My mantra regarding cell phones should be, "Hey buddy, ya wanna buy some pictures of pocket lint?"
I was dragged kicking and screaming into the twentieth century, only to find out we are actually in the twenty-first! While I can remember party-lines and rotary dial phones, I own and use a mobile phone. More often than I care to admit, I hear my mobile phone clicking away, taking pictures of the interior of my pocket after it bumps against something that triggers it – hence the pocket lint photo collection.
My high school daughter has been known to text messages downstairs to mom, rather than stick her head out of her room to communicate directly. I send occasional text messages, but I would rather meet face-to-face or talk on the phone.
For me, the mobile phone is a business tool. I didn't get it to play games, watch movies or send jokes. I've sent exactly one photo with it. My wife needed to know which finials were on the basement curtain rods and she couldn't understand my description. I clicked a photo – sans pocket lint – and sent it to her. Unless I witness a crime (or the curtains get replaced), that may be the last one I send!
However reluctantly I entered this century, I'm adjusting electronically to the new realities. The squealing sound isn't so much me whining as it is mental gears gnashing to make the necessary adjustments.
I've long employed a daily planner, using the month-at-a-glance calendars to log appointments. There are sections with phone numbers I call regularly and notepages for jotting down information from meetings, contact data on people I meet and to-do lists composed as I go through the day.
I'm now in the process of converting all those functions into a newly released fourth generation handheld device. Now, instead of my thick daily planner, I'll have my compact electronic device. My appointments will be displayed, I can program audio alerts and take notes on it.
In addition, I can carry contact data for family, friends, clients and industry resources. (Oh yeah, and my editor-in-chief's number!) I may park my GPS unit for a navigation app on the phone. I can also connect my e-mail account up to the phone, so I can access it when I'm out and about.
