Let Me Count The Ways

I have what is probably an unhealthy relationship with technology, in that I love and depend on it too much, nerdling that I am.

This dependancy is most apparent when observing me with my phone. First of all- no, I haven't (yet) purchased the iPhone 4. Not because I don't want to, but because I haven't had time to do much of anything except work as of late. Also, while I like tech toys, I don't like to be the guinea pig. Someone else (or a few million someone elses) should test any new technology before I invest in it. I didn't buy an iPhone until a couple years after it had come out, for this very reason. I've already read about a few issues with the newest gadget, so they need to address that before I decide to upgrade.

Honestly, I'll admit it: I will totally be buying a new iPhone at some point. It's become a symbiotic relationship, though I'm getting more and more dependant. I'm like the humans in "WALL-E," totally reliant on machines. There are many reasons that this has come about:

1. On a normal day, I receive upwards of 400 e-mails, including personal and professional. This is not altogether an uncontrollable amount, but it does mean that my phone vibrates at least once every ten minutes from the hours of about 6:00 a.m. to about 2:00 a.m. That, in turn, means that my phone needs to be charged at least once a day to full capacity, but usually twice a day. As the movie I'm working on enters its last three or four months, my e-mails range anywhere from 400 to over a thousand.

My life is well equipped for such things- I have a charger plugged into a wall outlet at home, I have a connecting cable plugged into my laptop at home, I have a charger in my car, and I have another wall charger at work. Any excursion has me reflexively looking at the battery gauge on my phone- will I make it without a quick hit of juice? Will my phone last through the night out on the town? Will my phone die during this two-hour-long meeting? If I have any hesitation, I charge my phone before I go. Anywhere.

2. I no longer use MapQuest or Yahoo maps, because I have a map built into my phone. I can search in my area (or any area) for the nearest bacon factory, shoe store, or pickling plant. Then I can find directions to said location. Nothing to it, and I find that I'm never lost now. Not only do I have directions, I also have a compass. Handy!

3. I haven't taken the time to figure out radio stations here in Albuquerque, so I plug in my phone in the car to listen to whatever I want (I'm currently listening to Mika and the Glee soundtrack, which make for nicely upbeat commutes). My phone also serves as my iPod when I work out (though sometimes my iPod serves as my iPod).

4. I rarely use my computer at home. I use Twitter from my phone. I use Facebook from my phone. I text, I e-mail, I search for books, I surf the web- all from my phone. Why turn on a whole computer when the phone's always on? I suspect that I should never own a Kindle or iPad, seeing how I am with a mere phone.

5. Chase is my bank. Upon moving to Albuquerque, I learned that there are no Chase branches out here. I do all my banking online, which means- you guessed it- I do almost all my banking on my phone.

6. My phone wakes me up in the morning with two alarms (I have a backup, just in case I don't wake up the first time) and helps me go to sleep at night, with a sound machine. The sound machine is timed, so it shuts off after an hour, at which time I am usually asleep.

7. I get all my news on my phone, via CNN and NPR. I get my weather on my phone, so I know what to wear and whether or not I'll need a jacket. It gives me movie showtimes, nearby restaurants, reviews of those restaurants.

8. I am writing this blog post on my phone.


It's kind of a miracle that there was ever a time that I didn't own a smart phone.