Cell phones...my struggle

Can I be honest with you? I love technology...and I hate it. There are so many things about technology that I love. I love how it has "made the world smaller"; I love how I can be connected to people I have lost touch with and meet new people too; I love that I can get information almost as quickly as it happens; I love getting to be creative with it; I love the breakthroughs we are having as a result of technology. Who knows, maybe we will see cancer eradicated in our lifetime. Maybe we will find ways to sustain vegetation in places previously unable regions (desserts, etc.) where the hungry can more easily be fed. There is so much sitting out there waiting to happen. Shoot, you can even lock, unlock and start a car with an iPhone app now.

The hate part. Sometimes technology can do the exact opposite of bringing us closer. Sometimes it keeps us from our face to face connections. For instance, when I am out to lunch with someone I know that the cell phone can be a huge distraction. Someone else calls, a text message pops up or a twitter message is waiting to be read, etc. In the past I have been known to leave my phone on the table so I can be sure I don't miss anything. After all, it could be something very important. The problem is that suddenly the person I am with no longer feels important. That bothers me. I want people that I spend time with to feel valued. I have made a a decision. No more cellphone sitting on the table when I am at a meal with someone. Feel free to call me on it too. I am also trying to keep my laptop put away at home until everyone is in bed. It is such an easy distractor (real word?) from my time with others. 

[a note to tech haters (twitter, text, internet, iphone, blackberry, etc): I do believe that these things are also bringing us together. I often hear, "why would I twitter what I am doing or text someone or blog when I can just call someone r go see them face to face?" or "if people want to know what's going on in my life I don't need to blog they can call me." The funny part is that they use the technology of the phone to call someone, or the technology of the car to get there. hmmmm..don't hate on what you don't get. "We mock that which we don't understand." someone said that I am sure, at least I said it. I believe I am more connected to people I follow on twitter than I would if I didn't read their updates. I don't always get to hang out with those people on a regular basis, but when we are together we can follow up on some things that have happened, etc. Kinda cool I say. Plus I get to see your pics and videos you upload to facebook and youtube. How else would I see that? When was that last time you went in and printed off pics from your digital camera?]

Back to the frustration part. I wish I could sit down with people who just don't get it all and do a little training course. Even if it were a cell phone etiquette seminar. People, if you don't want me coming up and asking you a question about the conversation you are having in line at Starbucks, don't be on the phone and talk like the person is across the room. (yes, I have done it...albeit not often and only with a funny comment that made them laugh...but got the point across). People, turn off your ringer when in a meeting or at church or at a movie! I mean seriously! Case in point, Hugh Jackman stops his play to ask someone to turn off their cell phone. Watch this video. Unbelievable.

Well, I feel my thoughts are a bit scattered on this one, but I want to thank blogger for providing me a place to write my thoughts down. I am not great at blogging very regularly, but I am waaaayyy worse at journaling, so this is a bit of an outlet. If you don't want to read this, the great thing is you can click the little X in the upper left hand corner (or upper right hand corner if you are stuck in the PC world).

Feel free to comment as you like.

How Would Life Differ If It Were More Fun?

Have you ever taken a moment that wasn't all that great and made it more fun and completely changed how you felt? No? Maybe it's time to do just that. This probably means you need to turn on some creative juices. When Jeanne-Ann and I were dating in college, neither of us had a lot of money. While many of our friends would run up to Buffalo (1 hr drive) and go to the movies, etc. we would stay on campus. We had to get creative with our dates.

For our first valentines together I decided to write out our story on a posterboard using those candies that say things on them. I used a whole bunch of them and hung them up in the elevator of Jeanne-Ann's dorm. Needless to say the elevator ride became much more fun than just getting to your destination. As a matter of fact many stayed on until they finished reading it.

On our first dating anniversary I used what was available to me to make our celebration an evening to remember. I worked ski patrol at our school (we had a 5 slope "mountain") so I had the keys to the lodge. I made a giant heart in the snow and had music playing in there when we walked in (after driving her around blindfolded for a while so she would think we were far away from campus.) Then I had some snacks, sparkling cider and we danced (shhh...don't tell anyone. That was against the rules). It was awesome!

It didn't take much to turn the mundane into fun. You don't have to be super creative, you can do it too. Look at what VW did in order to make a viral video. They did some testing to see if they could make the mundane fun...like walking up the stairs over taking an escalator. It's an awesome video. They actually have 3 experiments in the works. Check em out.

PIANO STAIRS


THE WORLD'S DEEPEST TRASH CAN


BOTTLE ARCADE (to come...)

T-Pain and President Obama

Ok, if you have an iPhone you know that there is an app for pretty much anything. One of the hottest apps to hit the app store recently is the "I Am T-Pain" app which does an autotune of your voice and makes you sound like T-Pain does in his songs. I have it and it is a lot of fun to play with. I see endless possibilities coming up in the near future. Yes, you can count on hearing a song recorded by me using this app. I am busy working on it as we speak (so to speak). You gotta check out this video clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live  with T-Pain and President Obama.
Oh man is this funny.