Techie Geek, I Am Not

For the longest time the question was "Tracey, why don't you have a cell phone?" usually uttered after I had gotten lost on the way to a function and couldn't call for directions.

You see, I had resisted. Yes, I, Social Media Loving Tracey had resisted getting a cell phone. I had owned a cheapo one a few years ago, and it was fine for the purposes served but it was a pain to text and I couldn't go online. So, basically? Just a phone, and we stopped paying for it so I stopped using it. Life went on and it was lovely to be disconnected from the world once I walked out the front door.

A few months ago, Patrick came home with a middle of the road pay as you go phone from Cricket/Samsung for me. It is remarkably easier to text/tweet but still has limitations on what I can easily access online. So I don't USE it to go online. It's basically just a phone but with Twitter capabilities. I have grudgingly adjusted to having my pocket vibrate every hour with burning questions from the kids. Yesterday the "emergency" questions that needed to be asked of me while at the Chicago Food Swap were "Can I have a popsicle?" and a whining "Tell Evan it's MYYYY TURRRRN on the XBOX!!" Money well spent.

A few weeks ago, I won a beautiful and slender smart phone from T-Mobile at an event that Kris Cain organized. And I have not gotten a plan yet or turned it on...

I am afraid.

I am afraid of the brain-sucking pull it will have on me. I am afraid of the time I will undoubtedly devote to this new toy as I figure out the tricks of navigating the internet via a touch screen (don't even get me started on my touch-screen disability...). And I am afraid of one thing most of all....

For when you have a cell phone; people can reach you. All. The. Time.

Did I say that loudly enough?

I AM REACHABLE 24/7 NOW.

Have I mentioned that I like not being reachable? That I kinda like to just go for a walk and, well, WALK? Without that buzz buzz in my pocket that pulls me back to the connections and responsibilities that I have? For some people (especially NOWadays) being without their cell phone feels like they are missing an important appendage. For me? I feel FREE.

So what will I do when I have a very expensive and very lovely phone in my pocket instead of my cheap and Average-looking phone? What will I do when not only the phone calls come in but also the Facebook updates, emails, tweets, and those funky Apps that will beckon me into the Internet when all I SHOULD be doing is walking the dog and interacting with MY OWN BRAIN??

And so the fancy phone remains on my counter. I'm sure it's confused and lonely; unable to perform the duties it was born to perform. I'd like to reassure it that it WILL be turned on one day soon. You'll know when that day arrives for I will surely be absent from blogging for a while...