It’s 1:30 a.m., the lights are out, and there is someone lurking nearby.  Should I be alarmed?  Maybe call the police?  Not unless Rhydon (pronounced “Rye-Don”), could be considered a dangerous suspect.

Like everyone else in the under 18 crowd (and some of drinking age too!), my boys have joined the new generation of Pokemon, a virtual world of collectible “Pokemen” (I know that’s not the plural and it makes my kids laugh at me when I say it…someone tell me what the plural of “Pokemon” is…or is it like “sheep” or “fish”?  I think that’s the opposite of a plurale tantum). 

And there is apparently no time or place too sacred for summoning these virtual beings.  At first, I thought it was kind of cool.  I like the idea of a game that encourages exercise and gets my kids outdoors.  But that was before I had to start grabbing them by the shirt at every crosswalk downtown…and remind them of their boundaries for how far they can walk in neighborhood.  And before last night, around 1:30 a.m., when my 13-year-old woke everyone up to “catch” one of the rare ones, Rhydon.  As for me, I struggled to go back to sleep and get back up at 5:30 a.m. to “catch” the news before I went off to work (I’m not laughing).

And a big “hats off” to T-Mobile for their unlimited data for a year on the Pokemon App use.  Some say it’s not a big deal and that the game doesn’t use much data to begin with …well, they’ve obviously not met my sons.  And I’ve heard of others as well that can effortlessly eat up data like Pac Man (“Men”?) chomping on ghosts (now there’s a true pioneer of the virtual gaming world … and one I could actually understand, play, and occasionally win…Tetris is another favorite).

Here’s a few tips to survive the craze ’cause you know they “gotta catch ‘em all!”:

·      If you have T-Mobile, go to https://explore.t-mobile.com/t-mobile-tuesdays?icid=WMM_TM_UNCRRR11_7315BO9ZLCN5107&clickid=wwD0kCysXxGn3uuSVuTyVyIhUkkzQkwpxxIwx40&iradid=189313&irpid=10078&cmpid=WTR_AF_Skimbit+Ltd.&irgwc=1on a Tuesday and claim the reward that gives unlimited data for the Pokemon app until August 2017.  Judge for yourself if it’s worth the download time for the app http://www.wired.com/2016/07/t-mobile-pokemon-go/ .  All I can say is I never want to get that text message that says “you have used 95% of your data” on the second day of my cell phone billing plan cycle.

·      Hack and Hatch…drive less than 10 mph, so that your kids’ phones will think they are walking…and they can hatch more eggs, more quickly.

·      Hack and Hatch…place your mobile device on an old turntable at 33 rpm (note: have not actually tested this out…I refused their pleas to use my stereo.  It’s almost sacrilegious to even consider spinning anything but vinyl on this cherished treasure).

·      Get a sign for your car that says, “Caution, we make sudden and abrupt turns for Pokemon stops!”

·      Don’t mine at night … no wait, that’s Minecraft (that ironically taught my kids about trolls and social media last year) http://oldschooljournaling.blogspot.com/2015/06/social-media-and-trollsas-explained-by.html J

Happy hunting until the next big????  BTW – when will we see Poke.on emojis?

M