Today was a strange day. I took my iPhone in to my local Apple store to get its battery replaced. This was my first experience getting any Apple product serviced…I had assumed they could do it quickly, while I waited, but it was going to take 1.5-2 hours! Pretty reasonable in the whole scheme of things, but I was faced with an interesting dilemma. I had two hours to kill in a part of town I wasn’t very familiar with. I’d gotten in the habit of using my iPhone in times like this…to learn more about my surroundings, find places to go, check email to kill time, you get the idea. Without it…I felt a bit lost. Siri, where is the closest Starbucks? Oh yeah…
I went to REI to look around…and ended up finding a good work shirt to buy. At checkout, the cashier asked if I was an REI member. Usually that’s the point where I whip out my iPhone and open Passbook so she can scan my virtual REI card. Umm, let’s see, umm, yeah, is phone number OK? So, moving on to Starbucks next…a nice place to sit, drink coffee, check email, read the news, though really just the first two this time. So, order a drink, and reach for the iPhone so I can open up my Starbucks app to pay…that’s right, no phone. I guess it’s going to be cash! Paper with numbers. Change. Strange. Finally, sitting outside, it hit me. I was feeling more connected to the world around me. Listening, observing. My mind was racing, thinking of new ways technology could make peoples’ lives better, at a time I’d normally be scrolling through new emails or checking Flipboard for the latest news. Strange feeling…
It’s not like I’ve never been disconnected before. It happens often when driving, or camping. But you know, those are places, times, when I expect it. To be in an environment where I’m normally optimally connected…and to be cut off…that’s what felt weird.
Driving home, I started to feel connected to the world in a more physical way, as on my short stint on the freeway, two separate cars tried to physically merge with mine. Reflexes, sharp handling, and a bit of luck helped me there, but wow, time to retreat to cyberspace where it’s safer… 😉