Trying something new

Thank you for all your kind words yesterday.  It means a lot to me that so many people know of Vel and how he played an important part in our lives.  That's quite a lot to say for a once stray kitty that never wandered more than a few yards after he became part of the family.  I will give the left over love I poured on him to all of my other animal family members (well, I suppose the human ones too....)

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One of the many conversations that I had with Takumi and Leiya while I was in the States was whether or not I was going to join the Smart Phone world.  (I can just see Julie cringe at those words).  My children are of the opinion that as we are spread out internationally, not to mention that Grandma's situation changes daily, that I should have a Smart Phone.  Why am I limiting myself just because I feel I am getting older and can't learn new things.  That's all the more reason to try something new!  

I go back and forth... Is it worth the cost?  Am I up for the challenge?  Will I use it any more than I use a computer or an iPad that we have already?  I think towards the end my kids were feeling that I just like to talk about it and then be a martyr about not having one. 

And then a couple of evenings after I'd gotten back from the States, I became annoyed with Tetsu.

We DO have an iPad and the plan had been that while I was in California the iPad would stay in Japan with him so that we could all text message each other through it.  My brother's family has iPads and iPhones etc. and of course so do Takumi and Leiya.  Maybe we could even do some Facetime or Chat or whatever the possibilities are...  And yes, we do regularly Chat with Leiya with it but it's ME who controls the iPad.  Before I left I made sure to teach Tetsu how to use the texting app.

"Look for this icon, click on this button.  If we call you first then you swipe here...."

HOWEVER...  He never did get on the iPad.  He said it froze on him or maybe it was completely broken.  So we communicated through his office computer...  And when I came back to Japan, it was one swipe in a different direction that put the iPad back in use.  Sigh.

"Don't you even WANT to learn how to use it?  Are you just being stubborn?  It isn't THAT hard.  The technology is at your fingertips and you won't even try."

Ooh...  Bad wife!

But I sort of heard myself scolding myself and the conversation about TRYING with the kids came back to me.

So yesterday I got the info about purchasing and maintaining an iPhone...  I'm going to do it!  I just needed to check with Tetsu one last time that he wasn't out and out against me joining the new world of technology...

"Hmm.  Maybe I should get one too...  When you were annoyed at me last week I heard myself in your words criticizing the people in my office who are too stubborn to learn anything new.  Maybe I should try an iPhone too."

Well!  That was a surprise!  Yeah!  So maybe we'll both learn some new tricks...  (Though Tetsu is still in the back and forth stage....)  Today I'm off to the phone shop. 

"I think I can -- I think I can -- I think I can!"