Recently, I have moved into the 21st century, albeit slowly… very slowly.

In January I finally succumbed to intense peer pressure to join Facebook. And you know what, I’ve really enjoyed it. So far, I’ve found it to be a great way to catch up with people. Yes, it can suck up hours of my day (if I let it), but it can also be a speedy tool. For instance, last night a friend posted 30 pictures of his family. I hadn’t seen him since we graduated high school 19 years ago and had no idea he’d gotten married, much less had four children. Instead of a lengthy phone chat or email conversation, I got caught up on his life in about four minutes. Not bad.

Last month my cell phone was stolen while on vacation. So, I decided it was time to upgrade to a Blackberry. Again, I had resisted the temptation to buy one of these for years. I had seen how it could control one’s life. I have friends who seem to never put theirs down, no matter what they’re doing. Now, after a month, I can’t imagine living without it. It’s an amazing device.

And now, I’m thinking about buying my first IPod. You have to understand, I generally come around on new technologies about a decade late. For instance, I didn’t buy my first CD player until 1996. And I didn’t get a DVD player until 2002. It’s not because I’m waiting for the technology to be perfected or even for the price to come down (although that is part of the reason). No, the main reason is simple: I like to keep life as uncomplicated as possible. I already knew how to use my cassette tape player. I had mastered programming my VCR. Adding new machines with their remotes, cords, and instruction manuals can seem overwhelming.

But, I need to upgrade my alarm clock and almost all digital alarms come with a dock for an IPod. Perhaps this is a sign it’s time to break down and invest in one. We’ll see.

One thing is for sure, I’m holding strong against this twitter thing. I’ll save that for 2010!