Slow Down!!!

So I wrote a little bit ago about how baffled my mind was by my cell phone and it's capabilities. Have you seen the Kia commercial where it asks the question, "What if we were satisfied with the first version of everything?" One of the examples were the huge chunky box cell phones (think Zach Morris on Saved By The Bell circa 1991). While I'm glad we're not still lugging those things around, I just am feeling a little ...old fashioned, perhaps ...lately. I mean, I just can't see myself finding the love of my life online ...the way apparently one of every five relationships start now-a-days according to tv commercials. And I went to a man auction for charity last week, and while it was very fun and quite entertaining, I just felt a little ...out of place? ...Awkward? I don't know what the word is ...old fashioned. Also, I find a certain charm in turning the actual physical paper pages of a book. I love to go into old book stores, I love the smell of books, I love reading them, but I am not on board the whole kindle/nook craze yet, because ...well, I'm just too old fashioned. I like reading books where I actually turn the pages. I tell ya, these young whipper-snappers these days have no idea! I saw a funny quote on facebook the other day, "We had social networking when I was a kid too. I think back then we called it outside." It made me giggle. So true. Life is so different now. And it's good, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I feel like I just can't keep up. I mean, I bought a wifi-accessible wireless printer about a month ago and the darn thing took me 45 minutes to set up!! Pretty sure it's smarter than me. And my phone ...back to the point of this post. Don't even get me started on how much smarter than me that darn thing is.

So today, I had to have a cable repair-man come to my house to fix my DVR box. Apparently the hard drive on the box was fried, so they just gave me a new one. No big deal. The guy also hooked up my phone (the land line one) to the router so I could make calls on my home phone in case of emergency. Meaning that my one little cable box is connected to my tv, blu-ray player, the internet, my computer, my printer, the phone, and is my recorder for shows. Crazy. And the box is so small!! So while I was waiting for my favorite lists and dvr schedules to reload onto the new tiny machine, I started playing on my phone. I was checking for updates on the apps I already have installed. I came across a comcast app for my phone. So I downloaded it. And with this app I can change the channel on my tv from my phone, view the lineup, watch live tv, and schedule things to be recorded on the dvr. That's right, my phone now also doubles as my remote control. Blows my mind. Remember when phones had chords that attached them to the wall? Remember the finger-hole turn-dial thingies? My how things have evolved!! I made a little list of all the things I use my phone for. Here it is. Do you think Alexander Graham Bell had any idea his little invention would go this far? I'm being a bit dramatic I know, but SERIOUSLY!!!! So, my phone:

• Flashlight
• Clock
• Watch
• Phone book
• Address book
• Notepad
• Alarm clock
• Answering machine
• Computer (email, facebook, google, youtube, imdb, urban dictionary, etc)
• GPS/navigator (maps, google earth, etc)
• Calender
• Camera
• Photo album
• Television (live tv, recorded tv, movie rental, netflix etc)
• TV remote
• Video camera
• Game player (psp, angry birds, tetris, various trivia, etc)
• IM center
• Music player (pandora, radio, downloaded music, etc)
• VCast Song ID (a category all of it's own ...can't live without it!)
• Skype/video chat engine
• Voice recorder (which reminds me ...remember tape players and recorders?!)
• Dictionary
• SportsCenter scoreboard
• Sky/star map (you just point your phone toward the sky and it will map out all the stars and planets for you and tell you what exactly you're looking at in whichever direction you move the phone)
• Checkbook/bank deposit slip/balance transfer sheet/anything you'd otherwise have to physically go to a bank for
• Boarding pass (as in, for airplane flights ...no more paper to worry about loosing during all that airport shopping!)
• Barcode scanner
• Search beacon ...for when you get lost in the wilderness ...theres a happy little geographical map with a picture of your smiling face and an arrow pointing to your precise latitude-longitude geographical location ...and have you seen the movie The Recruit?! )
• Magic 8-ball
• Coupon finder (groupon, living social, etc ...and thanks to my wifi-enabled wireless printer, I can print the coupons directly from my phone wherever I am ...I told you my printer was smart!)
• Translator (all languages included)
• Drug book (standard, IV, resuscitation, pediatric dosings, etc)
• ACLS/PALS guide
• Weather report/news feed
• Shopping portal (can anyone say paypal?)

I'm sure I'll come up with something new in a few days ...but seriously. I literally use my phone for each and every one of these things. And it could be a book too since there's a kindle app that came on my phone that I just haven't activated yet for the above listed reasons. And my phone is approximately 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" and about a centimeter and a half thick. It's microscopic, really. Crazy crazy crazy technology.

Also ...as a fabulous follow up to this post, and this post ...a quote from tonight's Grey's Anatomy: "Is it worth it? Being responsible? Because if you take your vitamins, and pay your taxes, and never cut the line, the universe still gives you people to love. And then lets them slip through your fingers like water. And then what have you got? Vitamins and nothing." Man I love this show!! Some of the greatest quotes ever!!