After arriving at work, dropping my unnecessarily heavy bags in agony, shedding my coat, and booting up my laptop, I routinely reach into my purse...when suddenly my anxiety kicks in...as my hand is frantically raping the interior of my bag, I realize its not in there. No, I didn't forget some magic pill that if not taken will most certainly result in my instantaneous death.
Nope, my anxiety is the result of the following: I forgot my cell phone!!
Augghh! The angst is almost crippling. Panic mode has set in. How could I have forgotten my cell phone this morning? Did I just leave it at home or did I lose it? What am I going to do? What if something terrible happens and no one can get a hold of me? How am I going to survive the next eight hours with no contact from the outside world? How can I possibly go on living without it?
Okay, so maybe that's just a little bit over dramatic, but I'm assuming you guys actually know the exact feeling I'm describing? If not, then good for you...you haven't yet been sucked into this crazy world of technological addictions like the rest of mankind has. Run away while you still can, I beg you.
But for real though, since when did a tiny little cellular phone become the center of my existence? Since when did not having my phone result in a full-out panic attack based on my complete insecurity without it? I mean, wasn't it just like 10 years ago when cell phones were pretty much non existent? Only the super rich, holier-than-thou had one. And quite frankly, those Zack Morris type ones were so huge that I think you needed help from NASA to get them to work. But now, just a measly 10 years later and look how much has changed...so insane to think about it!
I often wonder how we
ever functioned in this world without one.
Just the other night, for example, after church my friends and I decided to go to the mall and catch a movie. We took two separate cars, and since we both knew where we were going we didn't see the need in following each other (in hindsight, big mistake there). Yet on the short ride over to the theater I realized my cell phone was dead. I mean completely out of juice...Couldn't even power it on to get my girls number out. Which, although I talk to her every single day of my life, I of course do not actually know!
So anyways, after standing around for about 15 minutes, sure we would never find them, sure our movie night had been ruined by my technological misfortune, there we see them walking around in anger at the other end of the food court. Upon recognition we ran at each other like a soldier and his wife who haven't seen each other in years...us so elated we found them, and them so angry that they hadn't been able to get ahold of us.
Wow, what a pathetic story. Really, not having our cell phones or not having enough battery and suddenly our whole worlds are turned upside down? How did it get to this point? And how can we make it go away?
Quote of the day: "I'm picturing myself sitting at Starbucks - where I'd normally be on my cell phone - and I'll have to talk to strangers. Who knows where that will lead?" ~Comedian Amy Borkowsky, on preparing to ditch her cell phone for 2 months
Well I'll be darn... Its my lucky day :)
