ways in which technology makes my life easier

I have a pretty sweet deal with work, especially considering that I am often ill with migraine and have not yet worked myself up to the reality (and necessity) of working full-time. I work far fewer hours than my contract outlines, but I get paid a salary regardless of how many hours I've worked. So when The Company fails to bombard me (or even slightly burden me) with projects, I am still raking in the cash. (If by "raking in the cash" I mean "getting paid well and then finding out that huge percentages are taken out in The Company's country as well as mine. But that's another spoiled brat gripe for another time.)

Tomorrow we have the first of four weekly Webconferences. I can't make the second and third, but I'll be calling in for the first and fourth. Apparently, it goes a little something like this: we editors will dial in to the main terminal (for lack of a better word) at an appointed time using our personal phones while simultaneously logging into The Uber-Company's Webconference page. So I'll be holding my phone to my ear talking to 5-8 other people while we all scroll through documents together on a shared site.

Um, hasn't anyone heard of Skype? The technology is out there. We could go hands-free, phones-free and do the entire Webconference (a word I loathe even more in written than verbal form) online, I know. Yet we won't. I will be using my daytime minutes and getting a crick in my neck as we argue about whether or not that comma goes there or not. Lord help me.

We have a homework assignment before the Webconference (gross, I said it again), and I was actually going to look into completing it even though it's not required! BUT I then received a manuscript to edit on a short timeline and will be doing that work instead.

"This'll be a breeze," I tried to force myself to think. "I'll just print that baby up, pour a coup of coffee, and start editing."

Cue printer problems. Cue outdated-and-crappy-work-PC-laptop problems. I spent the last 48 minutes trying to get the durned computer to let me print even though INK LEVELS ARE LOW!!! Once I replaced every single outlandishly overpriced ink cartridge, the computer warned me, "CANNOT HAVE MORE THAN ONE INK TANK INSTALLED. PLEASE REMOVE INK TANK(S)." So I did. Then I got, "ONE OR MORE INK TANK(S) MISSING. PLEASE INSTALL ALL INK TANKS AND THEN PRINT."

This went on and on. Eventually (as I like to see it), I was so swift that I deftly switched printers and then tricked the computer into thinking we had enough ink for the job.

I'm so happy I have multiple computers and printers to get in my way of holding a piece of paper and a pen in order to do my work.