Texting and Other Things

   Those of you who have read this column regularly might remember my constant battle to keep my flip phone. I did not want a phone where I'd require a class to be able to use it. I also didn't want to become a "phone zombie", a person who walks around staring intently at the little screen in their hand. I wanted no part of the culture that relies on Google for everything and is scared to have to speak to a live human being.
  Then the cell phone bill came. Our cell phone rates had been creeping up over the past few months. C decided it was time to investigate. He made phone calls. He waited on hold. he talked to several people and then came to a conclusion. I needed to get a smartphone. For some reason that I still cannot explain, our bill would go down once I had a smartphone.
  We found an inexpensive refurbished phone and set it up. Since I am a terminal clutz, we got a screen protector and a case to prevent it from breaking when dropped. (because I would probably drop it several times) I even got one of those pop out things so I would be able to hold it easier. It's really pretty with dark blue leaves and pink and blue flowers.
  Now that I have had it for almost a year, I am realising that I like it very much. When I worked at the independent it was helpful for communicating with Anne, my boss, and our techs. Part of doing the bank deposit every week required that a picture be taken of the checks that we were going to deposit and that picture would be sent to the bookkeeper.
   Oddly enough it has improved my communication with several people. One of them is my Dad. Before the smartphone I would email him every week. Sometimes I'd forget or my email wouldn't get to him. Now we text. We text almost every day. He texts me a "good morning" with a sun emoji. It's kind of amusing to me that at age 80 my Dad likes to text.
   After the independent pharmacy closed Anne and I were both pretty down. We both had big dreams and high hopes for the store. The ability to text allowed us to "talk" and help each other through the experience. We are both working again, but in jobs were never expected to have. Both of us are out of our comfort zones and through texting we can vent and talk about it.
  Another thing I've discovered that I like is apps. There are a lot of useful apps out there. My employee discount is tied to an app on my phone. I  can also see what's on sale and even make a grocery list. My two favourite apps are Runkeeper and Google Calendar.
  I like Runkeeper for when I go walking and when I start to run again. It keeps track of how far I go and what my minutes per mile is. It also provides some cheeky commentary like "You run like a bear out of hibernation!" and "Are we stopping for a sandwich or coffee?"
  The Google calendar is helps me keep track of what store I'm working at now that I float to different stores. I can put in my hours and reminders for when I need to turn things in. This is invaluable when emergency shifts come up. I can quickly see if I'm able to help or not. I can put in my church volunteer shifts, hair appointments and lunches with my Dad. The one thing I have to remember is to enter the information correctly. I once put a wrong store in. Fortunately I checked it against the schedule before I left for work.
   It reminds me of story I heard about my grandmother many years ago. My grandmother said, "I wouldn't marry August Story if he were the last man on earth." Her mother warned her, "The stone you throw the farthest always comes back to you." (She did marry August. My Dad was once of their children.)  I remember saying that I was never going to get a smartphone. Well, I did and I can now say I'm glad that I have it.