On Being Disconnected from the World

It was when I’d gone to a casino about two weeks back that I discovered that the display screen of my cell phone had gone ‘white’. I got a little unnerved and started playing with the slider hoping that everything would be back to normal. No such luck. The screen worked intermittently, granting me the privilege of accessing my phone book when he felt like it. I wasn’t really worried and decided that I would give the customer service a call and they should be able to replace my phone, especially since he’s on a 2 year contract and it’s only been a year since he came into my life. On my way back home, I made the call and the lady informed me that she would send a new battery that should solve the problem.

 I waited for 10 days…no battery! Called them up again and someone else informed me that the battery had never been shipped because his warranty has expired. (Wow! Finally I can get disconnected from the rest of the world. Thank you God for listening to me. ). So, I need to get him replaced with another one. I told him that I’ll think about it and ended the call.

Now, he’s expired in that the display screen doesn’t even go white. It just stays blank. He’s dead.

Who wants to get committed so fast? Let me enjoy my new found single status!

I can’t tell you how happy I’ve been since the past couple of days. No more telemarketing calls, no more unsolicited party invitations, no more of friends calling me to ask me what I am doing! This is like a dream come true for me. I hardly miss my cell phone. The funny thing is that there hasn’t been even a single incident when I’ve felt the need to call anyone. My mom called me up once and I spoke to her over my friend’s phone.

It’s always been like this with me. People who know me will testify to the fact that I’m always in a hurry to end calls. Somehow, I’m more comfortable talking face to face or just e-mailing (thanks to the over reliance on this particular method of communication in the US). I share a family plan with another friend and the total number of minutes that I use every month (including the incoming minutes) doesn’t go over 200 mins. Of course, the weekends and weeknights after 9 pm are free. But even during that time, I only talk to my mom. I don’t text message either.

How did people live without cell phones a couple of years back? No wonder they got more work done! These days, you can’t stick to any deadline because of the outpour of e-mails and calls.

 How do I cope with this? Well, I reply to emails ASAP actually. But as for calls go, it depends upon who’s calling me. If it’s work related, I receive the call. If it’s a social calling, I let the voice mail pick it up. After some time, I call back when I feel that it’s safe to do so (totally sure that the party must have gotten over by now)

 P.S. I’m thinking of doing another follow up post analyzing our cell phone behavior.