Apple Cider for the iSoul.

This is NOT a blog post about the weather, but I have determined that if every day were like today, I would become this in about a month:

"If you say 'LOL' one more time, I will eat you."

*insert other commentary about weather, global warming, snow days, hot cocoa and/or cider, a good book, blankets, old movies, icy roads here* I am SO over talking about (and hearing about!) this cozy wittle snow day, k?

MACINTOSH!!!

Just shout that word. It's fun, I promise!

Though I would never intend this blog to be a retelling of my mundane daily activities--"Today, I ate TWO bowls of oatmeal for breakfast! I has a full tum tum LOL smiley smiley wink wink!"--I do feel the need to share a significant occurrence from last week.

Firstly, I am a Mac guy. I was a Mac guy before it was cool. My family had this one:

I got your floppy disk right here.

Remember when the first iMacs came out in a variety of hideous hues? Yeah, I had one of those, too (the teal one!). So, naturally, my laptop of choice is a MacBook Pro. I bought one nearly 4 years ago, and up until last week, it had worked really well. I attempted to turn it on and the screen stayed black. I was upset, but I figured I had a good run with the computer and that I'd have to buy a new one. But I decided to take it to the Apple store anyway, and lo and behold, I was told that it could be fixed! All they had to do was replace the logic board and blah blah blah blah blah blah. And best of all, the repairs would be free because of a manufacturer error with the blah blah blah thingamajig.

So I called the store a few days later:

ME: "Hi, this is Braxton Edwards. Is my computer ready?"

DENNIS (the Apple Store guy): "Oh, hello, let me check on that for you.....oh. Well. We attempted to replace the logic board and it didn't work. So we tried again, and it didn't work. So, we're going to go ahead and just replace your MacBook Pro with a brand new one, if that's ok with you. No charge, sir."

So, to sum up this tale, my 4-year old laptop with no warranties of any kind was replaced for FREE by Apple. I have a brand new MacBook Pro. So, not only do I love Apple products, the customer service cannot be beat. This is why I am a Mac guy.

TEXTIQUETTE

Today's blog is turning out to be very tech-y. I feel like a regular Steve Gates! Or is it Bill Jobs?

I literally have gotten down on my knees to thank the Lord for the wonder that is texting. I did the same thing with email back in the 90s. If there is a way for me to avoid actually having an audible conversation with someone, I will find it. Sign language? Sure! Semaphore flags? YES, please! I am not good on the phone. I feel awkward, and I am not good with small talk (or pointless silence filler, as I call it). Texting offers a delightful alternative, but what are the rules? What is the proper text etiquette?

Responding to Texts

In my opinion, texting, by its very nature, allows one to respond when he/she wants to respond (if at all!). I have dear friends with whom I can carry on for days at a time in witty, sardonic, and even deeply personal text conversations. Then, I can go for weeks or even months and not hear from those same friends. And we're all ok with that! On the other hand, I have friends with whom I carry on "how was work today?" and "is it raining there?" text conversations, pointless in content but necessary (?) in maintaining a thread of connection when busy schedules and distance make lunch dates and coffee conversations impossible. If you don't respond in a timely manner, these are the types of friends that soon send something like the following:

after 10 minutes:

"?"

"did you get my last text?"

after 1 hour:

"i'm worried."

"are you dead?"

after 2 hours:

"just please text me and let me know you're ok."

3 hours later:

"No response, huh? you're dead to me, you don't know what friendship is, you immature manipulative jerk!"

So which type of texter are you?

just relax.

One of the wonderful things about texting is that text conversations can be casual, serious, pointless, amusing, fun, weird, deep, or whatever you want them to be. When I text someone, I know that I may or may not hear back in a timely manner, my tone may be misinterpreted, I may get no response at all, and most importantly, I know that my self worth is in no way connected to any of that. There are no rules, and that's one of the things I like about texting.

That's all for today, friends. Enjoy your excuse to stay home, be lazy and get a little fatter. Just kidding! Sort of.