Unsinkable

I have decided that computers make me insane.  My Mac crashed this weekend in a big way, which has been putting a little damper on my social life (no addresses or phone numbers of any friends or family), my consulting work (in the two weeks since I’ve last backed up I’ve done tons of work which I am now in the process of recreating), and just my general demeanor (trips to the Apple store are better had under more fun and purchase-related circumstances).

Additionally, personal computer issues aside, I’ve been visiting my first discussion board ever.  Don’t get me wrong-I’m a savvy internet user since 1994, but the prospect of chatting with other folks that I don’t know online just never held much interest for me.  I mean, I like Buffy the Vampire Slayer as much as the next nerd, but I can geek out about it in person with my friends and family, so why chat online with strangers?

But this discussion group is for other families adopting from Ethiopia using the agency we’re using, and it’s really interesting to see other families in various stages of the process, people ask questions, other people answer, etc.  I had been "lurking" (apparently the term for reading other people’s posts but not posting or introducing yourself) for a couple of months, and learning quite a bit about the other people in the program, as well as cool tips about adoption, Ethiopia, International Travel, etc.

So I lurked, then finally introduced myself and was formally welcomed into the group. And all was well.   But then someone asked about the mountain of paperwork you apparently receive after your referral (for the child’s visa and immigration, etc.)

What?

I haven’t got any of that yet!  Should I be starting on that?  So, of course I email my adoption worker and ask about these additional forms, and of course she’ll be sending them to us in the next week or so, and there’s nothing to worry about.  But then I think that there are probably tons of other people reading those same things and asking frantic questions of the program staff.   And I feel kind of embarrassed for my panic. 

And I feel like rolling back to the stone age where at least I kept a non-digital address book so I could call my sister if I needed to and didn’t have my laptop nearby.  Thank goodness for the speed dial on my cell phone…

p.s.  I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the great emails of congratulations, support, and excitement on our referral.  Due to technical difficulties I haven’t replied promptly to all of them.  Complaints can be routed to the Apple store at Mayfair Mall.   

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 14th, 2006 at 7:32 pm and is filed under hope for the future. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.