Life with a Mac

For the first time in weeks, Taekwondo was not painful. Of course, I still didn't try hitting the bags, but at least the running and other excercises did not hurt as much. I planned on running close to midnight yesterday, but it just didn't happen. Instead, I spent maybe 3 hours trying to get Mail in Mac OSX to work with my work IMAP.

For more than a week, I haven't been able to use Mail- I was using my university's web mail app. Now that web-based email was just not my cup of tea- too clunky, and I never really wanted to learn the thing. I have been using Eudora for more than 9 years, and then Thunderbird for the last 2 years. I was determined to use Mail (and all the Mac apps I can use), and it should work. But, of course, the basic instructions in my university's webpages were not complete. So, given an unresponsive computer support unit (they were goning to learn the Mac, too, I guess), I fiddled with this thing. I must have spent more than 4 hours total on configuring it- and around midnight, I got it to work! So now, I am one of the 2or 3 people in my whole department who use Mail.

So I am in the minority. I sometimes feel like a trailblazer, but mostly, I feel left on my own. Sure, there is the Mac store in town, but it seems switching from a PC has too many hassles. Sort of like running. There's the time needed, and now that I'm running on a trail 30 min away, and the miles are increasing, a run is more like a 4.5 hour affair (wake up at 5:40, get back by 10). It will only get worse - a 20 mile run is about 4 hours. Then there's the 'being alone' part. You wake up, put on your shoes, and head off. It's an individual sport. You may meet all these other runners on the road, but in the end, it's your legs, your miles. I don't mind it. I am doing it for GK, I am doing it for me. It all blends in nicely. I feel good about myself, my family, having a Mac, driving a hybrid car, having a water solar water heater. Now if only I can get my office cleaned...