Cell Phone Rules

A few months ago I joined the world of cell phone users -- American cell phone users, that is. I had a cell phone in Romania, but there the cell phone rules were different. There people pay to make calls, not to receive them. If you couldn't afford to make a call, you "beep" someone (let it ring once and then hang up), and they'd call you back, thus paying for the call. Of course, here there are some great things about cell phones, too, like the fact that I can call other Verizon users for free anytime. (In fact, I rarely talk to anyone except Verizon users. unless it's on weekends, which are also free.)

So, for 3 years, I did without a cell phone. I'd been told, "Once you have a cell phone, you'll wonder how you lived without one." Well, I have one, and although I sometimes feel lost when I forget it (mainly because of the clock on it), I don't allow it to control my life.

You see, here's my philosophy of phones, especially cell phones:

Phones were meant to be a tool, not to order our lives. I've found that people who own cell phones want their friends to have cell phones so they can reach those friends whenever, wherever they want. "I wonder why they're not picking up." Well, maybe because they are doing something and aren't going to jump every time the phone rings.

My phone has the option for silencing the ringer. If I am in a meeting, I don't want to be interrupted by my cell phone. My voice mail message doesn't say, "Sorry I missed your call" because I'm probably not. I probably have my phone turned off (or at least silenced) because I'm in class, in church, or someplace else where I would be even more sorry if the phone rang.

I do not talk on the phone while driving. It really should be illegal. In fact, most times I will silence my phone when I'm driving. It is just too difficult to have one hand on the steering wheel, one hand changing gears, and the other hand holding the cell phone.

My voice mail message also has my name on it. It's nice to let people know who they're calling. You'd think this would deter people who have a wrong number from leaving a message. It doesn't.

Call waiting -- if I'm talking to one person, I don't want to talk to another. I'll finish my conversation with the first person. If the second person leaves a message, I'll call them back as soon as I can.

So, if you call, and I answer, don't ask if it's a bad time. I answered the phone, which means it's a good time to chat (and if you're using Verizon, we can chat for a long time!).