TMI Questions: Call Me

"Hello?  How are you?
Have you been all right?
Through all these lonely, lonely nights.
That's what I'd say,
I'd tell you everything,
If you'd pick up that telephone..."
- ('Telephone Line', written by Jeff Lynne)

I bought that 45 RPM record.  It came on green vinyl in a picture sleeve. It forever cemented my love for the guilty pleasure that will always be Electric Light Orchestra. 

It did not, however, endear me to the telephone.  I simply never acquired a desire or taste for hanging on the telephone.   I’d rather see someone in the flesh or write an email/letter.  It could be because I never had anyone to talk to on the phone. 

But my relationship with this particular form of communication has always been dicey at best. 

It’s easy to lose one’s temper when speaking into a piece of plastic.

Cell phones?  It has taken me a long ass time to adapt.  They hold no interest for me.  I’ve never understood why anyone would get excited about the latest version of a given cell phone model. 

That’s changed a bit.

These days, I text some.  Texting and email have become my favorite means of communication, namely because both allow me to self-edit myself.  That saves me a lot of aggravation, as it’s easy to undo the harm caused by a few careless written words.

But I still don’t like to talk on the phone.  Hell, most of the time I don’t answer either my work phone or my cell.  I suppose someday that will bite me in the butt, missing some emergency phone call. 

Fortunately people have adapted and learned about the text thing.

Except my mother.  And, of course…

…I still take all her calls.

TMI QUESTIONS:

Questions designed to reveal Too Much Information

Link:

http://tmiquestions.blogspot.com/

TMI Questions: Call Me

Do you still have a land line?

Just got rid of it last month; in an effort to save money and a lack of need.  I have a feeling land lines are now obsolete.  The only people who ever called were solicitors, pollsters, non-profits looking for donations, or the city to telling me which side of the street to park on.  Thanks to the net, there are better ways to do all that.

I miss rotary dial phones, though.

Yes, I’m a romantic. 

Me, and Joan Crawford.

Which cell phone do you use and why?

Droid 4G. 

It came with the plan I am on and it was free –mainly because I think a newer version came on the market at the time and they had to get rid of these older models.  Still, it was an upgrade from what I was (not) using previously, so it’s new to me.  I have actually embraced it – much more than my previous Droid. 

I liked that little critter ‘Droid’ on my old phone.  He seems to have gone the way of land lines.

Oh, and this phone?

I actually answer it on occasion.

Which provider do you use? Is there really a difference?

I use Verizon.  And I have no idea if there’s a difference or not.  I think the grass is always advertised as greener, but you know what – it’s a damn phone – so I have a feeling they all have the same technology (if not the same coverage), so it comes down to price. 

I think everyone overpays for their phone service.  But, it’s like cable television (something else I recently gave up to save money) and internet service – expensive necessities.  Those companies have us over a barrel and are only too happy to fuck our asses’ silly.

If you call someone and they don't pick up, do you leave a message?

Only if it is important. 

Otherwise, the minute the service picks up, I opt out.  Why bother leaving a rambling, vague message.  I have a friend who does that.  It makes me want to punch him every time I see him.  It’s like… get to the point already, fucker. 

Unfortunately, with him, there rarely is one.

When you have a missed call (with no message), do you call the person back?

No, for the reason cited above.  If it’s important, they will leave a message.  Otherwise, it’s just a time waster. 

I think this is a fairly universal operating procedure. 

Do you text willingly or reluctantly? How are your skills?

I love to text.  Because I don’t actually have to talk to anyone and people tend to be pretty succinct when they text (i.e. not wasting my time). I like it when people get right to the point and having to type on those tiny keys rather encourages that.

My skills are poor.  Stupid fingers.

Has your cell replaced your camera?

Some.  For work, I am more likely to use my phone camera, now. It’s fast and easy, the quality is good enough, and I can instantly email the photos to someone. 

I still have my digital camera in my man bag at all times. 

I’m not sure why.

Selfies....?

I prefer my digital camera for self pics (Selfies? Such an awful word.  It suggests masturbation on an all-new narcissistic level). 

Holding the cell phone away from one’s self is awkward, frustrating as hell, and rarely produces a good pic. 

How many apps do you have? Which is your favorite and why?

Not sure.  I don’t use most of them (lots of google related crap), though I have a navigator app that I swear at a lot while driving.

I am still of the mindset that a phone is for person-to-person communication, not entertainment.   I doubt, due to the size of the device, that will ever change.  I am a comfort seeker and phones (personal communication) make me anything but (lots of anxiety).

