My morning started early and with such good intentions. There were big plans in place … write for an hour or so; make tea biscuits for my visit with friends later in the day; fix my ipad and buy a new phone. I made those biscuits (only a small batch – 6 in total), had breakfast and started to write.
All was going so well – UNTIL …
I was down to the last biscuit!
(Remember last time when I told you about “from the lips to the hips”?)
It is now 11:30 am and I really must put the rest of my plans into action. But first, let me fill some of the gaps. I have been holding out on getting a new phone for the past 3 years. If you’ve spent any time with me at all you know that I have been fixated on the subject. Six times I’ve done the research; six times I’ve visited the kiosk. It will cost an additional $20 per month – not for the phone itself but for the same calling and data package I am getting now. Granted, that package was at 2010 prices but it’s the principle of the thing. Really! The nerve of the phone company anyway.
About my phone. It is a Blackberry … old as the hills and using outdated technology but it gets part of the job done – sometimes.
I can still make and receive phone calls – sort of. There is a few seconds delay in each transmission meaning I’m always cutting in when the other person is talking or vice versa. I guess I could just start saying, “Over” at the appropriate times.
The volume is totally erratic so I’m either shouting or straining to hear. Perhaps it isn’t the phone at all but a hearing aid that’s needed.
The battery has been replaced several times but continues to drain in a split second when I least expect it and I need it most. The charger works though.
Text messaging works fine when the keyboard doesn’t stick.
It has a good camera – bit slow to focus and takes forever from click to captured image. (Mind you, the photographer could use some upgrading.)
Only one of my email addresses will work because the software isn’t supported anymore. But maybe the other 3 addresses aren’t necessary anyway.
Data is compressed so browsing the web is an adventure requiring unlimited patience and infinite chunks of time…
Suddenly, I remember a phone number – 3 short and 1 long!
This is our phone – the one we used when I was a little girl.
If Alexander Graham Bell could see it now, what would he think? That additional $20 per month would have probably equated to a month’s salary. How far we’ve all come! Those were the good old days. The phone was for emergency purposes only. No chatting allowed. No need to consider the amount of data, unlimited phone calls, long distance charges, call waiting, voice messaging, texting, software upgrades, email addresses and the like.
With $20 in my pocket, the rest of my day goes into action with nostalgia set aside. Will I or won’t I?
Today is the Day
Perhaps!
I care little for possessions
but three precious things among the lot
are always carried with me
~ a ring, bookmark and rock
© 2018 Beulah Peyton Bouzane
