Cell out

That's what I feel like, because I recently got a cell phone.

Yes, it's true. Dan pointed out that such a device will be incredibly useful when we're in Boston in September, particularly because we may not be together all the time. We picked it out last week, and I've been carrying it around, feeling like the most trend-following, sellout corporate tool imaginable. I've also been manic about making sure the ringer is off during inappropriate periods (movies, at restaurants). I may not keep the damned thing, but I've got it. However, I pledge to follow these rules of cell phone etiquette:

- The person in front of me is more important than the person on the phone. When out with a friend, I will answer my cell phone only if the need is pressing, and after excusing myself for doing so. When I go out with friends it's because I want their company, not to answer the damned phone.

- Keep it quiet. Nobody wants to hear my phone ring, nor do they want to hear the intimacies of my conversations on it. I will make certain the ringer is just loud enough for me to hear it, and I will only conduct conversations in the most private nook or corner available.

- The phone is my slave, not the other way around. Just because I sometimes carry a phone with me does not mean I must always heed its call, and I will not bend to the expectations of others who feel differently. I got through 34 years of life without being on call 24-7, thank you very much, and that qualifies me to ignore the phone whenever I damn well please.

I still feel trendy, but in a principled way.