We were in some really important meeting a week or so ago and taking a five minute bathroom break when our VP barks at me, “Sarah, I need to talk to you.”

I eyed the door.  Because I figure it would be professional for me to bolt, as long as I did it at the speed of a superhero.  Cause then he’d be like, “WOW!  Look at her run!  She must be a SuperHero!  Give her a raise!”

Sadly, I only succeeded in stumbling over my purse.  At which point he said, “Yeah, come sit over here.  We need to talk.”

I hate being called to the principal’s office.  Although when I was called at school, it was usually because the principal wanted my advice.  I was very much the advice-giving type.

Please don’t wear that color again.  It makes you look jaundiced.

So, back to my story.  I grabbed my phone and plopped in the seat next to him. 

“So, Sarah,” he said.  “You know, I see you playing with your phone when we’re in these meetings.”

“I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE,” I retorted, showing him my mature adult side.  “EVERYONE DOES IT.  THEY ALL SIT AND FIDDLE WITH THEIR BLACKBERRIES.  WHY AM I IN TROUBLE?”

He looked at me for a moment, clearly trying to quantify how I ever landed a professional gig, and smiled.  “No, I just meant.. I want to see your phone.  Can you show me what these kids are so obsessed about now?”

And I became Mrs. Apple.  I opened up my phone and put it in his hand. 

He stared at it.  “Can I.. can I touch it?  Can I play with your iPhone?”

I nodded, meeting his gaze.  “Yes, but please be gentle.  And I’m going to sit here with you, to make sure you don’t open up porn or anything.”

When people get their iPhone/iPod Touch, the first question they inevitably have is: What apps do I need?

Here are a list of my favorites:

• Tweetie – If you use Twitter, you MUST have Tweetie on your iPhone.  Sure, it’s a paid app (What, $2.99 or something? TOTALLY worth it), but the trade-off is phenomenal.  Honestly, I think it’s better than the actual Twitter website.
• Shazam – I use this AT LEAST once a day.  If you’re in your car, or in a store, or walking down the street, and a song is playing and you think, “THIS is the song I need when I posing nude in front of a mirror, but what IS it?”, turn on Shazaam and let it “listen” for just a few seconds.  In under a minute, you’ve got the name, artist, and album that the song is on, PLUS the option of downloading it from iTunes.
• Sale Price – Calculates sale prices.  Put in the original price, plus two sets of markdowns (say, if you get 30% off an already 75% discount) AND add in state sales tax.  Me not math smart.  Me needz math phone.
• Mobile Fotos – an app that gives you Flickr-esque capability.  You can upload to your Flickr account from your iPhone without having to open an email.
• aSleep – an app that plays an astounding number of “white noises” to help you fall asleep.  You can set a timer for it to automatically shut off, or you can let it play indefinitely.  This was the first app I used on my phone, and I still use it for cat naps (it helps me fall asleep quickly and get a good deep nap).
• Bubbles – this is the simplest app ever.  Merely touch the screen and make bubbles.  Touch the bubbles to pop them.  Sounds silly and pointless, but hand this over to a 16 month old who is tired of sitting still and VOILA!, you have an entertained toddler.  Which is worth its weight in gold.
• ColorCanvas – one of the Big Canvas products and I adore all of them.  This one allows you to import an existing picture (say from your iPhone library) as a black and white image and only restore color to certain parts of it.  Yes, I know, you can do this in Photoshop.  But I can do this IN MY HAND!  And it’s addicting.  And it was free.

If you have a favorite, please let me know so I can be like you.  I want to be like you.  Especially if you’re cool.

Anyway, I have totally sold my VP on getting one of these.  Because, sure, you can fiddle with a BlackBerry during a meeting, but does it have an app on it that works as a mobile whoopie cushion? 

I rest my case.