The back story

First, a little background story. I got my first cell phone in 1999 or so. I kept it for several years, but decided to let it go around 2003. I found I was always accessible at work or at home, so I didn’t need it. The office where I worked called me constantly when I was home, so if by rare chance, I did make it out to do something fun, I was glad I didn’t get calls from them then. Don’t get me wrong, I was always glad to help, but this was my way to balance it all. Fast forward to 2005, when Graham and I moved to Tennessee again, and he started working for Verizon… suddenly we had cell phones. Imagine that. Because I started a new role, and traveled like crazy, my company started covering the cost for mine. Beautiful. I only used it for work anyway. They told me to get a Blackberry. They didn’t say when, so I just kept putting it off.

When I moved back to Florida in 2006, my boss realized I still didn’t have that Blackberry. No more avoiding it – I got one, although quite reluctantly. Travel, teaching, and speaking at meetings dominated my time, so it helped me avoid falling behind on work and emails (answering support questions was a big part of my job then). The BB and I became one. I relied on it for task reminders, appointment reminders, and just about everything imaginable.

Then in late 2009, I took a new role and moved to Chicago for a position that supposedly requires little if any, travel. (It’s only May, and I’ve attended 5 conferences.) It was decided that I probably no longer needed the Blackberry for work anymore, so after brief, inconclusive conversation about it a few months ago – where I explained how I rely on it heavily in my new role with demands from leaders and other departments, I never heard anything more, but this week I found out it was no longer covered. Oops, didn’t have a chance to plan proactively for that change. Truly, I’m not upset about it. I’m actually quite excited about not being “on” constantly. Answer emails only during regular office hours, really?! OK! Don’t worry about logging in to fix an issue with a document or course or page as I’m eating dinner?! OK!

Let’s see how this goes. I just called to drop my data plan. AT&T said no. I had a Blackberry, so I had to have a data plan. Argh. I found an old crummy phone, switched my SIM card, called back, and dropped the data. I also cut my minutes in half. Each month, we have about 600+ minutes that go into the rollover balance, and that many expire each month too since they only roll for 12 months. With over 6000 minutes in that bucket, cutting the minutes in half seems logical. Oh, but if you cut your rate plan, you cap out at the equivalent number of minutes, so in my case, keep only 700. Um, no. I convinced the guy to let me keep them. Feeling better about this.