Smartphones - Should I Upgrade?

You may be surprised to hear that even though I have a Masters in Instructional Technology, I still use a flip phone.  I am eligible for an upgrade with Verizon Wireless, but this time neither of our sons needs to use it.  So, the question is whether or not I should finally upgrade to a Smartphone.  I am the only one in our house who does not use one.

While some of you may think it a no-brainer that I should…let me present some facts.  When I go to work, my school does not get cell service, so I would not be able to use it at work.  When I come home, which is just a 7-minute ride, I have my home phone and computer, so I wouldn’t use a cell phone to make calls or check email.  I use my cell phone on weekends and days off.  When I need to make a call, I turn it on.  Then, most of the time I turn it back off, although sometimes it stays on for the day while I am out.  So why should I pay an extra… $30 plus $10 for insurance, plus texting and taxes…$50 or so a month for something that I don’t need and might hardly use?

I like using my MacBook Air at home for all my Internet needs. I am thoroughly connected at home, reliably checking email throughout the day.  Not only that, but my sons can attest to my obsession with Spider Solitaire.  What I am afraid of is being sucked in to using and being attached to yet another piece of technology.  Apps, games, maps, texts…the list goes on and on.  I see people of all ages around me constantly on their Smartphones, even while in the company of others.  Are we becoming addicted to them to the point of rudeness?  Does your friend really need to get the answer now as to what day you want to meet for lunch?   Couldn’t it wait until after you are out of the company of others to check your text messages?  I don’t want to become ‘that person’.  Instead of making idle conversation with a stranger in a waiting situation, I don't want to be staring down at a 4-inch screen zapping angry birds.

I certainly understand why so many people have Smartphones. When I travel in the car with my husband, I witness how his i-Phone allows him to stay connected to work, providing immediate answers to important questions.  We use the map feature for checking traffic and also to help with directions that we didn’t get before leaving home.  He has a music collection stored on it that is way more comprehensive than the CDs that are housed in my car.  Beyond that, we really don’t need to use the i-Phone in the car, yet I find myself checking my e-mail and Facebook accounts when I would otherwise not have even thought or cared to.  I won’t even begin to pretend to understand how important our sons’ i-Phones are to their daily lives.  They store their calendars, music, contact information, and other important ‘stuff’ in their phones, while texting and talking their way through their day.  They are connected 24/7.

If I get a Smartphone, would I get sucked in to becoming a constant user or will it find its way to the nightstand like my Kindle has?  (There is something about holding a book...)  Would I start using the Smartphone at home instead of my landline even though it is not as comfortable to talk with?  Or would it sit in my purse most of the day, unused?  I seem to have a love-hate relationship with these new devices.  I love their abilities, yet I also like how things were in the good old days, independent of electrically having to charge devices to be able to get through a day.

So what should I do? 

Finding a Bear

It is hard work trying to see a bear in the wild.  My husband and I have been fortunate enough to see a good number of black bears and grizzlies but not without working at it.  I love seeing and photographing them in their natural environment.  Bears are normally shy animals that have very little interest in interacting with humans. Unless they are forced to be around humans to be near a food source, they usually choose to avoid us.  Here are some of my tips for seeing a bear in the wild, based on my experience.

Location, location, location!  First of all, you obviously need to go where the bears are.  National parks that boast a bear population are your best bet.  Yellowstone (WY), Grand Teton (WY), Glacier (MT), Banff (Alberta), and Jasper (Alberta) are parks where I have had luck.  Although both black and grizzlies are found in these parks, you are more likely to see a black bear since grizzlies generally stay in more remote places. That said, we still have had luck seeing them.

Timing is everything.  If you have ever been to a zoo, you know that mammals don’t entertain you much during the day; more often than not, they sleep.  They are most active at sunrise and sunset, when the zoo is closed.  Well, those same mammals have the same patterns outside of the zoo.  In addition, bears have become more nocturnal in order to avoid people in areas of high human traffic. If you want to see the bears, you need to wake up early…very early…even if you are on vacation.  We often woke up at 5:30 am to be out and about by 6:00 am looking for bear action.  The other good time to see bears is at dusk, when they are also active.

Patience is a virtue.  It is also a large part of seeing animals in the wild.  You need to be willing to sit and wait quietly, for a long time, over and over again.  Many times you will end up with no sightings, but you can’t give up.  You need to be persistent.

Proper preparation makes the wait more comfortable.  Having your ‘to-go’ cup of coffee, something to nibble on, and your camera in your lap is good planning. Make sure you have used the bathroom before your outing, which can be a few hours long.  Be dressed for the weather, especially if it is chilly.  The more comfortable you are, the more the waiting doesn’t seem to be so bad.

One morning in Jasper National Park back in 1989, we heard a woman in the gift shop of our lodge talk excitedly about seeing a black bear and her two cubs.  She told us where she saw them, two miles down Maligne Lake Road.  The reason I remember the name of the road is not because I have a fabulous memory; but rather it was written on the slides we took.  The next morning, we set our alarm early and by 5:30 am we were driving down that road, carefully watching the odometer as well as scanning the woods on both sides of the road.  Sure enough, after 1.7 miles, we spotted a black bear about 20 feet from the left side of the road.  We were lucky this time that our tip paid off.  Many times it doesn't.  (See patience above.)  We pulled off to the right and shut the engine.  Then we didn’t move or make any noises for at least 15 minutes.  We wanted the bear to see that we were not a threat.  We did not move or make any noise.  Shortly after our arrival, the mother bear went about her business of eating.  Her two cubs were not far from her.  

