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Friday, June 26, 2009

I'm Sorry, Could You Translate That?

There are times in life where certain things bring such sheer delight that it will continue to bring laughter to your soul hours after the occurrence. I encountered one of those very occurrences just this afternoon.

I think most of you dear readers would agree that mommies and technology aren't always so buddy buddy. All of those new, hip, trendy, newfangled techie... things... are like some alien device. My mommy happens to fall right into that category. She's a teachable student, thankfully, but at first it can be rather entertaining. She was always pretty good with computers, from what I remember. I do distinctly recall a period where she suffered from a rather serious addiction to Sim City, so I think she caught on to the computer age relatively quickly. We put her in a 5 step program to help her cope with said addiction though. My poor mommy had some very late nights glued to the computer screen, helping those little Sims build their cities. I can't lie though, she was pretty stellar at it. Her cities always beat mine with an awesome stick. If they had Sim City competitions, I'm pretty sure she would have been super supreme gold medalist. Might have even won the Sim City Olympics. She was that good.

Anyway, sometime after my mommy recovered from her Sim City obsession, she was introduced to a cell phone. Back in those days said cellular devices were less phones and more solid bricks with this little antenna sticking out the top. They made for a great weapon if you were ever being mugged though. They could cause some serious damage. I'd say that Mommy learned the basics pretty quickly. She likes things simple though, and always wanted the nice, easy, basic phones whenever a new device was acquired. Nothing fancy, no bells and whistles. Just nice and easy. Kind of like sunday morning.

Now, most of us know that technology is continually advancing. Text messaging has largely replaced phone calls between friends, acting as a substitute for actual talking. Humanity will one day forget how to verbally communicate due to text messaging and the internet. Mark my words. Anyway, even though most of the civilized world has been texting for years and years, Mommy has never had the need. Her babies know that mommy doesn't have text messaging on her plan, so you pick up the phone and call. Until yesterday, that is....

My dad informed me last night that Mommy's cell phone now had text messaging, due to it now being included on their family plan. Naturally, this concept sheerly delighted me. I decided to try it out this afternoon and send a text to my mommy, saying that I had heard she now had texting and just needed to learn how to actually use it. This was the reply I received:

Uh0 0 0 0 aao ok i knozw h6m to use it maybe wggg wheres thequestion marlk arde you crackhging u p yet


Crackhging u p didn't even begin to describe it. I was at work when I received that, mind you. I burst into hysterical laughter to the point of tears. She definitely succeeded in actually sending the message and it almost made sense, and that was highly impressive for her first time.

Thankfully, my little sister was there to give her texting lessons during this. Mommy informed me in her next few texts (which were perfect, FYI) that she was laughing so hard that she was crying. Glad I wasn't the only one. Mommy picked texting right up and is an old pro after just a few tries. Apparently, her thumbs need some exercise though, because she tired rather quickly.

Texting is just like anything else, Mommy. Just takes some practice and you'll have lightening fingers like the rest of us. That may even become your superpower- super duper fast texting. I'm sure that could save lives or something.

Oooooooh yeaaaaaaaaaahh......

3 comments:

Lauralei said...

Haha, that's wonderful! And I remember the days of the sims...hours and hours of time spent on them...once I stopped, I never went back. Or more hours and hours would be spent on them.

Cody S. said...

haha, I enjoyed this. My mom never hopped on the sim city train...but she WAS a Roller Coaster Tycoon (inclusive of the Loopy Landscapes AND Corkscrew Follies expansion packs) addict. She was a master of the game, creating gorgeous parks - but she never quite got the hang of Roller Coaster building. Frequently, when funds were tight or her park didn't allow for premade designs, she would contract out the engineering feats to me, her son.

I look forward to the day she picks up texting...or for that matter an actual cell phone plan, so that she will actually have minutes and maybe have her phone turned on, in the rare occasions it is actually with her.

It seems as if your mother is far ahead of the curve by Berks County standards haha!

Faith said...

She's not the only one who gets stiff fingers from texting. Many have been the times I choose not to text someone or return a text because my hand tendons were just too tired and sore. Maybe I should cut back on the sewing, do hand strengthening exercises, or find the cure for fibromyalgia.