I’m currently reading Isabel Allende’s latest novel, Inés del alma mia, in order to write a review for the magazine Criticas (www.criticasmagazine.com). I won’t divulge much, but suffice it to say that it’s the story of Inés Suárez, one of the founders of Santiago, Chile. At one point she speaks of how once they had settled the city and established contact with Peru, they could send letters to and from Spain that would only take a year or two to reach their recipient. Can you imagine?
I started using e-mail in about 1996 or 1997. I was living in Peru and only a few of my friends and family members had addresses, but what a joy it was to reach out across continents and be in touch so quickly. I didn’t have my own computer but went to a cultural center likely about once a week; even that turnaround time was miraculous compared to the postal system.
Now I’m on e-mail every day, all day long, have become so incredibly used to it and take it for granted. We all do, I think, because that is the way that communication works now. It’s instant, always on. And it’s required: if I have a job due out today then I have to know that my e-mail is working to get it to the recipient. So when I realized that my outgoing mail server wasn’t working properly, but taking over 24 hours to deliver messages, I nearly fainted!
Thankfully, I think I’ve solved the problem, my client received the job due today, and my blood pressure has gone back down. I’m glad I don’t live in the era of Inés Suárez, waiting a year for my mail, but I do need to remember to keep it all in perspective.
