Commuter blahs and a quivering Baba

Children are amazing mimics. Bella often rides the Streetcar with me on Thursdays, and she prefers standing up to sitting, often squealing with pleasure when the floor jerks to a stop beneath her and she has to hang on. This time it was a very thrilling trip for me, so thrilling that I was all a-quiver with nerves, but there was no special enticement for her, and I noted that she has already learned to adopt that spaced-out commuter gaze she sees in others on public transportation.

Why was it a thrilling trip for me, you might ask?

BECAUSE I AM FINALLY ENTERING THE 21ST CENTURY. I was on my way to purchase my first iPad (a mini), and to begin to learn what apps are, and how to use touch to swipe, enlarge, turn pages, etc. I am suddenly awash in new technology, a bit overwhelmed but quite excited, really.

My income is still minimal, but I am very grateful for an unexpected inheritance that came to me in January and allows me these privileges--the new laptop, the iPad, and while I'm making these massive expenditures, I've also ordered my first e-reader, a Kindle Paperwhite. It will probably take me months to learn how to use all these gadgets. I'm writing this on the new laptop. I'm also (shhhh, don't tell anybody) considering a new camera: a Ricoh GR (V). If any of you have experience of this little wonder, do let me know.

P.S. The lovely shopping bag she's carrying was a gift of Connections on her visit to Portland last year. Bella loves draping it over her shoulder and taking a couple of toys with her on our trips. She always takes along a calculator which she pretends is a cell phone. New trick last night: we sat down at a restaurant table to eat dinner, and she immediately took her calculator and said to me, in parting, "I have to go outside to get this call."