Mason Skillz
https://vine.co/v/hB9211YrOBH/embed
Please click the above site! (And then click the screen if nothing happens right away.) Because I just cannot figure out how to get this video to show automatically. It’s only like, 10 seconds, but Mason created it! Just so you know, I typed this part after I typed all that below. So now, the rest of this post makes even more sense. And makes me feel even older. And lamer. Whatever.
Both my kids really use technology. They love it. They embrace it. They are comfortable with it. And they use it well. They really don’t have a choice these days because we are fast leaving behind anything that doesn’t involve the internet and a computer or smart device. And I am constantly playing catch up. OK. This is just a quick post because I am off today and my kids want to do something other than sit in this house. We are going old school. Getting some food and heading to the fishing hole. Really. We were going to go to the beach, but we are also very lazy and did not get up with purpose today. Except Mason. Credit to him because he went to football camp and we layed around like vegetables. And now he is done until after the holiday. Good job. He looks good too. Anyway, we are going to go fishing like we used to when they were small. We mostly went because it was far enough away that they thought we were “going” somewhere and it was freeeeee! Now it’s just because we haven’t been there in a long time and it’s still freeeeeeeeee! That’s for the BF. Trying to spend less. Although the girl is already talking dinner, so…Without any more words. Later.
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.
74 Degrees. Posting From The IPad.
Sitting outside enjoying the warm. Although the temp is starting to go back down again. Still high sixties, so I can stay here for awhile yet. I thought I would try and use my son’s technology to post faster and more efficiently. And outside! This keyboard is weird and keeps hitching on me. I got the title ok and I was even able to take that pic above and put it in here, but I seem to be having trouble with color, bolding, italicising, and even punctuation and spelling. Auto correct and my lack of understanding on how to highlight a word and change its appearance is really slowing me down. Good thing I can spell real good and grammertize correctly or this would be a mess. I think I need to stick with the laptop for now. I already lost this post once accidentally tapping the wrong button and using touch screen to try and zoom or whatever. Luckily the tech support for this site is smarter than me and auto saved my original draft. So here it is. Again. You wouldn’t have wanted to miss this stellar post I am sure. Besides all my good pictures are on the computer. The IPad is nice, but it’s awkward to hold and too big for my hands to take alot of pictures. I’m trying to capture a picture of the very red cardinal that is chirping loudly in the tree in front of me but I can’t seem to spot him. And I can’t keep maneuvering this big flat thing around the backyard. I look like an idiot and my butt crack keeps hanging out when I bend over, but I can’t pull my pants up because I’m afraid I’m going to drop this toy and break it if I don’t use two hands. The problems of the new world, I tell ya. OK I am done now. My fingers are actually kind of cold and my kids are going to be home soon and I want to have a drink so I can pack in more good time fun on my extra bonus free day off before they get home if you know what I mean and I think you do I am talking to everyone with kids that never seem to leave the house for longer than a school day but since you have to work anyway it doesn’t really matter wink wink end of long run on sentence. Prob TMI but maybe most people drifted off there in the middle of that thought like I did. I did give this sad, plain, unadorned post its own category. I creatively named it, “IPad Posts.” Like it even matters, separating them from the others. You can easily spot them because they look like boring crap. I don’t know what I am doing on this thing. I will learn. And I will return. Ooooooh. Drama. Later.
New(ish) Feature! Posts In Pictures! Because, Seriously, Sometimes These Things Go On Too Long.
Sorry Sisters. This exactly displays the horror we feel on many occasions. This one was for our brother, who’s having his first baby, after emphatically denying that he would EVER have any children, for most of his life. We took this after the baby shower (haha–baby shower–family and friends, all women, focused solely on him, (and his wife of course. Which reminds me of marriage, another thing he said NO to for most of his life also, if we are keeping track. Which I am.) giving him tiny baby items that he could not care less about or even identify a mere two weeks ago, and will now become the center of his entire universe, when this new little human being will be awake and crying at 2 AM. We took this at his house, while goofing around on his new IPhone, yet another object of the 21st century that he also stated he would NEVER own. We jest because we love.
It’s also the kick-off picture, for what I am hoping will be a new kind of posting, that allows me to post faster and more efficiently, with less words. You know, let the picture “talk”, and me just kind of “caption” the event happening. Although I see I am not getting off to a great start here. That “horror” look is for how long my posts can go on for. And, as a bonus representation, it works for the horror I personally feel, because I never, NEVER, ever, EVER, post a picture of myself. And with good reason if you check the title of this blog site and this stunning picture proof of my “almost good looks”. I am the one on the bottom left as you are looking at the pic. In my defense, I photograph horribly. No lie. People say they take bad pictures, but I truly do. Even goofy, silly pictures. I am not photogenic at all. I look much better in person. And that is a hard truth I accept as fact now, and avoid the camera like it’s on fire or will give me a disease. Or get me pregnant. HA. My sisters look good either way. Luckys.
Once again, I must go, quickly. My stove timer is beeping, telling me I need to get showered and ready for work. (I set a timer for myself for more efficiency and that doesn’t work either.) I am still racing the clock, all the time. More posts to come if I can actually make this picture thing work. I have the pics. I just have to utilize the time. Enjoy your Saturday. I’m out for the next 8-10. (Hours. That is. That reference is to the hours I will be gone. Ugh. Stop typing!) Later!
All the possibilities…
And all we can do is play around with the camera and its distortion capabilities. I think we almost have it covered now. The fish tank does look cool. I wish I could find orange water with green fish. My phone is also very helpful for telling me the exact time and what the weather is like in my town. Small steps.
Cool Word of the Day!
Thunderbolt (noun)
Definition: A single discharge of lightning with the accompanying thunder; An imaginary elongated mass cast as a missle to earth in the lightning flash; A flash of lightning conceived as a bolt or dart hurled from the heavens; A person or thing that resembles lightning in suddenness, effectiveness, or destructive power; One that acts with sudden and destructive fury; Vehement threat or censure; A startling, forceful action.
Also: The name of my brand new phone! (HTC ThunderBolt) For the first time in my whole life, I actually have something that may be considered the most advanced, modern, up-to-date, piece of techno-gear out there. Until next week. (With the fastest speeds on the best network…4G LTE with Verizon Wireless–and no, they do not pay me.) Anytimewastingtechnology…
This phone is the OTHER thing that prevents me from studying. (uh huh–excuses) Takes a lot of time to learn a whole new way of doing things especially when it’s just so damn cool. Easily distracted. What’s worse…or better I guess, is I can actually use my phone to study now when I’m not at home! Which also means…I can played Bejeweled from it too. Technology is awesome.
Cool Word of the Day!
Zymurgy (noun)
Definition: Technological chemistry that deals with fermentation processes, as in brewing.
just shy of pretty 