THANKFUL THURSDAY

We are in the market for new cell phones, and since our cell phone contract is ending in a month, we have been shopping around and asking around about who has what service, and what they think is the best.
(the unanimous answer was AT&T)

I am thankful that one of my dear sisters, upon hearing about this, said, "Hey! We have our old Blackberries that we don't use anymore, you should take them!"

This is very, VERY exciting for us.

You see, we are pretty simple when it comes to electronic stuff ... and very much behind the times.

By the time we're starting to simply look into getting whatever gadget everyone else has, they're on to the next one.

Take mp3 players, for instance:

I'm still getting acquainted with the oldest son's 2 year old mp3 player, and the kid is already talking about an mp4 or 5 or something ... whatever THAT is.

But no, really, he gets to buy 1 song a week for that damn mp3 player.

And every week when he starts to approach me with that little bastard mp3 player, my blood pressure raises, I start to panic, and I try to avoid him, acting like I don't see him coming, and I then dart into another room... usually the bathroom.

I hide in there for a few minutes - meditating... and mentally preparing for what is in store for me. I silently say a few prayers, wish for some xanax, and then I take a deep breath and casually open the door while scanning the hallway, and sure enough, there he stands at the end of the hall ... waiting for me.

Why do I do this, you ask?

BECAUSE I CAN NEVER FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE FRIGGEN SONGS ONTO THE STUPID LITTLE THINGY!

I can buy the songs, no problem.

But then I plug the thing into the laptop, and it's all downhill from there.

Programs pop up on my screen asking where I want it to go... questions pop on my screen asking what I want to do next, I start scratch my head and click this and then that... which doesn't work... and I realize eventually I am confusing the system, and I have to unplug it completely and close the all of the programs and pop-ups ...

Then, I take another deep breath, and with hatred in my eyes, I plug it back in while the big guy and the kids are starting to glance at me with fear and concern in their eyes, and I start to sweat, and by the time I'm screaming at the laptop "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO!!!!", the big guy has shooed the children out of room, knowing I'm about to explode.

Or cry.

And it is very much like giving birth........

Just when I start to think "I can't do it anymore, I'm gonna crumble", I see that heavenly little flash on the mp3 player that says "transfer complete".

And it's done.

And I wipe my brow, smile peacefully, and unplug the mp3 player.

And I call out to oldest son, and hand it to him, smiling at him lovingly like it was nothing. A piece of cake.

And then he carefully suggests, "Maybe you should write down how you did it. Ya know, so you don't have problems next week..."

And my blood pressure shoots right back up, and through clenched teeth and a forced smile I hiss at him, "I would GLADLY do that ... if I knew what it was I DID."

And he sheepishly giggles, and I pat him on the head (with the hand that is NOT a clenched fist), and we go our separate ways.

DVD PLAYERS:
We have a simple dvd player without any extras.
Not even a fast forward or rewind button.
Or a remote.

TVs:
I hear there's something going on with tvs now, called "HD".
I heard that people without this "HD" on their tv will be missing out sooner or later?
I don't know what this means.
Does this mean our tv won't work anymore?
Whatever.
I guess we'll find out eventually... like when we push the power button and nothing happens.

CHECKS:
Yes, I still write checks to pay the bills.
... I remember several years ago when we bought our first house, the bank-guy said, "You wait and see, soon, checks will be obsolete."
Well, HA! My checks are still being accepted! Take THAT, bank guy!

... and this brings us back to PHONES:
When we're out, I see everyone around me with these tiny little computer-looking things in their hands, (some of them even have little pen things!!) while I sit there with my lame-o flip phone. It's like a scene from Night at the Roxbury.
And I truely hope I'm not offending anyone with a flip phone.

Which leads me back to the Blackberries.
It will surely take me a month to figure out how to work one, but it will be oh so worth it, to be able to sit out in public and look fabulous, like I'm busy communicating with other fabulous people, when in actuality I'll probably just be trying to figure out how to turn the damn thing on.

But nobody needs to know that.

THANK YOU, sister! We are super excited to be a part of the cool crowd.






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