My Electronic Ecstasy...

After the Verizon wireless fiasco of last month, I decided to go BACK to Virgin Mobile. I had phone service with them from 2004 – earlier this year. I had never had any problems with their service as far as the financial aspect nor did I ever have any problems with their service in the actual coverage and call aspect. Always a good connection and rarely a dropped call. Hey – stick with what you know, right?

So I started saving my pennies, keeping the change, collecting from people who owed me and selling off a few things I had no use for anymore and I FINALLY did it. I saved up the $100 to buy the phone I want. I researched and looked through all their phones and I settled on the WILD CARD. It’s their version of a smart/text phone with a “qwerty” keyboard. Here’s a picture of it:

So I saved and got the funds for the phone. What did I forget? I have to have money for the activation! DUH! While the actual activation itself is FREE, you have to pick a calling plan at the time of activation and they range from $25-$100/month. So I have to wait one more week until payday rolls around again. Heck, I’ve waited over 4 months, I suppose one more week won’t KILL me.

My Dad says that text’ing is “stupid – you’ve got voice mail and you’ve got the actual phone – why do you need to text???” Well, with all due respect, he’s 60 and doesn’t get it. There’s just times when text’ing is far more convenient than actually calling someone. Besides, I have been sucked into the consumer black hole, and I am just as fascinated with my electronic Tinker Toys as every other red-blooded American is. My next electronic endeavor is going to be a new MP3 player. Although I think the phone comes with one, I want a small discrete one I can wear at work or in the store while I’m shopping or while I’m doing my housework. Music motivates me. I’ve always got to have some on somewhere!

Then after that (or if Santa Claus is good to me this year!) I hope to get a new digital camera. Mine is 4 years old, and in “electronic years” we all know that means it is approaching obsolete. It’s one of the original Kodak Easy Share cameras. And while it’s incredibly user friendly and good for impromptu snap shots, there are a lot of functions and occasions I would like a BETTER QUALITY camera with higher mega pixels and the “freeze” function so you don’t get blurry pictures. I shake a lot more now due to the fibromyalgia and arthritis and have ruined some really awesome shots in the last year thanks to that.

Then for the grand finale, I would LOVE to have a new desktop computer system. This one I am using now IS obsolete. It’s a 2002 Hewlett-Packard all-inclusive pack from Wal Mart. I like to think my parents bought it for us to entice us to move back to Prescott from Palm Springs, CA, but the truth is that they just wanted to get us a really nice Christmas gift. It included the monitor, the printer and the hard drive. I’ve had it torn down and rebuilt once, replaced the monitor once and am on my 2nd printer for it. I think it really has been a good system and a great value @ only $496.00 for the whole thing w/ a warranty. And it has truly served its purpose over the years.

I am one of a generation that remembers life before the Internet, before “blogging”, before digital music & cell phones and cell phones WITH digital music-- and when a camera required film and a “flash cube”. But I still marvel with the wonderment of a child at all of these “neat” and convenient helpers of the 21st century.

I can’t wait to get my new toys!