Just last night I had this conversation with my sister:
You knew they still have payphones...didn't you?
Me: Hey, I know you were going to call me but I'm running a little late and won't be home for another half hour or so. I know you had some baby questions, so give me a call a little later, okay?
Sister(sounding genuinely baffled): Where are you calling me from?
Me: Um, the store?
Sister: How are you calling me?
Me: Uuummmm, with a payphone?
Sister(incredulous): They still make those?
Me: Well, technically, no. Actually most people don't even fix the broken ones anymore, and they have to charge you 75 cents every 3-5 minutes on the ones that do work just to break even since no one uses them, but there are a few in existence. I like to use them-it's retro chic.
I was also confronted by our last-cellphoneless-family-on-the-planet status when I went on our hospital tour. During the tour, while describing the amenities of each LDR [that's the Labor, Delivery, and Recovery room just in case you're a guy or haven't had kids yet] the tour master remarked,
"Well that's about it. Except for phones. Every room has one if you want it, but of course no one really uses them since we've been allowing cell phones to be used on the floor for more than 5 years now."
So I-who fully intends to be the "no one" who uses that in room phone-raise my hand and ask,
"Just in case I want to use it, do the phones have long distance or do I need to bring a long distance card?"
The tour guide was positively stumped. We had to ask the nurses on the way out! Are land line phones that archaic? Are cell phones that mandatory? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against cell phones or technology in general. I worked in cellular telecommunication for a little over 3 years and I'd love to have a cell phone (almost as much as I'd love to get a new digital camera) but it's hard for me to financially justify paying $80 per month to have a phone than can only call for 700 "shared" minutes when I can pay $19.95 a month for unlimited calls to US, Canada, Mexico, and Guam (you know, just in case anyone I knew ever moved to Guam or was thrown into Mexican prison).
Still, maybe the time has come to bite the bullet and get one of those cellular contraptions-they're awful convenient, especially when you're pregnant...I guess I'll have to find another way to be a retro hipster.
8 comments:
Do what I do and get a pay as you go phone. I usually on spend $15 a month to add minutes on it. I have Verizon, my husband has Verizon so we can call each other without having to use any minutes. No contracts, no obligations!
Do it dont be scared. Cell phones arent scary unless you start to get calls from outer space.
I suppose you could always get a pre-paid phone to start off with...and before you know it, you'll be on to a Blackberry! LOL!
Oh, and your blog is looking SOOOO cute! I love the cupcakes!
Jen-Hmmm....pay as you go....
Suzy-It's not the cell phones themselves that I find scary...it's the price to minute ratio!
Muthering Heights-I love technology, so I have no doubt that when we eventually get over our cheapness we'll get an awesome phone. It's just painful to get over being so cheap.
And thank you, by the way. I am really loving the new look too...for now =)
Dh and I talk about this all the time. On Sunday we went somewhere and neither of us had our cell phones. We laughed about how this had seemed for a moment to be a terrible emergency. I can see why people want cell phones, they are awesome in an emergency or when you need someone to pick up some milk but I really think we could all survive without one glued to our ear 24/7, thrive even! I hate to see someone talking on the phone in the car-especially if there are kids with them. It is dangerous and it also wastes precious chatting time. Anyway, I'm with you. We have a pay as you go (and the minutes are pricey) so we really don't use ours for more then moments at a time. It works for us. I'm going with retro chic and yay you for holding out this long.
Love the blog-loved the other one too-but you knew that! It makes me crave cupcakes for some reason....
Subliminal messaging-though not very subliminal ha ha ha.
I really do like this design though. I'm thinking I'll keep it and just change the colors for the seasons. That's the plan anyway...
That is funny. We have cellphones, but I wish I could get rid of them to save the $80 a month. However, I use my cellphone way too much. We are always on the go.
My sister and I were talking about this post and she said that her cell is her replacement umbilical cord. LoL.
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