land-line ahoy! (part 1)

The past 3 years I’ve managed without a landline. For the youngins wondering what that term refers to, a land-line was an archaic piece of copper wire that connected a “telephone poll” to your physical building with the help of a telecom for a nominal fee a month. Imagine a cellphone, but for your house. Cool? NO. It sat at the same location on the table or wall for it’s entire existence. Although it didn’t use batteries, it died when the power went out. Cordless varieties could be taken a couple rooms from the base, but then suffered from the most ridiculous static and interference sounds. Take it into your backyard or further, and you’d think you were making a long distance call to Pluto. Yet, it cost as much if not more than a cell phone.

So my generation unanimously decided that cell phones were all that we needed to live. more reliable, more flexible, and often cheaper.

But this is all about to change.

I distinctly remember when cell phones were a luxury accessory. Those who could afford them would parade the car battery-sized behemoths down the street. At least once I spotted some doofus on Poydras Street shouting into his phone when it was quite obviously off. It was so much of a status thing that people with “personal” cell phones would get secondary car phones. Like… I’ve got this phone that never leaves my side, but should you want to reach me while i’m driving, try another number that I’m paying through the nose for.

So it makes sense my generation has said no to the Bells and AT&T’s of the world. I use my cell phone for everything, email, phone, personal, business, calendar, notes. Why get a second more feeble service that only reaches me when I happen to be at home? this is big guys, you ready? because you don’t want people to be able to reach you every hour of your day.

My dad is going to read this feeling smug. “I always said this was going to be the problem with those damn cellulars.” While my father can’t reason taking the cell phone out of the house with him (”why would I need it?”), I enjoy having it on me at all times. I’ve just found the need to seperate my personal life from my business contacts. When a band member who has been on the road for 2 weeks calls me at 2am asking me to update his shows page my first reaction is “hey, client, no prob.” then I look at the clock and hate my life and hate them a little more. Scratch hating my life. Someone’s invoice just got some overtime hours on it.

But really, every business person should have two phone numbers. A distinction between work and and unavailable time.

So did Eli run out and get a landline? No! I did one better and in the process came up with a killer start-up idea.

Continue to Land-line ahoy! (part 2).