40 minutes

I realised a couple of years ago that the 40 minutes of FREE time that is created when you bring your kid to swim class is actually perfectly suited to read a book. Once a week you have a determined slot were you can immerse yourself in the book that's been on your bed side table fighting for attention with twitter, netflix, podcasts... (and always loosing).

Yesterday I brought my camera instead and took a short hike in the woods close by.

I highly recommend finding a small fixed window of time every week where your phone does not get to participate and you dedicate your time on some form of 'old school' activity instead. (Or just sit there quietly meditating over a cup of coffee). 

What a day!!

Today was the first day that I left Tage alone at the daycare. It was only for half an hour, and it went all right. I mean, it wasn't fun to walk out the door and leave my kid crying in the arms of someone else, but he calmed down after a while they told me. But that was not what brought on the title of this post, it was something that happened during this 'free' time that I got.
 
I walked around without a real goal, just staying away and trying to not obsess too much over the fact that my kid was crying. I happened to walk by a grocery store and thought 'maybe I should just pop in and get me a chocolate bar, I deserve that don't I?' even though I am trying to loose those damned extra Christmas pounds that currently flapp around my waist. So I walked in to the store, but when I saw the fruit I actually changed my mind, I was going to have some bananas instead. But they did not have any ecological ones, and since bananas are one of the things that we only by if they are eco, I changed my mind back towards chocolate again ( I do admit that the logic here is not very sound, especially since sweets are not one of those things). Anyway: On my way back from this little detour in the healthy section towards my original goal It happened.

I walked by a cart with some wares that were marked down due to that they were going out of sale. 'Hmm, a bottle of fish sauce. That I do not need.' I thought distractedly at the same time that I, for the hundredth time the last fifteen minutes, checked that I had reception on my phone and that there were no missed calls from the daycare personnel. Just as I was about to walk on something in the back of my mind told me to look down once again, there was something in that cart, something very important.

And my mind has never been more right.

It was a product that I learned to love a couple of years ago. A product that inexplicably vanished from the stores maybe last autumn. A product that I wrote an unanswered mail to the manufacturer requiring about. A product that I have searched for all over the country. A product that I put a Wanted ad for, right here on this very blog. A product that I had lost all hopes of ever owning again. 

There they were, what might possibly be that last two jars of Chipotle paste in the country, in a sales cart, going for 10 SEK each. If they only knew what I gladly would have paid for them they would cry themselves to sleep for a week. You better believe that I bought candy to celebrate!

Out of my hands

The decision was taken out of my hands by a lucky seller. 'Do you have tele2 as your service provider?' he said. And since I was lost in the swamp, I grabbed on to his rescue line and held on. A little while later I was signed up and now I am waiting for my new phone. I also got my PUK code, so now my current phone ain't locked anymore. I do not care if I could have gotten a better deal somewhere else. I do not care that I broke my own rule of avoiding annoying sellers on the street. All I care about is that the decision was taken out my hands.

The search

The search for a new phone has slowed down to a crawl. It seems that I have to high demands, I just can not find a phone that I want and can afford. So now I am well into the tenth day without a phone (need the puk code to get it working again). It was a bit interesting to find out that the alarm still worked when the phone is locked, hence I now have a alarm ummm something. It is not a clock since I can't use it to tell time. And I can not change the time for the alarm. It is just an alarm. Luckilly it is set at 6:15 which is the time that I try for the first time to get up in the morning. And it only goes of on weekdays, that is good to.

I am in the swamp

I am back in the swamp again. I need a new phone. The one I inherited from my sister shuts of when I have it in my pocket. This led to the resent state of the phone, it is locked and I need the PUK code (which I of course can't find). So, I am down in, and lost in, the phone buying swamp. I want an Iphone but it is just to expensive. Leaving the thoughts of an Iphone behind, this is what I want:

• Small
• Robust
• Nice to the touch
• mp3 player (3mm jack)
• Great interface
• Possibility to read my gmail mail
  

Have been thinking of a Nokia 5310, is there anyone out there who has that model? Or is there anyone out there who has a phone that fits to the list?