I immediately charged up my eBook, downloaded all my free titles, and began spending a good chunk of money to download new titles. I feel I got my money's worth, however, because when we traveled to Tucson for our annual family holiday over Christmas, I had one book-sized item to take with me, instead of three or four paperbacks. I could read in the dark with the backlit screen, I could look up words using the built-in dictionary just by clicking on a word, I could even scribble "in the margin" if I were a scribbler. (I feel books are sacred and can't bring myself to deface them. Few of my books even have my name in them for that reason.)
I looooooooooved my eBook. However, I received an email in 2003 that informed me that the company that produced the eBook, Gemstar, was no longer going to be making more eBooks and HORROR OF HORRORS no longer providing titles. This meant that for the rest of my life, if I wanted to use my eBook, all I could do was read the few titles I already had. Plus I found out about it too late to take advantage of a "clearance" sale of sorts on all their encoded books.
Tonight I received an email from Gemstar stating that a new company, eBook Technologies, Inc., was providing an eBook service to fill the niche vacated by Gemstar. I got all excited and clicked on the link; maybe I could get new books!! (Not like I know precisely where my eBook is, after the move and all...)
The link I received from them was actually rather disappointing. No, I couldn't buy any new books for my old Gemstar eBook because this new company was using a different encryption, which meant my old eBook couldn't "read" the new format. So if I want an eBook reader, I'd have to buy the new eBookwise, which looks awfully damn like my old eBook.
eBook Technologies has also graciously offered us eBook owners a rebate on their product. A whopping $30, bringing the price of the new eBookwise to $100. Kurt bought my original eBook for $150, and I bet I invested another $200 in it. Now I have to buy another $100 just in the unit and however much in rebuilding my library?!?!
No, thanks. At this point I'll just stick to paperbacks.
Harumph. So much for trying to come into the 21st century.
So how was YOUR Mother's Day?!?! :o) As I mentioned previously, HC really didn't want me to spent my first Mother's Day alone, so she told me to choose something to do and we'd do it. She originally came up with the idea of going to the pool, which is an awesome idea, but I was wanting to do something OUTSIDE. We live in Seattle; do you really expect us to have OUTDOOR pools?? We have one in our neighborhood that doesn't even open till July, and even then the water is frigid. I don't even know where there is another outdoor pool. Indoor pools are the norm here. We play baseball indoors, we play football indoors, of course our pools are indoors. :o) And yet it doesn't rain as much as they say it does.
But I digress. So while I liked the pool idea, I liked the idea more of spending time outside. We decided to go to the zoo instead. HC even found a 2-for-1 deal on the internet which got me in free. Grace and HC's daughter S were free for being 3 and under, so HC just paid for herself and her son C.
It was also Mom & Me at the Zoo day, which meant if I had bought a special shirt at Macy's, I would have gotten in free. It also meant the zoo was PACKED. Most folks were polite and courteous, as most folks in general are. Some stood out.
We were in the underground viewing room, and HC was watching the two beluga whales play with each other with their male parts hanging out (theirs are retractable; wouldn't that be nice if our husbands' and sons' were retractable too!? Think of all the savings in buying sports cups you'd have!!!) while I watched the walrus swim lazily around his enclosure. The walrus would zoom along on his back straight towards where Gracie and I were standing, and then he'd almost hit the glass and float upwards, only to swim back to the other side and do it all over again. This of course drew a crowd. One lady had about five kids with her; whether they were all hers I don't know. They kept crowding up against Grace's stroller, which made me nervous because kids don't usually realize what they're doing until someone gets hurt. They don't MEAN any harm; they just don't think ahead. The kids kept getting closer and closer, and finally they ran off. I thought they were done, but two seconds later they were back again, and one girl was shoving her brothers (friends?) to get between them and Grace so she could get a prime spot right in front of the glass. She had NO CLUE she was precariously perched in such a way that if she fell, she'd fall right smack on top of Grace in her stroller. Finally I'd had enough, and I wheeled Grace out of the way in some anger. The mother, who had been watching her kids do all of this without any warning of "Be careful of the baby!", finally took notice of me and said, "Oh, did you want to see?" I snapped, "No, I'm done," and joined HC as she watched the beluga whales with their thingies hanging out. I don't mind kids being rude because most of them honestly don't know what rude is. But I can't stand it when parents just stand by in oblivion.
All in all, we had a GREAT time at the zoo. There was so much to see! For a small zoo I was really impressed. About the only thing that was missing was a bird house, and there could have been one; we just didn't get there. The weather was spectacular too. At first it was cloudy and overcast (this IS Seattle, remember??), but then the clouds burnt off and it was sunny and perfect. I think temps may have reached 70, but it was at least 65, perfect temperatures to walk around the zoo in.
Mother's Day itself I spent alone here. No "Queen for a Day" for me, but it was fine. I spent most of the day on the phone with Kurt because it was our last chance to talk while he was still in Hawaii, and taking care of Grace really isn't a problem. Plus I'd gotten a bouquet of tulips from Kurt and a bouquet of mixed flowers from my parents, and Kurt got me this beautiful necklace in the "mother and child" theme, like the watch he got me for Christmas. He hid the gift quite well in the garage, not like I would look. I don't like to spoil surprises. It's no fun that way. :o)
Bed's calling!