If you happen to notice I’m a bit wobbly on my pegs these days, it’s because I’m not used to so many changes in my life all at once. I usually pace myself better.
I’m hardly one to rush toward new technology, although I’ll often move quickly if I think the new thing will actually help me. Since I won’t be gaming or streaming movies or taking professional-grade photos, most new iPhone features are lost on me. I don’t care about being on the cutting edge, not an early adopter, but I will commit time and energy and money to improve efficient living or problem solving.
But recently, and surprisingly, I’ve been trying several new things. Maybe, because I’m standing on two cusps, a new career, and a new age group, my mind has opened itself to new horizons. And … like that.
For starters, I have a new phone. Actually, a refurbished iPhone 14 Pro, new to me but not new to the world, and a bit shy of cutting edge.
My old iPhone, an iPhone SE that I bought in 2020 during the height of the quarantine (we were told to stay in our car while the young salesman brought us demo models to look at through the car window as we sat in the parking lot). I bought that particular phone because all the newer ones at that time looked like miniature iPads and none of them would fit in my back pocket.
But recently, my SE started losing functionality bit by bit, day-by-day. For example, I couldn’t find a Wi-Fi connection in our house even though it showed several bars on the screen. And then I couldn’t check weather, or connect to our Sonos speakers, or send texts unless I was facing west at sundown. The phone never shut down completely, but since I didn’t know which features worked and which didn’t, I lost confidence. My phone was clearly tumbling toward darkness and taking me with it. So, I got a new one.
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I also added a new Apple watch to my kit. A long time ago – say, high school – I carried a pocket watch as a nod to 1970s counter-culture eccentricities. After college I switched to a Timex Triathlon watch so I could time my daily runs. More recently I’ve worn a simple and cheap watch with a traditional analog face. But when Cyndi restructured her business account with AT&T, the deal included two new Apple watches. Since I am the CFO, Cyndi gave one of them to me.
I’m not doing much with it yet, other than date and time, but I’ll be experimenting with other features in time. I turned off notifications about standing up or sitting down or exercising more or remembering to breath. I don’t want that much attention.
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And that’s not all. For the past few months I’ve been going to Telos Gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 7:00 am to be bossed around and abused by my new trainer, Orlando. I’d been working out regularly in a gym for a couple of years, but all I was doing was maintaining my muscle mass. I wasn’t improving. In Orlando’s gym, everything I do is new and awkward and intended to make me stronger, which also makes me happy.
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Just this weekend I started looking into the possibility of thinking about changing my daily journal. I’ve used Moleskine grid-pattern soft-cover journals since April 2005, and loved them. but lately I’ve grown irritated at the amount of ink that soaks through the pages. I researched similar journals with better quality paper, and my current front-runner is a Paperage (brand) black hard-cover grid-patterned notebook. I would prefer soft cover, but I’m willing to go hard for the sake of better paper.
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And if all those new tricks weren’t enough, and they should be, the biggest one started officially this week. I received a letter from Texas A&M, my “an appointment as Professor of Practice.” I’ll be teaching engineering classes on the Midland College campus. This project has been in the air for several months, but now it’s official. I start training in April and teaching in September. A new career in this season of life feels like an exceptionally new trick to me.
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Mark Batterson, in his book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, asked the question, “Are you living your life in a way that is worth telling stories about?”
I hope so. I’m not a big risk taker, so I don’t have many scary stories, but I do like to try new things to see who I’ll be on the other side. I almost always find stories within those adventures.
Playing it safe, whether talking about phones or careers, comes with its own risks. I remember back in the early jogging days of the 1980s, Dr. George Sheehan wrote, we should get a doctor’s approval to NOT exercise. I feel the same way about learning new tricks. Ignoring new opportunities comes with its own risks.
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“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32
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