Covey's Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw

Yesterday was an eye opener for me. I was alone at home, bored (I don't like winter!) so I decided to watch TV. Got myself coffee, found a good spot on the sofa, and picked up the remote.  I was ready.  I turned the TV on. Nothing happened. Just a few words on the black screen.  I remembered we don't have cable TV, just network TV. Darn. What was it again?! Click on Source then what?!  Cable? HDMI 1? HDMI 2? TV?.  NO IDEA!!! I was getting desperate because I couldn't make the TV work. The clock is ticking, my lunch break was almost over.  Someone who works for a leading technology firm can't be seen in this embarrassing TV situation. 

I just realized that I relied too much on Joric and the girls to do these things for me. Whenever it's time to watch TV, I just find my spot on the sofa and wait for one of them to take care of the rest.  Now I feel like my Mother (sorry, Nay!).  When we were younger, she would ask us to turn on the TV, find the channel she wants - ALL THE TIME. She didn't bother to learn how to operate the TV - they had us, her girls.  Now it's weird - I feel like I am her, at 43!  I'm the type of girl who reads manuals and figures out how things work as soon as they're out of the box -- computer, camera, home appliances.  I used to know how to work the DVD player with the TV.  For some reason, in the last few years maybe, I let myself go. I can't operate our TV. I have forgotten to sharpen some parts of the saw. How uncool is that?!

So I challenged myself. I remembered Maia's old netbook. It needed fixing. I will fix it. Challenge accepted. I took it out and decided to restore it to its factory settings. No idea how so I did some research, found the info I needed and worked on it. In less than an hour, it was done. Whew. Next, reinstall Microsoft Office. Installation CD, check.  CD drive, missing.  Mmmmm .... back to the web, did some research and found the download site. Tried it once, twice, thrice and it failed.  The installation file didn't work, it didn't have the right extension. The instruction said not to change the filename.  That's odd ... should be *.exe.  Change it, don't listen to the instructions. YOU know better.  It worked. Wow. It felt great.  It really did.  I still have it. LOL.

Now I know how laziness can be deterimental. You always have to sharpen the saw to keep up, or you'll turn stale. First the TV, then what?