Pokemon Go, Go, Go Away From My Life

The latest craze is Pokemon Go. Just as I didn't give in to Flappy Bird, Yik Yak, or any of those dating apps, I don't plan to download Pokemon Go. Anyway, I can understand the game vicariously through my friends. Other people can feel free to play the game (power to them), but I'm going to choose to let this phase pass me by (or I'll jump on it a few months down the road like I did with SnapChat and Instagram).

Here are my reasons for not downloading the app at this moment:
 (just to be clear, I did enjoy playing the Gameboy Pokemon games as a child. I still am intrigued by the world known as Pokemon.)

1. I don't know how people have time to be on the app. It seems that you'd have to invest time into this. Everyone is different about how they choose to spend their time, but I have other ways I'd rather spend my free time.

2. I love taking walks, but I don't like to be on my phone when I'm walking. I want to enjoy the world around me and the people with me.

3. It seems kind of dangerous. Walking and being on your phone is dangerous period, but this is extended amounts of time walking and staring at a screen. It could be very easy to walk into the road or a stationary object. Also, trainers, be sure to walk with a buddy and pay attention to your surroundings. There have already been stories of people getting lured into dangerous situations because someone is taking advantage of an innocent game.

4. It dominates conversation, even when it's not being played. "Have you caught a Pikachu?" "Which team did you choose?" "Where did you find that Jigglypuff?"

5. It would drain my phone battery.

6. I'm kind of anti-phones anyway. Granted I use it quite a bit on a daily basis, but I'd rather not add another reason to use it.

7. It creates a new reality. "There's a Squirtle over there!" Umm, no, that's a tree. I do love fiction and imagination, but I need a line between fiction and reality. This app pushes the line just a bit too much for me.

8. There are some security concerns. Do a quick search about security concerns with Pokemon Go and you'll find concerns about Google access, tracking, and hostile attacks. It's a little early in the game's release to know how accurate they are, but I'd rather not take the risk until they definitely clear those up.

9. It's going to cause problems with trespassing. People be smart about where you're going to catch Pokemon. Remember the person whose yard you're walking through may not see the Pokemon that show up on your screen.

10. It seems that right now the demand is so high that it just keeps freezing on people. I don't need that kind of frustration in my life.


None of this is to say that others shouldn't play the game. I'm sure it's enjoyable once you start, and I'll probably talk with you about it if you're playing. I just don't plan to download one more app that could cause one more addition. I already have plenty of technology addictions.

Maybe the bottom line is that I'm just a bit of a Granny.

Cheers!

The quality isn't great, but here's a protest song that I found on YouTube.

Christmas Past and Christmas Present

Amist all the Holiday festivities, I am going to take time out to write this blog post. It is really strange for me this Holiday season. I am torn between the old and new. So let's take a walk down memory lane for a while.
Christmas Past:
Around the beginning of December my sisters and I would head up to the attic where all the stuff my mother and father wanted to keep hidden from guest would be. Climbing into the attic was always a momentous occasion in the house it only happened four times a three times a year, but I will save that bit for another post. Back inside the attic it was always chilly and dark but we knew our way around to the Christmas section, which basically was half the attic space anyway. It would take at least an hour to haul everything down into the now cramped living room but it was worth it. My favorite part about decorating was separating the Christmas tree sprigs into the different color coded sections and spreading the branches out. First we would decorate the ten foot slender tree full of gold Christmas themed decorations. Then we would move to the dinning room where we would decorate the silver tree which was my favorite. I should mention now that Christmas was my mothers favorite holiday. She loved all the decorating, cooking, gathering it entailed. I remember the first time my dad let me climb on the roof and help him hang Christmas lights. It was exhilarating. I am a bit afraid of heights but once I stopped focusing on the ground and instead on the task at hand of untangling lights it was fun! The best part about Christmas past for me was the food though. We would spend weeks planning menus and looking over my mothers old cook books planning the perfect food items. Shopping was always rough though because a big family means lots and lots of food. One of the foods my sister Faith and I would make every year was Watergate salad and heavenly hash. I hated the heavenly hash because of the cherries but I loved making it every year. Rice krispie treats were exciting to watching the marshmallows bubble up and listening to the crack snap and pop sounds. Meatballs and smokie links were a must and bacon wrapped chicken livers were the worst but my father loved them. Lots and lots of cheese cubes and pickles to munch on along with ham/cheese wraps and veggies for the taking. If you went hungry at Christmas it was your own fault. The best part wasn't the decorating, or the food but rather the company. I loved spending time with my folks, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews playing games, laughing, talking, and just sitting around. It was nice. I would not trade those Christmas day breakfast's for anything either.

Christmas Present:
Tomorrow marks the second Christmas that I have spent away and the first Christmas season that I did not spend with my family of "origin". I am a little down trodden by this because of all the good memories I have associated with this season. I will not let it keep me from making new traditions and memories however. I have spent the past two Christmas with my best friend and her family. It has been a blast. Card games, board games and camaraderie galore. I have learned through the past few years that you can have a family of origin and also a family of choice. I have chosen this wonderful group of fun, loving individuals as part of my family and I do believe they consider me part of their family as well. Today we did something I am not use to we opened Christmas presents. Going around in a circle one at a time each of us would open a gift. It was peaceful watching everyone and seeing the look of happiness as each gift was unwrapped. I should mention my best friends uncle is a funny individual. She and I got the exact same things from him in our bags and her two brothers both got the same thing as each other as well. That is my kind of shopping there :) It was all really nice and I got a beautiful card from the grandmother. The food might not be as exciting as I have had in the past but it is an adventure everyday seeing what is going to be for lunch and supper.

I do want to make mention of the real reason behind Christmas, which is Jesus and His birth. Without that there would be none of this Holidayness. So I ask myself and you who read this to take a minute or two out of your busy holidays and reflect on why we celebrate and who we are really celebrating. If you get a chance also you should check out Luke 2:1-? and Matthew 1:18-?. I hope you all have a merry christmas and joyous new year :)

Vocabulary

The other day I led a vocabulary review game at school that I felt was fairly successful. The purpose of the activity was to get the students moving and to practice saying the vocabulary words. In order to answer a question the students had to stand up and say the word correctly. They got a point for getting the answer correct and saying it correctly. The one with the most points received a small prize of candy. Honestly the competition might have been enough motivation for some of them. It was fun and I got exercise running around the room delivering points.

Word of the Blog Post:

cacography: poor penmanship.

Stay tuned to my posts for a picture of Sir George soon!

Granny Eyre.