From Snake Byte to Snake Charmer

Snakes. The mere word conjures up horror-show like thoughts in my head. They’re slippery, slimy and they freak me out! Yah! They scare the weebie jeebies outta me. I can’t trace my phobia to anything other than just plain fear of the darn creatures though. On my way home from a morning run, however, I did one of those “do something everyday that scares you” things you often read about in those cutesy self-help books.

I’d seen the serpents hanging around the field before, but today I wasn’t sure they’d be out and about since it was cool and rainy, not exactly their preferred conditions. But just before we (my dog Lily goes everywhere with me!) reached the parking lot, I saw what in my eyes (based on my phobias) looked like a 50 foot Python. Upon taking another look, it was more like about a 2 foot Gardner snake. It was all curled up in its striking position. My heart began to race. Faster than when I was running too. Hmmm. I guess to keep in shape from now on, I can scrap the shoes and just go around looking at things that make my heart jump. Wonder if that theory works?

Anyway, back to snakeville. That thing was just creepy!! All that comes to mind is “Eeeeewwwh”!!! But I wasn’t about to back down. Something inside me was saying “you’re only afraid because you’re unfamiliar”. So I knelt down and did my best to just observe. Lily was trying to do the same but it appeared she was even jumpier than I am around snakes. But that didn’t stop her from watching it, observing it, trying to figure it out. And there we all were, the snake coiled, protective, unsure, afraid. Lily curious, afraid, uncertain. Me just plain in shock that I actually found enough courage to snake up, er, I mean sneak up grab the tail. Upon first grab, I have to admit I got too creeped out and let go. But I went back for another feel. This time I held on and suspended the little guy in the air (ya know like you see on Discovery Channel or Animal Planet or one of those channels with the “experts” anyway!).

Once I displayed the courage to embrace one of my worst fears, Lily seemed to also brave the unknown. She was right there, her nose within striking distance. But we all for a moment in time just seemed to be at the very least tolerant of one another. After a minute (no longer I assure you), I decided it was time to let ol’ Sammy the Snake (snake names always have to start with “S”) return to a safe haven so I let it escape down a nearby hole. Then it hit me! Once again, another one of life’s lessons for my journey with CFgear.

You see, sometimes folks think of technology and specifically the world of custom flash drives as something terrifying. But that’s only because of all the things they don’t know about it. If only they’d allow themselves even a few minutes to look at technology and realize that it is in reality a very powerful tool with which to achieve communication objectives. And while I don’t expect everyone to be an expert or be nearly as comfortable as CFgear in dealing with the many elements of engineering custom flash drives (imprint specs, preload programming and design, hardware functionality, custom packaging, logistics, etc), it is worth noting that we don’t all want or even wish to be a snake charmer or snake handler either. That’s exaclty why look to learn from the experts! We let the experts be experts. We take bits and pieces of whatever wisdom they can give us to help make us feel comfortable around things we are horrified of but they are in essence basically dancing with.

I know sometimes I’m all over the darn place with my metaphors, philosophizing, and thoughts in general.  So. In review. It’s really not the snake that we need to fear. It’s the ignorance and undiscovered wonders of such creatures. Such is the case with technology. Don’t fear it. Be reminded by experts like CFgear that the technology of a custom flash drive is secure and powerful, and feasible enough to amount to a merely a small byte out of most marketing communications budget.