Christmas comes early

My new Palm Zire 31 arrived today, with a wireless keyboard. I got home and it was waiting for me. I was SO EXCITED. The first thing I did, however, was to email my friend to tell her it was here. I wanted her to know the operation was a success. I doubt that she was awake when I sent the email, as it was the wee hours of the morning over there. But I had to let her know.

Then I opened the package.

That took a lot longer than I expected. My friend is a REALLY GOOD WRAPPER. She had wrapped this thing so well that even Customs didn't attempt to open it. I think they took one look at all that tape and thought, Bugger that! We'll never get lunch if we start on that one!

I tore it open impatiently with the aid of scissors, leaving ripped tape, packaging and bubble wrap all over the floor. Then I had to get the Palm and keyboard out of the hard plastic packaging. You need scissors for that, too, and even then it's not easy, I can tell you. You could have parachuted the whole parcel in, and between my friend's packing and the Palm packing it would have been in perfect condition.

Half an hour later (only slightly exaggerating), and panting, I got to the instruction booklet inside. READ THIS FIRST, it said, and obediently, I did. I didn't want to destroy my new toy before I'd even started.

Step One is CONNECT AND CHARGE. I read carefully.

a. Plug the power adapter into your Zire 31 handheld and into an outlet. Do not connect the HotSync cable to your handheld until instructed to do so.

Fine. I plugged in the power adapter, and left the HotSync cable in its little plastic bag.

b. Charge for four hours. Make sure to fully charge your handheld before going on to the next step.

I sat back on my heels, gasping with frustration.

Four hours? FOUR HOURS before I can go on to Step Two? That will be one o'clock in the morning! I have to work tomorrow!

HEY! WHAT HAPPENED TO INSTANT GRATIFICATION???

Oh, well. I unfolded the keyboard, anyway. That was fun. WHAT A COOL KEYBOARD. Honestly, sometimes I'm so gadget-happy I make myself sick.

(It's not just any gadget, though. For maximum happiness, the gadget should have a keyboard. A gadget that IS a keyboard makes me go smiley all the way through. I keep unfolding it and folding it up again.)



Other news: The cold I got on Saturday seems to be fading away without turning into anything really nasty and vicious. Everybody else has been complaining about how awful it is and how long it lasts (three weeks, said someone I met today, and her husband has had it even longer), but I seem to be getting off lightly. Is it going to return with a vengeance, or am I the lucky one this time? Stay tuned.