It’s funny how quickly technology changes

Phone home
When I was little I dreamed of having my own “cool” phone. There were several makes and models I liked, for example the antique ones with the brass components that looked all 1950’s and the clear one where you could see the colorful “guts” inside. I even sometimes wished I could have my own red lips phone!

So when I got the phone in the picture above at Target about 8 years ago, I really felt like I was finally living out my dream of having my dream phone. At the time, I had it sitting on my desk in my pink, black, and white retro bedroom (I totally liked that combo before it became over the top popular). It was mainly just novelty, but I did use it from time to time.

Not too long after I got it (like about a year), I moved into an apartment and decided I didn’t need a land line. So, the phone stayed boxed up in my storage shed. After trying to organize and get my office in order tonight, I realized I needed to let it go. Sometimes breaking up is so hard to do. Haha! I just don’t see myself ever needing to use it and it’s just one of those things that will take up space and gather dust.

So in a span of 7 years, I just find it so funny that technology has changed so fast that I no longer need a land line, an answering machine, or an alarm clock anymore. i can now use my iPhone to serve the need of all three these days.

So, I bid adieu to my dial up phone. You were a good phone. Sorry I didn’t use you as much as I should have. I decided a farewell photo was in order before it gets added to the goodwill pile…or do you think I should keep it and just use it as a nostalgic accent. I so shouldn’t waffle like this!

Phoning home.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

A state of exhaustion

I recently read an article in Details magazine how people like to flaunt the fact that they are “exhausted”. I am currently feeling exhausted, but am not flaunting it in any way, I’m just stating my current mood. I can actually understand where the article was coming from. You know the person in your life who likes to outdo you or let you know how much more demanding their life is, right? That kinda thing gets really old really fast hearing it from them. I think that this state of exhaustion is a universal problem in our U.S. society. We are finding it harder and harder to disconnect from technology. I mean, our cell phones are attached to our hip at all times, we have to “tweet” to let others know exactly what we are thinking at any given moment, and people want things much more quicker now cause we can just zip it off in an e-mail rather than having to mail it through traditional services. All of this technology is making things supposedly “easier”, but it is very much making it harder for us to have a chance to stop and smell the roses or even stop and take a breather!

I didn’t mean to start on a technological rant. That wasn’t the intent at all, but when I think about it, my posts are so reliant on technology as well and I choose how much or little I want to include each time I post. For example, I really wanted to share some awesome finger puppets I got in Chicago, but that would mean I would have to recharge my camera, take an interesting photo, download the photo, color correct the photo, upload the photo, and then copy and paste it into this blog. It’s not a quick solution really (admittedly, I could just take an iphone photo, but it wouldn’t be the quality I would normally go for). See all of these posts take work (I’m not asking for a pity party by any means, I’m just stating the reality of posting such things). A really good post takes an hour or longer. It’s a lot of work!

So, I guess I’m playing into the whole exhaustion by not disconnecting, huh? It’s a really hard beast to battle. I think there’s a lot of internet/techy addictions out there that and that people my age and younger are going to see a lot of bad health results as a part of it…whether it be bad eyesight (you have to throw that whole “don’t sit in front of the screen” saying into the mix), back troubles, and general physical exhaustion. It will be definitely interesting to see how it plays out. I can’t imagine what it will be like in the future if it is like this now. We will end up paying the price for all this new fangled/have to have it now accessibility.

Didn’t really mean for this to sound like a rant in any way, just the stuff off the top of my little ol’ head this evening.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa