Posts Tagged ‘BlackBerry’

Taryn M.

NKOTB

Jun. 21, 2010 by Taryn M.

There’s a recent Saturday I will never forget. It was my last opportunity to take an overnight at home, because the next weekend would be a closed weekend due to final exams. Of course, I decided to go home, but I wasn’t alone. My two best friends, Carly and Gadea, accompanied me for a wild night we never had intended on.

Upon getting in the car and driving to my beachside residence, Carly, Gadea and I had no definite plans for that night. None of the ideas we were throwing around seemed that fun or exciting. It was our last chance to loosen up and have fun before final exams, and the last weekend I would have with Gadea before she moves back to Spain for the summer. After a few minutes on the road my mother received a phone call from my father, proposing we go to Foxwoods casino. All three of us, very excited to dress up, go out to dinner, and walk around the casino, began to anticipate the night. Suddenly my mother received another phone call, once again from my father.

“Do you know the band Backstreet on the Boys?” My mother shouted over our loud gossip in the backseat. Mortified, I looked at Gadea and Carly. “Yeah it says here they’re performing at Foxwoods tonight. You guys should go!” Confused I asked, “Do you mean the Backstreet Boys?” thinking my mother must have gotten the name wrong. “Oh, yes. Excuse me, it’s actually New Kids on the Block.” I’d rather see the Backstreet Boys… Carly, Gadea and I had never heard of this band, and we were extremely bummed. Now we were going to be all dressed up with nothing to do but walk around and look pretty (which we did very well, thank you very much). “Girls, I think you should go. It might be fun…” My mom announced gleefully. I looked at Gadea and Carly anxiously, hoping they wouldn’t think it was stupid. Within a matter of seconds loud but rather catchy music blared through the tiny speakers on Carly’s blackberry. “Guys this is NKOTB. This sounds so familiar!” Next thing you know, everyone in the car was singing to their single “Summertime”! Immediately pumped after this exciting discovery, I agreed to attend the concert but with one exception—my mom buys us new shoes.

“Donna, get us to Marshalls!” I shouted jokingly from the backseat. Marshalls is a large department store that has lots of designer clothes for very cheap prices. Every girl’s dream? I think so. Immediately making our way to the shoe section, we went crazy! We frantically searched for a cute pair of heels that matched our dresses while offering our advice to each other freely. Being best friends, it was acceptable to tell one another what we really thought, even if it was a little harsh. My mother stayed far away, knowing that once we set our minds on that perfect pair of heels there was no going back. Gadea decided on simple, strappy brown pumps, Carly with midnight black pumps; I went with brown and gold pumps. You could say we all fell in love…who needs boys when you have shoes!

Pulling up to the casino, we were dressed like celebrities—but in a lame ride. Gadea, Carly and I were squished into the backseat of my dirty Suburban. Complete with the clutter of McDonald’s toys on the floor and the sweet smell of my hockey equipment in the air…it wasn’t exactly A-list status, but we made do. My parents, off to a nice dinner for two, had previously set up reservations for four: Carly, Gadea, my younger brother Jimmy and I ate at a restaurant called Junior’s. After a delicious meal we headed over to the MGM building for the concert, connected to the casino by a long and narrow glass tunnel. We had never anticipated how much fun it would be to go to a concert for a band we had just discovered that day.

We had reached our seats and within the first couple of seconds of being there, butterflies started to flutter in our stomachs. Even though it was a popular band in the ‘80s and ‘90s, we still knew how to have a good time. There was an expression of pain plastered on to my brother’s face. He was in a roomful of screaming, aged women, talking about how hot the boys in the band were. Poor kid. On the stage was a giant clock counting down the minutes, seconds, till the show would begin. With thirty seconds left, the room filled with girly shrieks counting down. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1!!!!!!!!” and the room erupted in screams. Gadea, Carly and I, immediately standing up and screaming too, decided to pretend as if we knew the band like the rest of the people in the room. That’s what made this concert so much more fun. My brother sat down, took out his PSP and tried to beat his high score…

Throughout the concert Gadea, Carly and I were attempting to sing along, even though we knew none of the words, and of course, we danced like maniacs. We were dancing so hard that we even decided to take off our heels! Most of the concert was spent dancing, laughing or both at once. We kept trying to sing the lyrics we didn’t know, imitate the boys’ dance moves on stage and scream their names like we were in love with them. I have never seen my best friend Gadea as funny as she was that very night. We found out one of the band members was named Joey, so at the end of every song Gadea would scream “JOOOEEEYY!! MAARRYY MEEE!!” It was absolutely hysterical. Our screaming and dancing got to the point where the people in front of us asked us rudely to shut up. Obviously we didn’t—the concert was too fun!

