Belize and Me in Cyberspace

In case you haven’t noticed, I try to be sooo techi (using the computer all the time, blogging, carrying a Dell pocket computer). It’s great fun but I haven’t a clue what I’m doing. This week it took me about 3 days to get a simple program properly downloaded onto my Dell. Thank goodness for the “Help!” person at the other end of my emails.

And here with this blog…it’s become a part of me. I don’t want to kill it even though I haven’t had much to say since I returned from Belize. Fortunately, few people check it out now for that very reason.

Recently someone from Belize, who I want to keep in touch with, sent me a computer-generated email inviting me to be a “friend” on Hi5. So far I had succeeded in avoiding FaceBook and MySpace, but this time, well, why not? I filled in all the requisite and some non-requisite information, even added my Halifax junior high school to their list (why should Cornwallis Jr. H. be left out?) and then sat back and waited. Not really. I checked every few hours to see what was happening at my new cyber-home. Nothing. Not a thing. Where are you my friend? Now, I feel ignored. But at least I’m out there; my presence reaches in another direction out into computer space.

And then there are my umpiring friends. I went Googling the other day for a calendar just to print out for them all with a few special dates. Instead I found a site where I could set up a free account and share the calendar on-line as well as meeting minutes, pictures, etc. So I did, and this time it was my turn to send out the computer-generated invites. Now I’m making phone calls to see if they got those emails, succeeded in getting into the new site and then found what was posted. But now my presence reaches out in yet another direction in this amazing computer space.

On a rather less esoteric note, last Sunday I packed my computer and my church’s newly acquired projector and headed across the river to visit St. Mark’s Anglican Church here in Port Hope, Ontario. This was probably the last presentation of Stanley’s Mission, but one never knows! Most of the congregation stayed and gave me a hearty welcome and hearty lunch. Evidently the grandson of a former rector of St. Mark’s is now operating a tour guide service for Belize from offices in Whistler, B.C. It’s quite surprising the connection Canada has with Belize when so few Canadians know anything about it. I never tire of returning to Belize through my pictures and am really wondering how long it will have to be before I do so in person.