Perhaps the device is guilty by association.

I tried. 

But I would never play a game on my phone.  I have no need for the hook-up apps available.  The rest?  Spam and junk, as far as I’m concerned.

What would life be like with no cell/smart phone for one month?

Lonely. 

I text my Field Trip Buddy (now, my boyfriend) every day and sometimes all day long.  We text so much, I had to upgrade to unlimited texting.   And happy (and lucky) to do so. 

Before he came on the scene?  I would have been fine without it.  The only person to text me was my business partner, and those texts almost always concerned something going wrong at one of our rental houses.  Ignorance may result in nasty surprises down the road, but that would be one sweet month.

I bet I would get a lot more done.

Bonus

How much has your cell phone become a part of your sex life?

Hmmm.  I never tried fucking it.  Is there an app for that?

It would seem out of place in the bedroom, but… I’m listening.

Sexting, hookup apps, selfies, video, GPS, more?

Sexting:

Only when flirting with my FTB / boyfriend.

I used to get into it with random strangers, but I’ve never met any of them.  I think they got off on the back and forth and had no intention of meeting up, as meeting face-to-face never came up.  Just as well.  Bullets dodged. 

Hook-up Apps:

Tried four of them, they all sucked.  I deleted everything a few months ago due to lack of need/interest.  I think they are an incredible waste of time and emotional energy, but that is the conclusion I have come to re: all on-line hook up sites/apps. Those of you who see value and enjoy that sort of thing?  More power to you. 

Looking back?  I consider the amount of time I wasted, how frustrating it all was, how hurtful total strangers could be.  That I did not recognize my unhappiness over those many years is rather troublesome, considering I believe I know myself quite well.  Maybe those who are addicted to slot machines develop the same type of blind spot. 

I mean, I kept plugging away at those sites for years waiting for some kind of big pay out. 

And, yes, I hooked-up with a ton of dudes.  But it wasn’t making me happy. Crazed, lustful, greedy, over-stimulated, reckless, and a tad insane?  Oh, yeah, absolutely.

And, yes, I realize that if it wasn’t for those hook-up sites I would probably have never met my current beau. Thankfully, he had higher standards than I did.  He was waiting for quality.

And yes, I realize he may have been sold a bill of goods, but thankfully, he’s a very gentle, forgiving, patient soul. 

Hmmm. 

I guess I might have finally gotten that big pay out after all, huh?

Selfies:

No need for them these days. 

When I did take them, I preferred using my digital camera and transferring them to my cell. Quality control is an important factor when marketing any product.

Video:

Never have, never will. 

Though I thought about filming an entire movie with my phone.  Not sure what that would prove, though.  That tiny, bad quality images can be insufferably long, perhaps?

GPS:

Yes.  And as stated, I yell at it all the time.  My new phone rarely gets me where I need to be, unlike my old phone, which occasionally would get me where I needed to be, stress free.

Ah, yes.  Stress free.  That is the whole point of most of this technology, right?  To make our lives easier?  Unfortunately, it all just seems to bring its own little suitcase of troubles to cope with.

The other morning I was sitting with my Dad who has Alzheimer’s.  My Mom had left her cell phone sitting on the table.  I turned my back for a second and when I turned back, my Dad had taken her cell phone put it in my cup of coffee.

Maybe my Dad has more on the ball than I think.

More:

More?  Really?

As stated previously, playing a game, shopping, watching a movie, watching television, or whatever - on my cell seems like something I would do only if trapped somewhere for a long period of time.  In that event, I doubt I would have a phone charger with me, so I would save my battery for something that actually matters. 

What I have discovered? As technology continues to find new means of entertaining us, our imaginations die.  Living a life where we are spoon-fed images, stories, ideas, information, and news by these devices causes other abilities that we have to suffer greatly. 

When I think of my sexual fantasy life back in my teens and how potent that stuff was, I realize how spoiled my senses are these days.  I’ve become desensitized to so much. 

More and more, I find myself pulling the plug.

Good-bye cable.  Good-bye internet porn.  Good-bye hook-up sites. 

I’m doing this in the hopes of regaining some of that tingle that used to make my days and nights electric.  I think people move from the city to the country for the same reason; to remove themselves from the technological onslaught. 

Pretty rich, for a dude who blogs on occasion, huh?

Well, I’m not going to give up everything.

“Well, okay.

So, no one’s answering.
Well can't you just let it ring a little longer?
I’ll just sit tight,

Through the shadows of the night,

Let it ring for evermore…”