Life Revisited II
I simply can't believe it's been since December that I last posted. Granted, it was December 30, but it was DECEMBER!! Argh!! I even had to reread my last post to know where I left things off.
So, to finish on that last topic, I did complete a good portion of C.S. Lewis before my classes and teaching started up again. In fact, I got through The Great Divorce, The Four Loves, Screwtape Letters again, The Abolition of Man, and a good bit of the Weight of Glory. All in all, I found them extremely stimulating intellectually, and good for my psyche--pondering them keeps me in a good mindset, especially when I get busy.
Like, since the middle of January!
My schedule does make it difficult to keep up with my e-mail, especially things which need replies. This brings me to my topic: the use of e-mail.
I am thoroughly convinced that it's a terrific tool. It allows me to be in contact with anyone, anywhere, anytime. I can be communicating with someone from Tennessee just as easily as someone from Turkey. There is, though, one pet peeve I have, and it has to do with how people use e-mail.
Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but when I get on the telephone to talk to someone, even if it's a business related matter, I will take the time to say hello, ask about them (and their family if appropriate), and the like. Likewise with e-mail. When I e-mail someone, especially a colleague with whom I have not had contact in some time, and especially when it's someone I haven't personally met, I will introduce myself. However it often occurs to me that I receive an e-mail with only a question--not even a name to associate with the sender.
Perhaps in our society we are so worried about security (and in many ways rightly so) that we are reluctant to provide any information about ourselves in our correspondence. Perhaps this is just a generation gap (which, with me now in my 30s, I am finding is more and more real each day), between how I learned to use e-mail and how students use it.
However, using one's name can do a great deal to facilitate an interpersonal relationship. It helps us not live "on an island." (It also makes me much likelier to respond to the request for information or my opinion.)
So, there's my rant for the day. Of course, it's not of any great consequence; I still enjoy keeping up with people and fielding questions. It's just something that makes it a bit easier for me to do.
Ta ta for now.
Jim
So, to finish on that last topic, I did complete a good portion of C.S. Lewis before my classes and teaching started up again. In fact, I got through The Great Divorce, The Four Loves, Screwtape Letters again, The Abolition of Man, and a good bit of the Weight of Glory. All in all, I found them extremely stimulating intellectually, and good for my psyche--pondering them keeps me in a good mindset, especially when I get busy.
Like, since the middle of January!
My schedule does make it difficult to keep up with my e-mail, especially things which need replies. This brings me to my topic: the use of e-mail.
I am thoroughly convinced that it's a terrific tool. It allows me to be in contact with anyone, anywhere, anytime. I can be communicating with someone from Tennessee just as easily as someone from Turkey. There is, though, one pet peeve I have, and it has to do with how people use e-mail.
Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but when I get on the telephone to talk to someone, even if it's a business related matter, I will take the time to say hello, ask about them (and their family if appropriate), and the like. Likewise with e-mail. When I e-mail someone, especially a colleague with whom I have not had contact in some time, and especially when it's someone I haven't personally met, I will introduce myself. However it often occurs to me that I receive an e-mail with only a question--not even a name to associate with the sender.
Perhaps in our society we are so worried about security (and in many ways rightly so) that we are reluctant to provide any information about ourselves in our correspondence. Perhaps this is just a generation gap (which, with me now in my 30s, I am finding is more and more real each day), between how I learned to use e-mail and how students use it.
However, using one's name can do a great deal to facilitate an interpersonal relationship. It helps us not live "on an island." (It also makes me much likelier to respond to the request for information or my opinion.)
So, there's my rant for the day. Of course, it's not of any great consequence; I still enjoy keeping up with people and fielding questions. It's just something that makes it a bit easier for me to do.
Ta ta for now.
Jim
posted by Jim Markey at 8:47 PM
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