People are always talking about the great pleasure of going off the grid or unplugging. Well, I just spent a day involuntarily doing that and I'm sorry to admit it wasn't a pleasure at all! Last night I lost my phone at the movies and thus began my almost 24 hours without it. Although I felt very Nancy Drew watching it move around RI on Find My IPhone, and even went to the creepy park where it landed finally, searching trash cans and disgusting litter, mostly the day was not fun. Why? I couldn't set my alarm (no alarm clock here!), check the weather (without putting on the TV), call my mom (she's 84! I call her a lot!), plan Annabelle's play date, get Sam's texts, or hey! Communicate with any of the people I touch base with every day. Sure, I emailed from my computer, but I wasn't home most of the day. I'm not whining. Instead, I'm here to say that as someone who does love technology (I even look back fondly at the hulking Leading Edge computer I bought at Crazy Eddy's in NYC decades ago), I like how this small thing I can hold in the palm of my hand keeps me close to the people I love, the world outside my own little world, the news and goings on both big and personal. I don't like staring at it instead of into the eyes of someone I love, or even someone I like. I don't like using it when good food is in front of me, or someone is talking to me, or a million other times when I want or need to be looking up and at this beautiful world. But today I realized how much this phone of mine adds to a full life rich with people I love and a world I care enough about to want to check in on how it's doing throughout the day. And yes, I also suffered Word With Friends withdrawal.
Nancy Drew failed. No doubt my phone thief tossed it in the pond. But three hours with the charming Kyle and I'm the proud new owner of an upgraded pink (Apple calls it rose) phone. The magic of the iCloud had everything appear here, and I've now called everybody I couldn't call and checked everything I couldn't check and taken all my turns on WWF. I managed to read a novel today (Ann Leary's The Children, coming out in May, and you will thank me for the recommendation!) and bind off my gorgeous mountain cowl from Purl Soho, and visit Gogo, and grocery shop for a dinner party tomorrow, and talk to Annabelle. But I do all those things when I have my phone too. It just lets me reach out even more. So here's to technology!
What's for dinner tomorrow? Cauliflower al forno, pappardelle with pork ragu, and an arugula salad. I'll be cooking all morning. Can't wait!
