Mark Pilgrim has this great quote:
these days [dive into mark]
when i finally broke down last year and got a cell phone (which, incidentally, *is* one of the things i can no longer live without), the salesman made a big deal about the different ring tones. i asked "is there one that sounds like a phone ringing?" he assured me there was, then went behind the counter and rolled his eyes when he thought i wasn't looking
I resisted getting a cell phone for years. I actually didn't get one until just before my wedding. Amber was on her way to Albany, Ga for one of her bridal showers. It was a Friday afternoon, about 5, and I was planning to go to a book store, maybe catch a movie, just basically goof off for a few hours that evening. I was just about to leave the office when my desk phone rang; it was Amber. She had a flat tire just outside of Metter (about an hour away).
On the way out there to get her car back on the road (there was no way she could drive either to Albany or back to Savannah on the little flimsy spare) it occurred to me that, if she had called 2 minutes later she would have been unable to get in touch with me for several hours at least. When I arrived at her car on the side of the highway the first thing I said to her after making sure she was OK was, "When you get back home, go ahead and get us a couple of cell phones." To this day, the main reason I carry one is so Amber can get in touch with me.
But these ring tones... they drive me nuts. And why is it that people get these expensive phones, then leave them sitting on their desk and walk away? And why is it that people who do this always have the volume set LOUD ENOUGH TO WAKE THE DEAD?
So I understand what Mark is saying. I don't have the phone because it's a fashion accessory; I have it so certain folks -- my wife, my family, close friends, church members -- can get in touch with me. I don't want it to play songs, I want it to ring. I don't want it to make random beeps and boops; I took a lot of time figuring out how to turn most of that crap off... now my phone only makes noise if someone is calling me.
And -- believe it or not -- I don't always want to be reached. This is the main reason I resisted getting a cell phone in the first place. People would "but then people can always call you!" Yeah, well, that sounds like the outer rings of hell to me. And those rings probably sound like a bad MIDI version of Beethoven's 5th or something.
While I'm in rant mode... the one feature I can't stand on any phone is callwaiting. Is this not the rudest invention ever? You're talking to someone and there's this beep and suddenly the person is telling you, in some form or fashion, "Hold on a sec, this may be someone more important than you." I think I'm going to adapt the attitude of one of my uncles, who refuses to be placed on hold. Even if it's his boss: "Can you hold for a second?" "No, I'm busy. Call me back."
It shouldn't be that difficult, you know, to keep in touch with people. Just regular rings, talking to one person at a time, etc... how boring am I?