Imagine this:
You're out to dinner at a somewhat decent dining establishment (think TGI Friday's or Max and Erma's). A phone rings. The man next to you has set his cell phone to a deafeningly loud ring tone that makes it sound like an old obnoxious rotary phone on steroids. He reaches for it (of course it's on his belt loop like he's a tech savvy Clint Eastwood), looks at the phone to check the caller ID (will he EVER turn off that horrendous ring tone?), looks around to make sure everyone in this establishment has seen him with his "fantastic" piece of technology (ok, we get it, but that cell phone is SO last season), and finally answers it (as though his booming voice is any better than the ear shattering ring tone). The caller obviously asks him what he's doing because he goes into a detailed explanation of who he is with, what restaurant they are in, the temperature of the room, the temperature of the food, the possibility of dessert, the number of calories in the chicken, the number of green beans on his plate, and the hair he just found in his mashed potatoes.
You lose your appetite.
And so do I. Because this man is my father.
I think I'm a cell phone cynic. My dad LOVES to show off his important piece of technology, he always has. (No, seriously, Dad, cell phones are pretty common now. You're not that big of a deal anymore. Suck it up.) But my cell phone is a little beaten up and will soon be requiring duct tape. Is this why I don't always have it with me and refuse to answer it in most social situations? Maybe, but it is probably because I hate when people can eavesdrop on me. And I hate hate hate people on the phone in public spaces. Other people's private conversations make me really awkward... and Lord knows no one is going to hear my conversations!
Does this make me a cell phone prude? Probably, but what is proper cell phone etiquette? It's such a new device that social rules regarding it have not yet been established. This means I'm probably going to have to suffer at least a decade of more awkwardness before we can work out the kinks as a society. Or maybe I'll just have to suck it up and this will become the norm. (Oh, I hope not...) But if Tech God hands a Tech Prophet a set of Cell Phone Commandments, give me a call. I probably won't answer, but leave a message after the annoying tone.
I guess I'll just move to Brooklyn and turn down that date with Orlando Bloom.
2 comments:
Although I probably do have an obnoxious ring tone, (I'm sure the Fox NFL theme song gets kind of old in our apartment), I would have to say I agree with your irritation toward your father and his cell phone.
I will also admit that I can get kind of loud on my phone, but I am nothing compared to the thunderous roar of my mother on hers. I swear she thinks that the farther away from her phone partner is, the louder she needs to be. There have been times where we will leave my mother at the restaurant table, in a random grocery store isle, or at a store in the mall to go drown ourselves from embarrassment in the nearest sink we can find. I can deal with her "Bear Down Chicago Bears" ring tone, but for Pete's sake, stop screaming.
haha...i can totally empathize! My mom yells into the phone and sometimes even removes it from her ear and just puts the talking part right by her mouth so the caller on the other end can 'hear better'. Although ringtones can be obnoxious (I am the first to admit I spend way more time that neccessary planning who gets what ringtone), I think the tone and volume of people's voices can be overwhelmingly annoying in a public sphere!
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