A is for Apple

I don't really get the fanaticism surrounding Apple, Inc. I don't.
They make computers. Beautiful ones, feature-full ones. But it's a box.

Perhaps I don't have that kind of job or hobby that causes me to rely on something as those who love Apple tend to do. Maybe I don't have that kind of passion. (more likely the case)

Confession.
I bought an iPhone. I don't love it. It's slick. It's skinny. Guess what? I'm neither of those things. It crashes on me once a day. And about once per week, there's some runaway application that runs in the background (yeah, it's not supposed to happen) and I come back to my phone during my lunch hour and it's mostly dead. (name that movie!)
My dear friend J has one and he loves it. He's also an owner of an Apple lappie and he loves it too. He was more excited than I was when I bought my phone and he was the recipient of my first text from it.
Meh. There are some things about it I'll miss, for sure.

But mostly, I'm ready for some buttons.

ugliness and the iPhone (or, when the beauty is a beast)

I'm a tech nerd. Did you know that?
I read all kinds of information online about technology and where it's headed and trends in hardware and software development. I find it interesting, particularly given the place technology has in our day-to-day lives. I read the reviews of Vista before it launched, same with Leopard. I know that Windows 7 is already in development, as is the next Mac OS and that it will be called "Snow Leopard" (a seriously lame name, but what do I know? perhaps that's a joke of some sort. does satan's little brother [steve jobs] have a sense of humor? i get the sense he doesn't.) I realize that anyone could get this same info just barely paying attention to the Technology section in the NY Times, but I'm just saying that I'm a bit of a tech nerd.

I read all kinds of info about the launch of the iPhone last year and I was fascinated with the public's reaction to this product. I mean, for the love of Pete...it's a cellular telephone! The media covered it like it was the second coming of, oh, I don't even know what. The lines, the hype...then the price drop at the end of the summer. Ha! Paying to have the latest bit of technology is little more than a "nerd tax" or simply the price of having the latest and greatest.

I am also an avid blog-reader. Okay, maybe not avid, but I read a few blogs of people I don't know and will likely never meet because I find them interesting or challenging.  Some are secular in nature, but some of these bloggers are people working in ministry and it's always interesting and refreshing to me to see what it is they are doing professionally and spiritually (or what they're writing about those things, anyway). One of the bloggers is a very techy guy who is the proud owner of an iPhone. He loves and uses Mac products and seems to enjoy it. Another of the bloggers is also techy but not an owner of the you-know-what. I read blog numero dos tonight and the site's owner asked if people who were reading were gonna bite the bullet and get the latest iteration of the eye-fone. **Disclaimer: I have to admit that this blogger often gets under my skin. Not in a "crap-I'm-convicted" sort of way, but just the self-righteous/preachy tone I get from that site from time to time.** I sensed some self-righteousness afoot among the answers and sure enough, about four answers in, I got what I was looking for: a response that related the frivolity of such a purchase while people are starving to death.

Dang.

That was a buzzkill.

I was irritated at the two-edged-swordness of the response while I admire the heck out of it. I'm even more irritated because I am thinking about purchasing a new phone, and maybe even the one that came out yesterday. I have been challenged by other things along the same vein lately, conspicuous consumption and all that. How do I reconcile that as a believer? Living in an affluent area of an affluent suburb in the most affluent nation in the history of the world...how do I remember that I am to be a good steward...and then be that good steward?

I think the iPhone is a gorgeous bit of technology and craftsmanship. Stunning. Do I want one? Yes, I do. Do I need it? (Eh, let's move on to another question.) I know there's nothing inherently wrong with stuff. It's the place of the stuff in our lives that is the issue.


Second disclaimer: I think I'm in the midst of this existential crisis because I'm about to move all of my stuff into my sister's house and I'm suddenly wishing I had a whole lot less of it. And cause I'm in the middle of a permanent hot flash. Seriously, I haven't been the same since I went to Detroit last month.

And there's a part of me that's screaming: Are you kidding, Sanders? YOU DON'T HAVE A FREAKIN' JOB. Not only do you not have a job, you don't even have a clue about one you want. Get a grip you crazy broad and quit being so willing to believe what you see is what you need! (Sometimes my inner monologue speaks to me harshly. You get used to it, but sometimes she hurts my feelings.)

Okay. That's enough for now.

I miss my Mom. Especially today.