How I Came To Use A Different Font

 In May we took a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip - I’ve put it in inverted commas, as it is a trip I’ve sort of done twice now - going and doing the parks in Florida. This year we stayed in a Disney Resort - the All Stars Sports Resort, which was fine although basic - I was quite happy with the facilities there, and to be honest, our room there was probably nicer than the room we had at Holiday Inn in Clearwater, although the Clearwater Rooms did have a microwave in them.

Anyway, I digress. Our holiday was not without incident; I had hurt my back on the day of the Coronation, and even though it had 2 weeks to heal, it wasn’t feeling much better 4 days before the trip, so I visited a physio (my first time seeing a physio privately, rather than an NHS referral). As I’ve had back problems before, I thought I knew it all - I thought I knew the exercises I needed to do to help my back. This time it seems it was facet joint problems rather than disc related, and likely caused by 10 hours standing outside a polling station on election day. The physio offered some acupuncture, which I was happy to go with - anything to sort out the pain, and also sold me a TENS machine. He also advised spending the time before the flight resting - not standing doing anything, but sitting. This was not so easy for me, given all the things that needed doing before we left.

Anyway - we get to the airport and I had a wheelchair to take me to the gate - the first part of this was a little nerve-wracking, as our young person was pushing me…luckily after we’d got some lunch, my husband pushed me to the gate. We got on the flight, and it was at the other end that more incidents happened. Once we got to passport control, I realised that I had left my water bottle on the plane…The next issue we had was getting the car started - but that was after we had a lovely gentleman pushing me all the way to the hire car, waiting patiently with us while we sorted out the car hire. My husband drove us from the airport to the resort - and that was where he had problems, as we couldn’t get the car started - Keith had to go back and find someone to help us - turns out you had to have your foot on the brake and push the start button…who knew??

We had a lot of fun filled and exhausting days at the different parks, and I was able to get some relief with my back, thanks to not having to stand in lines for very long (good to know that the parks are understanding about those with hidden disabilities - e.g. autism, as that helped all of us), and also thanks to Deep Heat roll on.

Anyway - one day I was using my iPad in the room, and it slipped out of my fingers - like so many things are seeming to do recently. The screen cracked in lots of places, the corner was caved in, and the Touch ID stopped working. I could still get into the iPad, but I had to use passwords for EVERYTHING. Once at home I sent it away to be repaired, but it couldn’t be repaired, so they sent me a replacement (I had to pay for it of course), and then I got myself a case (at long last). It took about 5 days (which included a weekend) for the iPad to be sent and a replacement to be received, which I thought was pretty good. I had managed to back up the broken screen iPad, but I was still worried about whether the new iPad would end up having all the information on it - such as the notes giving me clues about login details. I needn’t have worried - everything was in place, and I was soon back to normal again. Five days without the iPad was quite difficult though - I was reliant on my iPhone for everything else, and that didn’t have the notes for login details…thinking I may have to do something about that, so that I have access to those details anywhere.

I have seen the Geniocase being advertised on Facebook quite a lot, and decided to bite the bullet and get it. It turns the iPad into a laptop, with a swivel screen. This has been absolutely ideal for me, as it means that I can type a lot faster when using the iPad - and I do use my iPad for a lot of things. There are still some cases where having a laptop is handy, but for writing this blog - the Geniocase keyboard and case is perfect! I did go a little overboard and get the pencil, the carrying case and the 7 in 1 storage adapter too - but I intend to use this iPad for a very long time, and as I’m paying more for storage too, I might as well make sure I make the most of the capabilities of the iPad.

I had bought a simple Bluetooth keyboard previously, but it was not so easy to use - and crucially, it did not become the case for the iPad. It was probably about 8 years ago that I last used that keyboard, so that shows it was not so useful to me. If I remember correctly, it didn’t have quite the same feel about it - the keys did not feel the same, and it certainly didn’t have the useful sticker on it, showing the different functions. It also didn’t have backlit keys (and I do like a bit of colour!). 

This is the long story about how I came to use a different font in this blog - and I haven’t even got to that bit yet!! It is through using this keyboard to write this blog, that I thought I would have a look at changing the font. That is when I noticed the option to add more fonts. It could be that this is a recent thing - it certainly isn’t something I noticed before. I do like playing around with fonts, but fonts are also quite a big time waster…I get a bit of FOMO - wondering which font I want, and needing to see all of them so I can make up my mind. Still, having played, I now have a list of different fonts to use in this blog! And that is the story of how I came to use a different font.

This case and keyboard could end up being a real game changer. Yes, it does make the iPad heavier. However, I do find it a bit of a faff having to get the laptop out, and often have it plugged in for all the power. The real difference will be when I come to type documents in Pages - will it let me put photos where I want them, and move them without all the fuss that comes with trying to do it in Word? Time will tell - certainly writing this blog post has been much easier and faster than trying to type it out on the iPad screen - and as someone who touch types, the physical keyboard is invaluable. The next test I have for it will be writing My Story for my badge (which I didn’t manage to get round to for A Life Less Ordinary).