iThumb

i•thumb noun \ī-ˈthəm\

Definition of iThumb:

1:  Inflammation caused by overuse of mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads, Blackberries and Droids causing soreness of thumbs and numbness in hands, often radiating to wrists, elbows, and shoulders which if left untreated may lead to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and in extreme cases require surgery.

I recently wrote a guest post on Singletease called He Texts Me, He Texts Me Not on how texting is harmful to your dating life. Turns out, it’s also harmful to your health. You might have noticed lately that I’ve been doing more and more video blogging. This is partly to explore a new medium, but mainly to give my hands a rest from typing. It seems that all my texting, typing, Tweeting and Facebooking has caused me to have iThumb. Thank you, Steve Jobs. While I love your technology, I could do without the ergonomic design flaws of the iPad and iPhone. Maybe it's operator error. Ever notice how the iPhone and iPad advertisements never show anyone using their thumbs? This is likely at the advice of in-house legal liability counsel. Don’t get me wrong. I love my Apple gadgets and I love Steve Jobs. He’s an über-genius. I find that immensely sexy, which brings me back to the point of this blog.

“Husband Hunt 2010” failed miserably. I didn’t follow my own advice and actually date much last year. Truthfully, I didn’t put the effort in and these days dating takes tremendous effort just to find someone worthy of going on a date. I spent all my time—day and night—editing my first novel, submitting it to agents, editing it again, submitting it to agents again, and eventually taking matters into my own hands and pursuing the path of self-publishing. No small feat.

I was busy focusing on my career. A mistake a lot of us make, which extracts us from our social circles, our dating lives, and renders us reclusive loners. I was reminded of this the other night when I bumped into my would-be boyfriend a few nights ago at a restaurant we both frequent. I hadn’t seen him in 3 years. Three years! That’s about when I came up with the idea for my novel, though I didn’t get around to writing it till the following year. Point is, the hottie would-be boyfriend and I never got off the ground because he was addicted to his work. He was on his mobile device 24/7 taking calls, texts, and emails from China, Singapore, and Spain and didn’t have time for a relationship. Three years later, he is still single, still working like a mad man, and still has no time for fun. It’s amazing he doesn’t have iThumb.

Well, it’s finally happened. I have self-published my Sex and the City style chick lit novel, BLOW ME,  and it’s now available for sale on my “Official Website” www.lennieross.com. Yes, I have an official website. Now all I have to do is market the book. All by myself. Piece of cake! If only my hands weren’t in splints. So forgive me for taking the liberty of video blogging more and tweeting and Facebooking less, but there is only so much this single girl can do especially with a severe case of iThumb(s). Maybe I’ll take my next date rollerblading to disguise my injury.

Special thanks to these wonderful people who supported my Kickstarter project and helped me with the final funding stages of my book:

Adora Mae                         Barry Evleth                        David Bensimon                Debra L. Koven

Erik Gruenwedel                 Fawn Cheng                       Fred Nigro                         George Ulmer

Greg Dawson                     Harold Taylor                    Howard Goldberg               Jeff Gorman

Jocelyn Barrabel Segal         Kehli O'Byrne                     Kirk Rochester                   Leslie Romanesko

Lucille Pilutik                     Marrie Lobel                     Nick Rigney                        Oded Bahat

Orly Bouskila                     Ron Weiderhold                Simona Golebioska            Suzanne Griswold

iHurt

Comments

[Hollywood Hottie]

Way to go, Lennie. Sorry about the hands. Hope you feel better soon. I'm gonna buy your book now!

[erkcyclisme]

Lennie, congrats on the book.

Is there a book signing/launch happening? Make it a charitable fundraiser to up the traffic, if you have one.

I don't have an iPhone but my Samsung Galaxy S has Swype functionality that allows a techno-challenged guy like me to compose complete sentences — instead of text shorthand — using my forefinger like a paint brush. No thumb required. No carpal tunnel. And no having to think like teen, either.

Can't say that will help you with your work-absorbed hottie. Then again, would he be as 'hot' if he became "Lennie-absorbed"?

[Lennie Ross]

Thanks for the congrats and the phone tip. Unfortunately a book launch is not in my budget, but if I have any signings in the area, I will let you know. Of course, you will be getting a copy anyway as one of my kickstarter supporters!