Will you forgive me for feeling just a little bit proud of myself this afternoon? I think I’ve excelled myself today and am feeling just a little bit chuffed…
I’m fortunate in my job to be blessed with both an accommodating Captain and access to a great variety of technological assets that I can use both for work and personal applications. Such flexibility is probably partly because (while I’m well aware that I am by no means indispensable) I do a lot of work that few people with my skills would do for the amount of my salary and partly because the opportunity to increase my skills makes me more valuable to the company. It’s a win/win situation.
So here we are… Dino-boy is turning 3 next week and for me, gone are the days of home-made little woollen jumpers for birthday presents… Auntie Dee has gone high-tech. (By the way… I could do the woollen jumpers… some of the old skills still remain…). However, for this birthday, I made good use of my boss’s flexibility (actually he wasn’t in today…) and some fancy applications and made my nephews birthday present.
It’s a DVD.
I know… a home-made DVD… how cool is that? The videos on it are simple clips of me reading story books and as Sis has been pretty religious about sending me photos over the years I also had the means to make a video slide show of Dino-boy from birth to now… 3 whole years, complete with groovy jazz soundtrack (indoctrinating early…).
I’m pretty intent on the kids in our family growing up with some kind of relationship with me, even living across the ocean as I do. We had cousins in Australia that we barely know and I while I know that it still rankles sometimes that I live here and the kids are growing up without me I make a pretty good effort to take an interest in them and spend quality time with them while I’m in the country and when we’re on the phone. So, while I’ve been sending over the occasional video, Sis’ dial-up connection has been preventing me from getting too carried away.
Enter Adobe Encore and a day’s worth of tinkering.
I won’t go into the technological details of how it all worked but I think the biggest pleasure about the day was the fact that I had to learn a whole new programme to make this present do all the things I wanted to. That’s the buzz for me, learning the skills, solving the problems, exercising my intellect and reasoning to fix the issues. And while there are many who are in the know would be scandalised at how long it took me to get my DVD working I couldn’t be happier that I made the puppy work and that this birthday present is a one of a kind!
I’m pretty lucky.
Adobe Encore is awesome. As is lightroom. The gift sounds great! : )
What a great idea – and lovely present!
When I was a baby (in the UK) my dad’s two brothers both emigrated to New Zealand so I’ve had two lots of Aunties and Uncles and a bunch of cousins the other side of the world. I’ve only met them each a couple of times when they’ve been over here (I haven’t made it there yet). We’ve always had lots of photos, so I know their faces well and when I was a child (in the 70’s – not so technical!!) we used to record audio tapes to each other. But it’s still strange to have this chunk of family so far away, and what you’ve done would have been lovely to receive – not least for my dad. When my middle uncle came over for the first time (that I met him) I was still amazed at how much like my dad he was, even though I’d seen pictures, because they don’t show you the mannerisms and all.
Sorry about the very long comment.
congratulations! you’re my new Go-To person for all things technical! whoooo-hoo! great job, deeleea!
who’s a smart pumpkin then :)
I don’t know that the chillun’s will be getting as much from Aunty Lisa once I’ve made the move .. but at the rate The Sherriff is learning to have a chat on the phone, he’ll be the one ringing me anyway!
What a great present!
My niece is overseas too (Germany), and I was really nervous that, despite phone calls and stuff, when I stayed this summer she wouldn’t know me or would be too shy and wary. Thankfully my sister had done a great job with the photos before I came and so me being there turned into the Best Thing Ever for her, and she’s at that age now (few months older than Dino boy) where she remembers when I was there and still thinks I’m great even though I’m not there.
It’s hard though sometimes, not seeing her grow up. So I know how you feel. But he’s really lucky to have such a groovy aunty!