This is why we can't remember if we have nice things.

[alexandraerin]

In a move critics are hailing as "the single most intelligent act of the 21st century to date", I switched my phone off last night so it wouldn't wake me up in the morning. I did this not after I put it back on the charger by my bed, but right as I was saying goodnight to Jack on my computer.

You can probably guess where this story is going.

I don't actually use my phone as a phone... I think I have had all of one conversation using it in the conventional telephonic fashion. It's my PDA, my notepad, and my auxiliary brain. The good news is that all the alerts I have set in it are automatically backed up to Google Calendar, so I'm not going to be completely lost until it turns up.

I know it's in the apartment. I know I must have set it somewhere in between signing off the computer at midnight and when I headed into my bedroom not long after, when I realized it wasn't in my hand. I've checked all the obvious places... there are only two places I let myself set the phone down if I'm paying attention, so it will always be in the same places. I checked both of those places and everywhere I remember going before bed. No luck.

In other "magic of being me" news, I missed the touring production of White Christmas on Sunday because the reminder never made it from my old dead Treo to my Pre. Usually I deal with events like that by reminding obsessively fearing that I'm going to forget them and checking the dates on the tickets several times a day. This hasn't stopped me from doing things like commiting to family gatherings at the same time as a concert or other event, though I usually catch those conflicts before they actually come up. The obsessive worrying didn't happen this time, though, and I missed it. I feel terrible because the tickets were a gift, and part of me is thinking "This is what happens when you let yourself relax." Between the handiness of the Pre's calendar and having good things going on in my life, I stopped worrying that I was going to forget something important all the time and I forgot about it.

I am feeling pretty emotastic shitty. I felt that I'd come to terms with the idea that I needed an electronic organizer to make it through the day/week. Now I've misplaced it within 24 hours of blowing an important engagement.

Consider this post a vent. If you're wondering what you can do to help, the answer is you don't have to. I'm writing this down to get it out and then move on. That's all I need.

Oooh, I just had a flash of insight. I put the phone in my pocket last night... no, that's not where it was, but it let me figure out where I lost it. Phone has been retrieved, and there are my flash fiction prompts.

Time to go to work.

Comments

[hps-sterling.livejournal.com]

What are the specs on your phone as I feel I may need one just like it?

Thanks!

[alexandraerin.livejournal.com]

Here's full info for the Palm Pre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Pre). They're only available for the Sprint network for the time being. The key features of it (calendar and sync and such) are all part of its operating system. So far it's the only device to use Palm's Web OS, but the Palm Pixi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Pixi) that comes out mid-month will have the same operating system.

The WebOS is brand new and so there aren't many third party applications that will work for it yet, but its built in Calendar, Memos, and Tasks/Checklist features are all very good. It has GPS and Google Maps (plus Sprint's built-in navigation, though I haven't used that yet). There's supposed to be an emulator for programs that work on older versions of the Palm OS, but I haven't checked it out yet.

It has enough battery life to get through a working day, which is still less battery life than my old Treo had... it could go for days without recharging. But that was a problem because then I'd forget to recharge it. This one has a reminder in it to put it back on the charger, and even if the battery dies on me before it arrives (has only happened once), I still have the reminder in my email.

It is rather pricey... there's a rebate going on and I had an upgrade credit, or else I wouldn't have been able to afford it right now, but in the week or so I've had it it's proven to be worth it for me.

[alexandraerin.livejournal.com]

Also, have you seen EverNote (http://www.evernote.com)? I just found out about it and haven't had a chance to really get into it yet, but it looks like it might be all kinds of helpful.

[hps-sterling.livejournal.com]

OK, that looks BAD ASS! I will try it out and see how it works. Then, I will let you know. :)

[calianissene.livejournal.com]

Flashes of insight are the best things ever.