a small device that would allow me to watch TV while I sat daydreaming in my primary school. In my imagination, the perfect device for this was the wristwatch.
And lo and behold there are now such things. And so much more.
When I dreamed of my mini tv, there were only three channels to choose from: BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. Channel 4 came along when I was about 12 years old and then Channel 5 was 15 years later.
In those days things took longer. And I remember the days being somehow longer in themselves. Nostalgia has no doubt romanticised them but looking back fills me with a warm glow.
Without the technology we have today, the world was very different. I went out for hours with my friends with no means to contact home. My parents didn't sit there overly worrying. Apart from the time my wristwatch stopped and I didn't return at the allotted time.
There was a sense of freedom that possibly isn't there in today's society.
I know I read a lot more.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
I'd spend hours and hours losing myself in novels. There were no distractions. When you only have 3 or 4 TV channels to choose from and they're not going 24 hours everyday, you find other things to do with your time. And remember, apart from the radio, and talking to your friends in the public space that is the downstairs hallway, there really isn't the same need to check in.
There were other differences that spring to mind, like shops closing at 5pm, and closing all day on a Sunday. Bank holidays were days where everybody was off, except the emergency services. There was proper downtime.
The world just wasn't so busy.
Boredom wasn't something to be pampered to. It was where you found yourself if you didn't get creative. I played a lot, lost myself in imaginary worlds, went out and played with my friends in the street.
The streets weren't as busy either. There were less cars.
You knew your neighbours. Number 10 had the angry old lady. She'd shout at us kids and say we were being too loud. Whereas Number 9 had the friendly elderly couple, who would give us sweets and talk about their granddaughter who was coming to visit soon.
Mrs Upton, at Number 3, would wave from her window. She had a permanent seat in her bay window and would sit and watch the world go by. On occasion, when I'd forget my door key, I'd sit in with her and drink tea, while I waited for one of my family to return and let me in.
On other occasions I'd knock on Numbers 4 or 6 and ask them if I could climb over their fence and let myself in through the back door. Yes, this was a time when back doors didn't get locked.
I even remember Gwen and Fred, friends of my parents, who had a house a few streets away, who had an outside toilet. It wasn't necessarily the norm but it was years before the new plumbing was installed and they and their neighbours got internal toilets.
Now, I'm beginning to feel ancient.
Now, it's time to get on with the rest of my day. Now, it's time to get back into the rush...