Expensive air

We got notification of our smartphone bill yesterday. We have it set up as direct payment for convenience and so we don’t actually have to look at the dollar value.

That does help a bit with blood pressure.

I will confess that our total bill has dropped. We dropped the landline and moved that number to my wife’s phone and I changed carriers for a drop in monthly costs.

Like most, we anguished over all the different options that were available. Actually, I anguished; my wife just wanted a phone that would replicate the landline. i.e. no need for data and a phone that would let her make and receive calls. I wanted a bit of data since I’m often travelling to places where I need to provide my own access to get email and other things. I was prepared to go for 1GB but there was a special where you would pay for 2GB and actually get 9GB.

This was all well over a year ago in what can best be described as a perfect world. We would travel; I would go to conferences; we’d visit friends; we’d go to restaurants and it was nice being connected.

When I think back over the past year, we’ve left Essex County twice. Once was for a doctor appointment in London and the other time was for a trip to Wheatley and down to this little beach, Romney Township Public Beach where apparently they have the best smelling fallen trees. Truly, that’s it.

Being connected really takes on a different meaning when you’re at home connected to your regular internet access. There’s no need to roam and constant connections aren’t all that important when you’re back home in an hour or two after a dog walk.

I think the province has found the key to keeping people at home. Close down any facility that might offer public washrooms. Thank goodness for those ONRoutes even though they’re running at reduced capacity.

Sadly, the phone carrier hasn’t recognized the drop in usage and adjusted monthly charges accordingly. I freely admit that the network needs to be installed and maintained and I’m OK with paying to make that magic happen. There are fewer and fewer opportunities to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

A regularly functioning smartphone runs though the air. (I know, I know; it’s not that simple) When you’re really not using it, that air gets kind of expensive.

I just wish that there was something magical to do. Like many, I was hoping for some relief with the government announcement yesterday. I’m guessing there might be a few more washrooms open although you might have to pay green fees to use them? The bottom line, it seems to me for many people, is that the hope for a June 2 return to normal has been pushed back a couple of weeks.