CHOOSE RANT

Title:   Cellular Day:    August 30th, 2000 Author:  Ruiner Song in my Head:   'Voices' by Disturbed. "I can hear the voice,   But I don't want to listen.   Strap me down and tell me   I'll be all right.   I can hear the subliminal need   To be one with the voice   And make everything all right! "				I'm debating with myself right now. You must understand I'm an odd sort of compulsive buyer. Sometimes I will get it into my head that I need something, and then hell or high water, I have to find a way to acquire it. It's nice to have that kind of determination, except when it truly hampers one's paycheck. I'm thinking of either a cell phone or a pager. The stuff they have out now is so hi-tech, I'm trying to see if I can get a deal on something low-key, low-end. Ya see, I don't want to receive my email on a pager. That would just seem silly to me. That's what I have a website for… And they even have the flipping pagers with a keyboard where you could respond and send email. Why don't you just get a ThinkPad and hook it up really quick? Part of the deal a sales rep was talking to me about was for a free phone, with a monthly charge for 750 minutes. Okay, I'll talk a bit long while I'm at work because I need the escape. But I don't talk for 750 minutes during a month, ever. That's twelve and a half hours! With most people, if I talk more than ten minutes, I'm aching to get off the phone. Twelve hours? Shoot me now, put me out of my misery. And yes, you knew I would harp on this. I wonder how much of a deal I could get on roadway hours? You know, driving down the road, oblivious to the traffic around me. Having that one arm perma-attached to the phone at my ear so I can be cool. Of course, I might do better at it than most - I may just have higher brain functions and can actually do more than one task at a time (unlike many of the drivers out there). Nah, who am I kidding? I don't even really like to type when I get a call in the office. How the heck would I drive? And what about my road music? People would be interrupting my chance to hear that Disturbed song one more time… Which states were the ones who outlawed driving while talking on the cell phone? Vermont probably (they're the guys who banned billboards), maybe New Jersey? I can't say I blame 'em. I would hate to be in an accident with someone driving with a cellular and have to see them get the phone extracted from their ear. Plus, they might actually get hurt from the accident. Heh heh. I think my big beef with all of this is self-importance. I don't have any real loved ones other than my parents (and let me tell you - mom is not getting my cell phone number). No wife and kids, no girlfriend (*sniff*). Sure the roommates are important and friends, but they all understand that I'm fairly easy to locate. I hang out at the same places. My schedule, although full recently, is fairly routine. It's just like me and call waiting. I tend to agree with the neolithic view my father always had. If someone calls and the phone is busy, then they have a choice. If it is important, they'll call back. If they don't call back, I guess the call isn't that important. We have something I like now, voice mail. If I'm on the phone, you can leave a message and we'll try to get back to you. Am I talking myself out of this purchase? Maybe. It could be pretty useful, like when you break down or you need to catch someone and you're out on the road. I'm guessing I'll lean towards the phone because it would be me using it. With a pager, I just don't think I rate that important. I mean, who would want to track me down? I can see it now. "Pay Your Bill - Credit Card Companies" B.Mooney