balexhowe

over the past 11 years many things in my life have changed. i have worked at 19 different places including five different gaps in two states and five different cities, three newspapers including the waco trib, boston globe and atlanta journal constitution, two gas stations, a liquor store, chilis, a hair salon, golfsmith, selling chinese babies, my current job and a few others thrown in there for good measure. i have lived in seven different places, three in waco, two in austin, and one in boston and atlanta. i have had four different vehicles including a ’91 chevy truck, a ’93 k5 blazer, an ’00 tahoe and an ’06 charger. several of my friends have been married and divorced, and of course i have dated a few girls here and there. through all of this change, which is normal by any means, well maybe not all the jobs i have worked, there has been only one thing constant over the past 11 years. my cell phone number.

i can remember when i first got my cell phone. it was one of those real nice big ones that had zero features and boiled down to a huge piece of shit. i was on the lovely at&t network way back when. i have since gone through several and i mean several different phones. my current phone the treo 650 is my fav thus far. even though i don’t use it to all its capabilities.

i was of course switched over to cingular when at&t was bought out and i have had some hefty phone bills before. when i was living in atlanta before companies did away with roaming, i amassed a bill of $1100…over the span of one month. i of course did not know i was roaming the entire time i was there.

now that long distance charges are a thing of the past i guess its not really a big deal when people hold onto to their numbers even as they move from city to city. so even though i live in 512 it will be hard for me to let go of my 254. like they always say, death, taxes, and my cell phone number. some things will never change.

are we living in a modern day wild west frontier and the six shooters that the cowboys once had strapped on their side have now become cell phones? not a day goes by without me having to witness the incredibly ridiculous amount of people with their phones affixed to their hip like they are waiting to be challenged to a dial off. just today i passed a guy on a motorcycle, had his little helmet on and tried to offer his best tough guy demeanor, and there at the red light, he pulls out his motorola razr that was attached at the hip and checks his voicemail. whatever street cred he thought he had…tossed right out the window.

now of course i wasnt around in the days billy the kid and wyatt earp, but i would assume there was some pistol envy back then, just like there is phone envy today. living in the techie community that i do, its easy to see the newest, most outlandish phones. i mean dont get me wrong, i have a bad ass phone, that i paid too much for, but it is where it should be, in my pocket and not on my hip.

and its just not toolbag guys with the phones on the hip. it seems as though the fashion craze, and i use that term loosely, has infected all walks of life. the geeks and dweebs, right on down to the socic’s and greasers. and dont just limit it to the male population, i have seen my fair share of annie oakley wanna-bes walking around with phones at their side.

so join me in mocking these people who are waiting to be challenged in the street to see who is the fastest dial. and if you are one who wears their phone on their hip, put it in your pocket, or purse and please turn the ringer off. and while you are at it, lose the damn bluetooth headsets. the real jesse james and wild bill hickok never had anything in his ear to communicate with others. they probably would have shot someone who appeared to be talking to them self. maybe it wouldnt be such a bad idea to bring some of the wild west back to the modern day.