Technology fails again

How can anyone say what happens, even if each of us
dips a pen a hundred million times into ink?

— Rumi, Essential Rumi, tr. Coleman Barks, p. 39



Technology fails again.

I have one client with whom my PDA has melted down repeatedly. Unfortunately she is also someone with whom I’ve had to reschedule repeatedly in the last year, and she is also a gifted practitioner with whom I’ve done a few sessions and to whom I was getting closer.

In December the PDA said I had appointments with her on Sunday afternoons from now until kingdom come. Today, on Entourage, it’s saying I have a polarity appointment with her every Sunday and a massage appointment every Wednesday until hell freezes over.

And day before yesterday, she showed up for a 7:15 pm appointment at the same time as someone else. After thinking it over, I realized that in wiping out the Wednesday “till kingdom come” appointments a few weeks ago, I also wiped out a legitimate appointment. I’m about ready to throw my PDA phone into Casco Bay.

I left her a message apologizing profusely and inviting her along for the PDA farewell ceremony.

The bug is in the Palm software on my phone — a buggy scheduling glitch that reflects a lack of understanding of how people like me might use this kind of software — and it completely sucks that overall it may end up costing me a friend.