“Fish out of Water” means to me “out of one’s depth”.
Many people at some stage in their lives find themselves in this situation.
It is a matter of how one handles it.
I believe that in acting positively one can generally escape the situation, and I think that, in my own many such occasions, I have tried to do so
.
Except that in one set of circumstances, I am completely overwhelmed. That is I.T. Information Technology! And that is where I am a “fish out of water”!
In my early stage of business, my partner and I followed the trend and purchased a computer. It was really an advanced bookkeeping machine which in the early 1970s cost us $24,000. RThere were no providers in Benalla so we went to Shepparton. There had been a lot of rain , and coming home, the Shepparton road was flooded, so we had to take the Dookie detour. It was also flooded, but we drove through the flood waters, with the water lapping the door handles.
The computer was a great adjunct to our business and we had girls specialising in the operation of it, so that until the end of my working days I had a secretary operating mine. I gained no experience. This was so even though computers became much smaller and almost everybody in the office had their own. I had always been a reasonable typist so I could handle the “word” program, but that is my limit.
Since retiring I have attended short courses at TAFE but between lessons I never practised, so all I learnt was soon forgotten.
Only today I was typing “my career went bung”. Had reached more than 200 words, and yes! I lost the lot. After a number of expletives and numerous attempts at retrieval, I gave up, deeming that it was providence.
While I am writing this essay, the mobile phone rings. It is my wife’s phone but she is not in. I shuffle and swipe the face of it, but I cannot answer it. It stops ringing. I have missed the call! I have been to U3A Tech-Savvy courses and have been taught how to handle a mobile phone, but still it is beyond me.
An e-mail comes to hand which requires a reply and two attachments. I can handle the e-mail, but the attachments??...I need help! Not only can’t I do the attachments, I can’t get out of the damn program!
This computer, only two years old, is not user friendly, and is possibly my worst ever purchase. I have had occasion to call in a computer expert on a couple of occasions but find that he talks too fast and his words go right over my head.
The computer is my nemesis.
Ray O'Shannessy
September 2017
Many people at some stage in their lives find themselves in this situation.
It is a matter of how one handles it.
I believe that in acting positively one can generally escape the situation, and I think that, in my own many such occasions, I have tried to do so
.
Except that in one set of circumstances, I am completely overwhelmed. That is I.T. Information Technology! And that is where I am a “fish out of water”!
In my early stage of business, my partner and I followed the trend and purchased a computer. It was really an advanced bookkeeping machine which in the early 1970s cost us $24,000. RThere were no providers in Benalla so we went to Shepparton. There had been a lot of rain , and coming home, the Shepparton road was flooded, so we had to take the Dookie detour. It was also flooded, but we drove through the flood waters, with the water lapping the door handles.
The computer was a great adjunct to our business and we had girls specialising in the operation of it, so that until the end of my working days I had a secretary operating mine. I gained no experience. This was so even though computers became much smaller and almost everybody in the office had their own. I had always been a reasonable typist so I could handle the “word” program, but that is my limit.
Since retiring I have attended short courses at TAFE but between lessons I never practised, so all I learnt was soon forgotten.
Only today I was typing “my career went bung”. Had reached more than 200 words, and yes! I lost the lot. After a number of expletives and numerous attempts at retrieval, I gave up, deeming that it was providence.
While I am writing this essay, the mobile phone rings. It is my wife’s phone but she is not in. I shuffle and swipe the face of it, but I cannot answer it. It stops ringing. I have missed the call! I have been to U3A Tech-Savvy courses and have been taught how to handle a mobile phone, but still it is beyond me.
An e-mail comes to hand which requires a reply and two attachments. I can handle the e-mail, but the attachments??...I need help! Not only can’t I do the attachments, I can’t get out of the damn program!
This computer, only two years old, is not user friendly, and is possibly my worst ever purchase. I have had occasion to call in a computer expert on a couple of occasions but find that he talks too fast and his words go right over my head.
The computer is my nemesis.
Ray O'Shannessy
September 2017
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