Swimming In This Ocean Of Words

I've joined the enemy. Either that, or I've joined everyone else in the 21st century. It depends on how you look at it, I guess.

I got a cell phone yesterday.

I'm not a big fan of cell phones. I think too many people use them too much and in dangerous situations. It bugs the heck out of me when someone's phone rings in the middle of class—a situation that I'm sure will only escalate when I start teaching. We've had to ban cell phones at work because too many of our interviewers weren't paying attention to their job. And people who drive with cell phones? Don't even get me started.

I also have some personal baggage where cell phones are concerned. I used to sell (or cell?) them, back when I worked for Monolithic Electronics Chain, Inc. And I used to own one. It was an analog Motorola flip phone with 45 anytime minutes for $30 monthly. And I frequently went over the allotted minutes, mostly because someone I wasn't really dating at the time kept wanting to call me while I was driving to and from work. My fault for answering, I know. But there it is. Still....

The idea for getting me a cell phone came about a few weeks ago, when Mom was in town for Aunt Chris' 90th birthday party. She had brought an old cell phone with her that she offered to me. The way I saw it, I didn't really need a cell phone. But I could see—reluctantly, mind you—the advantages of having one on some occasions. So we called her provider to set up basic service. Based on my projected usage, we figured prepaid was probably the way to go. However, they wouldn't set up a new plan of any kind because the phone was too old. Specifically, it didn't have that new chip that allows the phone to be tracked by GPS in an emergency. Stupid antiquated two-year-old phone.

So I still had the phone, if not a service plan. I did some checking online and found what I thought would be the best prepaid package. (Perhaps not coincidentally, it was with the same carrier than Nancy has.) So I went into the closest store yesterday to get things set up. As before, they told me they couldn't set up service on that phone, but for a different reason. It didn't have the memory card that all phones on their network need to have. So I faced the fact that a new phone was in order.

The gent at the counter showed me the various plans available, including the prepaid ones. And the more I looked at the numbers—minutes, rate plans, and the cost of the new phone—the less sense a prepaid plan made. So I ended up going with the basic monthly plan: 450 daytime minutes, 5000 night and weekend minutes, no roaming charges, free long distance, and free calls to anyone on the same network. Not a bad deal, I have to say.

I got to use my phone in earnest on the way home from Ogden last night. I called Nancy after leaving the weekly meeting of the OGC. She was in the middle of something but told me she'd call back. And she did. My phone rang as the 70 bus passed Willey Ford in Bountiful. We talked until I got off TRAX at the Central Pointe station. The reception and sound quality were excellent, much better than my previous experience with cell phones would have led me to predict.

I've kept a land line for the past few years because I get free dial-up access with my tuition. But that's coming to an end soon. My roommate has DSL (or Broadband, I don't really know which) set up for his use, and anyone else's who wants to share the cost. I chatted with him about that last night, and with three of us using it, the cost is about half of what it would cost to maintain the land line. So as soon as we can work out the details, I'm going to cut the cord and go completely wireless.

May heaven have mercy on my soul.

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Yes, the title of this post is a reference—a song reference, specifically. If it doesn't ring a bell, listen to "Lightning Strikes" on the 1999 Yes album The Ladder. Better yet, listen to the whole album. Good stuff.