And so we bid a fond farewell to sunny something or other

While I like the Apple environment, where my IOS and OSX happily play together like novices in a nunnery (and okay, I admit, I still don’t get that line in “Modern Major General”), there is the problem of having more IOS and OSX devices in play than I can actually keep track of. I’ve been getting phantom iCal alerts for weeks and just today realized that they’re from my DJ OSX calendar. When did I think it was a good idea to make entries on a calendar I never use? The DJ has its own DJish calendar software, and I tend to run the rest of my life of my iPhone. I really couldn’t figure out where these phantoms were coming from, which I’ll admit is pretty dumb but no less frustrating for all of it. Anyhow, I just cleaned them off simply by opening the app. Finally. Meanwhile, the spouse is apparently weaning herself off of her PC and purchasing a Macbook Pro today, which will no doubt be quite enlightening for her. Her iPhone and iPad won’t be lonely anymore. The 50-pound Dell laptop with the screen that doesn’t work that I think is running Windows 3.0 will finally go to doggy heaven. (Hmmm. Sounds like maybe I should use it to run Bump…)

We’re traveling next month beyond the borders of this fine country, which raises the question of phone use on foreign shores. I’ve looked at what AT&T has to offer, for a price, but given that there will be wireless in both places we’re staying, and I really don’t need to communicate with anyone all that immediate, because worst-case scenario Google Voice will pick up any incoming calls, I can’t see spending the money. I’ll hardly be severing myself from human connection, just from telephone calls that I don’t make anyhow. And, of course, GPS services, which could come in handy, but I’m sure I can live without my phone in my hand for two weeks. It’s Paris and London, by the way, both cities I know well enough to realize that if I’m heading to the West End and suddenly come upon the Eiffel Tower, I’ll know that I should have made that left turn at Albuquerque.

When it comes to travel, we have changed our approach over the years. We used to plan things out to within an inch of their lives, and we’ve become much more go-with-the-flow in our dotage. As a rule, we’ll plan one major thing a day, and then just explore that neighborhood at the conclusion of that major thing. Obviously seeing art plays a big part in any trip, and it’s hard to walk past the Louvre without popping in for the odd peek or two, for instance. Plus I’m curious about the pickpockets that shut the place down recently. I have had my wallet stolen in a crowded subway, making me extra cautious ever since. My favorite pickpocket story is the one about the gypsies in Barcelona, who distract you by throwing an infant at you. As you catch it, they grab your wallet. Which means that not only do you get your wallet stolen, but now you have to figure out what to do with the new infant you’ve acquired. What I don’t know is where the gypsies get all these infants in the first place, so many that they can just toss them away at tourists. I do know that on the immigration lines to get back into the country at JFK, it seems as if every American returning from Barcelona has at least one extra infant in their carryon. Strange business.

Anyhow, I will no doubt bore you to tears regale you with great tales of planning and subsequent adventure as the spring and summer progress. I mean, is there anything more exciting than someone else’s vacation? At least the clock is still clicking away over there on the right. DisAd14 is the one vacation you probably do want to hear about. “It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears…”