Stumbling reluctantly into the modern age

The pointless photo of a cat that you're seeing isn't this blog's usual photo of a cat. There's something very different about it, but to explain I need to tell you a little story.

A long time ago I was on contract with a cell phone company. Let's call it Dodgers. Now, every time my contract would be nearing its end I would get a phone call from Dodgers asking me to renew and oh by the way we'll "give" you a new phone.

Fair enough. Time passed, and every three years Dodgers would give me the usual call and I'd go down to the store and pick up a new phone. Until the one day they didn't. For whatever reason, my contract came up and they did NOT call. Not a hint of a call. Not a peep. So I let my contract run out.

That was cool, actually. Same phone service, no stupid contract to wonder if I really should have signed up for another three years of, the power of choice to switch companies whenever I wanted to... and the old phone.

Which, again, was cool. It was a good phone. Sure, it might have been getting a little dated, but I could text, take (admittedly pretty poor) photos, rudimentarily e-mail before the systems changed, and, most importantly, make phone calls. Oddly enough, I like a phone that works as a phone, especially since I haven't had a land line for years.

More time passed, and I'd put off the decision about switching phone companies because I kind of liked being off-contract. Smartphones came in. I still had my old flip phone. Phones got smarter. I stayed with my flip phone. Phones got even smarter and really started taking over people's lives. I, in turn, started getting looked at as a clueless old granny whenever I dared to take out my phone in public to text someone. I didn't mind, though. The old phone was still working great for what it was.

And then one day...

I broke the phone. I didn't realise that it had fallen on the floor and opened, and I stepped on it (um, long story). Broken hinge, non-working screen. Disaster. My phone. My old, reliable, way-out-of-date phone.

I waited for a few days before doing anything about it. Yes, seriously. For those new to the program, I don't especially care if I'm connected at all times, as hard as that might be to believe these days. I waited for a few days, then trundled down to the mall after work, went to a phone store and got a new phone.

No, it's not a flip phone. I'm not technologically impaired, much as the old phone may have led some people to believe. New phone, new two year (two year instead of three year now in Canada. Mandated) data plan (I'll miss you, old-fashioned cheap non-contract cell bill)... all the stuff that marks me as one of you. You generically, I mean.

It's a little bit of a steep learning curve since I've never owned a smartphone before, but I'm getting the hang of it. Even if I couldn't figure out how to answer the damned thing the first time I got a phone call.

Oh, shut up.

So what kind did I get? Oh, they certainly don't need my advertising so I won't. I will say, though, that I went Android since I just can't make myself buy into the Apple hype and I've heard from more than one person that a potato works almost as well as an iPhone for making actual phone calls. And I do still need to make phone calls, no matter how many thousands of other things the new phone can do.

And speaking of other things, today's pointless photos aren't a good example of the phone's cameras since they were taken in a not exactly bright room with no flash. I just had to have the Turkey Brothers included in my first post of phone pictures (and don't you absolutely looove that top photo of part of Bob's butt? when I saw that I couldn't bring myself to crop it. It reminded me of a chihuahua we had when I was young who had a knack for getting either his front half or his back half in pictures but never his whole self).

Don't think that this means that I'm giving up my real camera, by the way. I like taking real pictures too much. It does mean, though, that I'll probably start posting to work's instagram account if I remember to ask Wheat what our sign in is. I may even start using my twitter account for something other than following people (I'll give you my handle if and when that happens). And if you have my gmail address you'll be able to get me at home instead of waiting until I'm at work or here at Dad's.

Ah, brave new time-wasting world. I guess. And I know that it's better that I have a smartphone because there are a lot of things that I haven't been able to access that I really should use. I have to say, though, that I'll miss the old hamster wheel.



It was a good phone.