Born Again Virgin

Against all better judgement, I went out today and got a cell phone for use in Canada and (apparently) the U.S. As many of you know, I've been resisting this step for a long time now and have only ever owned a cell phone out of necessity when I was living in Mexico and didn't have a land line coming into my apartment. So for $20 a month (plus tax), I have 200 minutes for incoming and outgoing calls. The only part of cell phone usage that I really liked was text messaging so I'm paying another $3 a month (plus tax) for the privilege of sending text messages to people in Canada and the U.S.

The catalyst was actually my 70-year-old mother who called me one night to tell me that she and her friend, Helen, were "Virgins". They'd been talked into buying cell phones by some guy at the mall. They both drive so a cell phone is probably a good idea (especially in this cold, cold weather). Since I don't drive, what's my excuse? Well, it's pretty difficult to find a working pay phone in this City. Plus I think it costs more than 25 cents now (I remember when it cost a dime!). There are a number of times when I'm out and about when I need to confab with my significant other (he has a Blackberry through his work) so I thought this was the lessor of two evils.

I went with Virgin because it was cheap (around $25 per month, in total); they have no extra charges for the service or 911 (everyone else charges $6.95+ per month for these items) and all the extras (calling waiting, call answer, call forwarding, etc.) are included in the price. Plus, I can manage the account online which means no trying to call real people to get answers to questions about my account. And there's no contract so I can change or cancel it at any time. So wish me luck and if you want to call me, send me an email for my number (which I can't remember right now -- must look in the box when I get home). LOL