And the new day dawns...

I could barely sleep last night. I was in suspense. Would the new cellphone's alarm go off automatically, like the old one, or would I have to get an alarm clock suitable for Shabbat? My old cellphone had the best alarm for Shabbat. It went off after making noise. One burst of annoyance, and then silence. And I'm the type to get up on time and easily, so I don't need the nudge, or snooze setting.

I must have been waiting, awake in bed, at least forty minutes until it make its peculiar sounds and then, silence. It turned off, all by itself. Hurray! Then I went into the kitchen to make my coffee, pour some water to drink and then to the den to blog and whatever. I left the phone over the bed, confident that all would be fine.

Then my husband walked into the den:

Your alarm is ringing again.

No! No! NO! and NO!

It's not fair! Now I have to get a new watch, since the automatic battery saver blackens the screen when the phone isn't in use, so I can't use it as a clock in the classroom. And I have to get an alarm clock for Shabbat in order to wake up on time.

There's another automatic thing I've noticed on the phone. The keyboard locks automatically. That's a good safety mechanism for the phone.

OK, I shouldn't complain. Baruch Hashem, I can afford to buy these things when I need to. And I have a special treat planned for today. "The boy from the Bronx," as I called him when I used to write my "Baile Rochel's" for Counterpoint over twenty years ago, is in Israel, and G-d willing I'll see him this afternoon. Classes were cancelled--very convenient. Baruch Hashem! Maybe he can help me figure it out. He got our shelves and pictures up twenty-one years ago when we moved into this house!