Stop Losing; Start Learning

Hopefully, you’re nothing like me. I’m sure you have better discipline than I do. For example, those computer games which come installed on your new PC system (free!) don't lure you into time-squandering Never Never Land the way they lure me . . . do they?

Just for the benefit of those who, like me, are quickly addicted to the computer games created by unthinking or outright malevolent programmers, here’s an idea: Flush the games immediately after you set up your new PC. Start spending your time learning something during the moments (or hours) when you feel you have nothing to do while sitting at the keypad. You might have yourself quite a bit of fun doing so.

At a department store last year I found, for $9.95, the “31 Languages of the World” CD from Transparent Language. Learning Italian has been my lifelong quest. Five college courses in Italian failed to drill it into me, yet, I remain determined that someday I will learn to speak (or at least read) this beautiful language. I installed the Italian section of the CD (you also can load Spanish, French, German, Japanese . . . Bengali, Norwegian, Tagalog . . . whatever your interest). Now, instead of clicking on Freecell or Minesweeper to take a break from work, I click on the language program and practice Italian. It contains excellent audio tutorials, with the transcripts broken down and analyzed onscreen as it reads, word by word. I still can’t speak Italian or even read very much of it. But I think I truly am making progress. I’m certainly “winning” more with this cheap software than I ever won from Hearts or Freecell.

Stop losing to King Solitaire. With the same computer time, you can begin learning a language -- or an ethnic cuisine, or the Bible, or gardening tips, or encyclopedic knowledge. There’s much to be said for the software bargain bin these days.