The Sentinel, Is it just me?

      Things seem to have become more complex in this year. I recognize that I am getting older and some cognitive powers do diminish over time, but that is normally a gradual thing. This year it seems like I fell off a cliff.
      Things I do easily became more difficult to accomplish. Part of that, perhaps most of it came with changes since March of this year. My phone network was up and then down like a yoyo. I never knew when it was working unless I tried to make a call. The phone kept showing me a message “emergency calls only.” That went on for weeks. My Chromebook computer had two firmware updates that needed to be done. The updates required a power wash that wiped out all personal data. I did the first one and just got all my personal data restored and got all of my multitude of passwords for different operations re-established when the second update showed up. I went through the same process again. My blog changed, not because I wanted it, but because google forced the change. The idea was to make it better and easier. It has taken a while for me to adapt to the changes. The jury is still out on whether it is better and easier, but the facts of the case are that I really had no choice.
      We made some banking changes since March and that was a fecal storm. We had used our old bank for over 29 years and the website was simple and easy to use. The new bank website is the opposite of the old, more complex and more difficult to get used to using it.
      We changed our insurance provider this year and that is different, but the redeeming feature is that it is now less expensive for the same coverage. I think that is a good thing to change auto insurance every few years. Our old company (25 years with them) just kept increasing premiums every year, despite the fact we had no claims during a 25 year span and our car is now seven years old. I think that should count for a lot. If somehow the car would have been totaled, their cost would be less than on a new car because of depreciation on the vehicle. Our car’s value at this point is less than a major repair like a transmission or any internal engine work.
      The good news is we will get through this at some point and I have hope!!! The only constant in the universe is change. That sounds like an oxymoron, but it is true.