Prepared To Be “WOW”-ed!!
Very first pic with the new phone. Standing in a parking lot, looking up at a light pole, and capturing that seagull, sitting there, peaking out over the top. Score! It was luck actually. The next pic I took was of the same light pole, but with no bird. I think that most of the pictures I take involve some kind of bird. That’s probably weird right? Anyway, I was testing the zoom and the acuity. Not bad. I must experiment more. In case you are wondering, it’s the Samsung Galaxy S4. (Shout Out!) And I’m not even gonna lie…it’s a realllly nice phone. It’s probably the best phone I have ever owned. My daughter has the IPhone and LOVES it. Really really loves it. Like, it sleeps on a pillow next to her head, loves it. (I am pretty sure I have a picture of this) And she is jealous of this new phone and grudgingly admits that it might be better than hers. Win!
I will bring you more, equally exciting and powerful shots, as the days go on. I haven’t had much time off since I got this phone so it’s mostly been getting used to it and putting all my stuff back on that I now need to function daily. You know, real important things, like my e-mail accounts (I have 2–Yahoo and G-Mail), Tiny Village (only game I decided to keep from the old phone–a smart move I think. Obviously I waste a lot of time with pointless other things), Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, LinkedIn (because I am a professional dammit!), and Twitter. Did I mention that I have a twitter account now? Well, I do. That’s another whole story. #justshyofpretty. Of course. I’m going to make this my thing until I die. I don’t even have a custom ringtone yet! The shame! It seriously took me, 2 or 3 days, just to get all the tones and alerts for notifications and alarms straightened out. If you pick the wrong sound it can just keep playing and playing until you physically touch the the phone. And every single separate “feature” has its own separate tone/alert/notification setting to set. I think I got everything I actually use set up. Now I figure I will just wait for something to ring or buzz on the phone and adjust it as it comes up.
Here is one truth though, that I will share about all this technology, and something that I never even saw coming: The worst part about getting this new phone is that I feel old all of a sudden. Like, “aging-ly” old. That’s not a word, but us old folks can make them up whenever we want now. Feeling my mortality, I think they say. When I had this brand new phone in my hand and I was trying to make it work, and couldn’t, I really felt like I was about to join the age train and it was going to choo-choo-chug me away to the techno graveyard for the decrepit and clueless. I never have enough time to learn the phone, I can’t see the damn screen without reading glasses, I apparently need at least 6-7 hours of sleep now to function normally (this is up from 4-5, which really irks me for some reason), both of my kids are now in high school, and my left hip has started hurting. Wah wah wah.
I have never been a person to be hit by that “mid-life-crisis” thing, but I feel as if I could be now. And sadly, I don’t even know what is going to set it off. I watched my daughter light up the room with all the employees at the Verizon store when we got my phone. She was literally like a fresh, bright, youthful presence that people wanted to talk to and be near. And she just knew, and understood everything that was being shown and said to her. I am “the mom” now. I love love love being the mom of this fabulous little girl/mini-adult, but ouch! that hurt being reminded that I am still, just the mom, and that I need these young people to help me keep up with the times. Double ouch! I see my kids with everything in front of them, a whole wide world to be explored and be a part of, so much bigger than when I was young. There is so much more to do and see now and so many better ways to get there.
“I don’t want to be old!” Cries another 40 year-old, (plus), old person.
Well, there you go. All that from a picture of a light pole. With a bird. Mortality is a sneaky bitch. Did I also mention that I met a 102 year old lady at breakfast last weekend? One hundred and TWO. Walking. Without assistance. And no cane or walker either. She was even able to button up her own coat. She had the chicken salad. Hope springs. Now, I’m not sure that I even want to live to be 102, but it goes to show that the option is there for some. And it lets me know that I am not even half-done yet with life. So that’s what I’m going to take away from this. I will loosely hold onto my kids, while still pushing them forward, for as long as I can, and then let them go too. If I do it right, hopefully they will always want to turn around and pull me along with them once I can’t push anymore.
But these are words for the future. Right now, I have to go to work again to pay for that future. It’s Sunday. It’s beautiful in the Midwest right now. The BF is motorcycle riding for one of those charity/benefit group things, with his friend. My kids are camping with their dad. It’s quiet. Go out and enjoy this day if you can. I will be hoping for a fast quiet night so I can have a nice day off tomorrow. Monday Monday. Summer break is over. Football camp for the boy. Volleyball camp for the girl. And I have a doctor appointment. Just a check-up. Tune-up. Blood results. Preserve the youth for as long as I can. I think I might exercise tomorrow too. Strong body. Strong heart. Hips that don’t hurt! Later.
Luckily there are some good things about getting older
For instance, I can buy alcohol any time I want. Any kind. On any day. At any time. And I barely get a glance. Obviously after I get a bit older, I may draw some attention just because they will be wondering what the hell an old lady is doing buying Jack Daniel’s. On a Wednesday afternoon. MmmHmm. Alcoholic. Probably has no kids and a bunch of cats. Or stuffed animals that she thinks are cats. I will try to keep my hair combed at all times and wear clothes that match.
Anyway, the point is, that as I get older I realize that there are things I actually like. A lot. Like, things that I have liked and will probably like for the rest of my life. Things that are comforting. Things that are just for me. Examples may be needed.
Like coffee. I truly enjoy coffee. I just drink it black. I never liked cream or sugar and I am not real partial to flavors. I get the occasional Mocha from Starbucks now and then, but that’s pretty rare these days. I just like hot, black coffee. I drink it every day and I don’t even really think about it.
Another thing, that I just realized, and the reason for this little posting, is that I like Jack Daniel’s Whiskey. That may seem kind of strange, but when I first started drinking it many years ago, AFTER I turned Twenty-One, I was only drinking it because other people did. Old boyfriends, at parties, you know the way we all do it. Then after so many years I didn’t drink it at all. Ever. Then for some reason I tried it again. And I am telling you, it’s just delicious. It has the flavor I like and it’s not too sweet. Just plain old black label Jack Daniel’s. Nothing fancy. I dare say, whispering, I prefer it over vodka. And I can drink it straight, right out of a glass, neat, as they say. (Without ice.) That’s really not something I am bragging about, mind you. It’s not like I am sitting here all day sipping on whiskey and wasting time. Or doing another thing that I realize I like as I get older….
Watching old, black and white movies. I LOVE them lately. I had started watching them in the grip of nursing school. You can put them on and let them play. Now that I am done with that intensity, I still find that I like them just as much. Not all the old movies are black and white. I find I seek out anything made in the 50’s or earlier. It can be any genre. I don’t care. I prefer the smarter ones. With more dialogue. Actually they are all pretty smart, it’s mostly words. Not a lot of special effects in these movies. Some of the cable stations play them all day. If you want to try my new found, I’m-an-old-lady daily regimen, get yourself some Jack and pop in Casablanca to start. Or you can just jump right in, searching thru the cable guide for something that may become your new favorite.
Crap, I think I may be going thru a mid-random-age crisis. No milestone birthday coming up, no medical emergency, no life-changing event. Well maybe, I did just spend the last five years of my life changing my entire future. So it makes me think about what I could have done with all those other years. And my kids have so many years ahead of them. I want to stay around as long as I can. Ho Hum. Anyway, this is getting way off track of my study time. I do still have questions to answer for today. And I won’t have any kind of future if I don’t get my license. It’s getting dark again, so, hopefully you are home from your job now and ready to relax. Have a drink for me and enjoy the night. And if you are still out there, I will be too, soon. But for tonight, I will have a drink for you. Later.
just shy of pretty 