Do you have any idea how difficult it is to keep up with the kids? I have almost reached the end of my tether and will either be signing myself into an asylum or going back to school. I know that some of you will not understand “the problem” and decide I am a halfwit (quite possibly true!), where others will understand my dilemma.

There are 24 hours in every day and I want to make the most of them. The division of these 24 hours should be easy: 8 for rest, 8 for work and 8 for ME. If work gets stretched to 10, then I must take either from rest or from ME. If I rest too little I become cranky, to say the least. The ME time includes eating, drinking, exercising, cinema, socializing, fun with the wife, reading bUSiness Chile, writing for bUSiness Chile, etc.

I value the ME time and want this to grow but I must administer my time better. Yes, I know many of you only sleep 5 or 6 hours and have more work time and ME time, but this will get you in the end; an early demise… I want to get to 88 before I am considered 100% “Gone with the Wind”…

So, how should I use my time?
Firstly, learn to say NO to all requests that require me to give of my time unnecessarily.
I almost always said “YES” to helping out with this event or that charity, now it is a simple NO, but I will send a small donation.

I called my son at 6 pm last Thursday, but no answer. Later he called back to say he had been out cycling and I was still in the office!! I was invited to play in a soccer (football) match which sounded like fun until I was told kick off was at 10 pm! Who are these people?
That’s breaking into rest time!

I have had to rethink my approach to social networking; much too time consuming. Facebook, where I have 786 “friends” (I only know 25 of them!), has had to go. Linkedin is out as well because I’m simply not interested in knowing Jeremiah Smythe’s new job description and, in truth, I don´t even know Jeremiah!
Why did I accept his invitation? I accept all invitations!

Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr, Meetup, Tagged: all gone. I am keeping Twitter because I like to follow myself… and YouTube because I can listen and/or watch great concerts. I have a few useful Apps (TaxiGetMeHome being one) and access to the App Store. WhatsApp is a must and allows me to be in contact with far flung family and friends. I am tired of the baby photograph “post” followed by 60 odd “how beautiful” messages. My reply: “all babies look like that but, if you are lucky, he/she will look lovely – given time”.

So, what has this got to do with the kids? There is definitely a generation gap in evidence here and I find it difficult to keep up. My kids (all adults) treat this like bread and butter, leaping from one network to another and gently floating between Apps. Worst of all, my 5 year old granddaughter “gets it” long before I do….very disturbing.

As this is, very obviously, a “talent and time” issue I have decided to use my talent and time to keep to the 8/8/8 rule and can justify this with give long, boring explanations about the decline of good writing and language; the monstrosity of the silent dinner where all present (except me, of course) are
staring at their “dumb phones”; the futility of posting meaningless messages about “how I feel” and “what I think of someone else’s comment” and, worse still, if I post a “thumbs up” then Tommy (who I do not know) may accumulate enough thumbs to get an “A” Grade on his essay… Finally, my photographs are mine and why do I need to share?

Am I wrong? YES! Is that relevant? NO! Do I want to play catch up? NO; I just want to go on playing Angry Birds until I can get to the very end…… Now that will surely get me into an asylum and the kids will have to visit me once a week. They will come but spend 90% of the time texting… so leave me alone! Just for once, perhaps, “ignorance really is bliss”…

I remain, dimwitted but delighted, disdainful but not dead.

Join me!

Santiago Eneldo
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