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5/16/2009

technology is a blessing

Our Sprint contracts expired yesterday, glory hallelujah, so off we went to the mall for iPhones. I don't normally enjoy the mall, but yesterday was a rare exception. For one thing, it was not jam-packed with people. It was busy, but not lose-your-mind-busy. We had room to breathe, and to walk. There were the iPhones, my selection of a Paul Frank-monkey iPhone case (the closest I could get to a sock monkey), The Body Shop, and the Lush counter in Macy's.

I don't normally enjoy shopping for clothes, either, but yesterday, I had an epiphany: some clothing stores fit certain body types better. I happen to be petite and curvy - God gave me hips - and J. Jill is not a torturous shopping experience for me; dare I say it is fun? Instead of circling the store empty-handed and sighing, a kind employee actually had to start a dressing room for me because I selected so many skirts, blouses, dresses, and even a cute jacket. The fact that I had lost my husband to the iPhone at that point worked out well - he entertained himself online while I tried on all those clothes. Well, he did come back to my dressing room for a sec to approve a long, sleeveless black linen dress. I also walked out of the store with a super thin, teal blue cardigan (to wear over the dress), two pairs of linen pants, and a white Asian-esque blouse. The pants were even on sale. Now I need some black espadrilles, but where to find? Macy's, Payless, and Target let me down. I really need the shoes before next weekend, for Johnny's niece's high school graduation in Austin. Hmm...

After stocking our pantry at Whole Foods, we arrived home weary and thankful. The only glitch in the day was not being able to see our friends Kierstin, Jeremy, and their son, Eli. They were in town visiting family, but it was just one of those days for them where nothing worked out quite right. I had total empathy, and besides, Johnny and I are planning a road trip to visit them and other folks in TN. And, Kierstin was my very first call on the ole iPhone which was fun. While resting my feet and drinking iced coffee at a Starbuck's in the hub of the mall, I felt my purse vibrate. Surprised, I realized my iPhone was already up and running. I'm pretty sure that Kierstin laughed at me as I tried to figure out how to use the high tech contraption, um, including how to turn up the volume so that I could hear her over the espresso machine.

My opinion of the iPhone is that it's a blessing. Sure, one could easily go overboard in their usage. Johnny and I are a bit geeked up at the moment, but we just got the darn things, and we gotta figure out how everything works. Time does not permit this Saturday for me to tell you about every useful feature on the iPhone - it is some kind of wicked, wonderful, technological magic. But when Johnny drums in Chicago next week, it will be blissfully easy to not only talk with him, but also e-mail, text, Facebook, and so on. And as I work on my next Curator article, I can e-mail the drafts to him for proofreading - he's a sweet editor like that.

I purchased my first iPhone app. last night, too: iBird Explorer South, worth all ten dollars. I must be a nerd because I stayed up too late scrolling through all kinds of beautiful birds, reading their facts, playing their songs, and thus perking the cats' ears. And as I laid my head down on the pillow, I thought of something I just had to ask my brother right then or else I would surely forget. So, I e-mailed him from my iPhone sitting on the bedside table. At 1:30 am. I use the phone's alarm clock, OK?

I will start learning healthy iPhone boundaries soon, I promise. That is, after I show y'all my first iPhone-camera shots - of breakfast this morning:





Not too shabby, huh?

I'll miss my old, cobalt blue cell phone just a little bit - such a pretty color - but we're gonna donate our old phones to a women's shelter. That way, they won't go to waste, and two ladies will be blessed by technology as well.

6 comments:

Kimberly said...

I'm so jealous but I'm still happy for you too ;)

Alissa Wilkinson said...

I really couldn't get along without mine. I had a Blackberry pre-iPhone, and it was swell, but I spend so much time on the "road" (i.e., the sidewalk/subway/cafe) that the iPhone keeps me from spending hours just returning email when I DO get in front of the laptop :)

Robyn Jones Clark said...

i'm jealous too:) woohoo! i almost picked up a book for you the other day... a bird's of the south book... it was in the used section of our bookstore. ya'll are going ot have so much fun in tenn. wish i could move back there! i will one day. working on the resume right now :)

Christine said...

I'm so sorry I didn't get to see you, and sorry that I didn't get to have that wonderful breakfast :)

jenni said...

Alissa, yes, I love how my e-mail tally is much less when I turn on the computer...

Christine, had I written a blog on Saturday, I would've mentioned missing you, too. What IS with you and Kierstin? JUST KIDDING. :)

Laura Leigh Dobson said...

hey congrats! i am trying to rationalize my getting one. .want it so bad!

so glad to see you twittering! :)