Oh, I am Cool.

Today I became cool, according to my sister anyway. I have entered a new era. I shed my five-year-old flip-phone and got an iPhone 5.

Gulp.

I am terrified of the cost. I just doubled my cell phone bill.

And I have a lot to learn, and a lot to unlearn. I think the unlearning will happen pretty quickly.

On my old Sprint plan, I had a limited number of minutes because I had the cheapest plan. My new Verizon plan is unlimited. So already today, I have received two phone calls, and because they came mid-day, my first thought as I answered the call was, “Oh, no! This isn’t my free minutes time!”

Well, I have to unlearn that. Unlimited means just that. I can now take calls mid-day without worrying about going over my limit.

Will I now start making phone calls willy nilly? No, I won’t. But I also won’t worry about them. I’ll probably substitute that with worry about my bill at the end of the month, I suppose.

I also got an Otterbox to protect it. I had a choice of pink, gray, or camouflage. Not what I wanted (purple). But given the selection, I went with the girly color. I’m going to see if I can find a purple one on line, and if so, I can return the pink.

Then, of course, are the things I have to learn, beginning with the most basic. Like how to answer the blasted phone.

I got a call shortly after my purchase and I managed to disconnect the call rather than answer it, and it was from my friend Christina, and she was inviting me to lunch! Almost a disaster. By the time I figured out I had missed the call and not just tried to respond to a strange sound, she’d already eaten.

But I did all right. To celebrate the phone as well as provide consolation over the missed lunch, I took myself out to a sushi restaurant. Soft shell crab rolls. M-m-m-m. Perfect. Disaster avoided.

Then, of course, my smart-ass sister who’s had an iPhone for quite awhile stretched my learning curve by sending me a photo. I actually saw it! There must be a way to enlarge it so I don’t have to pull out my reading glasses in order to see it, but I did successfully view the photo. But, lots more to learn here.

Then I have to learn texting! I have never had texting. I asked my niece who is a texting maniac not to OD on sending me texts.

I learned how to use the voice recorder. I wanted it for when I travel as it seems as I drive along I always want to take notes of things I see or thoughts that zip around my head. Sometimes I can pull over and write things down, but when traveling in Mexico, pulling over often means driving off a cliff.

Now, all I have to do is grab my phone and poke two buttons and begin to talk. Easy! And the first button is a little microphone. No mistaking it for something else or poking a different button when I want to record. Maybe not on a curvy road, but for sure I can manage it on a straightaway.

More things. How to take a picture. How to send the picture. How to put pictures of the people on my call list with their names so I can see the photo instead of a shadow form.

And then there is the whole ring tones thing. I guess I can now download special ones, and I can spend hours assigning certain tones to specific people. As if would remember which sound meant which person.

But I have time, and I am going to get a basic book on how to use the phone. Plus, Verizon offers free classes on how to use the phone as well as how to use my iPad. Free, I can afford.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go. Play with my new phone.