So what is NAMA?

I'm going to be completely honest, I have no idea what in the world NAMA is.  At first I was silly enough to think it was a country, but soon learned it was something related to the financial crisis. Snore ZzZz.... I know I have heard it all over the news and radio, but usually mentally tune out whenever anything about the depressing recession comes up.  I Googled it to see if I could at least get a definition so I could have something to write about for the purpose of this blog post.  From my research, I learn it is the National Asset Management Agency and was created in reaction to the Irish financial crisis and the deflation of the property bubble.  Not exactly my favourite topic of conversation....  


After reading some more I quickly got bored with all the facts and figures, and still had no idea what exactly NAMA is.  I am really sick of hearing all of this about the recession, and cannot wait until it is over and done with.  I must say I like the decrease in prices everywhere, but it's not worth all the depression and unemployment.  Hopefully it will be over soon, and if not I will be out of Ireland once I get my degree anyways!

Technology fast hmmm...

So last Thursday in E-Commerce, we were asked to think about giving up a piece of technology for 48 hours.  Immediately, without even knowing the rules or conditions, I shunned the idea. Colin told us to choose from:

• Cell Phone
• Internet
• E-Mail
• If we are really hard-core, all three.  

Still, I was not willing to give up anything, as all had a major part in my daily life.  By Monday afternoon we were meant to come to a conclusion on what we would give up; still my decision had still not swayed.  

My phone is literally glued to my right hand, and if it were not for free texts I don't know what I would do, because I would spend a bomb on credit! If I do not nearly instantly reply to a text or even if I miss a phone call, most my friends or my father would assume that I was dead, as I am never without my phone.  Colin asked if I could shut it off right in front of him and asked me to see how long I could keep it off.  I'm not going to lie, by the time I had walked from the classroom to the outside of the college, my phone was back on and I already had a text message waiting for me.  You would think as a text-aholic I would have the fanciest smart phone out there, but no, I am rocking a basic Nokia.  Believe me, I would love to own the latest phone out there, but as much as I love technology, I tend to repel it.  Since the start of this year alone I have gone through about 4 phones, not to mention my current one is only stuck together with the help of some sellotape! Do not even get me started on other pieces of technology I have repelled.  Lets just say in the last two years I am on laptop number 4 (edit: laptop number five as of the start of December!!!), internet dongle number 5, phone number 9, the list goes on...

As for refraining from using the internet, this was also completely out of the question.  Not only do I need it for the mountain of college work we have, I need it for contacting friends and all my family in Boston, and basically to keep me from going crazy from boredom.  If we had half decent channels on our TV in Rockfield I wouldn't rely on the internet as much, but our television is from the Stone Age and the only channel that comes in properly is in Irish.  My year abroad in Germany made me very reliant on the internet especially, because it became my source of communication with friends and family from home and even the friends in Germany with me with Skype and Facebook, my television, my translator, and basically my connection to the outside world since I spoke no German.

I nearly considered giving up access to e-mail for 48 hours, but didn’t find this to be too much of a challenge because e-mail would not be that important to me.  Like the internet, I need my e-mails for college work to stay in contact with lecturers and companies I have been e-mailing as part of one of our assignments. 

So I guess I failed the challenge, but I knew I was doomed from the very start.  I can honestly say I don’t know how people from older generations, such as my parents, survived without the technology there is today.  All I know is that if it weren't for the internet and mobile phones, I don't know how anything would get successfully done or how people would communicate!  It makes me laugh to look at my dad, who has just mastered the art of texting and does not even know where the power button is on any laptop or PC.  

Oh how the times have changed....