DW Left for Work, Didn't Arrive

[TromboneAl]

DW Left for her weekly volunteer job at the hospital this morning, but didn't arrive. She's never been late.

Turns out that she first went to a doctor's appointment she'd forgotten to mention.

After the worry that this caused, and the calls to the police and highway patrol, perhaps we should start having our tracfone cell phones with us and on all the time. We keep one in the car, but rarely turn it on.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Yes, you should! Would save a lot of worry and it is so easy just to leave them turned on--get a car charger, though. Sorry you had to be so worried!

 

[travelover]

I have a Virgin Mobile phone in my car and I just leave it on and plugged in all the time. Apparently the battery doesn't mind. That way, anyone can reach me when I'm driving and I have it for an emergency or just to call if I'm going to be late. It was free and costs $5 a month for the service.

 

[dixonge]

who doesn't have an always-on cell phone with them at all times

 

[tuixiu]

I don't.

I'm same as TromboneAl, have cell phone in car but it's never on. Have it for car emergencies, don't want to be tied to communication.

What is this virgin phone for $5 you speak of?

 

[ziggy29]

I don't want to have an always-on cell phone on me, especially since it could be w*rk calling me on my off-hours, pulling on my electronic leash.

As long as people who need to know where you are know not to worry, I like being unreachable sometimes. Technology is neat, but it can also be intrusive and privacy-infringing.

 

[dixonge]

I don't.

I'm same as TromboneAl, have cell phone in car but it's never on. Have it for car emergencies, don't want to be tied to communication.

I have one on my hip - it's never off. Of course it's required for work, but even after ER I imagine I'll have it with me. You never know when you will NEED to snap a photo in the middle of nowhere and send it to all your Facebook friends.

LOL

 

[tuixiu]

ziggy said it... if I had a cell phone people from my work would call me all hours. They've tried to force me to get a company cell phone and I've flat out refused, there are enough software developer jobs around here that me having a work cell phone ain't gonna happen.

It's sad man we go out to lunch for one hour and the three coworkers I'm with will all repeatedly answer their cell phones to respond to things that could definitely have been sent via email and responded to at their convenience.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Sometimes when I'm out DH calls me and he hears my cell phone ring in our bedroom. I'm always forgettting to take mine or to keep it charged up. It would make sense to do what T-Al does and just keep it in the car (but charging/turned on ).

 

[ziggy29]

there are enough software developer jobs around here that me having a work cell phone ain't gonna happen.

I didn't know you were in India...

 

[ERD50]

--get a car charger, though.

Yes, get a car charger, but not one that is specific to your phone. That will likely be obsolete when you eventually get a new phone.

Instead, get one of those little power inverters, and get one that also has the dummy (power only) USB power port. That way, the same charger you use in the house will work, it might come in handy for some other device, and when they standardize on USB powered chargers in a few years, a cable will be all you need for any phone.

-ERD50

 

[Sarah in SC]

Um, for you guys worried about work calling...hows about looking at the number and just ignoring it if it is from work? Who says you have to answer the phone just because you can hear it?
Jeesh! The simplest solutions!

 

[youbet]

Um, for you guys worried about work calling...hows about looking at the number and just ignoring it if it is from work? Who says you have to answer the phone just because you can hear it?
Jeesh! The simplest solutions!

I have my cell phone on and with me almost always. 90% plus of the calls I receive are desirable. Earlier this morning, my son sent me a pic from the beach where he and his family are vacationing. A few mins later he and my oldest grandson (8 yo) called to follow-up and give me a quick update on the fun they were having. It was great! DW occasionally calls if her plans change just to let me know she'll be arriving home at a different time, etc. Very convenient.

Admittedly, I'm retired now so no work related calls to worry about. But even in my pre-retirement days, I simply turned off my employer supplied phone during times I preferred not to receive calls.

It really is possible to have a cell phone with you and have the convenience be all pros and no cons if you handle it properly.

What I find intrusive is email. Many friends have grown to expect me to check email multiple times per day.......blaaaaah....... Someone wants you to join them for dinner this evening and they send you an email that afternoon? Call my cell which I have conveniently with me. Or even text message. But pu-leeez don't expect me to open my email account multiple times per day!

 

[travelover]

.............................

What is this virgin phone for $5 you speak of?

When I signed up it was $20 every 90 days or $15 if you have autopay via a credit card. Not sure if that discount is still available. The fee applies to minutes used

Virgin Mobile Help for Prepaid Cell Phone and Plans

To keep your service active, you need to add at least $20 every 90 days to keep your service working, even if you still have money in your account. A $10 Top-Up will keep your account active for an additional 45 days (up to a maximum of 90 days).

