Thoughts
As with my tripping post, this is one I want noted for the record. [Gotta Hand It To Myself, That Was Stupid]
A few weeks ago, my phone died. Blinked a few times and turned into a brick. Due to the shutdown, I wasn’t in a screaming hurry to get a new one. I could Internet from my desktop. Family had a way to contact me in a crisis. I knew I’d need one eventually. At least, when/if I started going abroad in the world again. Took me three weeks. Here’s what I learned.
Bought a Samsung A50. Went in to get the wifi card working. The dude at the phone store took one look at the age and condition of our phones and recommended a budget model.
BTW, after four months, hands all better. Knee no longer hurts. Toe still stiff. Weird.
What I Missed Right Away
The crossword puzzle at night. Do puzzle. Go to sleep. Without the former, I had trouble with the latter. Pavlovian. [Totally Off Topic Brag]
Looking up random facts. Song lyrics. Plots, when I want to know what happens but don’t care enough to finish the episode/book. Where did I see that actor?
Photo of a barn snake eating a rat. Really cool. Don’t worry, I would have put it behind the jump.
Reading in bed at night. Reading in the barn aisle. Both dark places, therefore reading from a screen is more convenience than arranging a light to fall upon the codex.
Blog pix.
What Grew On Me As Annoyances
When I did call, I used our landline. Therefore, I was tethered to my desk. How 20th century!
Lack of a flashlight. We have others. I missed having one to hand.
Gossip. Some things ya just don’t commit to print. Firm believer in the adage, Never email (or text) anything you don’t want to see on a billboard on your way to work the next day.
Lack of videos. I watch more videos than I realized, particularly lately. The Mid-South show was on livestream. I had to pester husband in order to watch classes the barn was in. In fact, my calm acceptance of missing a horse show *might* have been contributory to us going out and getting my new phone that weekend. [Show Today, Yet I Languish At Home, Is It The End Of An Era?]
Instant books. I want to read that book. Now.
No one emails any more.
Being unable to access the blog email [Ride Away With Me, Virtually].
Getting online during a storm, when the desktop was powered down. Party for entertainment, partly for weather checks.
Using the map locater to know where husband was once he started going back to work.
Phone calls. Apparently I do talk to a few people in the course of a month.
Overall, the loss of a phone had more impact than I thought it would, in many small ways. Of course, my timing sucked pond water. Isolated lifestyle that is not my perfect fit > pandemic > cutting off even more contact.
Awareness of the Outside World
Will look into a responsible way to recycle/ditch my old phone.
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 