I'm Becoming SOOOOO Tech-Savvy

Ron received a GPS for Christmas. It is his favorite new toy. He uses it EVERYWHERE!

Running to the grocery store? He brings it.

How about the post office? He brings it.

Going back to our home in Stockton. He brings it.

It's not that he's suddenly developed early onset Alzheimer's or anything--he just likes to know how soon he'll get somewhere and what the traffic patterns are like.

He is fascinated.

So, of course, on our recent trip to Utah, the GPS was the third member of our front seat crew. I was worried that he might become a distracted driver (we wouldn't want that) so I held it in my hands and became his personal GPS voice.

"We will be taking the next exit in 2.7 miles."

"Traffic is slowing to the yellow zone."

"We are approaching red driving conditions in 52 miles."

I became fascinated! Pretty soon, the Sudoku puzzle book and the books on CD I brought to entertain me lost their appeal. I could see why Ron loved his techy toy.

After driving to Utah, I proudly announced to Ron and Emily that I was now GPS proficient.

"I can add this to my resume when it asks for my skills."

Proficient in Word, Excel, and GPS!

Won't my future employers be so impressed?

Who cares if my cell phone is NEVER turned on? Who cares if I never bother to check my missed messages?

I know GPS!

A few days later, I was out and about with Utah and California sisters and Utah niece when darling daughter, Emily texted Barbara. Barbara handed me her cell phone and encouraged me to text her back.

It took a very. long. time.

A day or so later, I texted darling daughter, Jennifer with a very important bird question.

"Do birds lay their eggs in mid-flight?"

We had just witnessed that and were very curious if this was a common phenomenon or if the Mother bird was simply TIRED of waiting for Father bird to build their nest or if she had a case of weakened uterus.

As I texted this important question to Jennifer so she could Google it for us, it took a very. long. time.

Clearly, I need to practice my texting skills so I can add THAT to my resume.

With all the recent developments of my tech-savvy skills, I seriously pondered attending a session at Women's Conference called, "Staying Safe with Social Technology."

After all, I do BLOG and have 10's of readers and now I know how to Text.

When I mentioned this to California Sister she burst out laughing.

"Oh, Yes!!!! We definitely need THAT class.!"

What does Josh Wright have to do with Super 8 Motels? UPDATED

I was in Utah a long time.

A very long time.

Ron and Emily began driving back to California Easter evening. After spending the night in a lovely motel in Winnemucca, Nevada they finished their journey the next day.

May I make a suggestion to my world-wide friends that if they EVER need to stop in Winnemucca to get much needed sleep that they avoid the Super 8 with a passion! It was the worst. night. sleep. we. ever. had.

That's what we did when we traveled to Utah. We chose this motel because it was off the freeway and we thought we would get a quiet night's sleep. But, the mattresses were squeaky and uncomfortable. Every time we rolled over we heard "squeak. squeak. squeak."

Ron even got up in the middle of the night and complained. Instead of apologizing and offering to move us to a different room, they had him fill out a form.

Nothing happened.

When he got back to California, he filled out another form on their web site.

Nothing happened except a lovely e-mail thanking him for choosing Super 8.

He complained a third time.

Nothing happened. No apology. No "we are sorry that we put your life in jeopardy because you might fall asleep at the wheel driving." Nothing.

Is that anyway to run a business?

So, on the way BACK to California, he chose a Day's Inn.

We can recommend that motel very highly.

But, back to my MAIN story.

I stayed in Utah an extra week to attend Women's Conference at BYU with my lovely sisters and my darling niece. We had a wonderful time.

Our motto is "What happens at Women's Conference, stays at Women's Conference."

But, I may share a few itsy, bitsy stories with you.

Thursday night after I arrived back from Jacob's graduation, I attended the Shadow Mountain Concert. It was EXCELLENT!

David Osmond, Hilary Weeks, and Jenny Oaks Baker were among the performers.

But my two favorite artists of the night were Josh Wright--a very gifted pianist and Vocal Point, a nine-member BYU a capella group.

If you have never heard of Josh Wright, you might enjoy this video. He's playing a very complicated Litz piece on TWO pianos. It is my new personal mission to promote my new friend Josh to my 10's of readers! Enjoy!



So, what does Super 8 have to do with Josh Wright? One was super and one was not.

UPDATE: We received our credit card bill today. Super 8 credited our account. We never received an acknowledgment of our complaint but we are very grateful they did the right thing.