On the way back to the car, we had a long hike through MGM, the glass tunnel, then Foxwoods to find my parents. My brother took my Canon Rebel Xsi camera, which has a pretty bright flash, and decided to run around, in front, and behind us, taking numerous pictures, as if he was the paparazzi. If it wasn’t for the fun time I had at the concert I would have gotten mad at him, but it was just so fun, and who doesn’t love pictures?

Since then I’ve purchased almost every New Kids on the Block song on iTunes (sorry, Mom!), and they are somewhat of an inside joke for Carly, Gadea and me. It’s funny what you’ll find when you decide to try something new.

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Taryn M.

Feliz Navidad, Espana! (Merry Christmas, Spain)

May. 12, 2010 by Taryn M.

Saying goodbye is one of the hardest things a person can do, even if it’s just for a little while. For a teenage girl to be leaving her best friend for a whopping three and a half weeks is never easy. My best friend, Gadea, goes to boarding school with me and lives in Madrid, Spain, when she’s not at school. I only see her during the school year, and after this year, she will return to Spain to finish the rest of her high school career there. Everyday spent with her now is precious. This is why Gadea departing to Spain and me departing to Connecticut for a three-and-a-half-week Christmas vacation was hard for both of us. Luckily, our computers would keep us in touch.

“I wish I could text you or something … like, we have to plan what times you can talk. You have to message me your hours,” I said in a sad voice, while hugging Gadea in front of the bus. I could tell she was excited to go back to Spain and see all her friends and family, but we both knew we would have loads to catch up on and only slim hours that overlapped to be able to talk. The hours in Spain are drastically different from here, so when I slept late, I would wake up to see six IMs from her saying she missed me, and I needed to wake up and talk to her, but by then she was already offline.

We kept in touch writing on each other’s walls, but I had funny stories I needed to tell her and really, I just missed her—a lot. One night, I was on my computer in my room when I saw she signed on. I jumped up in excitement and we IMed, until she ended up falling asleep on the computer.

Christmas day came, and I left a video on her wall with both my dogs and my family saying hello to hers as they sat around my living room with their breakfast. A few hours later, I received a notification on my blackberry that said, “Gadea Perez de Guzman has recorded a video on your wall” Confused, I walked over to my computer and logged into Facebook. Gadea didn’t have a good enough computer to record videos, so maybe it was a false notification. I looked at my wall and there she was, with a huge grin from ear to ear, smiling and telling me she had received a Macbook for Christmas last night! Filled with joy, I messaged her and told her to get online as soon as she could. Twenty minutes later, she logged on and I sent her a video chat request. From that day on, we would video chat everyday and catch up on what happened that day.

Being able to video chat with someone in the next town, state or even across the country is an amazing feat in technology. The fact that I could see and speak to my best friend through the computer on Christmas day was one of the best presents I received that year. Video chatting is currently very big with teens, and it definitely has its benefits for me, as my friends come from such far-reaching places as Spain, Bermuda, New York, Nigeria, etc. Having the ability to video chat made my Christmas so much more special because I got to see my best friend, who was thousands of miles away, as if she was right there in my living room.

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Taryn M.

Mobile Uploads

Apr. 30, 2010 by Taryn M.

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” —Dorothea Lange

Everyone wishes she or he could turn back time, revisit the good memories and erase the bad. Even though this is not possible, pictures are the closest thing we have to it. When you look at a picture, it opens a flood of memories from that moment, and they are forever captured. Photography, one of my greatest passions, has assisted me in capturing and sharing some of my best and worst memories. In the rare event I don’t have my camera, I rely on my phone to help me remember. My BlackBerry captures, saves and shares some of my greatest memories on the go.

“Taryn, get up; we’re going to the park!” my dad ordered as I awoke and glanced at the clock to see the time. It was 9:30 a.m., and I hated getting up that early on a Saturday, but I reluctantly dressed and trudged downstairs. Upon arriving at the park, my brother and my dad claimed they had to have proper “walking sticks” before we could begin our expedition. I had left my camera in the car because I had to walk my youngest dog, Mulligan. The sun shone through the breaks of the branches on the trees, and there stood my dad. With my dog Kerry on a leash in his one hand and a curved wooden walking stick in the other, my dad looked ridiculously silly.

