PUT IT ON VIBRATE,BABY!

Observation of the Day!

Today Steve Jobs and Apple announced the new IPHONE. I have to admit in my blog profile, I claimed to have an IPHONE. I am sorry, but I rushed ahead a little. However, it was my intention to buy one as soon as the new one came out. After much internal debate with myself, I decided to stick with Verizon and re-upped with a new plan and a new phone. I think I made the right decision, even though I think the IPHONE is a little more user friendly, I was happy with the fact that the Verizon phone was over $300 cheaper than the IPHONE. Of course Apple dropped their price on the new 3G to $199, buT I still saved a couple of hundred bucks. I am very happy with my new phone. Calls, messaging, emailing, news, Internet and more. It has it all.

To think that a little over two years ago I was in a quandary about whether to even get a cell phone. The following is a piece I wrote at the time.

January, 2006

Most think of me as an observer, but I also contemplate, ponder and procrastinate.

I have contemplated, pondered and procrastinated for over six years, as whether or not to join the twenty-first century and venture into the world of telephonic mobility. Should I buy a cell phone? What to do? What to do?

I asked my brother, Terry, how he felt about having a cell phone.= He told me it was good to have, but nobody calls. Could it be that he lives in rural Oregon, south of Eugene, and his home is in a dead zone? However, it makes him feel important and cool when it is hanging on his belt, even if nobody calls.

I talked to nearly everybody about a cell phone. I found the younger a person is the more indispensable the cell phone becomes. I know I was in the minority, but I was kind of proud of not being hooked up. Maybe it is my last bastion of individuality.

What to do? What to do?

I still needed convincing. I went to Best Buy to talk to my son, Mark. I had given him six plus years of false starts, and he was sure he would once again not make the sale. I asked him to give me a good reason why I should buy a cell phone.

“You and mom are getting old, and I think you should have a cell phone in case of an emergency. You know, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” I knew he had a good point, but it also kind of pissed me off to have my old age brought into my decision process.

He almost had me convinced to make the giant leap and join the crowd driving big SUVs, drinking Starbuck’s lattes, talking on their cell phones and trying to back out of tiny parking spaces. I was still not sure I wanted to join the enemy.

Mark tried again. He showed me the various bells and whistles of this tiny and powerful instrument. It was when he showed me the vibrating function that I had a convincing fantasy.

I pictured myself walking along with my cell phone in my pocket set on vibrate, when a beautiful young lady approaches.

“Is that a cell phone in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?” she seductively asked.

“It’s a cell phone-------------------------- ---call me-----------------------------------OFTEN!!”

Sign me up, Marky.

Friends, my number is (952) 797-4213, Call me often.

Now in 2008, I find the cell an indispensable item. If I forget and leave my phone at home, I feel naked and alone in the world. To think between my computer and my cell, the world is my oyster. All from my easy chair.

I AM A MAN OF THE 21ST CENTURY!

Have a nice day!

Sam