Now I know I said preparation was part of the process, but for some reason we had our cameras and tripods in the trunk of the rental car.   After 15 minutes, we decided we could slowly and quietly make our way out of the car, go to the trunk, and set up our equipment on the far side of the car (away from the bears).  We got some nice shots of the mother and cubs starting at 6:00 am.  We were there for over an hour when a pick up truck drove by.

If you have ever been to a national park, you know that when you see a car pulled over to the side of the road, it usually means a wild animal sighting.  Other cars stop and try to see what you have spotted.  The pick up truck pulled over on the left side of the road, the side where the bears were. Two men noisily and immediately got out of the truck, slammed their doors shut, and began walking towards the bears with their little instamatic cameras.  Can you predict what happened next?

There we were, patient and quiet for almost two hours, enjoying our planned experience, and then they came along and were going to ruin everything.  The upside was the great photos I would get for their stupidity.  Sure enough, the mother bear stood on her hind legs, which is not necessarily an aggressive act, but more a sign of curiosity.  New situations or sounds frighten bears and this allows the bear an opportunity to get more information using its senses of smell, hearing, and sight.  The men, however, immediately ran back to their truck when they saw her stand, started the engine, and sped off.  They were not present for more than two minutes, but that was enough time for mama bear to decide it was time to move on.  Our morning photo session had come to an end.

Mamma bear checking out the two noisy men

Before retreating back into the woods

I have many other stories of photographing large mammals, which I will save for another day.  These photos speak for themselves.  It was a great morning and well worth the sleep deprivation.  Spotting and photographing a bear in a national park is always considered the ‘prize’, but also capturing cubs and a bear standing, was the grand prize for us.

(If you haven’t read my blog about my encounter with the bison on the 

Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana, you can check it out here.)

Haggling and Bartering

Being in a haggling situation can be challenging, intimidating, competitive, scary, or fun…it just depends on your personality and the personality of the person you are bartering with. First of all, you need to know where it is appropriate to haggle.  If you are in a store with closed walls and a door, you do not haggle.  Their prices are their prices.  But if the goods for sale are outside in an open-air area, haggling is generally acceptable and expected. 

Most of the haggling I have done was overseas, but it can certainly be done here in the U. S. The first time I was in a situation to haggle, I didn’t.  I was in Florence and thought 10 euros for a beautiful scarf was reasonable and I gladly paid it.  But when my mother got the same scarf for 5 euros with a little haggling on my father’s part, I began to learn to how to survive in the world of haggling.  There are so many strategies to use when haggling.  Here are a few.

1.     Offer half the price – This is generally a good starting point.  The seller generally prices merchandise high, expecting to barter.  Our tour guide in Europe gave us the guideline of starting with half the asking price and going from there. 

2.     Do NOT show how much you really want something – If the seller knows you want his item, he is less likely to come down much in price, knowing you will buy it anyway.  Act like you want a different color or size that he doesn’t have and that you would have to ‘settle’ for the one he has.  He may come down in price more to ‘convince’ you that the one he has would make you happy.

3.     Be prepared to walk away  - And do it…convincingly.  Leave and walk away at a good pace so he knows you made up your mind not to buy it.  Nine times out of ten the seller will come after you once you are a distance away.  For that one time he doesn’t, you can always circle around, go back, and pay what he wanted.  So you have nothing to lose by trying the walk away tactic.

The first time we were in Europe with our sons, we were at the San Lorenzo market in Florence.  We had gone over these strategies with our boys and they were set lose to try their hand at bartering.  Our younger son, who was 12 at the time, haggled someone down from 5 euros to 4 for a wallet.  You thought he won the lottery with how happy he was, but when you think about it, it was a 20% savings.  It was a job well done for the first time out.

A few years later, when I was on a student tour in the same city of Florence, I was looking for one of the many gypsy women who roam the streets and sell those scarves.  The afternoon wore on with our activities and visits, and time was running out.  I could not find one of them.  We were all gathered and walking towards where our bus had parked, which was away from the center of Florence.  Suddenly, I spotted one of the women.  I grabbed a 20 euro bill from my wallet and ran over to her.  I came upon her so quickly that I startled her.  I was pretty aggressive and showed her the 20 euro bill.  Then I had her attention for sure.  I rapidly selected four or five scarves, I really don’t remember which number it was, handed her the bill, then caught up to the end of the line of students.  I don’t know if she knew what hit her, but I got a great deal and left Florence with my shopping list completed.

You can also barter services for goods or services for services.  In the past, I have done this.  I created and maintained the website for two businesses in exchange for private pitching lessons for my son.  Years ago, that is how people survived; exchanging services for services, or goods.

Some people just don’t feel comfortable haggling or bartering, so they pay full price.  That is fine.  But these practices are part of the culture in many places and they can be fun, albeit intimidating.  I would love to hear some of your haggling or bartering stories.