I knew I had to capture this, so I took a picture and immediately mobile-uploaded it to Facebook via my BlackBerry. By the time we had left the park, five of my friends had liked the photo and six people had commented on it, including my aunt. Mobile upload is extremely handy, especially when something funny or embarrassing happens. In my brother’s case, this would be an everyday affair.

My brother is the exact opposite of me. I am into sports, music and photography; he is into science, building things, and singing and acting. He is always putting on a show for anyone who’s willing to watch, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind. While getting ready to go to the movies with my immediate family, my brother got into the car wearing black sweatpants, a gray long-sleeve shirt and 3-D glasses on his face. I blankly stared at him, waiting for him to laugh and take them off, but he just stared back and said, “I knew you’d like them!” with a sly grin on his face. The truth is, he was being totally serious. Baffled, I looked at my mom, who only giggled, as if to say boys will be boys, and my dad fist-bumped him and said, “Nice shades, pal!” I knew it was going to be a long night.

We decided to go to a restaurant before the movie to grab a bite to eat, and Jimmy marched in confidently with the 3-D glasses still on his face. “Table for four, please!” he said while standing on his tippytoes to be seen over the massive counter. The waitress came to the table staring at him funnily, and he confessed, “I can’t believe how many people are jealous of this baby!”—implying everyone was after his 3-D glasses. I can assure you, nobody was. He picked up his menu and began studying it, when my dad asked him if he could have a pair. My dad always takes his side. Jimmy smiled and said, “I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ASK, DAD!” Now both my brother and my dad sat behind their menus sporting 3-D glasses. I quickly pulled out my phone, took a picture of them and mobile-uploaded it. The caption read: “This is my family…”

Mobile uploading has its advantages and disadvantages: You’re able to take funny pictures of others, but at the same time, someone could upload something of you. Nevertheless, it is a great way to capture memories on the go when you’re without a camera. The fact that the pictures can go straight to Facebook is even better. I do mobile upload occasionally, taking an instant out of time, and remembering it forever.

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Taryn M.

Blackberry Phenomenon

Apr. 29, 2010 by Taryn M.

For years, BlackBerrys have had known uses for business purposes only: Mainly for colleagues to e-mail one another, keep their schedule organized and, of course, to make phone calls. The BlackBerry was and still is ideal for any serious businessperson, such as my mother and father, but it now has become the phone to have among teens.

When you make a new friend or catch up with an old one, they might ask you, “Oh, what’s your number?” Today that phrase is frequently replaced with “Oh, you have a BlackBerry! What’s your PIN?” A PIN is assigned with every BlackBerry and serves as a sort of identity. You distribute your PIN with pride, to your friends, family, coaches and teachers who also own a BlackBerry. Once they accept your request, you become friends and they’re added to your BBM list. On my BBM, I have an array of people I do and don’t talk to. From my field hockey coach and my boyfriend to my best friend, random senior boys and my mom, my BBM list consists of the most random group of people.

One lazy Sunday afternoon, my friends and I were lounging out in the warm almost-summer sun, listening to music and talking. My phone had gone off and I checked it only to see a BBM request from a certain gorgeous senior boy. I announced it to my friends proudly, and they all just smirked and laughed, saying, “He probably just added you to get more contacts!” I could tell they were jealous. Walking to dinner, we had continued our conversation about BlackBerrys and joked about how the students at our school kept the BlackBerry corporation in business.

We walked to the mailroom after dinner to check for any notices, when my friend discovered our history papers had been newly graded and placed in our boxes. I opened mine to see I had received an 82. Feeling confident about my grade, I was about to show my friends when one of them whipped around and shrieked, “95! That’s what I’m talking about!” Damn. I told her she had beaten me and she did a little victory dance, singing, “I am the champion, my friends! Cause I kept on writing, till the end!” Trying to think of a sassy comeback quick, my tongue was tied, and I could feel my face getting redder as more and more people began to come in to check their mail. Suddenly, I blurted out, “YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE RYAN GALLAGHER [alias to protect the innocent] DIDN’T ADD YOU ON BBM!” Silence immediately overcame the mailroom, and my friends blankly stared toward the door. I turned only to see Ryan Gallagher standing in the doorframe, cheeks red from embarrassment. I ducked my head and sprinted out.

