My Love/Hate Relationship With Technology...

Society today is consumed with technology. One can rarely find an individual who does not have a computer or cell phone. We live in the age of having to be able to reach people on a whim. And I will confess that I also have been sucked into this technology abyss.

Although, I consider myself "technologically challenged", I do own all of the proper equipment. I can remember the day when we had to use pay phones while away from the house during the day (do those even exist any more?). Then, there were the pagers that everyone used for a while, and one had to devise a system to let the receiver know if the page meant it was an emergency or not. Robby and I devised a system where in case of an emergency, I would follow the phone number with "911"...of course, then you still had to find a pay phone to return the call. On the one hand, it has become more convenient now to be able to just pick up a cell phone on a whim and call or text a person to inquire about any mundane thing, such as the score of a ballgame or what's for dinner. However, there are a few things about these "technological tools" that tend to irritate me as well.

First, there is the "ear bud". Yea, you know what I'm talking about. I'll be walking through a store and someone next to me begins talking. It never fails...I look around and I'm the only one there. So, naturally, I think that they are talking to me. Do I know this person? Hmmm...I'm racking my long term memory for some sort of identity factor, when all of a sudden, they turn around and I see that CRAZY THING hanging out of their ear! (ugh...got me again, I think!)

The next "technological irritant", is the cell phone...MINE, in particular. The coverage I get on the road where I live is, how should I put it...NONEXISTENT! Oh yes, the phone will ring (perhaps sometimes and then again sometimes it goes straight to voicemail) and then you can't hear the other person and then..."Beep, Beep, Beep...call lost"; the phone goes dead. OR, if it's a really important call, you grab it quickly and then proceed to run around in the yard (or better yet, the middle of the road) trying to get a signal. Then, of course, there's the phone itself. I'll give you a perfect example of a scenario that just occurred this past week. I woke up, went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and then decided to check my e-mail from my phone. The roller ball would not scroll "up". I removed the battery to reboot the phone...STILL the roller ball would not roll "up". I could hear the sound of voicemails and text messages coming through, but could NOT access them...that darn roller ball would NOT cooperate! I needed to vent; who to vent to? Robby, of course! So, I got on my computer to send him an e-mail (I wanted to "vent", but not really "talk" to him while he was at work). This is the message I sent: "P.S. I HATE this phone! The service is terrible. I just wanted you to know that I'm most likely going to throw it in the middle of the road and then run over it with my car! But, I know that you probably won't read this, because you usually delete my e-mails and don't answer text messages in general. LUV YA, Barbara". The phone rang. Robby said, "Well, I guess you may as well just go get back in bed." "What?" "If your cell phone isn't working, you might as well go get back in bed, because I'm sure you won't be able to function today." HA HA HA! VERY FUNNY...But, he DID actually read my e-mail; that was progress.

I say all of this to make a point. That point is...so what if we are out of touch with people for a while? Years ago, we didn't have access to a phone 24/7 and we made it through life just fine. Really...I've even considered giving my phone and Internet up for a week; going "cold turkey". BUT, alas, I do believe that Robby is right...I would just have to put my jammies back on and go to bed. Because I admit it...I'm a "technology junkie" too!

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