Microstory 167 – Morning Conversation
I told her not to look at the laptop, at least in the morning. These days my younger daughter also gets up very early in the morning. One of the promises we have made is to sit at the round table at 5.30 AM and have our morning chat with coffee and milk. It went on for a couple of days. One day I noticed that she was a little disoriented in the morning and didn’t know what to do. So I asked her why don’t you sketch? The last time she did was in the night looking at a youtube video. She immediately asked me for a graphite pencil. I told her to get it from my balcony which is my so-called stationary place. She picked a pencil holder and started looking at each pencil and said all these are not the ones for sketching. I didn’t quite get what she was saying and checked on google what she meant. Then finally I told her to make the best of the morning hours as it is the best time for creative use. It was good to see what happened in the next 30 minutes. My fascination for writing with Pen (sometimes ink pen) to capture my flow of thoughts puts me in a state of flow. I have started believing in the magic of morning and conventional things without Digital Distractions.
Microstory 168 – Afternoon Conversation
My daughter was complaining a couple of days ago that she was not able to use the Camera and Mic on her Laptop. It came to a point that she was put in a spot of bother by the teacher. In fact, the teacher said that she will call on a WA video call and she should show the homework paper. I read somewhere ” Digi-rupt ” and this was a perfect testimony. That incident was the last straw on the camel’s back. That afternoon she sat me down on the round table and told me that enough is enough and I can not face further embarrassment. I was trying to sneak my way out of this as these trouble shootings are best done by my wife. But that afternoon I decided to make her understand a process. I asked her to type on google, ” What to do if my camera and Mic are not working on Windows 10?” The search yielded a good number of videos. We picked the first ones and started seeing them together. I made her do all the work ( My wife says I am a good manager). It was at the end of both of the videos that they gave a suggestion and said ‘ It might sound stupid but please check FN Plus F4 for video and F8 for the mic. My daughter tried it. then she burst out into laughter and said, ” I did it!” It was like the eureka moment. I told her, ” Never give up” mantra was made visible ( camera) and audible (Mic). I was wondering ” Even a function key can lead to a dysfunction”. Next time you need help or a problem solved, you know whom to turn to.
Microstory 169 – Dinner Conversation
That evening my younger daughter and I decided to have our dinner very early. It was around 6.30 PM and we were having a conversation about the games she was playing on her Laptop. She made me aware that some of the Korean pop singers are a rage among their friends. She went on to tell me about Black and Pink, and other KPop bands who are a big hit. Her favorite app is Discord. Suddenly she steered the conversation to Life in general and asked me this question. Do you like to be ” Rich and rude or poor and nice?” As I was not able to give my answer she said, ” It is poor and nice ” as we can become RICH even after we lose everything. It is good to be nice to everyone. I was wondering why she moved from her tweenage discussions to a heavier subject. I later understood that in their friends’ community they discuss all these philosophical matters of life. That was a big insight for me. We think they are not ready for intellectual discussions but I am getting ready to hear what they have to say next time on the meaning of Life. I wondered what makes kids think big things?
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