BlackBerrys are sweeping the nation, with the help of BBM, of course. BBM is widely known among many and is one of the main reasons it has sold just above its rival, the iPhone. With so many people text messaging, the term shortened to a “text,” and became a verb: “texting.” We are now acquainted with BBM, which has turned into a verb, too: “bbming.” Although bbming is basically the same thing as texting, if you are texting one person and bbming another, one would say, “Well, Tracy texted me and told me Joey asked her out! So I bbmed Carly and told her about it.” The verb “bbming” has become a commonly used word at the boarding school I attend in Rhode Island and very much elsewhere. Attending a boarding school and having a BlackBerry is a very realistic investment.

One particular feature I love about the BlackBerry is the Facebook application. It allows me to upload pictures, write on friends’ walls and inbox-message. This comes in handy, especially with my intelligent yet forgetful boyfriend, whose phone is almost always broken. While on spring break in Cancun, Mexico, I had checked to see if my BlackBerry worked there and, in fact, it did! I had been texting my boyfriend in between security lines, on the runway and so on. After landing in Cancun, I had bbmed him, but it hadn’t shown the symbol that he had read it. It wasn’t even delivered, which told me his phone was either off or it was broken again. I had stuffed my phone into my purse as our long day of beachside activities at the resort began, rarely checking it because I was so busy. After a long swim in the warm ocean, I sprawled out on a beach chair, grabbed my phone and sunscreen, and began to tan. Suddenly, I received a Facebook notification, and it was an inbox message from my boyfriend. He informed me of his broken phone, how much he missed me and how we would arrange a video chat date that night. My BlackBerry never failed me that whole trip, and I am thankful, because even though my boyfriend was without a phone for several days, I was able to keep in touch with him via Facebook mobile and AIM mobile. It’s just another example of how the BlackBerry is an outstanding feat in technology.

The BlackBerry is designed to be almost irresistible to the teenage girl. With numerous applications, BBM being the most important, I can say that it has made my life much easier. It helps me be in touch with my friends nearly every second of the day through texting, BBM, Facebook, AIM, etc. Having been a proud BlackBerry owner for two solid years now, I can honestly say that owning one, businessperson or not, is worth the investment. The BlackBerry phenomenon is not only touching businesspeople but also teens all over the world.

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Taryn M.

Bonjour!

Mar. 3, 2010 by Taryn M.

At 7:25 every night I say goodbye to my best friend: my BlackBerry. I slide my phone into the box labeled with my last name in the common room and trudge down the long hallway to my room. At 7:30, my prefect’s voice echoes loudly through the dorm: “Study hall’s in, girls!!” Great.

Now for the worst part. My Internet shuts off. I am stuck sitting uncomfortably at a wooden desk for two hours. Unable to text, Facebook, IM, or video chat until 9:30, when the Internet is back and all is as it should be.

Cruel and unusual punishment? Every teenage girl’s worst nightmare? Yes and yes. I suffered my whole freshman year for two hours straight every night, disconnected from the social media world. Luckily, at the beginning of my sophomore year we made an amazing discovery.

Most kids at my school, including me, have a Mac, and someone found an application called Bonjour. Bonjour is only accessible via a Mac computer and through the iChat application. When I am at school and connected to the wireless Internet, I can access a buddy list that shows all the students with Macs who are online. It’s like AIM but accessible through Macs only. We all thought it was pretty cool, but we didn’t know just how amazing it was.

One evening I was sitting at my uncomfortable wooden desk when an IM popped up on my screen. I was confused. It was 8:32. This was when I realized that Bonjour worked during study hall! Now every night we all log on and stay connected without the house parents even knowing. Sometimes we even video chat with the boys in the other dorms!

My dorm is insanely strict, and they take study hall very seriously. Being on time is a must, and Bonjour (which of course they found out about) is strictly prohibited from 7:30-9:30 or your computer is taken away for a week. So you have to be very careful.

Bonjour is both rebellious and dangerous, but in my opinion it’s totally worth it. We don’t use it just for meaningless gossip; we do occasionally bring up homework questions and due dates. This is extremely helpful, considering that we are not allowed to leave our rooms during study hall without permission.

In a world where texting, IM, Facebook, Twitter and other connections to the world via the Internet are so alive and constantly used, it’s hard to hold us back! It just goes to show: You can’t stop the social media world, because it’s constantly opening new doors every day.

Posted by Taryn M., age 15, Connecticut

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