I have a cell phone. Mostly for emergencies and it’s usually in the car. If it’s with me, it’s usually turned off unless I’m expecting a call. And if it’s on, and it rings, I still may not answer it. Becuase the fact that it rings is NOT reason enough for me to answer it. Why should I stop what I’m doing? Let 'em leave a message.
My wife and I live in LA. We both work and our two kids go to two different schools. Often my wife has to stay at work late, sometimes unexpectedly. Anyone who has ever driven in LA will know that its impossible to get anywhere quickly, and occasionally traffic on some streets will just STOP, for no obvious reason.
So, no, WE couldn’t get along without our cell phones. Our lives are a delicate logistical dance. We’ve built in some slack to account for emergencies, but making use of that slack is highly dependent on each of us knowing what the other is doing.
Here’s a typical afternoon:
– Call 1 –
Her: “I’m out in the hall, the meeting’s running long. Can you get The Girl?”
Me: “I think so. Call me back at 4:30 and let me know if you still need me to go.”
– Call 2 –
Her: “Me again. Yep, I’m not going to make the cut-off for pick-up. You better go.”
Me: “Okay, I’ll check in when I’ve got her. Can you get The Boy?”
Her: “Probably.”
– Call 3 –
Me: "I’ve got The Girl.
Her: “Say ‘hi’ for me. I’m done with the meeting and just packing up. I’ll be leaving in a minute.”
Me: “Was there construction on Beverly Glen when you dropped The Boy off this morning?”
Her: “Yeah, it might still be bad. Let’s both head for The Boy’s school. Whoever gets there first can pick him up.”
– Call 4 –
Her: “I’m at the school, where are you?”
Me: “Still at the Santa Monica intersection. We’ll see you at home.”
This is what my life is like every day …
Don’t be a cell phone hata …
Yeah, I got rid of my car, too, because sometimes I don’t WANT to drive anywhere.
Oh, no problem there, then. The people I was complaining about were the ones that light up ye olde phone any old time during the movie itself.
I don’t have a mobile phone. I work on the assumption that people can contact me while I’m at work and while I’m at home. At any other time, I relish the prospect of being “out of range”.
Where have you been? Now I am one of the few without a Smart Phone. Conventional wisdom seems to think you now need one, but I haven’t discovered a real need for it yet. Don’t have a GPS either although I do have a basic flip phone and use it for the purpose it was originally intended for. Call me a Luddite if you must.
Luddite
Maybe we should call him Jesus since he resurrected the dead.
Even worse, he attracts zombies.
I wonder how many people from this 11 year old thread still don’t have a cell phone.
Bwahaha! I don’t even remember ever feeling that way about cell phones! I did get one shortly after I posted that, but didn’t get a smartphone until a year ago. I am addicted to it just like everyone else- I have become one of them.
I’ll bet no one posting above you had a smart phone either.
Joke’s on me, though. I didn’t notice it was a zombie thread and I thought, after reading the first 6 posts: No way-- not even on THIS message board!!
Well, it is fun looking through the old thread at all the long forgotten members.
I still am a Luddite, and don’t have a cell phone.
Braaaiiiiiinnns!
2004 called. They want their anti-cellphone rant back.
I can’t believe you took the call in the middle of a thread! Rude…
This is exactly what I was going to post, along with the comment that I still don’t have one. Well, I do keep one in my car for emergencies but I don’t really know how to use it (other than dialing out) and couldn’t tell you the phone number off the top of my head. I don’t know if my attitude toward cel phone culture will ever change but I doubt it. It hasn’t budged one iota since they first became widely available.
I did this with my landline. I was thrilled when phones with “ringer off” switches were invented. I had caller ID, so I knew who had called.
I am participating in this zombie thread just to mention that since this was originally posted the pay phone situation is even more dire. It’s actually what pushed me into getting a cell phone after resisting, and then, I got rid of the landline once the cell phone 911 had the bugs worked out, because the cell phone was actually cheaper than the landline. It was even cheaper than the broadband line we had as part of our cable bundle for a few years.
I kept a desk phone longer than a lot of people I know because I use a TTY to talk to my Deaf friends, and I used an old rotary phone that fit my old TTY I bought in 1988. However, when the TTY broke, I got a newer cell with a keyboard and screen, because 80% of Deaf people (and probably 99% of those under 40) were using texting, IMing or real-time signing on the screen to communicate. And people who didn’t have cell phones usually had email. I haven’t used a TTY in ages.
Now I have a Smart phone, and I don’t ever have to stop and spend six dollars on a map, I can always find out when the nearest branch of my bank is when I’m out of town, and it takes pictures that are just as good as my camera (my old cell pix left something to be desired), plus, I have some games downloaded, so if I find myself stuck someplace with bored 8-year-old, I can say “Here, Angry Birds.” It also has a Kindle app, so I don’t have to take a book with me when it’d one more thing to haul around. I prefer reading books, but there are a lot of times when I want both hands free, and most books don’t fit in my pocket.
That said, the ringer is off when I’m at a movie, at the doctor, driving a car, having lunch with a friend, or any other time when it would be inappropriate to be interrupted.
I get along just fine without one. Still.
Reeder doesn’t