Hello...Hello....?!

My Blackberry phone stopped working the other day. I tried numerous things to get it to work and I even talked to one of those techie type people who are paid to help those of us who are less technically inclined work through our cyber troubles and the end result was the same... it's broken. While I did some initial research into what my options are - do I get it fixed? or do I just replace it? - I didn't actually do either simply because it was Friday of the Labor Day week-end and I just didn't want to spend the time or energy on it. After all, it's only a cell phone, it could wait until Tuesday....couldn't it?

Now, I'm not one of those people who is always on their cell phone. Nor do I constantly check my e-mail on it. That being said, I will admit I have become very accustomed to having a working cell phone since I've been carrying one around for about 15 years now. So, I figured since I'm not a cell phone addict, I didn't need to replace it immediately, I could easily make it through the holiday week-end without a phone. So I thought.

I was travelling over the Labor Day week-end and ended up running late AND I made a wrong turn and had troubles figuring out where I was supposed to be. Normally I would have just called and asked for directions, but alas, no phone...so on I drove backtracking and trying to figure out where I was and where/how I missed the street I was supposed to turn on to. Now, it's not often that I get lost as I always map out directions on how to get where I'm going, yet on this trip street signs were missing and I ended up in unfamiliar territory and no one around to ask. What was even stranger, the street I was on had the same name as the street I was supposed to be on...but it wasn't the right street...it was in the wrong neighbourhood.

I did eventually reach my destination, almost an hour later than expected, but at least I did find it. What I also found out was how much I have come to rely on having a cell phone when I travelled and how I have come to just take it for granted that it's there when and if I need it. It was a strange and slightly unsettling feeling not to be able to call a friend for help or directions when there was no one around on the street to ask. Even a phone booth (if I could find one) would have been of no help because I had failed to write down my friend's new phone number because I keep all my phone numbers in my Blackberry.

So, tomorrow morning I'm off to get a new cell phone because while I may not be a cell phone addict, I have realized that having one provides me with a sense of comfort/security that I didn't realize until now.