Smartphone users,
It's hard to imagine that I've only had my Moto Droid (original) smart phone for just under a year. Before that, I was still pimping the Verizon Moto Razr which after 3 years could literally only make 2 calls or 10 text messages before the battery would alert that it was near dead (but would make a ding sound for a day before it would actually die). And just forget about accessing email or the internet on the minuscule pixelated screen, let alone pay Verizon for access to their crappy VZW Navigator program.
And I wasn't going to get into the whole phone craze (maybe just a newer, thinner clamshell), but my uncle kindly commented/insulted that my swag didn't quite match my salary. And so began this unholy tethering of myself to a 3.7 touchscreen device.
For a reasonable price of $200 for the phone and $50/month paid out to my parents on or around the first of the month (they comp my minutes, but not my data plan), I get unlimited internet and email pushed to my phone via Google's relatively seamless system. Which would be great if it hasn't turned me into a email-seeking fiend.
The Droid alerts me to my Gmail messages with a windchime-like noise (I couldn't find a decent copy of the Razr default windchime) and a fluorescent green, blinking LED light in the top right corner. The green, blinking LED light also alerts me to weather alerts, alarms, Facebook stuff, and a variety of other things. Sometimes when I don't see that green light for a few hours, I start to get depressed* and wonder why the world ignores me.
But then I just force the world to pay attention by posting random status updates and updating my blog (sorry for the long absence, but I have my reasons). Or I read Ball Don't Lie or poker articles or check stock quotes. All the while waiting for that little green light to turn on to signify that someone in the ether has initiated contact and wants to talk to me. Pretty sad, I know.
Most of the time, it's just Overstock.com or Southwest.com, but it's still nice to know you're appreciated, even if it's just for your money.
So this morning, when I woke up at 4:30AM to take care of bodily functions, I noticed my favorite green, blinking light sitting on the desk. Though I passed it up the first time, I couldn't resist the second time upon returning from the bathroom: it was nowhere in my line of sight, but the temptation of its sitting there waiting for my response was irresistible.
After two random emails and a few minutes of Facebook newsfeed, I was wide awake and lusting for more contact with the outside world even though I only had 6 hours of sleep after being awake for over 24 hours.
In the subsequent 4 hours, I set up my old DSL modem/ wireless router combo only to learn that AT&T has LoJacked their DSL service to possibly only allow their current hardware to work, saw my parents off the work and harassed them for the new hardware that was sent in the mail, set up the new modem/router device, used up a week's worth of 4-letter words when the 'easy to follow instructions' were easy to follow but just didn't work, got the easy to follow instructions to work after a cooling off period, got on the internet using WiFi instead of PDAnet, forgot my password to my email account because I don't type it anymore since I get my email through my phone, used some more 4-letter words, remembered the password, saw that there were no new messages because I had seen them all on my phone, and finally composed a long-winded blog entry.
And now I think I might go back to sleep with the rising sun, which I'm used to since I work nights. But before I do that, I think I must turn my phone face down so the green light can tempt the wooden desk, which has far more staying power than me**.
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*Not really, because that would be sad.
**Ever so subtle double entendre :)
