Phoneless in the Big City

[Mike Temporale]

Back in January of this year, we posted a story (http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7409) about how our good friend Arne Hess over at the::unwired had forgotten his phone at home. Well, it's taken a while, but it appears today is my turn. In the rush out of the house this morning, I managed to grab everything that matters, except my cellphone. I realized just as I was parking the car at the train station. :( My first thought was to call my wife and ask if she could bring it downtown with her. Of course, I have no phone to make that call. I did manage to find a pay phone in the train station, but as my luck would have it, the phone was Out Of Service. :cry:

I've made it to work, and by now my wife has left home. No doubt, my phone is still sitting on the coffee table waiting for someone pick it up and hold it tight. Not today, my friend. It looks like I'll be going solo. :wink:

[nskgti]

Dear god, I pray that you make it through the day...

In all honesty, there is no way I could finish a day without my phone or my blackberry. Since I don't have an office or home phone and rely on my corp email (which is delivered to both via BES or Goodlink) I would be completely cut off from the world.

Good luck....

[Ed Hansberry]

I'd be distracted all day. I might be inclined to return home and just work from there depending on what was going on at the office.

[Mike Temporale]

In all honesty, there is no way I could finish a day without my phone or my blackberry. Since I don't have an office or home phone and rely on my corp email (which is delivered to both via BES or Goodlink) I would be completely cut off from the world.

Well, I'm kind of in the same boat. I can access email from any web-enabled computer - thankfully. However, the phone at my desk isn't my phone. I'm a consultant, and I usually end up sitting in whatever empty desk is available on that day. So, out-going calls are fine, but incoming just won't happen. :(

[Mike Temporale]

I'd be distracted all day. I might be inclined to return home and just work from there depending on what was going on at the office.

I thought of that too, but I really needed to put some face time in today. I am thinking of leaving early. Although, it's kind of stupid considering I would have made it most of the day. Leaving a couple hours early really won't change things. :?

[Jason Dunn]

A few weeks ago my phone was completely dead - I had forgotten to charge it - so I left it at home on purposes to charge. It's a very strange feeling not having that line of communication. I had no ability to call or be called, no idea what my schedule was, no contact information for anyone. About all I have in my memory is my home phone number. So it's kind of like having amnesia. :lol:

[Jerry Raia]

I would declare an emergency and go home if I had forgotten my phone. :lol:

[egads]

My god you guys need to get a life or go to a tech detox center :P

Enjoy your time without a cell phone!!!

[ARW]

Just think of yourself as a time traveller Mike. You've just gone back in time 10 or 15 years.

[Jon Westfall]

My god you guys need to get a life or go to a tech detox center :P

Enjoy your time without a cell phone!!!

Not to offend, but I find very often that this attitude is taken by those who use their phones much more for pleasure than for work. My phone is essential as I'm the lone 24-hour tech-on-call for a small company - if I leave it at home, I risk thousands of dollars of lost income / refunds for my company. My cell is also my only phone - no home phone, no work line - just a uReach line I use primarily for faxes and my cell.

I feel your pain Mike, as anyone who uses their phones for serious work also does. Get through today and be thankful tomorrow when you have your trusty mobile side-kick with you again!

[Rocco Augusto]

i forgot my phone in my apartment once when i went to check my mail. when i got to the mailbox i remembered i had to call someone and when i reached for my phone it was gone... it was a sad moment, i dropped down to the floor and curled up into a ball and started rocking back and forth repeating 'so cold... so cold... so cold...'

well the last part didnt happen but i did freak out and thought i lost it and went crazy looking for it for like twenty minutes until i found it exactly where i left it. right next to my laptop :lol:

[Sven Johannsen]

Lost mine in my Scott eVest once. Honest. was changing planes and went to call home to check in...Gasp, the phone wasn't there. Panic. Check pockets, nope. Run back to gate and ask crew if they found a phone in my seat or the overhead by it. Nope. Damit. Oh well.. head to next gate again, and look for PPC in eVest. Hey, there's the phone after all. Now where is that PPC?

[brntcrsp]

Last time I left my phone at home my credit card company couldn't reach me to tell me my card number had been stolen. Talk about Murphy's Law!

[sojourner753]

My god you guys need to get a life or go to a tech detox center :P

Enjoy your time without a cell phone!!!

Well egads, your timesheet says that you're billing for 8 hours yesterday, but some of our folks were unable to contact you all day. We may need to go over it once before I sign off...

