End of an era

Well I write this with mixed emotions. My trusty Filofax, which I received as a 21st present from dad, sits dusty in a drawer. Forgotten. No more diary entries, no checking of phone numbers, no scribbling of notes, no annual trip off to the stationery store for the calendar refill.

It has all been made obsolete by my iPhone, with its synching with Outlook, its Notes section, its Contacts...Nothing of which is new in PDA land, but I never thought I'd be a PDA person, I'd never get addicted a la Crackberries, I'd never get smug a la Palm Pilot users, I liked the sound of pencil on paper. Even the Filofax tagline is 'Its a way of life.' And here I am flipping out the phone every 2 secs, dedicated to typing stuff into it and getting info out of it.

For 12 strong years my Filofax survived student life, holidays, work life and living in 4 different countries; I never lost it, it never broke, and it held tightly bills and business cards and yoga timetables. I have kept all my diaries - 1997 was a busy year - in a box that now sits in storage in Scoresby. Now I have paperless billing, digital contacts, access to my internet bookmarks and a blog all at the press of a touch screen.

And so I bid you farewell, Filo, as you were known around the house. You were an indispensable gift and you have served me well. So long.