An app for bra buying?

It used to be that I had to have EVERYTHING new. Had to. All things techie thrilled me to no end. I've had e-readers (known today as the Kindle, Sony Reader and now the iPad) for well over 20 years -- I am sure I had the first one. It was huge, clunky and there was absolutely NO content whatsoever to obtain. But I had one! Oh yes, I did!

But somewhere along the line, the sheer amount of fun, techie gadgets started to get out of control. I still have the biggest computer screen out there (iMac) because there are some things you just have to keep current, but all of a sudden my phone is a relic, my camera only has about 300 options and I have no way to get an app for that.

None. Zip. I was watching my recorded Oprah from last Friday and she was announcing her new app for her show. All I could think was first, how odd that I've lived this long without ever actually using an app, and secondly, that I totally did not give a shit.

Which brought me to the thirdly ... who am I and where did Lisa go?

I do not live and breathe my phone. In fact, I used to think that I would die if I went for a day without Internet, but as each year passes, I have actually concluded that not having it from time to time is nice. (Last summer the house we rented on the Vineyard did not have Internet. I biked to an internet cafe several times. But seriously, I just didn't miss it.) Then I used my brother's phone to read my email, and I found it to be silly. NOTHING in my inbox was worth trying to read in the palm of my hand.

I used to wonder why I didn't have an iPhone. And now I wonder why I am not all gung ho about the iPad. The ONLY reason I would get an iPad is as a reader. My Kindle has issues -- I love it and pretty much exclusively read on it, but when you hit the previous page button nine times in one sitting by accident, it can get irritating. (The second generation Kindle solved all the problems that plague me, naturally!) I have read that the iPad is hard to read outside. That would be an issue for me -- because I read outside. Because of my Kindle experience, I would not get a first-generation iPad. So that means I have to wait at least a year before I would get one ... and the old part of me that needs needs needs that stuff gets all wiggly inside and says NO WAY YOU ARE WAITING THAT LONG.

And who knows -- I haven't actually had an iPad in my hot little hands, so I don't know how badly my need will grow when it comes in contact, but I am trying to believe that I have evolved beyond a need that is driven by something other than necessity. Before I had this huge-screened iMac I had the one a few inches smaller. I thought that was good for life. But bigger and better is always fun -- I will be the first to admit!

But the truth of the matter is, the need isn't as potent as it used to be. And I like it. And I am finding that rubbing off in other areas as well. Like when I was shopping the other day with Maddie and I found a bunch of shirts in all these great colors. And then I flashed to the bunch of shirts I have at home on the shelf in all these great colors, and I actually put them back. I put them back and bought ONE shirt with the $10 off coupon I had, which brought the grand total to $5. It was actually kind of fun to NOT buy as much as I normally would have!

I don't have a shopping problem -- I actually hate to shop. But when I do find myself in a store, I will buy whatever I want because I am not all that into deprivation. But this is different -- this is evaluating need versus want -- and coming to the conclusion that just because I happen to be in a store and have stumbled upon shirts that I would most definitely wear, but don't need, does not mean I have to buy them. Interesting.

Maddie and I both needed bras. Now bras are a whole 'nother animal. For some reason I buy several bras and wear them until they are dangerous. They become dangerous by getting thrown into the dryer by accident -- because then the little metal clasps in the back get all twanged -- and then they dig into your skin. I will actually wear a bra and let this happen for months. No, it doesn't feel good, but the alternative (that being going to a store and trying on new ones) is more painful! I can't just walk in and buy the same size bra (and brand) that I did several years ago because they are so decrepit at this point there are no markings left. And you would think after wearing the same sized bra since I was in my 20's that I would recall what size I wear -- but I actually don't. I can never remember, am I a C or a D cup? In some styles I am even a B cup. Hence the reason you have to try the damn things on. Hate it. HATE IT. And most women do. Which makes no sense, because we wear them every single day. So I thought, I will just buy like six of them and I'll be good for years.

BUT I COULDN'T!!!! I don't know why. I could buy two. That seems to be my bra limit. They are expensive, but when you wear them to rags, it probably costs less than a penny a month to wear the thing by the time I replace it!!! So I could easily purchase a stack of shirts that I do not need, but a bra, which I need very badly, I have trouble buying. And Maddie would only buy one. She hates buying them too.

Now, if they had an app for that -- that would be a reason to gadget up!