Droids and Apps

Last week my wireless phone mysteriously disappeared. After making a painstakingly thorough search of my classroom I can only conclude that my phone was abducted by aliens! I spent several days hoping that maybe one of my kindergartners would return it or maybe the aliens would beam me down a newer improved phone, but neither was the case. I purchased this phone nearly three years ago so that I could use the amazing new technological ability to view my e-mail from my phone! I loved my phone and I'm not one who needs the latest in technology. I would have kept my phone for another 3 years if it didn't mysteriously disappear.

So after being phone less for several days, I finally decide I need to get a new phone. Now I need to make a decision. Do I make the smart financial choice of getting a phone similar to what I have or be financially irresponsible and get one that has the latest technology for the month (because we all know that that there will be something better out there next month). So I make the irresponsible choice and decide on the newest most advanced model for the month. Now to decide on a phone. I usually spend hours if not days researching the pros and cons of any large financial purchase, but this middle aged technologically challenged woman would probable need to purchase and read "Technology for Dummy's" before I could decipher the terminology in the phone reviews. So I decided to contact an expert, my 24 year old son.

I call my son and ask him for his recommendation. He begins by asking me what I need in a phone. I tell him it needs to have a keyboard. The line is silent and then he tells me they all have keyboards what kind do I want? Now my end of the line is silent. So my son realizes that I'm clueless and gives me some options. He asks, "What else do you want?" I answer, "I heard from a POTSy friend that there's a phone that has a heart monitor." My son begins rattling off names, Droid 2, Droid X, Galaxy S and iphone 4. Being a Star Trek fan I zero in on the Droid because it sounds like a Borg, and who doesn't want a Borg in your purse, that's what I'd like to know! My son continues to list the many pros and cons to each phone and tells me to call him at the store if I have any questions.

As I'm driving to the store I begin to fantasize about how wonderful it will be to have my very own Droid. Aren't droids kind of like robots that do everything for you? Maybe this disappearing phone thing is a blessing in disguise! So I walk into the store with my list of phones and I am approached by "happy salesman". He asks me if I need help and I hand him my list and he now appears to be "very happy salesman". "Very happy salesman" begins rattling off features and I give him the deer in the headlights look. He decides to change his approach and asks me "what are you looking for in a phone?" I tell him "a keyboard that's sensitive to numb fingers that also has a heart rate monitor." Now he has the deer in the headlights look and tells me he'll be right back. When "happy salesman" returns he directs me to the Droid and he begins playing with it. He smiles and says "cool, I found the heart rate app", and he shows me how it works and I'm sold. "Very happy salesman" rings up my purchase and hands me a piece of paper with a list of a half dozen cool apps that are his favorite and then wishes me a great evening. As I walk out the door with my new handy dandy Droid, I'm thinking "Stupid, stupid, stupid, you really can't afford this phone!" But I walk out the door anyway.

My son gets home and immediately begins playing with my new phone, rattling quick directions on how to use it. We check out the new heart rate app, he adds himself and his sister to my contacts and leaves me alone with the phone. Having no idea what he just showed me, I toss the phone in my purse and forget about it till the next evening when my son asks "Are you having fun with your new phone?" I tell him "I haven't looked at it since yesterday." and he shakes his head in disappointment and walks away. I'm sure if I put in a tenth of the energy I put into my classroom I would have this new phone and all its apps down. Who knows I might even find some apps that would actually make my life easier. Or maybe I should read the manual that came with the phone, I'd probably learn a thing or two, but does anyone really read those things?

So I have this cool new phone that has hundreds of apps that I don't know how to use. I can't call anyone because I lost all my contacts in my old phone because who uses a phone book anymore? Even if I did have a phone book, I wouldn't know how to input them anyway. On the positive side I do know how to use the heart rate monitor which is way cooler than my ugly watch!

I'm sure my old phone will reappear at the end of the school year. I'll probably find it in someones desk stuck to the bottom next to an open bottle of white glue and a rotten peanut butter sandwich.

Technologically challenged (I'm sure there's an app for that),
Michele

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.