If you were brought up in an era of making things last, as my Mistress was, modern technology rather goes against the grain. My Mistress is having to replace her mobile phone and she’s not happy. She has taken care of the old one and it has lasted for two and a half years. She was cross when the battery stopped working well, so she bought a new battery and despite Apple gluing in the old one, she replaced it and was pleased with the result. She has kept the phone relatively scratch free and been careful not to drop it. Why then is it being replaced? Because the model is out of date – no, I don’t mean she’s gone all fashion conscious on us, but that the software is no longer being supported for security updates etc, so she hasn’t got a choice and she’s not happy. Yesterday was the straw that broke the mobile phone’s back. A software upgrade came through which is largely irrelevant to her phone anyway, but it told her she didn’t have enough memory and was going to have to delete things that she needs first. Basically, it doesn’t matter what you do your phone will self destruct and need to be replaced. She’s trying to buck the system by replacing it with the latest and planning to keep it for longer again, but I’m willing to bet in about 2 and half years we’ll have a repeat of the current situation. Life really is simpler being a dog. A stick is a stick is a stick and the same goes for a ball. I did have a ball that made noises and glowed in the dark, but I went off that one – I’ve probably still got it somewhere. I am now keeping my head down as she has to set up the new phone and in my limited experience that’s a sign that there’s going to be swearing!
On a brighter note I’m delighted to say that for the first time in my life I am covered by health insurance. Agria have an ‘age amnesty’ this month, so our Mistress got a quote for me and I was delighted to find I could afford the payments. We couldn’t get health insurance when I lived in Belgium and when we got back it was harder as I was no longer a puppy. Anyway, I’m now fully covered and for a very modest amount I must say. I’m not planning to use it, but it’s nice to know that if anything serious happens I can get treatment without question.
Alfie’s Diary – the Book as well as our other books are available HERE
You can find short stories to read at www.alfiedog.com