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Thursday, February 2, 2012

PayPal or PayEnemy?

Napoleon is credited with saying that an army moves on its stomach.....I think I will be known for the saying....."I move forward on the velocity of my mistakes."

At an age that my mother was quietly winding down I find I am ramping up. And it is disconcerting. Learning the computer is not a sweet little hobby so that I can organize pictures and keep up with old friends....it is the keeper of my business, my bills and my money.

And you need to know I have been measured and I have been found wanting.

The other day I received a payment for services rendered through Paypal. At first I was upset at the enormous charge for simply using Paypal to funnel money from one source to my personal bank account. But then I was annoyed at how long it took for the money to go from my Paypal account to my bank......one day, then another day....3 days? I called and found out I have to request Paypal to send the money to my bank account. I had used it in the past and never needed to do that. But if I was more savvy to the world of commerce I would have suspected it.

One button, just that one request.....and the money was on the way. But according to the brain trust at Paypal it would take another 3 to 4 days. In my ignorance I had added almost a week to the process. Lesson learned, it won't happen again.....but how many other land mines are ahead for my very unprepared self?

A few years ago I was doing some geneology at the family history library. I approached a volunteer worker there with a problem. After we discussed it and I was still unclear she looked me straight in the face and sternly said, "Sister I am 87 years old and I am learning the computer....we are not going backward.....learn the computer!"

What have you learned to do? What mistake have you made that we can learn from?