Disconnected

Well, it is official. As of today, I no longer have a working cell phone. The service on my phone has expired. I am officially disconnected.

What happens when I'm in the car and need to call Dave for directions?
What happens when I need to make a long distance call?
What happens when I'm at the grocery store and can't remember the ingredients in my mom's granola?
What happens when Dave and I get separated in Home Depot and I can't find him?

I feel so 1990 (probably similar to how Sara feels with her Rachel haircut.)

How did I get here you may wonder? Well it all began with a boy and a dream.

Dave likes electronic toys. When we first got married he really wanted an i-pod. i-pod i-pod i-pod. But $400? It seemed so excessive especially when talk radio was his go to form of entertainment. So I stalled. "Maybe for your a Christmas gift!" "Maybe when they release the next generation i-pod with more storage." One day my stalling lost all power. They had just released the video i-pod and he wanted one, very badly. He was heading to the store that weekend when luck struck. My work awarded me a video i-pod for a successfully completed project. So Dave commandeered my engraved I-pod ("Thanks Carrie") and I was free from Apple purchase pressure for several years.

Then came the i-phone.

Dave started talking about the i-phone a full year ago. i-phone i-phone i-phone. The worst part was he literally used my i-pod everyday, for at least 3 hours a day...so I couldn't really point to it as an example of waste. I knew there was an i-phone in our future. Sometime in September I casually mentioned that an i-phone might make a nice 2008 Christmas/birthday gift. He was thrilled!

Then the set back.

Neither of us had any idea that the monthly expenses to maintain an i-phone were nothing short of highway robbery. More than double our current cell phone bill? What a rip off! I could see pain and defeat in Dave's eyes. He knew the i-phone was dying a slow and painful death. But Dave isn't one to give up easily. So for the next 24 hours I fielded the following ideas from Dave:

You don't really use your cell phone. The individual plan is only slightly more expensive than our current family plan. Let's just cancel your phone and then I can get an i-phone.
No?
Ok then, well maybe we could get you on my parent's cell phone plan. That would only be an extra $10 a month. I'm sure they would be happy to have you. You are so fun to be around you know. You just can't make too many calls because they don't have that many minutes...and you can't send text messages...or not very many anyway...
No?
I know it is more expensive, but I need to be more professional. And a lot of being perceived as professional by your work peers is associated with image. If I have an i-phone, I will appear more experienced and qualified at work.
No?
It is so obvious! I just need to get a new job. There are tons of companies that pay for cell phones. If they won't pay for the entire bill, I'm sure they would be willing to subsidize it. I wonder how I can figure out what companies pay for cell phones
No?
Ok scratch that. I'm the financial clerk at church. Just think how much more effective I would be if I had an i-phone. I could save the church leaders tons of time an money! Surly they could send $50 a month my way? Or maybe we could just deduct it from our tithing bill?
No?
Hey Carrie, come check this out! Post office workers get 25% off AT&T bills! Do we know anyone who works for the post office? Have you ever talked to our guy? Maybe they have a part time gig?

Do you see where this is going? The poor guy wanted it so bad - how could I say no?

So Dave got an i-phone and cancelled our family plan. He found a 10% discount associated with the Air-force (a bit of a stretch...but he does consult with the Air-force) and I was going to join Dave's brother's family plan. Even as I type this I feel ridiculous. So I had 30 days to pick a new phone. Guess who hasn't done that yet?

The best part is 3 days after Dave bought his i-phone we were at lunch with some of my co-workers. Dave pulled out his i-phone and my co-worker said "Oh cool, are you using the 21% discount AT&T gives Avaya employees?." I thought Dave was going to kill me. Can you imagine if he had gotten a night job at the post office? How was I to know? I mean really - who ever reads those mass emails they send to everyone?

So I don't have a cell phone. Which is a real shame. Because the best way to get Dave's attention these days, even when he is sitting right next to me, is to call his i-phone. But the good news is, he loves it. I think he would sleep with it if I let him.