Andrew’s Mac Tips Weblog

Not being in control; that’s one of the major causes of stress. One of the great and pleasurable aspects of owning a computer (particularly a Mac) is that you are in effect the master of this one small part of your life. Set things up to reflect your tastes, assign your shortcuts, arrange windows just how you like them etc. But when it comes time to connect to the outside world, now someone else is in the driving seat.

One day or hour or minute you’re getting great down load speeds, the next, you’re not. It’s all so seemingly random. No wonder that the internet is compared so often to traffic and transportation; in most areas of your life you can assert control, or buy control if you have the means — but when it comes to driving from here to there, or downloading from there to here, well, tough.

I have one thing that I repeat to myself whenever I am having a particularly kludgey down load session: It’s not me, it’s them.

In the past I’d dive in and start to adjust my network settings in the vein hope of curing this latest slow down, when half an hour ago everything was running along nicely. What had changed in the last half hour? Nothing at this end. Like I said, and forgot, it’s not me, it’s them…

I used to get really angry on my drive to work each day. There was one particular intersection where traffic (including me) waiting to turn would be held up for what seemed like forever. Certain folks would feint driving straight through, and at the last moment, make the turn from inside the intersection, around the legitimately turning traffic, and holding up that traffic even more.

My blood would boil, and then I taught myself a little game; I imagined that I lived in Viet Nam where everyone is a terrible driver. Rather than fume and cuss at the bad drivers I calmly accepted the fact that they were all bad drivers and instead, quietly celebrated whenever I might spot someone actually driving well.

Finally that idea didn’t hold either, and I ended up taking an all together different, and longer route. I had to leave home five minutes earlier but those five minutes saved my sanity. I know there’s a lesson in there somewhere; one that I can migrate to the internet and downloading woes. Wish I knew what it was.

Maybe it’s just this: Relax.