So late Saturday night, I had the house to myself, and I was watching a boxing match on my laptop (NBC-4 kept interrupting the match to discuss the stormy weather, so I opted for the uninterrupted online feed), while sipping on an IPA beer. I got up off the couch to order some pizza, when I dropped my phone on the floor. It was slightly cracked but still functional so I proceeded to order food, text my wife, etc. An hour later, I looked at the phone and it would not work at all. The little light would flash indicating that I had a text/email, but I couldn't see anything else on the phone. I turned it off, turned it back on, but nothing worked.

Now I was angry for two main reasons. One, the next day was Father's day, which meant without my phone I would miss out on all the wonderful Father's Day calls and texts that feed my fragile ego. Plus it would stop me from calling my dad, my brother, etc. But second and most importantly, I hate being without my phone even for a few hours. I text, I get on the Twitter, I play Words with Friends and Scrabble, I look up things on google to prove my wife wrong, and I take pictures of my son Nyles to share on Instagram and all that. Perhaps it isn't good for me to be that dependent on my phone, but hey, I'm conditioned to be that way. Even my condition is conditioned...

Sunday morning, I headed to the playground with my main man Nyles, and I noticed that I was much more attentive to him. I wasn't looking for a photo op depending on what he was doing, I didn't zone out and start fiddling with my phone when he starting playing with other kids. I halfway talked to other parents (ok not really), and I really didn't miss my phone at all. Still, that afternoon, I headed to the Sprint store by house to get a new one. They told me I had to wait until Wednesday, I said that was bull, and they said I could try my hand at the corporate store--in Silver Spring, just 15 minutes away. Mind you, I initially left the house without showering with a T-shirt, basketball shorts and no drawers on, thinking I'd run down the street, get a phone and go back home. No such luck.

So I got in the car, and drove to Silver Spring smelling like the outdoors with my junk swinging and bouncing around like kids in a moon bounce. I walked in the Silver Spring store, explained my issue, and they took my phone to see if they could repair it, and told me to come back in an hour. So now, I decided to venture to a bar down the street, and I was careful to sit alone so that I wouldn't call attention to my attire. I didn't have my phone, so I had no f**king clue when an hour had elapsed without asking the bartender what time it was. After 90 minutes, I went back to the Sprint store, only to have them tell me that my phone couldn't be repaired and I had to order another one, which wouldn't arrive until Wednesday--the same b.s. I heard at the store five minutes away from my house. I ordered the phone, and took my ass home.

When I got home I went on Facebook where most of my friends and family are, and wrote the following message:

I broke my phone and the new one won't be here until Wed. So if you contacted me to wish me a Happy Father's Day, if you called to say hello, or if you just called to moan and make suggestive sex noises in my ear, just hold out a few days.

For those not on Facebook, I emailed them, I used my wife's phone or I got on the iPad and used FaceTime. I was proud at my resourcefulness, but I was still hella pissed to be phoneless. The "inconvenience" continued on Monday when I couldn't use my Starbucks app to get me a Monday-morning beverage. The sad part is that now on Tuesday morning, I'm (almost) used to being phoneless--except I have family in town and trying to coordinate with them is a pain. I say all this to say that I am woefully dependent on my cellphone, and it is a sad sight to see...