Being dragged into the current century

Anyone who knows me in real life knows that having the most up-to-date technological toys is just not remotely important to me. I have a pay-per-use flip phone... and I like it. I don't want or need anything more. And considering my fail rate of having a phone with a charge and with money and turned on with me, I guess I don't even really need that.

I like putting CD's into a CD player. I like walking and running outside and not having music or other noise piped directly into my head. I like land lines (well except the on-going atrocious service we get from AT&T which causes us to have a rotating roster of phone repair guys trooping through our house on a monthly basis. I don't like that.) I like real books. I like actually speaking to people instead of texting. And I am the despair of all of my children... especially those who really, really, really like the latest techy toys. All phones look alike to me and I just don't care, even when a child will stand in front of me rattling off why this latest version of whatever phone is the best and coolest.

Which is why it was rather amusing that I was the one to drive A. to the phone store this morning to purchase a new phone for her. (A graduation gift from her grandparents.) I was really only there for transportation reasons, as you could have probably guessed from the previous paragraph. I can also check an item off of A.'s necessary life skills list before I send her off to college: withstanding the hard sell. She did a very good job of saying, "No." As the phone guy was chatting to us, he tried to make small talk and asked me what kind of phone I had. Clearly, flip phone with a pay-per-use plan was not what he was expecting. (I guess I look as though I might have some clue about gadgets.) While he didn't come out and say it, I felt as though the thought bubble above his head was saying, "Wow, I've heard about people like you, but never thought I'd actually meet one."

A.'s new phone is why I am now the unpremeditated owner of an iPod Touch. My children are very excited for me. One son even commented, "I just can't picture you holding something like that." I am also the cause of great hilarity among my children as I try to figure out how the silly thing actually works. I could probably figure it out without so much outside "help." The real reason I agreed to become its new owner is because my children tell me that I can download translation apps that could be useful when we eventually travel. I have several months to figure it out. My children helped me get it set-up and then I turned it off because I didn't need it at the moment. This alone marks me as a technological Luddite... based on some children's reactions to this, I guess turning it all the way off is just not done.

So much to learn.

If I actually cared.

Comments

Carla said…
I am with you on the pay-per-use cell phone thing, only mine was pre-flip phone. Yes, it really is that old. Ha!

One thing that I learned in our travails with AT&T is that the sheet the technician gives you with his name and phone number on it is so that you can actually call them back (once you find a good tech) the next time you have a problem. You'll still have to call the main tech line and get a new call ticket set up, but then your favorite tech can actually request the ticket himself if he knows it's out there.

I feel your AT&T pain!

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