There's no Exploring in Internet Explorer

Everything changed so fast. One day I was in California eating an In-N-Out cheeseburger. The next I was forced to eat greasy pizza.

Radiators were used for heat, it was below forty degrees, and my step-dad had a computer from 1997.

Oh, and the internet browser on said computer?

Internet Explorer... My arch nemesis.

Even as a ten-year-old child, I disliked the internet browser. The pop-ups and the messy set up made me cringe.

If I'm to be dramatic, I think my frustration went something like this-

                                    Dear God, why?

Why, indeed.

It was just too much, all at once. After coming from sunny California to dreary, snow covered Boston, everything felt cold. That feeling only increased with the technology I'd now have to use.

I'd begged my mom to get the AOL cd. She'd said it was too expensive.

"But...Slingo," I'd tried to tempt, seeing the side glance linger a bit longer. "You love slingo."

Just when I thought I had her, she'd looked away. "I also love not being broke."

Seeing as she wasn't going to budge, I'd gone to my new step-dad. He was cool, he watched Three Stooges. He'd get it.

I was wrong. In fact, he'd gone so far as to insult precious AOL. The nerve.

So, there I was--stuck with terrible Internet Explorer. On a Windows computer. In the cold.

I was forced to stop using the internet because I couldn't figure out how to get it to work, anyway. This was about the time that I discovered the joys of computer games.

Uh... Spyfox? Freddie the Fish? Putt Putt Goes to the Zoo? As a ten-year-old, I was able to learn to appreciate Windows 97, because it provided me with colorful, fun computer games.

I also liked that the games were easier to find on the desktop, once they were downloaded.

Slowly, I started to get over the use of Windows and even started to appreciate it's set-up. Even the use of floppy disks didn't seem as bad anymore when they contained games like Oregon Trail and Fraction Munchers.

I still hated the cold and despised Internet Explorer, but things were starting to not seem as difficult. I'd even gotten accustomed to my teacher, Mrs. Mcgranahan's thick Boston accent.

And just when I thought everything had smoothed out... I heard three letters that would pull the rug out from under me.

AIM

Welcome to the time of children only communicating online, via the American Online Instant Messenger program.

Fifth grade was a rough, rough, year.

All thanks to AIM.