just before i interviewed at the print shop, i ran out of money and had to borrow $45 to keep my phone working in case they called back to hire me. but because i was hired on the spot, i opted to use that money on food till my first paycheck shows its face.
but having no phone has been very interesting.
i mean, i still have a phone. and i still carry it in my pocket because my thigh will freak out if it doesn't feel its presence at all times. but i can't make calls with it. instead, it's sort of like a digital watch, calculator, calendar, and crappy camera.
i've only been without calling capabilities for one day and i've already been asked how i can possibly survive.
oh, i have no idea. i suppose i'm amazing and that's how.
the other day i saw a mother text messaging while walking with a baby strapped to her chest. a tiny part of me imagined what it would be like if she were to face-plant because she would've flattened the baby. but, ultimately, even i couldn't find that so funny.
today, i saw a pre-teen skateboarding through the financial district while texting. it was pretty funny to imagine him face-planting. i also imagined him being hit by a taxi driver. the imaginary cabbie was texting, too.
we're all doomed you know.
do you know how many horrible text message fights i've had? in fact, the only reason i "upgraded" from an archaic flip-phone to one with a qwerty keypad was to avoid being bitched at by a girl i was dating who couldn't understand why it took me longer than a minute to respond to her perpetual texts. i never wanted this stupid thing.
all my tours back then used to end with, "the next downtown loop will be leaving at 4pm and the time is currently... sixteen new text messages." and it wasn't a joke.
i'll pay my phone bill in a few weeks i'm sure. but for now, i'm enjoying the absence.
after all, it's not like you can't email me. or facebook me. or instant message me. or shout at me on the street. or send me a fucking letter. in fact, there may just be a reason all of our old school communication devices stayed at home before the cell phone came to the world.
once, a focus group recruiter called me at 6pm and i yelled at her.
that was refreshing. it reminded me of when my family used to eat dinner together and the hours between 6 and 8pm were deemed hours during which only inconsiderate folk called homes. everyone knew that was dinner-time. and i really was eating dinner with my roommates.
fucking cell phones.
i miss being yelled at on the street. nowadays, people will just text or call and say, "turn around." and i enjoy the purposeful creepiness in that sort of hello-- but everyone wants to be yelled at. there's that moment of anxiety during which you wonder if the yell is good or bad. it shakes you, and everyone nearby, out of their awkward bubble for a minute.
either way, i thought i'd let you all know that my phone isn't going to help you reach me for the time being. the fedex man will not be able to get into our apartment because the buzzer will call a robotic woman who will only say, "N-SF 0-1: the subscriber you have called..." before hanging up. drunk-dialers will hear the same, and drunk-texters will hear nothing at all. my business cards will lead you to an under construction website and a dead phone number.
it's kind of nice.
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