Help! There's a phone in my ear!

There's a new law in Illinois regarding driving and cell phones.  It is now illegal to text on your cell or talk on the phone without using an earpiece while you are driving.  Now, I am all for getting distracted idiots off the road, but I'm not liking this law at all.  First of all, the distracted drivers won't be driving any better because they will either be ignoring the law or distracted by something else.  They will be distracted by the radio, the fancy car on the other side of the road, the adorable kitten in the yard they just passed, etc.  The problem is not the phone... the problem is the person using the phone.  If you are a good driver, you pay attention to hundreds of details while driving... the phone is just one more.  If you are easily distracted while driving, you are an accident waiting to happen... phone or not.

For another thing, I hate cell phone ear pieces.  I see people walking around wearing them all day like they are some kind of new fashion accessory.  People... it is for talking on the phone!  If you aren't talking on the phone take it out of your ear!!!  And I really can't stand when you are in a room with someone and they are talking to someone else on the earpiece.  At least when someone is talking on a handset you can see them holding the phone to their ear and know that they aren't talking to you. 

Today I was driving and noticed a very interesting thing.  As I looked at the drivers around me, I noticed that about half of them were still talking or texting on their cell phone handsets.  The most obvious (and incredibly disturbing) case of this was a funeral procession that passed me going the other way.  All but 2 of the 20 drivers (including the guy driving the hearse!!) were on their cell phones... at a funeral... what the hell is that about!?!?!  

With all the driving I do, I want to be able to make effective use of my time and get some quick calls in.  I guess I'll have to give in and get an earpiece.  The problem is... I want to switch phones at some point and I hate having to buy new accessories every time I do this... new case, new car charger and now, new earpices...yuck!  I've been eyeing an iPhone for a couple years now with a few obstacles in my way.  There's the price...YIKES!  The fact that you have to have AT&T... although I could switch with their new unlimited promotion... it's a pretty good deal and it would make the phone a lot cheaper too.  The storage space is limited, but it's much better than it was. 

But now, I have to buy an earpiece for the phone I've already got... cutting into my savings for my next phone and putting it off that much longer.  I guess I'll head to AT&T and investigate.  Maybe I should just go for the iPhone now and save myself all the hassles.  Ugh.  I've only had my phone a few months... I finally got everything set the way I want it.  Stupid IL laws... first the smoking inside thing... now this... they should give us the elecronic cigarettes and the earpieces.  But the way things are going, pretty soon none of us will be able to leave the house without written permission from the governer.  Grrr!

Happy New Year!

Well... I rung in the New Year in much the same way as most of you... surrounded by friends and family.  It was a fun, relaxing evening.  However, now the new year has officially begun.  I've started 2010... a new year and new decade with no job, burning through a lot of my savings during my period of unemployment, living in an area I don't want to be in anymore, and somewhat frustrated by life in general.  So where do I focus my energy in 2010 and what do I save for the remainder of the decade?  Life tends to be focused mostly around the people, places, and work involved in it, so this will be my main focus.  I will be looking for a job, but not just any job.  This year I will be focusing on a job that can be done from home or that I can take with me when I move.  The next step will be moving.  I will be working on getting the house ready to be put on the market this spring and hopefully a sale by summer.  I know that may seem ambitious in this slowly recovering economy, but that is the goal... to be out of here before the end of the year.  And finally, the finances have got to get back in order... time to plug u the leaks, get things paid off, and start fresh.  Those are the main not-so-personal goals for 2010.  These aren't new year's resolutions like many people make... they are small mini-goals that fit into the puzzle of larger goals I have begun working on for the next decade.  It makes it much easier to accomplish these when they are part of a larger life plan and not just stand-alone things that I could easily give up on.  In order to be where I want to be in life in 2020, I need to make sure these things happen in 2010... then built upon by more in 2011, and so on.

For those of you who do make resolutions for the new year... keep strong, and try to incorporate them into a larger life plan.  I wish you the best of luck with everything you hope to accomplish.  The top 3 resolutions are said to be losing weight, quitting smoking and making more money.  Here are a couple really good tools to help with that for those who could use a little assistance... Paul McKenna is a well respected hypnotherapist who has had a positive effect on millions of people's lives.  Hopefully he can help you with your resolutions in 2010!