August 05th, 2019

Well now, ain't that purty.

I have a brand new fancy phone!  It was a surprise from Tim. 

I actually knew that my previous phone was on it's last circuits, but I was reluctant to mention it since we just dropped  a lot of cash on the bathroom reno and let's face it, technology isn't cheap!  But because Tim is an observant man and because he loves me, he bought this one for me anyway. And I'm not stupid enough to say, "I don't need it, send it back".  I was brought up to believe that when someone gives you a gift, you smile and say, " Thank you very much!"

We bought my previous phone when we still lived in Colorado.  And we are now in our fourth year of living in Florida so I suppose it was time.  Some of the buttons on the old phone no longer worked and it ran out of battery power alarmingly quickly and I found that I had to completely shut it down and re-start it all too often. So I suppose it was time.

But still, that phone and I were comfortable with one another. It fit perfectly in my back pocket.  I didn't even have to look at it to turn it on or access the camera.  It was second nature.  I knew how to do everything I needed or wanted to do with it.  Which is not to say that I ever fully utilized it functions.  I did not.  That phone was capable of so much more than I ever asked it to do.   Occasionally Tim would remind me of some capability or another that I could use it for and I would smile and nod, smile and nod and then not do it.  It is, after all, ultimately, my choice.

For instance, I never ever used the day-calender options.  Nope.  I have a perfectly good calendar on  my desk, (which I got for free by the way). It has nice big squares for each day that I can write in.  With an actual pen.  (a very sparkly one that I got at the dollar store!).  my desk calendar has appointments, due dates for library books, my museum shifts, Pilates classes and the days and times that I teach ESL classes on it.  It also has birthdays, anniversaries and any other reminders that I might need.  

"But Sam," you  might be thinking," the calendar is on your desk at home.  What if you need to know what's on it when you are not home?  If those things were on your phone you would always have that information with you!"  And my answer to you is that because I wrote it down, I already remember it.   There is something about the act of writing information down that lodges it in my memory banks.  And that isn't specific to me, by the way.  More and more studies have shown that our memories are keyed by the physical act of writing, creating the shapes that form letters and numbers, with a pen or pencil in our hands.  That same memory trigger (if you will allow a positive use of the word) is not keyed through the act of typing!  Interesting eh?

That was just by way of example of one of the MANY things I do not use my phone for. 

I do text with it, not that I text a lot but now and again it comes up.  I do occasionally, while waiting at, let's say a doctor's appointment, check emails with my cellphone.  Or if I'm bored standing in line at the grocery store I might take a quick peekie at facebook or instagram.  

Oddly I do not use my cellphone for phone calls.  I do not hear very well on a cellphone.  Part of it, I'm quite certain, is environment.  If somebody calls my cell, it's probably because I'm not at home.  Which means I'm out in the world. And the world is a noisy place.  I prefer to have a conversation when I'm home where it's quiet AND the call is private.  Nobody else needs to be privy to what I am saying.  BUT In an emergency situation? Yes I am very pleased to have that option available to me via cellphone.

So what do I use a cellphone for?  Primarily for the camera.  And this new phone has a GREAT camera.  The old one was good. I was very pleased with it.  But I am absolutely delighted with the camera on the new cellphone.   And that was part of how Tim chose this phone for me.  The reviews for the camera option were excellent.  The man knows me very well :)

Here are a couple of the pictures I took this weekend while getting the "hang" of using this new cellphone camera:

Pretty good camera eh?

It'll take me a little while to really get the hang of using it.  While I use computers and laptops and tablets and cellphones on a regular basis, none of it comes naturally to me.  I keep hearing about how "intuitive" today's technology is and how very "user friendly" it is.  I'm not sure who they are talking about but I know it's not me.  None of it is "intuitive" to me nor particularly "user-friendly."  But I am not stupid, I can be taught.

While clearly, I am not one of those people who always needs the latest and greatest version of any new thing, be it, television, car or cellphone, I do love my new camera, er, ah, I mean Cellphone!  

Thank you honey! (XXOO) 

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