All this technology is supposed to make our lives better.  I use the phone all the time at work.  It definitely saves time when I can call a guy already at Lowe’s and say, “Oh yeah, bring me another 5 lb box of screws too.”  And cell phones are a blessing in emergencies.  A few weeks ago when Dad was going to the hospital with chest pains and a buddy of mine called me before Ma even had a chance to.  It’s not an absolute necessity, but it’s very nice to have a lot of time.

Lately I’ve become all too aware of how frustrated I’ve become with having a cell phone.  It’s nothing personal against anyone I know and I don’t want any of you to have second thoughts about calling me anytime you want.  I’m just getting disenchanted with always being able to be reached out and touched, constantly connected to the whole wired world.

I always consider just getting rid of my phone when I start having problems with it.  I bought a slightly nicer phone than usual last time.  It’s a flip phone with a full color screen.  It plays MP3s and videos.  It does internet, takes pictures and can use a memory card.  The best part was that in places like my apartment where there’s no cell service, it can use the wireless internet signal instead.  That was the major selling point.

It’s given me about a year of decent service.  Most of the time I cause physical damage to a phone long before the circuits are ready to die.  This time it’s going from the inside out.  The hinge and the buttons are like new.  Even most of the paint is still intact.  I can’t say why it’s messing up.  It’s been in the humidity and the dust and the heat and the cold, everywhere I’ve been.  I think that plays a major role in the malfunction of the electronics I own.

A couple weeks ago it stopped wanting to switch from cell service to wifi when I came inside.  I called T-Mobile about the problem and they told me to call them from a different phone.  If I had a phone that worked, why would I have been calling them?  Fast forward to a couple days ago.  It started blinking and the menus and text entry is working slower than usual.  Not good.

I weighed my options and decided against getting a new phone through the insurance plan I was carrying.  Coverage with T-Mobile has never been quite what I needed.  Customer service has always been friendly but never particularly helpful.  The phone only held up half as long as it should have.  That’s enough.  I’m out.

Most everybody I know has gone to Verizon.  The prices are significantly more than the other carriers, but I think I’ve finally proven to myself that when it comes to a cell phone, you get what you pay for.  I was able to get a decent discount through work as well.  Verizon phones seem to have coverage everywhere short of maybe a faraday cage.

What I’m really sold on though is the fact that you can get a phone built to military specifications.  It’s actually certified to be in the dust and sun, dropped, shaken, rained on and submerged in water.  If that doesn’t sound like something I need, I don’t know what does.  The phone is called the Boulder.  You can check it out at casiogzone.com/boulder Mine should be here Tuesday.  If you can’t get in touch with me before then, you know why.  After then, we shouldn’t have any problems.