Guest rant about 'smart phones'...

I got an extended response to my smart phone rant yesterday and because on top of everything else some people can't leave comments on my blog for mysterious reasons known only to She Who is All Powerful Who We Don't Know Who She is Except that She is Not Us...Kristine sent me the below rant by email.  With her explicit permission I am reposting it.

And for the record, I STILL spent time today watching (yes I said WATCHING) reviews about smart phones...even though some part of me wants to throw up my hands and give up - this would be the wiser part of me...

But at least this much I know: no contracts.  They are insane(ly expensive).  Beyond that I'm still stuck...which is just weird, because it simply does not matter That Much.  

But now over to Guest rant from Kristine:

I succumbed and bought one  ("smart", not so sure) this past month.  Had a stupid phone for decades and sort of took for granted the luxury behind punching in a number, pressing redial and voila, a human.  Since I lack training on the depth, breadth, usage of this phone, punching (you don't punch  -- you must focus, take a breath, tap with feather-like precision WHATEVER the f @#k you want to do or you end up in very dark places) . . .

I'm having a difficult time with it.  In fact, I hate this phone but now I'm addicted.   

When my Verizon contract expired, I SO wanted to go with Credo / Working Assets, that 1%- going- to-charity-making- a-difference, but after reading that Verizon has some kind of satellite connection that emits LESS radiation to your ear-brain and concerned that i wouldn't have a satellite connection AT ALL living in boons, I went to the dark side.   I do like the camera / video capability and, yes, Julia, peer pressure played a part.   I have no qualms about admitting that -- the beauty of aging - you simply don't care.   I've never been part of a pack.  Now i'm howling at the moon.  

This ridiculously expensive phone which I got on sale b/c of my 'loyalty to Verizon' (this makes me far sicker than the peer pressure comment), features an internal robot named 'Siri' that you 'communicate with' to ostensibly set-up appointments.  I walk through the tedious 5-step process and am on the verge of setting up the appointment when she says "I am unable to do that."  Siri's a sadist.  

So there I go,  inadvertently disconnecting calls, launching games and apps I don't remember downloading,  randomly punching Siri's button and when i'm not jumping out of my skin wondering why Siri's calling, I want to wring her neck for not setting up my appointments which are few and far between these days which brings us to the real reason I'm a tad bit frustrated.. 

I have finally accepted that, along with the rest of us, I've been officially cast in a Phil Dick novel.  End of story. 

Kristine's rant proves something very important: I am not alone.  There are others like me.  And weirdly enough, I have met some of them, like Kristine, on the internet.  Originally I met her through my Linkedin group 'Independent Theatre Artists and Producers' - which if you haven't joined yet, feel free to do so.  There are now over 2,200 members from All Over the World - every continent and multiple languages.  I am proud of that.

Had a fun afternoon with Dana who I met at the BlogHer conference.  She came up to Inwood, which was not so pretty today as it's cold and rainy - alas.  We are about the same age and couldn't be more similar and different at the same time, which amuses us both no end.  She wrote a book and created a website/blog (listed on my blog roll) called Momover and has a delightful, light voice, which is a patina covering a lot of depth of soul and heart.  I am in awe of people like her, because I spend a lot of time in my little corners making experimental Stuff when people like Dana who clearly is whip smart, funny and interesting, manages to write and communicate on a much more accessible level.  All hail to you, Dana and thanking you in advance for the beauty product care package.  

Earlier, I managed to crawl through my class today on 'perception' (yes I find the humor in that as well) and now tonight am about to pack - hooray - for Thanksgiving.  A good friend Marietta will be staying at my place with lovely Ugo...who - stop press - did Not run under the sofa when Dana walked in the apartment.  This gives me hope that he will get along with Marietta and not be too freaked out about having a babysitter.

I do find myself pre-missing him, perhaps because it was when I was in Maine in December 2009 my cat of 20 years died.  Just made that connection.  Ouch.  Well with any luck Ugo, who is young, will make it for 3 days with a caring sitter.

He's been playing a lot and when I was typing the above, he came over to be pet by me.  He still isn't crawling up to the loft bed, but he's definitely feel this is his place now, which is just so great.  

OK, time to go finish grading mid-terms.  That would be a better use of time than watching reviews of smart phones...sigh.