Technology and Me and Our Date

I am certainly not technologically shy (she says, typing on the Mac Air her parents and partner gave her for her birthday).  In fact, I believe in acquiring the best one can afford if that technology is actually important (see reference to Mac Air in previous sentence).

So a little while back, I asked the question whether a smart phone was a good idea for someone like me, and when I say "someone like me," I mean "someone who does not really use her cell phone but is a bit of a multitasker."  I wondered whether it'd make me more organized (oh sure), more productive (quite possibly), or just more distracted (exactly what I need).  In the end I couldn't really see why I'd get one, and the ladyfriend has one now so we've met our household quota (total fabrication on my part).

We recently switched cell phone providers (to Bell) because we wanted service in Nova Scotia.  (NOTE:  cell phone service and plans BLOW in Canada; yes, Canada is a second-rate country when it comes to the cost of cell phones; there, I said it.  Second-rate.)  Because I use my phone so infrequently, we went with the pay-as-you-go option, which has turned into a ridiculously expensive endeavor that comes with no accounting from Bell (no, they will not tell you how you somehow used $100 in two months making maybe one call a week - but let's not get sidetracked with that).  Anyway, out of spite (so productive, really), I haven't updated my balance and really have lived cell-phone free for the past month or so.

And it's great!  Not only am I not required to respond to someone immediately (which I feel is one of the understandings of a cell phone), but one can actually interact with real, live people instead.   Here's what I've discovered, and which is really the point of this post:  there's a lot less cancellation if you can't be reached by cell phone.   You make a plan, and then you meet.  It's so old-fashioned, I know.   I'm not immune to cancelling plans (email is my crutch), and things do crop up at the last minute.  In fact, I will update my balance so I'm not stranded on the highway, which is something I never worried about before I had a cell phone (oh, the dark days of communication...).  But I really question the perceived necessity of cell phones.  Maybe if I were a mover and a shaker, (both things I do at various times, but not in an important way), I'd feel differently.