Woo-hoo! An Upgrade? ;)...

So, I went and did it this time.
Yep, I got me a BlackBerry! ha! to all those who said I would never do it, to all those who said I was just copying others who had "fancy-schmancy" phones with doodads 'n' gadgets ~ flip-out key pads for texting, a hundred ringtones from which to choose, multiple functions ~ who needs all that, eh?
Well, as it turns out...I do!
I carry in my purse at least four items of some weight that could easily be converted into one small piece of no small consequence at all...which is the reason I decided to go with the BlackBerry that I chose.
Two days ago, Mike & I went to our local Sprint store & I finally gave up the ghost: my 5-year-old flip-top cell, the one with that adorable little polar bear screensaver. You know, that cute little guy who comes out wearing the Jack-O-Lantern headmask, turning somersaults, reading his book, sitting & playing games, strolling while whistling, eating a hamburger, etc. I never knew what he was going to do next.
And now he's gone. For good, probably, since the old phone has been disabled. May he rest in peace...after all that time he spent entertaining me with his antics ~ he was so-o cute! O well...
Time for me to finally go high tech, hit the big time, take it a step further & do what I have been destined to do for a while now.
And now, I'm at a total loss.
My new phone/palm pilot/computer/mp3 player/TV-radio ~ yes, all this and more ~ I don't have the foggiest notion what to do with it!
This wonder of wonders comes with all kinds of attachments as well. Some things are pretty basic, like a home charger, a car charger, a set of earphones for listening to music or watching the TV...
Wait just a minute, there! Did I just say, "watching the TV"?? Why, yes, I believe I did! Will wonders never cease!?! My iPod has this feature, but only for purhcased movies & videos, not an actual TV that receives signals from the outside world.
Amazing!! I like that!
It also has the usual set-ups for connecting to my laptop, an extra leather case ~ and of course, I just had to have the two extra cases, didn't I? The black & the clear...
Not to mention the bluetooth earset ~ buy it now with the other gadgets & you get this amazing deal ~ if you wait til next week, buying it separately will cost you alot more! How could I say no?
But like Mike says, once you buy it, you have it...so I did! :) And if I have to talk while driving, which I hate, then at least I can do it without holding it to my ear, keeping my hands free to control the car! I believe that was the whole point?
But the absolute BEST part of it is ~ are you ready for this? It has no less than 3 how-to booklets ~ yes, 3! ~ one of which has 80 pages! I can't wait to sink my brain into that baby!! And a CD!!! Wow...life doesn't get any better than this! I am over the moon with rapture, with ecstasy, with pure unadulterated joy!
The only thing that would make me happier than I am at this very moment is if someone were to be scratching my back as I write this, lol.
But enough of this complaining...
I registered it with the company to enable my email account to be accessible right on the screen, without having to go through the web browser every time, and now, every time I get an email (which goes on all day long, for Pete's sake) it rings, buzzes or chimes. So, I am constantly picking it up to answer a phantom phone call, which turns out to be a sales email from Amazon, or my book club, or a friendly "hello" email from a friend. But phone calls? On a telephone? You're kidding, right?!?
So, this morning, since dear daughter Clare had a repair issue with her cell, I went into the store with her to have it checked out, maybe disable the email function, since I can go through the browser to check if I so choose ~ without all the bells & whistles ~ and I got the sales tech to show me a feature or two of how to use the Internet on this darned thing. But he didn't disable the email function! Maybe later, eh?
O yeah...and then there were the messages to the kids' phones, telling them that Mom got her new toy & she is still learning the ropes, so if anyone gets a mixed-up message, a missed call or anything meant for someone else ~ or if they simply want to call me & I can't seem to answer correctly ~ then they will know what is going on!
It took me forever just to figure out how to answer it without losing the call completely & even at that, I was dialing other people by mistake, whom I never even meant to call! My brother-in-law Tony is probably still laughing at me...he actually thanked me for the warning, saying he needed a good chuckle at the time. "Happy to oblige," was my response.
Meanwhile, my son-in-law Nick, who happens to be a whiz @ this sort of thing, has graciously volunteered to give me a crash course on BlackBerry handling, since he has had one for some time now. I trust him with anything technical; his advice has always been spot-on & he will be the one to get this all wrapped up nice & neat in my head.
Then, maybe if I'm lucky, I can leave at home my iPod, my Palm Pilot, my old cell phone...get a lighter wallet even ~ and not cripple my shoulder every time I have to pick up my purse to leave the house!
We'll see...
At least, not until they come out with something newer, better or shinier that catches my eye & my imagination!