Welcome to my first home page! I'm so excited about it that I hardly know where to begin! Please feel free to criticize and suggest anything which might get my point across better or be more pleasing to the eye. I anticipate in the future to be able to update my site on a regular basis. But for now, I'm just happy it's a reality!
I am a nurse anesthetist at our community hospital and have been there for 18 years. Medicine and patient care are my first loves, but the older I get (that information is classified) the more interested I become in technology, a far cry from the human touch required in nursing.
About six
years ago I bought our first home computer for my daughter,
Jessica, who is now in college. Everyone said my kids would
benefit from learning how to operate the new technology.
However, no one alluded to the idea that she might not be
interested in computers at all! As I ran my finger across the
inches of dust across the top of the monitor, the words of
"everyone" echoed expensively in my head. Here is
the look Jess gets when I say "Please, honey, just give
that old computer a try."
It sat there
for a couple of months while I coaxed and begged her to at
least try playing some games on it. In fact, I sat down and
learned a game or two myself, hoping to catch her interest!
Not a chance! BUT, it did catch the eye of her 10 year old
sister, Ann Marie, and she would sit and play games for
hours. The need for an Atari or Sega never raised its ugly
head in my house, thanks to that old 386SX!
The longer the "investment" sat there, unused for anything other than games, the more determined I was that SOMEONE would get something constructive out of it. And at this rate it was going to have to be me! Little did I know where it would lead. By the way, this is a picture of Ann Marie, second from right in front, and the WV Magic.
I began by playing games, moved on to word processing, and then a little desktop publishing. The new skills proved to be valuable tools in the parents' programs which greedily absorb the time of parents of young children. Kid's Kollege and Marshall County Swim Team were bombarded with flyers, graphics, and charts I had created on "my" computer. For indeed, it was mine now!
Well, to make a long story even longer, and you who have enough time to waste on my writing will find I have a tendency to do this. I was introduced to BBSing by a friend of my daughter's. At that time there was Amiga Island, the Playpen, and a few others. I made many friends on them and was intrigued by the idea of "chatting" online, getting involved with debates about everything from abortion to affirmative action to soap opera scandals. It was fun! I played around with Prodigy and America Online a little, but . . .
When American Heuristics first let locals buy "direct access" to the Internet, I knew it was for me. Just think, I could chat with the world now. In the past 2 years I have enjoyed surfing, chatting, downloading, and just plain being a part of the whole thing. It has been like a stepping stone for me.
But, I have my own ideas of how this "new world" can benefit to the community as an entity and not just to "Pam, the surfer extraordinaire."
They talk about the wealth of information "out there" on the Net and how we can have access to it all at the touch of a finger. And it's all true, what "they" say. But how do you put it to use to make your life better? This is the question I have asked myself time and time again. What can we do to make LIFE better by using the Internet? I do know, though, that we need to hold on to rights we have left.
I believe that each and every one of us has something to offer the world, be it only our own microcosm or the world community. Sometimes in our own world we are misunderstood, which can make one feel like the proverbial "prophet in his own country." But there is something inside of us that goes beyond what someone sees when they look at us, thank heaven!
It is this "something" for which the Internet provides an outlet. Be it your education, your business, profound beliefs, interests, stocks and bonds, or, as in my case, philosophy, there is someplace for you to visit. There is someone with whom to talk. There is a buyer for your product or a wholesaler for one you need.
Ohio Valley Internet Service (OVIS) is my project, but I would like it to be also YOUR project. I would like it to be your home away from home. Feel free to share decorating ideas, content suggestions, and by all means put up a home page so that we can get to know you.
We have some fun things planned for OVIS and its users and welcome any plans you might like to implement too. There is an artist in all of us! Hope to see a lot of you.
Sincerely,
Pamela Hoffer
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