Come to think of it, our commerce site was down all day and we really needed you. After giving it some thought you better come in to my office so we can discuss your contract.

8O

[nskgti]

Seriously, some people actually use their phones for more than calling mommy.

If I don't have my cell phone every day, it would probably cost me somewhere around $2k a day... This is why I have 2 cell phones and both of them access my corporate email. If your business needed to have 24 hour access to a server to make money, like say Amazon or Ebay, would you set up some redundancy to ensure that server was running 24x7. I don't have a land line at home or work, just my mobiles. If my mobiles go down, I am tied to my email and that requires me to be in 1 place, which limits the work I can get done.

2 phones, with me 24 hours a day, means more money for me... More money for me means much less work down the road...

My god you guys need to get a life or go to a tech detox center :P

Enjoy your time without a cell phone!!!

[Mike Temporale]

i forgot my phone in my apartment once when i went to check my mail. when i got to the mailbox i remembered i had to call someone and when i reached for my phone it was gone... it was a sad moment, i dropped down to the floor and curled up into a ball and started rocking back and forth repeating 'so cold... so cold... so cold...'

well the last part didnt happen but i did freak out and thought i lost it and went crazy looking for it for like twenty minutes until i found it exactly where i left it. right next to my laptop :lol:

On occasion, I have left it on the desk when I got up to go for a washroom break. Once I realize what I've done, I'm usually getting nervous that someone might grab it before I return. Luckily, I haven't had that problem - yet. :?

[Mike Temporale]

Lost mine in my Scott eVest once. Honest. was changing planes and went to call home to check in...Gasp, the phone wasn't there. Panic. Check pockets, nope. Run back to gate and ask crew if they found a phone in my seat or the overhead by it. Nope. Damit. Oh well.. head to next gate again, and look for PPC in eVest. Hey, there's the phone after all. Now where is that PPC?

:rotfl:

That's a good one, Sven. I don't feel so bad now. Thanks! :lol:

[Mike Temporale]

Alright, here's the update; I got home and it's right here where I left it. No surprise there. I did make it through the day without too much pain. I wasn't able to use it as a modem, so I had to search out a free WiFi spot so I could connect.

Did I miss any client calls? Yes, but they were nothing important. So, all's well that ends well. I won't be letting this happen again anytime soon. Even if I have to staple it to my waist. :lol: ;)

[Jerry Raia]

Mike's day of horror may be over but it opens up a wider issue. Should we have Smartphones implanted into our bodies? With the new flexible displays coming out you could have one on your forearm. It could draw power from your nervous system. Think of it, sending thoughts to control the phone!

Ok its been a slow day...

[ARW]

Did I miss any client calls? Yes, but they were nothing important. So, all's well that ends well. I won't be letting this happen again anytime soon. Even if I have to staple it to my waist. :lol: ;)

Not that you plan on forgetting your phone on a regular basis, but perhaps something like Accessline might be worthwhile for you. I use it, though only in a very simple manner. Allows me to turn any phone into my "work" phone. There are other competitors, such as uReach, which was mentioned earlier, but Accessline is the one I use and am familiar with.

[ctmagnus]

Even if I have to staple it to my waist.

Or do the thing they advertise at the Telus booths in malls, at least in Calgary: strap it to your wrist. Just like all the young clubbers on the sign for that product.

;)

:mrgreen:

(Seriously, though, I've been considering getting one of those for walking with my phone. It'd be better than weighing my pants down with it. But due to the time of year, I have a good four or five months now to consider that decision.)

[Mike Temporale]

Even if I have to staple it to my waist.

Or do the thing they advertise at the Telus booths in malls, at least in Calgary: strap it to your wrist. Just like all the young clubbers on the sign for that product.

Umm.... I've never seen that around here. Must be something specific to those Calgarians. ;)

[Mike Temporale]

Not that you plan on forgetting your phone on a regular basis, but perhaps something like Accessline might be worthwhile for you. I use it, though only in a very simple manner. Allows me to turn any phone into my "work" phone. There are other competitors, such as uReach, which was mentioned earlier, but Accessline is the one I use and am familiar with.

My plan is to switch my home Office number to VoIP and then just forward that number to my cell or whatever phone I'm sitting at that day. I'm just waiting for that number to become portable. Most other numbers around here are. So it shouldn't be that much longer - I hope. :)

[surfer]

Luckily i've not been in that position so I have not had that problem yet :D But I seem to forget all other things but my phone :D