Connectivity Part Deux!

I want an iphone!!!!
I have wanted an iphone since it came out last June. It is the coolest little gadget to hit the market since...well...since the ipod. If you haven't seen it, played with it, held it, you are probably just like me....CANADIAN!!!! You see, by virtue of my Nanook of the north birthright and residency, the powers that be will not allow me to purchase an iphone, at least not legally. So, being the righteous and morally upright individual that I am, I have not purchased an iphone, even though my cell contract was due and I had the purchase price burning a hole on my VISA card. The ways and means of the CRTC and the monopolies that are our telecommunications industry is a whole series of blog items for another day. (or month!) Given that the iphone was not an option, the husband and I went searching for the latest upgrades to our handsfree world. (Please- all minds out of the gutter-let's focus on the prize!) I have never really thought of myself as a toy person. (iphone envy excepted) My feelings about gadgetry are entirely consistent with my feelings about my car, that being when I turn it on, I expect it to run and function flawlessly. I do not care how it works, why it work, what works with it or what the problems are. Just do the job for me and we will get along famously. Now, don't get me wrong, I love technology and all the conveniences that it provides, but I do not and never have required the latest, greatest or the slickest. Except for my cellphone! (As an aside- the husband IS a toy guy. He is positively drooling over that newest MACBOOK Air. You know the commercial with the computer so thin that it fits into a manila envelope? Well, the husband and his Y chromosome gene pool practically develop hives every time it airs!) It constantly amazes me how dependent I have become on my cellphone. And it is not just me-it is EVERYBODY! Twenty years ago, the husband was the object of much ridicule when he installed one of the earliest mobile phones into his car. (I told you-he is a gadget guy!) Today, one cannot go anywhere without their own personal lifeline. Yesterday, as I was visiting my parents, Mom and Dad had 4 separate phone conversations going at once. 2 landlines were constantly ringing as were 2 individual cellphones. The most annoying part was that not a single ringtone was a classic phone! There was "Take me out to the Ball Game", some Bach ditty, and a couple of electronic numbers that truly ask the question "Is this music?" During the winter months, I travel back and forth to the land of sanity with some regularity and I often travel unaccompanied. Several weeks ago, as I sat in the departure lounge awaiting my most recent return to the land of grey, I realized that I could not focus on the book that I had with me. Why? Because all around me, in an absolutely jam-packed airport, every single person was have a personal cellphone conversation. I learned about cruises just finished and children's viruses. I heard stories of business deals gone wrong and school papers yet to be completed. I learned that body building and serious weight training has really changed since the whole steroid issue and I learned that the Maple Leafs really suck (as if I needed more verification) and that Fletcher and the boys really blew the trade deadline. What happened to personal space and privacy? When I make a cellphone call, I search out a corner, a hovel a crawl space. Who cares about my personal business? I don't care about yours. Why should I be subject to your calls everywhere I go? The world has become a constant din of conversation and none of it is with the people sitting next to you! That is not to say that I believe we should relinquish our phones. They are truly and godsend and I love mine with a true and faithful heart. It is a safety device, a business tool, a datebook and phonebook. It can e-mail and take photos and video. It is my alarm clock and it can by a music portal. When they figure out how to make dinner, believe me I will be first in line. It is small and portable and it makes me feel safe. I have spent more time discussing other people's cell plans than I have politics. I know about shared minutes and roaming and family plans and text messages. I understand about favourite 5s and bundles. I am a veritable font of cellular knowledge. I even had a conversation about our plan at synagogue a few weeks back. Everyone is into it and everyone knows it. It has become a life imperative like our cars and televisions. I even know many who have forsaken their landlines all together in favour of their cells. As for me, well I have become the proud owner of a brand new ruby-red Blackberry Pearl. It is a lovely little gadget with all of the amenities required. But, you know what? I still want an iphone!