Monday, July 19, 2010

My Soul is Synced

I know I've mentioned it here before that drivers talking on phones, especially in parking lots, is one of my pet peeves. I was quite happy when I learned our province was going to be counted among those who outlaw such activity.

Enter Bluetooth.

As a side note, being somewhat of an etymologist, I had to find out where the heck the word bluetooth came from:
Bluetooth was named after Harald Bluetooth, the tenth century king of Denmark and Norway. He is known for uniting warring tribes of Denmark and Norway. Bluetooth technology was invented in Denmark and like the king, the technology is intended to unite several devices such as Mobiles, Computers.
My new Kia Soul came with built-in Bluetooth. This is a good thing, since even though drivers talking on the phone is one of my pet peeves, it's other drivers talking on the phone that bothers me and I'm occasionally guilty of such action.

My first encounter with having to answer an incoming call had me scrambling to find the 'receive call' button on my steering wheel amongst the stereo buttons, cruise control and horn which also adorn the wheel. I think I managed to stay within the lines of my lane of traffic, but I'll promise you more than one person would have suspected I was drunk as I yelled "Hello!" at the top of my lungs with my face pointed upwards towards the little speaker built in to the roof above my head.

How I managed to have that conversation and make it home safe I'll never know.

Then a few days later we headed out on our road trip to the Kelowna hospital with Suzy, Albert's GPS, securely mounted to the front windshield, and my phone all synced to my Soul.

An hour or so into the trip I got a phone call. Since Albert was driving the procedure went a little smoother and the two of us chatted with Jay, Jed's lifeskills worker. While we were chatting, Suzy declares there is an incoming call and I can see the hospital phone number on the screen. This sets me off scrambling once more (again, thank God Alb was driving) as I start telling Jay to hang up, just hang up, the hospital is trying to get through on the phone. He wasn't understanding me and kept on talking - to which I kept on freaking out.

Alb turns to me and calmly says, "That's Suzy, not the Soul, with an incoming call."

Aaaarrrrrgh!

I'm fairly certain simply picking up a phone and saying, "Hello" would by far be the safe choice.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Bringin' back the 80s.

It was one of those "what were you thinking" moments. I seem to be getting them with increasing regularity. I often blame it on the drugs. It's probably just the natural aging process. While I am not a "senior" like my husband, I am edging closer and I seem to be caught in that period where I'll do something that definitely qualifies me as old - but then I realize it.

Sometimes I can catch myself in time to rectify the situation. Take for example a while ago I was clothes shopping and I actually held in my hand a pair of elastic waist pants. I know! Thank God the senior moment passed before I followed through.

Other times I don't catch myself quite so quickly. Take for example last week when I got home and looked in the mirror after making a last minute appointment to get a perm. I know! What was I thinking?

I think I was thinking about the last time I had a perm, 20 years ago when my hair was all one length and half way down my back. But somehow when your hair barely covers your ears and you perm it, it just shrinks up and sits on your head like an SOS pad, it doesn't miraculously flow softly down your back.

She told me not to wash it for 2-3 days so the curl would last longer. I washed it immediately upon getting home hoping it would 'relax' a little. It didn't. I'm hoping it does while knowing it won't.

Meanwhile, I just tell people I'm single-handedly bringing back the 80s. Next year it'll be shoulder pads ... mark my words.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Funny. But hey, it's money.

I've always said age is just a number - however somehow it just seems funnier when it's someone elses number.

We received our home insurance renewal notice while we were away in Kelowna. It had gone up a bit and came with the usual explanation of inflation and the cost of doing business.

Then the other day I got a phone call from our insurance agent.

"Don't pay the invoice you received in the mail," she said. "I've just realized Albert qualifies for a senior's discount this year. Your premiums will be less."

After I caught my breath and changed my pants after peeing them I laughed so hard, I thanked her. "Fifty" doesn't sound all that funny to me, but "senior"? Now THATs funny!

But hey, it saved me nearly a hundred bucks.

Happy Swim-a-versary to Me!

These two selfies were taken exactly 75 minutes apart.  On January 8, 2023.  The first, as I was proudly about to walk into my very first sw...