Do you - like me - want to order a wife off Amazon? Well, we can't. So here's the next best thing to help you stay
CoolCalmConnected.
Just
One More - C'mon, make a box!
And make a difference.
Hey - It's Us! 
It's a mighty big world. Better have a sister to hold you.
"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Ferris Bueller
Philippians 4:4
Wave hello to San AntonioAmazon's Gold Box
Loading ...Archive for the ‘Cyber Life’ Category
Everything You Want
When I was a teenager, I was occasionally allowed to snap a few pictures with my mom’s Kodak flash-cube marvel. Like this stunning shot of Ted Kennedy on an escalator. Yes, it’s really him.
I won an essay content my senior year of high school. The prize? A Close-up trip to Washington D.C. Omigosh. I hate crying. But bawled when I saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in the National Archives. Wanted to bawl when I saw Ted Kennedy – though for different reasons.
Lois – age 15 – created an anime video for a convention competition coming to San Antonio next week. She pulled images off the internet, and combined them with music to create this “Everything You Want.”
Yeah Lois! Hope you win, too. Though regardless – you are better than I ever dreamed of being. You’re everything I want, baby girl.
Posted in 
Deep in the Heart of Textes (Part 2)
As promised…..here’s my second un-techy texting tip for parents with AT&T wireless service. Which you should have. And if you don’t, you need to ping me immediately so I can hook you up.
Texting By Email – Presented on CalmCoolConnected
(another virtual hang out)
Texting by email saves me a ton of time. Rachel, Lois or Hannah often send me long, multi-part texts while I’m at work or home. Strains my eyesight just to read the darned things. Think I’m going to sit there and poke out letters to reply on my teensy cell phone keypad? Faghetaboutit. I email them back a text.
You know I live for comments. Love comments. Want to marry comments. So please visit CalmCoolConnected – enjoy the short video – and….
Deep in the Heart of Textes
You know I contribute to an AT&T blog about working moms and cell phones? Which the girls think is hysterical, since they are so much more techy than am I.
But here’s something even I use (though Rachel’s the one who told me about it) - Cha-Cha. 242-242, texted on your wireless phone to get answers to questions. Last’s week’s CalmCoolConnected post about Cha-Cha generated numerous email questions to me, plus (at last count) 16 of the comments that I so desire. I live for comments. I love comments. I want to marry comments. So please – if you go watch this little video clip – click the “Comments” link, scroll to the bottom, and “Leave A Reply.” They’re why I get up in the morning.
Here’s the clip: Learn About Cha-Cha
And here are questions I’ve been asked:
What’s the catch? They have to charge something.
They do. But they charge their advertisers, not you (the textor.)
Is it really free? Or, as Rachel say, “Free 99!?”
As long as you have a texting plan on your phone.
Will they start spamming me with all sorts of ads?
Not according to their privacy policy. We use cha-cha all the time and so far – no weirdness.
Who actually answers the questions?
I suspect folks in a call center far, far away. I would not pursue “Cha-Cha Specialist” as a career choice.
Are their answers any good?
For us they have been. I’ve not asked the meaning of life or anything like that.
Guess what? I asked Cha-Cha what a penguin, boot, train, whale and piano have in common!
Me too. And I got the same answer you did: “Black and white.” Which tells me the puzzle must be really old, because not all boots and trains are black now. But at least – mystery solved. Or as solved as it’s likely going to get. Where’s Nancy Drew and Nero Wolfe when you need them?
Can you call Cha-Cha?
You can call 1-800-2-cha-cha but we don’t. In fact, I’m not sure my kids would know how – you know, that whole “talking on the phone” thing they used to do. I’m not sure Rachel, Lois or Hannah actually speak words now, other than, “I need….” and “She took….”
Is Cha-Cha 24 x 7?
They say they are but I can’t verify it because I’m not.
I don’t have AT&T Wireless. Will Cha-Cha work with my service?
(sigh) Yes. But you should get AT&T Wireless. And you should call or ping me so I can hook you up. Do it now. Operators are standing by.
I have another very handy texting trick that I’m saving for another day. You’re going to want to know it. So…..
You Do What You Have To Do
I’ve always liked hanging out with people better than myself. Fortunately, they’re easy people to find. Smarter - happier - more godly – prettier - quicker - better organized - deeply generous – people.
I marvel at many of my friends who make such differences at food banks, hurricane shelters, free clinics, Sunday Schools, student mentoring, etc. And now I have friends online who absolutely blow me away. They work in Russian orphanages, or create crafts to benefit orphans, or raise money to provide clean drinking water in Africa. These are regular women. No big red “S” on their camis. They are not infused with super powers, or great wealth. They just decided to do something that mattered.
My mother also did much that mattered. The older I got, the more I marveled at what she’d managed to do. And when I would question or recount an incident or accomplishment to her, she’d simply say, “You do what you have to do.”
Mom with David – a big part of what she had to do
What we decide we have to do is a choice, of course. My friends whom I admire so much have defined their choices. They teach and preach and reach deep into souls and far out to the world because they choose to do so. If you try to discourage them, or they hit roadblocks, they’ll still find ways to do what they have to do.
I’m not big on new year’s resolutions. But at this start of 2009, I feel the need to really consider what I have to do. Because as my mom said, “You do what you have to do.”
And it’s all about how you define that “have.”
