10 Reasons Why I Love My New Phone

1. The many free photography apps.
I can take photos that look like they were taken with a pinhole camera and then adorn them with cute little icons. My favourite discovery so far is Retro Camera, with 6 'cameras' to choose from.
2. HeyTell.
Need I say more? This nifty little app allows me to send voice messages to friends all over the globe at the push of a button, not to mention it's free to download and use.
3. Social networking.
Because of this baby I'm never more than a finger tip from a quick chat. My internet presence must have increased hundred-fold since I booted this baby up on Monday night.
4. I'm never bored.
I am the proud owner of an android phone, and as such I have the power to download ad many apps as I want, whenever and wherever I want (provided I have signal).
5. I have a camera!
I know I mentioned photography, but I forgot to mention the benefits of actually having a camera for the first time in over a year. No more missing out on great photo opportunities, if I see stomething fun or interesting, I can snap a pic there and then (which would have been handy when I spotted that phallic cloud). I can also document days when I feel particularly pretty.
6. I don't have to put up with my old phone.
Ah, the old Sony Ericsson J100i, with its loud, angry vibrate setting that was reminiscent of a viscous wasp. It had its down sides, but at the end of the day it was a phone with personality. True to form, like a thwarted lover, it stopped acting up and proclaimed "I'll change, I swear!" the minute my new phone arrived.
7. MOAR BLOGGING!
There's a handy Blogger app for Android that means I can now blog on the go, as soon as the mood hits..
8. Barrr
My favourite free game so far. Run a pirate bar and ensure you get all your pirate customers to their correct station. Unfortunately there are only 10 levels, so not much play time, though one of those levels is called 'Guybrush's Locker', a shout out to the best sea-faring game that ever there was, yarrgh!
9. Flashlight.
How many people can sympathize here? You're on your way to bed, hit the light and BAM! You're navigating the stairs in the dark, wishing you had a bloody torch. It's a situation I find myself in every night, and one I have to repeat if I need to go to the loo in the middle of the night because there's something wrong with the upstairs lights. Now I can significantly lower the risk of death by using my flashlight app. :)
10. It's upped my cool factor.
Yeah, not really, but it's true that I no longer feel that all too familiar wash of shame come over me when removing my phone from my pocket in public.
And let's not forget that you, the readers, will also benefit from my decision to upgrade due to a greater post frequency and more aesthetically pleasing blog. Now now, no need to thank me.

Dear Future Me

Hey, how's it going? Hope life's treating you well. What's it like in 2021, provided the world hasn't ended? Did the robots ever actually take over? Or am I thinking too far ahead with that one?

Anyway, it's 2011, 10 years ago, remember that year? You said it was going to be the year of new beginnings, but I'm starting to think it's the year of waiting. Waiting for decisions to be made, waiting for the chance to move, waiting to know what's to become of you. I'm still 19, waiting to turn 20 and be free from the confines of teenagehood. I bet you're sitting there berating me just like mother would have, "Stop wishing your life away! Enjoy your youth while it lasts!" Well, that's easier said than done when everyone around you is older, giving you less respect because of your age. Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy my youth to an extent. I love that I'm at the age where I can still dream big, life is so full of possibilities that my head swims when I think of everything I still have to experience and achieve.

I want to be a writer, I love writing, don't you? I hope you haven't given up on your dreams, I hope you've started living them already, I know how depressed you can feel when you're not being productive. How you sometimes can feel as though you're going nowhere, like you are destined to a life of moribundity, but just remember that you aren't. You can do anything, as long as you don't sit around on your arse just waiting for it to happen to you. Just start small, that's what I'm doing right now. I'm starting a blog so that I can get all those big thoughts out of my head, the ones that make me feel as though I'm drowning, like my head is full of fog. It's a heavy burden to bear, but you know what they say, a problem shared is a problem halved. So if even one person reads my blog then they're helping to unburden me.

So right now I'm homeless, and it's kinda tough, but I do have a lot to be grateful for. There's the lovely people who have let me stay with them, Mike, Karen, Dominic, Christina, Abbie and her mother and brother. These people are wonderful, and without them I don't know where I'd be right now. Probably dissolving into a pool of melancholy, rotting in some hostel. Where are you living? Big, small, grand or humble, I bet I'd love it. I bet it's full of bright colours and shiny baubles, and if it's not then what on Earth happened? You used to love all things tacky and gaudy! Remember your roots, girl!

Are you married? Is he handsome? Although I suppose it doesn't have to be a man, you could be married to a woman. Anything could happen in the space of ten years. But love is love, so take it where you find it (unless that place is a bit illegal) and nurture and cherish it, no matter who you find yourself sharing it with. Please just be happy, wherever you are and whoever it is you're with. Don't let anything get you down. Retain your optimism, it's something I've always admired about you. Please stop being so god damn unmotivated though, it's always bugged me. This is your life, you are in charge of what happens to you (unless the robots have taken over).

Whatever happens, always remember that I love you. To me you symbolise everything that can be. To you I suppose I symbolise everything that has been.

Good luck.
                 Robyn
                            xx

p.s. Today is day #1 of your reinvention, I hope it goes in your favour.