After a wait of several months, I finally managed to upgrade my phone. When I was first considering this, back in March, I was dead set on a WebOS phone. I really did love the Palm OS and I heard great things about it. The problem is, HP has not done a great job on hardware. I’ve read several reports of the phones just not holding up.

When I checked to see what was available, there wasn’t much of a selection. The Motorola Flipside has been a good phone for Lon, but I’ve not been impressed with Android. And the other thing I wanted to avoid was the bloatware that AT&T installs. I really hate having a phone where I can’t delete unused stuff. It irritates me. I didn’t have $100 for a Veer or an iphone 4. And so, I now have an iphone 3gs. For $50, it’s a real bargain. I’ve found that most Apple hardware is good enough that you can run the low end stuff for a long time. And this phone does not feel low end to me. I don’t really like having to sync with iTunes (I use Lon’s computer, which still has XP installed.) But that’s a minor annoyance at this point. The phone has excellent call quality. The pictures I’ve taken have been pretty good, for a phone, and it’s remarkably easy to use. I thought I’d hate a touch screen but this works very well. I am really impressed with it. I’ve upgraded to Pandora One, since it’s so nice to listen to music on the long drive back and forth to work. And I’ve installed a few apps, but nothing like what I did back in the Palm days. I purchased Egretlist, Diacarta, and YouNeedABudget. I think there’s another knitting app that I want.

There’s a reason why smartphones are popular. It’s really nice to be connected anytime, anywhere. I was able to use Gmail to pull up an email my attorney needed, and could view all the attachments on my phone. I’ve used the built in map (Google) and the Mapquest app to get to where I’m going. I saved time yesterday finding the drop box for my ballot by mapping it out before driving there. It’s just an amazingly powerful tool.

I guess I’ve been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the cell phone era. I talk on the phone enough at work that I hate to talk on it when I’m off duty. I guess I just needed a phone that is a pleasure to use. Now, if I can just come up with a low end Mac to replace my aging laptop……

It hasn’t been bad out our way. We are still struggling with finances. We still have a move ahead of us. My stepson has been through a rough spell. I had a blowout on the freeway Tuesday night, but managed to keep the van on the road and got home eventually. I made it to the Sock Summit marketplace and bought some nice fiber. And I’ve finished a few small shawls. I reworked the Spindlitis site again and will be adding more content to it this week. It’s a bit thin right now. The chickens at the river place hatched out chicks and we have three of them! It’s not like the old days, where I’d have batches of fifteen or twenty, but still… We have been making plans for life at the river and there’s a lot I want to get in place to be more successful next year. Finances will improve once the boat is paid off. And the lawsuit is still a factor, with another hearing later this month. Lon’s family will have to settle his mom’s estate somehow. They still haven’t had a memorial service for her.

The best thing is, I have a good relationship to help me deal with all of it. We can pick each other up through the rough spots. I know there are people that have learned to deal with life’s troubles on their own, but I do appreciate having a partner. I know that we will have good times together, along with the bad.