Who's in charge here?

My dad was a horseman—not professionally, but as a result of being a farm kid who was lucky enough to have a horse. I went through the typical teenage girl stage of being infatuated with horses. As a result, I did a little riding as well.

One of the things Daddy taught me was that the horse has to know you’re the boss. And you let him know that by the way you sit in the saddle and hold the reins.

Well, the past couple of days, I’ve been trying to install a new, complicated, multi-function printer. It occurred to me several times that there’s no way to sit in your chair or hold your hand on the mouse that will let the printer know you’re in charge here.

Obviously, where technology is concerned, I AM NOT IN CONTROL. I am totally at the mercy of the install software and customer support and any friend I can cajole into holding my hand through the process. Heck, I’d even welcome an enemy under these circumstances!

There are some who relish this kind of a challenge. They thrive on learning new procedures. They love new technology. They can’t wait to get their hands on a new piece of equipment so they can see what it will do.

Me? My favorite printer so far is my old faithful HP4! I would give up a lot before I let that one go. It is simple and straightforward. Plug in the cords and let it run. And run it does, with no drama. It doesn’t require constant attention and coddling like all the inkjet printers I’ve owned so far. Now, if you want to talk about prima donnas! YIKES!

And most of the time, I’ll do anything to maintain the equipment status quo. Am I usually happy with the end results of an upgrade? Reluctantly, I must admit that I am. However, it’s the process of arriving at a new equilibrium that gets me every time!

So I would guess we’re 80% there. A few more tweaks and tests that need to be done. But so far, we’re still standing...or sitting, more accurately. At least, I’m not curled up in the middle of the office floor, retreating mentally into a non-electronic paradise (although I confess that doesn’t sound halfway bad right now!).