Out Of Touch

My cell phone broke yesterday. As I rushed out the door to take the kids to school, I noticed that it wouldn't turn on even after I had charged it all night. I was surprised at how much this bothered me. I really don't use it all that often. I think there are only 7 numbers programmed in, and a couple of those rarely get used. But thinking ahead about my day, I felt a slight bit of panic. I had a few appointments where I had left my cell number just in case something changed. Little One was still not feeling 100%, and the school had my cell number for emergencies. Big Sister 1 and Rebel expect to be able to reach me any minute of the day, or I am in Big...and I repeat Big...trouble. The Husband would be unable to call and give me his normal list of directives for the day....so...

I dropped the kids and headed for the cell phone store. Thankfully, they were open early and the very pleasant guy examined it, replaced my battery, and declared it "cured". I left happy and relieved...in fact, I was so relieved that I said a quick prayer of thanks...and then I chastised myself for giving thanks that my cell phone worked. This seemed almost sac-religious. So I headed to my first appointment. The people I were meeting called to confirm and said they would call back closer to the appointed time to make sure they had directions. About an hour later, the phone died again. The panic came back. Here I was an hour away from home and completely out of touch. I quickly drove to the nearest phone, which happened to be at The Husband's office. I explained my predicament, as he proceeded to ask what I had done to it. Ignoring this inference, I made my call and let him know that I would be out of touch. This didn't seem to bother him much, but he did give me the list of things I needed to achieve before I saw him again...

After my appointment, I headed back home just in time to pick up the kids. We stopped at the cell phone store once again. Mr. Pleasant wasn't there, but another fellow informed me that it was indeed broken...not my fault...and still under warranty. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and waited for him to give me another phone....How naive of me. See, I did not realize that it is their job to make it as difficult as possible for me to replace something under warranty. I had to go home, call the company, let them step me through a 20 step procedure..then they would mail me a replacement, and I had to mail back the broken phone. WHAT? How on earth can that be called "customer service"? First off, I would be without a phone for several days. This did not seem to faze the guy. Secondly, why couldn't they just give me another one in the store? "We just don't do that". By the time I got home, I was beyond frustrated. And of course, I had a lovely call from the Rebel implying that she could "never get a hold of me"....

I called the company, was grilled by the service girl for 40 minutes while I took the phone apart to read every serial number off of it to her. She then told me that for a mere $12, she could have a new phone sent to me in 2 days. Otherwise, it would be 5. Unfortunately, that was too much for my normally mild-mannered self. I think I went on a 10 minute barrage about the "lack of customer service" and the "ridiculous hoops I had to jump through". This did not faze the girl, who was probably used to being spewed with frustration. She wished me a"great day" and hung up...

I spent most of my life without a cell phone and I got along just fine. I'm disappointed that I am more dependent on it than I thought. Now Big Sister and Rebel were appalled at my "crisis". But then, they have true addictions to their phones. They ought to get coordinating ring tones, because whenever they are together, their phones constantly ring in tandem. I am amazed at how many things Rebel can do while she is texting. I suppose it is a talent. Even The Husband has fallen prey to this. His blackberry never leaves his sight. He is constantly texting...Oh ,excuse me...he calls it "sending e-mails"...and this is somehow different. If we go to the movie with our friends, he texts back and forth with the guy during the movie. If we are at dinner, he texts not-so-discreetly under the table. I feel it is a very rude habit...but hey, I don't have one. If I did, I would likely fall victim to the addiction too...

So for the next few days, I will be without my phone. This morning was kind of nice. There is something about being purposely out-of-touch that suits my personality. Kind of a "no news is good news" kind of feeling. Also, I can blast my music in the car and not worry about missing a call. I have warned Big Sis and Rebel...and they have given me a 4 day pass....and The Husband tells me he will send my directives by e-mail....

So until tomorrow, when I accompany Little One's class to the Dairy Farm field trip...in peace....