I Finally Spent Thirty-One Dollars

When I upgraded my phone a year or so ago I really upgraded.  I went from a device with a school picture sized screen that claimed but didn't actually exhibit internet capabilities to one that provokes joking comparisons to a flat screen TV and cruises the web faster than my home computer, all for just a couple hundred buck...and a twenty-four month additional financial commitment.

The reason I spent the money and signed the contract (self-justification more than need) was to write (my hobby and pursuit) while I chased my kids to their various activities.  There can be a lot of down time between events once you've talked to the other parents about common interests (often just the sport or activity being attended) and watched your child rumble into the distance with team mates...and a five dollar bill they just bummed off of you. 

Being inherently cheap, my first move was to try a free word-processing program.  Convinced some app creator out there was both competent and philanthropic, I tried a lot of them.  You get what you pay for; they were limited, difficult and didn't have spell-check.  I need spell-check to write like a fat man needs an electric cart to shop at Wal-Mart.  With enough effort, time and aggravation I could get the job done without it, but all the sweating, mumbling and huffing makes those around me uncomfortable.

The app itself was only a buck (marked down from fifteen, what a bargain!)…unless you want fonts…and a dictionary, that’s another twenty.  I jumped in assuming a Jackson would also buy spell-check…I didn’t read the description closely enough.  For that I had to cough up another ten dollars but now have all that I need to write anything I want on a device small enough (but just barely) to carry in my shirt pocket.

Well over half this article was written on my phone, using the new app, with the help of a tiny, hand-held Bluetooth keyboard (only twenty-five bucks on Ebay).  It’s not as easy to use as the full-sized set-up I normally write on, but it allows the utilization of extra time that might otherwise be lost to Angry Birds, Facebook or forced conversation.

It also opens up time that would have been spent writing at home to be used for piddling around, doing chores and napping.  There’s always a project that needs attention around the house.  Chores have to be done, especially laundry…but I’ve already written about that.  And napping is one of the true joys in life; a pleasure that can be done by young and old, rich and poor and in nearly any surrounding (if you don’t mind people writing on your face with Sharpie).

It took a long time to pry my wallet open but the results are worth it.  I didn’t just buy a computer program for my phone, I bought time, evaded idle chatter (forcing conversation is brutal) and found a way to kill boredom without wasting time.  I finally spent thirty-one dollars.