A new millenium

We have officially cut the cord. Well, not yet, but by the end of the month our home will be free of traditional phone service. Ereck and I have brand new Nokia cell phones, and I can't resist telling you that my number spells NOW GLIB. How appropriate.

This feels weird and exciting. Can we live without a real phone? Will our opinions never be tabulated in presidential tracking polls? Why do I have to pay extra to have "Hot in Herre" as my ring tone?

Having made a series of fairly major consumer choices in the last couple of days--cell provider, phones, plan, plus cable TV and cable Internet--I can't help but worry whether we're getting screwed. I particularly fret that our cell plan doesn't have enough minutes, but we have a little bit of time to decide. Also, as Ereck knows, I research these sorts of things obsessively, so I feel reasonably confident that if we're getting screwed, then at least so is everybody else.

Our experience buying the phones at the East Towne US Cellular went smoothly. The woman who helped us seemed generally troubled by life but otherwise perfectly gracious and knowledgeable, and Ereck and I agreed that we had done well to randomly end up with her and not one of those type-A sales guys milling about.