Monday, August 13, 2007

Cell Phones


So, every time I'm on the Max I overhear the same cell phone conversation while everyone else is dozing off, reading a book, spacing out or generally observing the shut-the-hell-up-on-public-transportation rule. Gender, ethnicity and apparent tax bracket are irrelevant here.


It always, always goes like this:


Hi, I'm on the Max. Yeah, I'm just about at Lloyd Center. Okay, see you in a minute? Bye.


WTF? News flash! If you're going to see them in a minute and they're obviously expecting you, then YOU DON'T NEED TO CALL THEM. What's UP with that? Just sit quietly with your thoughts for sixty more seconds, walk two blocks and you'll be there.


I mean, I know I'm completely behind the times because I still don't have a cell phone, but if not having one has helped me retain that precious minute of attention span that cell phone users have lost, then I don't feel so bad. I have friends who don't have cell phones or home computers or email. At them I gnash my teeth and shake my fists. Perhaps that's what the cell phone users of my life are doing to me.


Nevertheless, I still manage to talk to my friends, take and send pictures, and drive to new places without calling for directions. I get that one a lot, "If you get lost, just call me." I always wanna say, "On what, my Bat Phone? Or should I just talk directly into my hand?" I suppose that would be one of the most useful applications of the cell phone. That and finding someone in a crowd. That's pretty cool. Or remote grocery shopping. Man, "Did you want Super Plus, Super, Regular or Thin? With or without the petal soft applicator?"


What do you think?


Cell phones rock! I couldn't live without them. And here's why.

Cell phones suck! They're the bane of my existence. And here's why.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cell phones don't annoy people. People annoy people.

Michael5000 said...

Would this be an appropriate moment to mention my funny yet insightful hit single about cell phones?

No? It wouldn't? I'm delusional?

OK.

chuckdaddy2000 said...

I really really hated cell phones before I got one. And now I love it.

But I think the big reason is my commute home. It takes me between 30 and 50 minutes to drive home and I get all of my calls done then. Not having a commute this summer makes me realize I haven't really been keeping up w/ my calls (although I have been dangerously trying while riding my bike. A bad idea if you need to, you know, stop).

Karin said...

michael5000: you're a Rock Star! er, you're an Acoustic Guitar Star!

chuckD: do be careful, remember, fatherhood is just around the corner.

critical bill: damn straight!

chuckdaddy2000 said...

A cell phone addendum-

Wife always does the calling a second before she gets places, snd not to chat. She often calls me right before she turns the corner to come home.

Also, I've tried to break her of this habit, but she calls people right before we're going to arrive to let them know we'll be a little late, as if they won't realize it when we walk through the door in 2 minutes (and as I say, you're calling attention to it).

I'm not quite sure the reason, but I think it has something to do w/ me or them popping into her mind and the cell phone being there, but it is strange...

Karin said...

chuckD: that girl needs to spend a little time in Africa where there's no such thing as late. When you get here you get here.

Did you know that considerably more people in Senegal, West Africa have cell phones than have landlines?

282,600 landlines to
2.983 million cell phones

Yet nobody calls to say they're late.

Karin said...

btw...I don't just carry those statistics around in my head all the time. I looked them up online at the CIA World Factbook, if you must know.

Anonymous said...

I don't own a cell phone. I don't hate them; I don't love them. I'm just cheap.