i know in the spirit of Lent we’re meant to give away stuff & focus on the challenges faced by others in our neighborhoods, towns, cities & around the globe… and i’m not exactly a Needy Person (there’s plenty to eat, a roof over my head, access to clean water, healthcare, love of family, BOOKS, libraries, music, art & an occasional movie or 2…)

But technology-wise, now that’s a Different Story.  I gave away my $3,000+ film camera to a colleague in Tanzania before i left (a sure fire way to Go Digital) that i still have not replaced. My spiffy laptop is now almost SIX YEARS OLD (that’s ancient for a Computer) …and, well, i still have one of those cell phones you have to hit the buttons 3 times for different letters to send text messages (!!)

That’s where i am So Very Grateful to God for my techie-gadget-savvy Benevolent Brother who generously lets me use his Digital SLR camera + his very awesome CanonG9 camera that fits perfectly in my purse or pocket (no neck strain & outstanding pics captured traipsing around Italy & environs 2 yrs ago!) …

and then, there’s his appreciation of all things Apple i-Ish (as in iTouch, iPhone & iPad…)   You may recall my iPaditis post this summer (click here to read all about iPad hangovers )  when Dwight decided to upgrade his iPad1 to the new iPad2…

As the beneficiary of that upgrade, dear reader, you will Be Happy to know that those iPad hangovers are now under control (mostly!) …& having an iPad has made it possible to Find Other Blogs & read them (there’s not enough ‘computer time’ for that sort of thing, but propped up at night before bed, sure it’s fun to surf around & read what’s going with you in so many places around the globe. woo, woo!)  … & then there’s Netflix (there are some Very Interesting Documentaries, even spiritual ones, on Netflix streaming; of course, there’s also Bones, Law & Order, Deep Space Nine, Stargate Atlantis… but i digress…)

some of you who follow The News may have noted that Apple released the much-touted iPad3 on a Friday earlier this month.  Showing considerable restraint, my brother actually waited until that Sunday (!)… & this time we didn’t have to go to the Big City (actually just to a Best Buy just across town)… but when he mentioned his Acquisition Plans, of course i offered to drive & then Treated For Coffee at the Very Nice Starbucks close by (& this time added a Lunch Snack to help celebrate!)

…& then there were the High Level Discussions (‘what will you do with your iPad2?’ : )

As the New Beneficiary of his iPad2 upgrade, what fun to be had!  & what will become of the iPad1?  Perhaps She Who Has A Birthday this week will also benefit from our Benevolent Brother …(act like it’s a surprise, will ya Cin?)

thanking God for gifts grace-wrapped & thanking my brother Dwight for his (always) Awesomely AWESOME generous heart!

grace, peace & Technology Upgrade Beneficiaries

Virginia : )

p.s.  an afterword to the original ‘iPaditis hangover’ post — i made fun of games & must (MUST) repent of such jesting. Before Dwight gave me the iPad2, i made him take off all the games because i had to take them off the iPad1 because once i started playing i PLAYED THEM TOO MUCH (did not help iPaditis hangovers at all, at all, staying up until 1:00AM playing Scrabble, or Solitare, or Jumbline — ’tis amazing how long you can keep going on that word game!)  NO GAMES! ...oh, except the Malaria No More Game (hey, that’s for a Good Cause! : )

Image: by Pattanaik (from Wikimedia commons)