Or, if you're enrolled in one of our Monthly Plans, just make sure you pay the monthly charge plus taxes and surcharges each month. Register a credit/debit card or your PayPal account and make it really easy. Or if you'd rather use Top-Up cards, make sure you have enough in your balance to cover the cost of the monthly charge (plus taxes and surcharges) and the cost of any features or additional minutes that you use.

Want to break the rules? Click here to learn about our other Top-Up options.

 

[FIREd]

T-Al, I don't know about your wife's doctor, but mine asks patients to turn their cell phone off. So if I forgot to tell my wife I had a doctor's appointment, she wouldn't be able to reach me on my cell phone anyways (I did try once to use my cell phone while waiting -for 4 hours!- to see the doctor and the calls kept dropping... wonder if he has some kind of cell phone blocking device...).

Anyways. I used to be allergic to cell phones. For about 7 years I had one but kept it turned off at all times, unless I had to call someone. Then I got an iphone... It's so bad, I am hooked... Got to have it on me at all times.

 

[bbbamI]

My DH usually has the cell and keeps it turned on. Unfortunately, when he's gone, he's usually playing music or riding the motorcycle. So...he doesn't hear it and doesn't check for msgs.

 

[RunningBum]

Um, for you guys worried about work calling...hows about looking at the number and just ignoring it if it is from work? Who says you have to answer the phone just because you can hear it?
Jeesh! The simplest solutions!

Or, just don't give your cell phone number to work. I know people who only give their cell # to 3 or 4 people.

 

[W2R]

Al, you must have been frantic!! I am SO GLAD that it turned out as it did. It's not your wife's fault, and I doubt it will happen again, so give her an extra hug tonight and tell her how much she means to you.

 

[HFWR]

who doesn't have an always-on cell phone with them at all times

Your shoe is ringing...

Um, for you guys worried about work calling...hows about looking at the number and just ignoring it if it is from work? Who says you have to answer the phone just because you can hear it?
Jeesh! The simplest solutions!

Unless you are Pavlov's dog, there's no reason to jump off the toilet or out of the shower to answer the phone...

 

[W2R]

Unless you are Pavlov's dog, there's no reason to jump off the toilet or out of the shower to answer the phone...

Yeah, but after a certain number of years, most of us become Pavlov's dog when it comes to responding to a work call.

Calls from work are extremely annoying, even when it isn't anything vitally important but more along the lines of "Do you remember what we did with situation xyz? The boss wants to know, nobody here remembers, and I don't know how to answer the e-mail.". A call like that can make me feel as though I had never left work. Unwind? Not likely. But if I ignored a call from work instead of answering, I would assume that the call was about something more important that I was ducking. Calls from work just do not put me in a good mood. Good thing I don't receive them frequently even though I do carry my cell phone and it is turned on.

 

[tuixiu]

Yup, an ignored work call is an evening of turning over in my head what's the worst case that they needed to contact me.

Plus I have used my emergency cell-phone a few times to call my Boss, so the "don't give the number out" trick is out.

Thanks for the info on virgin phone, shall investigate further.

I didn't know you were in India...

I can't grow a good moustache, so no way could I live in India.

 

[W2R]

Yup, an ignored work call is an evening of turning over in my head what's the worst case that they needed to contact me.

Plus I have used my emergency cell-phone a few times to call my Boss, so the "don't give the number out" trick is out.

We are required to give our supervisors our cell phone number. The "don't give the number out" trick is not an option. I am frankly surprised that some people apparently get away with that kind of thing.

In fact, this year I am getting some serious pressure to add texting to my cell phone, for work. I don't text, don't want to text, and never turned it on. I think it costs $$ that I don't want to pay and in the discussions about it I pointed that out. The discussions stagnated after that...

 

[virginia]

Texting is an excuse for people who really don't want to have to talk to you to be able to pester the #?!#%! out of you anyway without having to do the actual work of it. If they want to bother you, make them do the work!

 

[Nords]

who doesn't have an always-on cell phone with them at all times

You should start a poll-- you'd be surprised.

I've been punished enough for having a cell phone during my working years, and it turns out that I don't need to care for one in my ER years either. The people I enjoy socializing with know how to reach my voicemail or e-mail. No need to be spontaneous if we can plan ahead.

I might reconsider when I can get a free transcutaneous cell phone with unlimited calling. But only if I don't have to remove it for taekwondo sparring or surfing.

I'm not sure what the lineup would do to the poor clueless kook who showed up with a cellphone and had the audacity to disturb the tranquility between wave sets. Better have a good underwater metal detector...

 

[Purron]

I was over working at our rental place and didn't have my cell on when DH fell and broke his arm about 5 weeks ago. He tried to call me to no avail and ended up asking a co-worker to take him to the ER.

Cell phone on now? You betya.