Day 106
It is official. There appear to be no more pay phones left in victoria. At least, no more outdoor pay phones. They've all been removed, presumably because lack of use has made operating costs higher than quarter-intake.
Even UVic has removed its payphones, but thankfully has replaced them with a few courtesy phones around campus for the ten or so left of us who don't have cell phones.
I still haven't bought one, in spite of endless apparent pressures. Even an ex of mine, who was my anti-cell-phone partner in crime for a long time has succumed. We were sitting watching a movie and she held it in her hand intently, checking every five minutes and periodically poking out little text messages that I was assured were necessary. The little device was like an addictive magnet; she held to it the way a small child holds on to a stuffed animal, requiring its presence and fearing its absence.
And it is always necessary, I am told. Those with cell phones insist they couldn't get by without them. Am I so different? Am I so tremendously unpopular or something, that I never find myself in need of a mobile telephone? I sure hope not. I'd like to think I'm just more organized than many people when it comes to planning events and meetings. It happens to me constantly: someone will tell me we can meet 'later,' and that they'll phone my cell to say when they're free. I just stop them there, and kindly insist we just get ourselves organized on the spot. Works every time.
And, when people know they can't call me, they are on time much more often. They can't phone me to say they'll be 10, or 20 minutes late, so they just buckle down and get themselves wherever they need to be when they're supposed to be there!
Sometimes I remind myself that people met for things long before telephones, and even before watches. Half a millenium ago in London, everybody just went by Big Ben. And sure, people probably had to wait around more often here and there, but is that really so bad?
Must we always be doing things? Going places? Meeting people? Acting social? We've grown so accustomed to certain norms that we can't just sit home, alone, to think and relax without periodically pondering whether our social lives are suffering as a result.
Even UVic has removed its payphones, but thankfully has replaced them with a few courtesy phones around campus for the ten or so left of us who don't have cell phones.
I still haven't bought one, in spite of endless apparent pressures. Even an ex of mine, who was my anti-cell-phone partner in crime for a long time has succumed. We were sitting watching a movie and she held it in her hand intently, checking every five minutes and periodically poking out little text messages that I was assured were necessary. The little device was like an addictive magnet; she held to it the way a small child holds on to a stuffed animal, requiring its presence and fearing its absence.
And it is always necessary, I am told. Those with cell phones insist they couldn't get by without them. Am I so different? Am I so tremendously unpopular or something, that I never find myself in need of a mobile telephone? I sure hope not. I'd like to think I'm just more organized than many people when it comes to planning events and meetings. It happens to me constantly: someone will tell me we can meet 'later,' and that they'll phone my cell to say when they're free. I just stop them there, and kindly insist we just get ourselves organized on the spot. Works every time.
And, when people know they can't call me, they are on time much more often. They can't phone me to say they'll be 10, or 20 minutes late, so they just buckle down and get themselves wherever they need to be when they're supposed to be there!
Sometimes I remind myself that people met for things long before telephones, and even before watches. Half a millenium ago in London, everybody just went by Big Ben. And sure, people probably had to wait around more often here and there, but is that really so bad?
Must we always be doing things? Going places? Meeting people? Acting social? We've grown so accustomed to certain norms that we can't just sit home, alone, to think and relax without periodically pondering whether our social lives are suffering as a result.
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