Call Me (Not)

Call Me (Not)

It is a luxury not to have a cell phone.

This morning I, once again, was on the brink of resigning to the pecking voice in my head that has beleaguered me for ages with “You must get a cell phone, You must get cell phone.”

When, literally a moment after I publicly declared to The Dom that I was (highly)-likely going to get one, I ran into my colleague who was receiving a call from our boss on her cell phone. She rolled her eyes and furrowed her brow lamenting, “He’s calling me…”

Immediately, I did a flip-flop, for I was convinced once again, that I must NOT get one.

Because if I get one, others get me. I’ll have to agree to acquiescing to the pressure of taking others’ calls, of being contacted at odd hours of the night, of being hounded by people who want things from me –

sometimes it’s a commitment
sometimes its simply to talk
sometimes its just time

Most of the time it is all rather innocuous, but even the most harmless demands hurt if they usurp your most precious resource—time.

I understand the risks.

I understand that people get frustrated when they try to reach me and they can’t. I understand that people get perturbed because they have a hundred different other numbers to try and reach me by (and yet, they still can’t). I understand that eventually some of my friends might decide to just give up. Thank god none of them have…yet.

I understand that I could just as easily “turn it off,” and return calls at my convenience. I understand that many people I know also resisted for the longest time, and now they “can’t live without it.” I understand how useful it can be in an emergency and how women in particular justifiably feel (and are) safer with one, especially in the city, especially since men are innately predators (some of just have learned to repress the otherwise prodding urges, saintly mothers and the fear of “God” are made for that you know).

And, I understand how cost-effective and convenient a cell-phone can be, in the end.

Alas, ultimately, I also understand that the toll upon my sanity would be much costlier.

It has been years that I haven’t had a standard cell phone. In fact I’ve never really had one. Life is easier that way—less pressure and less stress lead to more time and more control. There are simply too many things to do, to accomplish, to experience. Thus, time spent wisely, might otherwise be wasted, if I had a wireless tether to the world.

Thank God the boss called. What perfect timing.