I got a smart phone, and it instantly made me less cool.

I pride myself on my ability to rock out -- just don't stand too close, or you might actually hear me play...

I pride myself on a lot of things. Too many things, probably. But given my recent posts about why women need to practice being rude (#BeRude) and how important it is for women to own their beauty, talents and accomplishments (#ChooseBeautiful)... it's totally okay, right? :P 

Anyway, one thing I absolutely love about myself is that I can make anything fun. Every guy I've ever dated has told me so. They say that running errands with me is sort of like going on vacation -- we always have such a blast, and things never go as planned.

This was not part of the plan...

But last week, my boyfriend finally convinced me to get a smartphone. Something about the time when I was lost on the California coast, and he was watching the sunset with his family on his last night in Hawaii and I called him up desperately seeking directions.

So I went online, found the best possible smartphone, and placed an order. 

It arrived the other day... And I instantly got less fun.

Let me give you an example. 

We went to Costco on Saturday. And I always bring my A-game when we go to Costco.

We always stay too long, buy too much, and draw a lot of exasperated looks from those around us. But we can't help it! Costco is like an adult playground!

But instead of doing our usual thing -- riding bikes down the aisles; giggling; making him into my personal jungle gym; death-defying climbs up boxes and into these things (you can't tell how high up it is from the photo... or that it suspended from the ceiling and was definitely swaying)

"Should we buy one for my backyard and list it on Airbnb?"

and singing "A Whole New World" together on a pile of magic carpets

We did it a cappella... but later, we came upon the Guitars and Electric Keyboards aisle, so we obviously had to do some Eagles and Frozen songs.

... I sat in the shopping cart and read MoneyStream's FinTech Pick of the Month (it was Gradible, btw) while Justin wheeled me through the store and piled his groceries around me.  

It felt bland. Like an errand. Like I wasn't myself. I mean, I didn't even freaking notice when Justin wheeled me by a $100 surfboard display (!!!) until he said something. Without his mindfulness, this

would not have happened. 

He tried to bring me back into the moment by asking me questions, telling me stories and spinning the cart around really fast and crashing it into things. But I mostly just ignored him.

Finally, in a last-ditch effort, my boyfriend called. He said he wanted his girlfriend back.

Poor Justin.

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Obviously, a problem that is caused by technology can also be solved by technology, right?

When I made this observation to the guy who helped me at The North Face (no big deal, just shopping for a Thermoball to wear trekking in Patagonia) yesterday, he said, "Yes! They already have that. My friend has an app where you can hold your phone to your lips and it sends a virtual kiss to your partner. If you do it at the same time, it vibrates or something."

But that's actually sort of the opposite of what I had in mind. If they haven't already, I think someone should make an app that senses when you are near your partner... and then turns off your notifications. 

But then again, why would you only want to be present around your partner? What about when you're in a cool city (remember: travel like you live,live like you travel)?  Or in nature? Or with your family? Wouldn't you want your notifications to be turned off then, too? 

Which really just begs the question, Why did I get a smart phone in the first place?


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To learn more about this, check out:

Everything's Always Worth It: Reclaiming the 15 Minutes
How iPads Kill Happiness and Creativity
Build Your Own Adult Playground - And Re-exeperience the Joy of Childhood