call me

Alex recently purchased some new phones that are out of my league of technology know-how. There are three handsets along with one base. The base is an answering machine and can also be used as a speaker phone. Each of these handsets can be used like walkie talkies or even baby monitors. You can pick different rings on each phone for different people. Each phone can have it's own phonebook. There's even a headset you can use and pretend to be Judy the Time-Life operator.

All of these fancy units reside in our small two bedroom apartment. So when someone calls, cacophonous digital blips can be heard echoing throughout the apartment, because each phone has a unique sound. These phones did not receive a warm welcome for me because they made me feel stupid. I was also not fond of the big fat manual that came with the phones; I think it is inappropriate to have a text book in order to call your friends.

At first I was scared of the phones and my fear resulted in some displaced anger, but now I'm starting to like the phones and I even feel comfortable looking like a big dork walking around with the headset on. After about a week I faced my fear and finally figured out how to turn down or even shut off the ringers.

The cool thing about having four different phones to use is that means there are four places I can easily see caller ID. I don't have to run to the living room anymore just to see that it's a telemarketer on the line. Now I can just casually turn to closest unit, which is usually an arm's reach away. Sure, I know I could have taken my former cordless phone and put in next to me in whatever room I was in, but then it would have died by the time it got through it's first ring (thus the reason for the new phone purchase).

Tonight it delighted me greatly to just be able to turn my head to the right and decide not to answer that phone call from a caller named Modise Tay. Although with a caller ID like that, it might have been worth the small walk.