Monday, May 12, 2008
Connected Again
For the longest time I was one of those who turned my back on cellphones because I didn’t think they were as necessary as everyone made them out to be and I did not want to become one of the herd. Then I moved from Seattle to Texas and eventually on to Florida and realized, I should probably get a cell phone just in case anything happened out on those lonely roads.
I had a basic phone to get me to Texas where I stayed at my brother’s house. Towards the end of the year at my brother’s house, he declared that he was getting rid of his house phone and would only be using his cell phone because it was actually going to save money. My brother is frugal beyond belief and if he says something will save money, it will. I decided to look further in to this cell phone business.
Just before I moved on to Florida, I upgraded my phone. I still am not going to participate in the contracts that companies give out because I do not like being bound to such things and I’ve heard far too many horror stories in conjunction with contracts. I opted for a pay as you go phone. I used the phone for a very long time and was actually quite pleased with the service.
Until I moved out of range of a cellular tower and could no longer receive or make phone calls. Some of my neighbors were able to get reception out in the middle of nowhere so I decided again to head on down to the cellular phone store and look at my options. I was informed that because I have satellite internet, if I got a router and hooked up as wireless, I could use my satellite signal as my cellular tower. Further, any time I used my satellite as my cell tower, I would not be charged any minutes on this phone. I signed up.
I had only two choices of phone that used this plan and at first I was a little bummed because I’ve seen some really cool phones out there and always thought that the next time I got a cell phone, I was going to get the works. Regardless, necessity trumps want some times so I looked at the two available phones. I was pleasantly surprised by one of them.
I am now the proud owner a thin, silver phone that has pretty lights and bells. While I was waiting for the cell phone rep to make a call in to the company I am using, I looked around the store. I saw a lot of different gadgets for cell phones; things you didn’t even know you needed before. Throughout the years I’ve seen accessories on people’s cell phones and I’ve decided that I want to get a couple of cell phone accessories for myself.
One of the first items I want to get that came with my old phone but not this new one is a headset. I like being able to walk around, hands free and on the rare occasions that I answer the phone while driving, I want both hands on the steering wheel. After that I want to get one of those dangly things I see on phones owned by girls just because..well, just because. And finally, I like to personalize my ring tones. I like to pick a ring tone that I feel matches the person who is calling. I want to be able to say, “Hey, that’s Kristine”, just because the tone matches what I think of her.
Eventually, in time, I can see that I will become a cell phone junkie just like everyone else and eventually, I will be looking for a new phone, new features, new gadgets, new shiny, sparkly accessories and I’ve come to realize, as long as I don’t ever become the type that has their cell phone glued to their ear whether they are alone, with someone else or even a group, cell phones are actually pretty cool after all.
