You might rightly ask: why iPhone is ruining my life?
Before I stir up the contentious debates of iPhone v Android. A highly contentious issue (apparently). One that rivals the great Holden v Ford emnity of generations past. I’m definitely a fan of anything that is a genuine productivity tool, making my job/life easier. I’m also an avid user of technology and very appreciative of anything that incorporates sleek, stylish design into the mix. It’s not the product that I have issues with, but what it’s done to social interactions. Or more specifically lunch with friends.
Lunch with friends is usually a rowdy affair, with lots of lively conversation because we’re all eager to share our life. There are the natural story-tellers amongst us and I love leaning back into my chair sipping a wine and just surrendering to the path being mapped for me. I like know the updates of friends-of-friends, acquaintances and discovery of mutual friends unknown. I love all the little things that you learn about someone by just sitting down to a meal with them. I loved it until iPhone.
You see amongst my friends, there is a distribution of 3G, 3GS and 4 releases. Over lunch, instead of the usual catch up our rowdy banter comprises of iPhonecentric behavior. We have speed races of which phone release performs a task faster with obvious outcomes. I know how many songs are stored on each friends iPhone, but there was no mention of what these songs were, if they’re important, have they just been to concerts or discovered some new-to-them sound. Are the 9,000 odd songs stored by one friend his absolute favorites? I don’t know. instead of sharing personal information about our lives we received updates on most recent app downloads, with many apps being downloaded immediately as a result. Das spent most of the lunch working through a language learning app (I was permitted to look over her shoulder at one point) and the two people present (myself, one of them) were then castigated for not owning the beloved phone.
It was at this point, mistakenly obviously, that Bee mentioned she was thinking about upgrading but was also looking at an Android. The debate was long and serious from then on in…
When lunch had finished I left realising that something significant has changed. This isn’t the first time I’ve had iPhonecentric conversations. It’s happened with other groups of friends as well. While I think the technolgy is here to stay and will continue to fuse social and business universes. I hope our relationship to it changes. I hope I never find myself sitting in a cafe opposite someone I care about while we read each others facebook news feed, twitter or blog posts to find out about each other. I hope I never have to wrestle that phone from your determined grasp to explore your life. So put the freaking phone away when we’re out to lunch.
I opened my door to a beautiful surprise.
A huge bunch of cheer-inspiring Gerbera’s being thrust in my face!
Even better they’re just-because flowers. You know, something you give full-stop, not because you broke the heel off their fave shoes, or I’m sorry, or we had a fight, or you forgot to pick me up from the airport.
Schmetterling (yes German for butterfly!) my friend, happened to be at the West End Markets enjoying the vibe (they’re great by-the-way and will no doubt feature in future posts) where she procured these amazonian gerbera’s in bright yellow… then drove over to surprise me (in my pyjama’s). All this for me.
It got me thinking: how many times had I missed these acts of kindness? Was I so focused on building a tangible asset had I failed to appreciate the value of a beautiful act? How much value can/should you put on a gesture of friendship? How much ‘value’ do I provide my friends? Oh no… am I a good friend???
But it’s hard to be too critical, even of self, when holding a giant bunch of flowers hand delivered by someone who cares about you. Schmetterling and I spent the good part of the morning with a cup of tea sharing our recent news and schemes underway. And the rest of the world just melted away…
It was the perfect antidote for a bitter workaholic.
Just-Because Gerbera's from Schmetterling
GoMA exterior | photography by Natasha Harth
Taking a pro-active approach to my burgeoning sans-business interestes I organised a little jaunt to Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) for the Douglas Kirkland: A Life in Pictures exhibit.
I always enjoy a visit to Southbank and the cultural centre precinct. I just like the spaces, the opportunity to people watch. So when I read about the Douglas Kirkland exhibition in the Brisbane Festival guide (albeit after the festival officially finished) it was ticking all the right boxes. I get to enjoy the surrounds, I can meet with some friends and instead of the usual people-watching we’ll head up to the exhibit and look at celebrity-snaps-as-art.
Kudos to the curator for this one. I was completely drawn in from the first giant picture of Liz Taylor as you enter the exhibit. There were stunning portraits, beautifully executed with many subtle details that keep me engaged for much longer than usual. There’s two series of Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe respectively, that really caught my eye.
The exhibition at GoMA continues until 24 October 2010 and is FREE admision. So you’ll be able to treat yourself to a drinkie at Era after.
I never keep or kept a journal. I always felt journaling to be self-indulgent, and a non-productive use of emotional energy and time. The irony of committing to a blog about myself is not lost on me… nor on my friends.
But… I have learnt the value of experiences that don’t contribute to ROI or KPI’s or business acronyms of any sort. I have also learnt that making a public committment is a great motivater. So, armed with this knowledge and a hearty helping of humble pie I will commence my journey to experience and document the thoughts of an optimistically bitter woman on life, love, design and food.
I will post once a week for three months. What happens after three months is anybody’s guess…
And I will not post about my business. Even if tempted I will resist in favour of a simple pleasure shared with friends, or some other recreational experience.
Fragments of Eva 