Jun 27, 2012

On birthdays & technology.

     I turned 26 earlier this month, and I am officially so old that I forgot my own birthday. As in, I woke up, went about my business {I was in Columbus, Oh for my little brother’s graduation} and until somebody else chirped our a ‘Happy Birthday’ late that morning, I was completely unaware of the significance of June 9th. Considering my mom’ knack at making our birthdays feel like national holidays, forgetting my birthday was something I was sure I would never do. I always looked forward to them & was so excited the night before I couldn’t fall asleep. Now that I am pregnant, I can always fall asleep. The only think I was looking forward to at the beginning of June was feeling better. I know that sounds depressing, but it’s the truth.

 

    My birthday was still wonderful, by the way. A little birthday greeting from the newest Naval Officer in our family during his Commissioning, an ice cream pie from Graeters, and just the chance to be with my extended family. I reeeaallly missed Marcus though, who had to work that weekend. When I came home, he seemed to have his heart set on showing me how much better of a gift-giver he is than me. Okay, okay- that was not really his intent, but I sure noticed how good he was at gift-giving. Actually, gift making. Most of my gifts in the near 5 years we’ve been together he has made himself- and I always love them!

 

This year he tried his hand at making an edible arrangement.

jj 095     

We had some good giggles over how it turned out!

I stopped giggling though, when I saw another one of his gifts to me.

June 138

He made this matching necklace & earring set for me. From the shells from our anniversary trip to Charleston. This is the part where I started crying.

His other surprise was having my beloved pair of cowboy boots resoled & polished. He heard me lamenting them this past winter, worried their days were numbered. You should see them now..they look better than brand new! I would have taken a picture but I didn’t feel like bending over to pick them up out of the closet. Laziness abounds over here.

 

He also gave me a surprise Anniversary/birthday gift. First we played a word puzzle. Here, you can play too.

June 123

Did you figure it out?!?!

June 122 

After the word scramble, I totally forgot my manners.

“WHAT?! Marcus! You know how I feel about Kindles!! I’m so confused!”

{That is not really the type of thing you should say after you open a present}

Thankfully, he just laughed and said he knew.

Apparently, despite my stance to never read books on a screen because I think it is a disgrace and I love them smell of books and the way they feel in my hand and and and….. he still thought I might like one if I had it and got used to it.

Well, I have one & I am getting used to it. And I think I like it.

Things I like about it~ Having lots of books in one weightless tablet. {I have a habit of reading 3 or 4 books at once & carrying them all with me when I go places. It’s hard on my bags/purses and harder on my shoulders/back}

Things I am still very unsure about~ If I really want to own a book- I want to own a real copy. One that sits on my bookshelf & has my name on the inside cover with little notes scribbled in it. One that I can lend to a friend. Buying a book on Kindle does not feel like truly “owning” it to me. Also, even though I am always reading, I don’t buy a ton of books. Most of the time they are from the library. If I really fall in love with it, then I’ll buy it. So, I worry about just spending a lot of money buying books, when I could be renting. And yes, I know Kindle has a library…BUT you have to be Amazon Prime member {79 bucks a year} AND can only take out  one book at a time. What kind of library is that?! I have since come to find out that my library does have a downloaded books section, so that could be a redeeming factor.

So, that is where the kindle and I stand. I am really enjoying it’s lightweight, many books at my fingertips but still apprehensive of taking my reading & book collection digital. I read A LOT so I am  worried about constantly buying books on kindle for the convenience instead of renting at the library like I used too.

I know, I know… I am such a Grandma! Does anybody else have a love- hate relationship with Kindle this way or am I just seriously crazy?!  Would love to hear some other opinions or just some reassurance that I am not just some hardcore technology resistant woman. Even though I kind of am.

It was such a good birthday. Marcus is always making, giving or doing thoughtful things for me. And sometimes pushing me to join the 21st century…

1 comment:

Cat said...

You and I share a brain, sister! I also got a Kindle for my birthday and most of my books read are library books as well. Same love/hate relationship, and I think the "lending" for Prime is a crock too. However, downloading the books from the actual public library is awesome! I had an e-book on hold, and it came available while we were out of town. No problem, I could download it! No late fees, either :)

I still haven't paid for any books on it yet, and I'm not sure if I will. You can get a lot of public domain books (old classics) for free anyway.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...