Aye-Ay-Ay Pad Post 1

I HAVE FREE TIME. For the first time in months, I have a few rehearsal-free days (minus a read-through) to just catch up and breathe for a second before delving into what I presume (hope) will be a deliciously busy spring. That said, I want to talk about a little special friend I have made over the past week. She's sleek, slim, saucy, and certainly part of my joy in typing this blog. Her name is Tandee, and she is an iPad.

I must admit, when I first heard my name, I was mostly scared. There were two reasons for this fear, the first being that I do not own many things that are... Considerably expensive or elite. I am relatively frugal. And the second being that, although I have no true understanding of this alliance, I am famously a PC person. I appreciated Macs from afar for what they had to offer, but I would not ever consider buying one. Even the iPod I own was bought off of a friend.

First, I would like to talk about the social aspect of this device on which I now type. My first thoughts in recording this was "when will this be appropriate to use?" there is a certain stigma associated with the device, as it is seen by many, including myself until this last week, as excessive and unnecessary. Needless to say, when I first pulled it out and started working in front of others, they did double takes. Some people judged me, making comments about wishing they had the money for the device. Overall, the reaction when I explained the circumstances under which I had received it, was disbelief and impressively inappropriate questions of the relationship between Dr. Lay and I. There were questions of legality. It got a little ridiculous, but I tried to deal with as many people at once as I could to get that out of the way. I have been reluctant to bring it out in classes, as there are so many electronic device, teachers might not really know what it is and feel uncomfortable. I plan to ask formally if teachers mind or not, I am looking forward to responses mainly from those that do not like the laptop screen barrier and therefore do not allow laptops. Will the flat-against-the-table design make it okay? We'll see.

Dealing with responses from others has been my biggest challenge so far, surprisingly. So many people have strong feelings about this beautiful thing. It's amusing to watch, however I think that if everyone was given the chance I am being given, there would be no reason to dislike the iPad and presumably, other tablets like it. I admit it, I am a convert. Cult of Apple, here I come.

Look back soon for updates on my Apple-venture as it unfolds. I will be discussing positives and drawbacks in functionally compared to my laptop which I have just about completely replace with Tandee, at least for portable use. will the novelty wear off? Will it prove distracting?

Signed,
Cassandra Rose Blaise DeMarco... And Tandee. :)