Thanksgiving having been covered here, we were ready to go on to the next phase of the weekend: acquiring certain items (or at least looking at them).

So we (James having worked Sunday to take today off) got up by my usual work alarm, ate quickly and I walked Tucker, and then we went to H.H. Gregg. I still would like to buy James a stove. The ones they had on sale weren't all that prepossessing, and I've been attracted to this one, but it's not cheap. I am thinking that since we would mostly use the top half, it would use less gas in the long run. But, oh, that price tag, especially when I'm still paying off the HVAC.

So we left there to go by Best Buy to pick up the latest Big Bang Theory DVD only to find out they weren't open for ten minutes. Instead we went across the street and picked up my online purchase from Office Depot (a couple of wireless mice and some backup media) and by the time we came back they were open, but I could not for the life of me find the stupid DVD. Usually they have it on a rack or in a bin, and I walked around four times and never saw it. I hate going into Best Buy anymore; the lights are so bright and the televisions and the sound systems are cranked up so high that I get disoriented. Plus last year when they opened on Thanksgiving there was no one in the store on Friday; there was already a long line forming after 20 minutes, and BBT wasn't worth standing in it.

So out we came and went to Verizon. Frankly, I think we stepped on a rocket to the moon. You see, James got a tablet from them two years ago with 4G access because when it's slow at work he's not allowed to surf the internet any longer on his work computer. It's a security thing. But the tablet has been shutting down abruptly when he's in Facebook or even just reading an e-book, even after we reset it, and, worse, last month we went over our data plan because all of a sudden it has been pulling more data than usual. So he wanted a new one. After what seemed like hours we not only came out of there with a new tablet, but new phones, and even this gadget called a Hum which is like Onstar. It monitors your car and you can call for roadside assistance and for help. Plus they said our bill would stay the same and we have more data.

I really wanted a Droid Turbo 2, but we ended up with the Google Pixel because it was the special, and it has gotten terrific ratings. I spent the rest of the day wrestling with it (I even had to chat with tech support to find out how you got it to show up on your computer), and guess I like it. It's a tiny bit smaller than the old phone, but very light and the sound is better. The camera is supposed to be better than any phone, even the new iPhone, although I noticed it doesn't have a zoom. (I have the app Camera Zoom which does have one, so we'll see how that works.)

So we stopped at home to use the bathroom—it took forever there because their computers were messed up with all the people upgrading—and then dashed to Staples to pick up the thumb drive I'd bought online before having lunch at West Cobb Diner. It was warm enough to eat outside and we took full advantage of it, taking a table under a tree. Afterwards we stopped at Barnes & Noble because all their magazines are 30 percent off this weekend. I was fabulously lucky that the new "Bella Grace" was out (with all that heavy paper it's expensive), and I also got the Christmas "Smoky Mountain Living" and "Southern Lady Christmas."

From there we finally came home and I spent a lot of the evening putting stuff back on my phone.

Labels: electronics, shopping, smartphones

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 9:48:00 PM

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