confessions of a southside catatonic chataholic

When is too much IT too much? Where do we draw the line? When does what we do resemble something more along the lines of IT masturbation than anything remotely helpful? When do we just look like IT wankers who IT for the sake of IT? I have just discovered I am guilty of the above - yes, that's right, I am an IT wanker, and indiscriminate about my choice of titillation.

Every year for my birthday I buy myself a birthday present - I figure only I really know what I really want. And I deserve it :) So this year I bought myself a brand spanking new BlackBerry 8320 which belongs to the Curve series. My previous phone was the BlackBerry 8100 - not a smartphone, unfortunately. But this baby is - so what? So it's got: phone, email, sms/mms, instant messaging, browser, camera, media player, blackberry maps, organiser, 64mb flash memory + microSD expandable memory slot, QWERTY keyboard, tethered modem capability, dedicated send, end and mute keys, trackball navigation, user definable convenience keys, speakerphone, voice activated dialing, bluetooth capability for hands free dialogue, headset capable, integrated attachment viewing, compatibility with popular personal information management software, high resolution light sensing screen and easy email set-up direct from phone. Like I said, IT masturbation, really, isn't it LOL

BUT it's a gem, and I truly enjoy using it - and because I like it so much I've downloaded the apps for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Google Talk, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Messenger and Flickr...all making me realise what a pretentious tosser I truly am. And I can prove it:

Caught bus this morning workbound, plugged in to the iPod touch as usual (pretentious point #1), playing in Facebook (pretentious point #2) - updating my status, commenting on other friends/family status (pretentious point #3) and set Facebook notification tone to Iko Iko by The Belle Stars (pretentious point #4); tried to read e-book on iPod touch (pretentious point #5) only to find battery low and thus am devastated (pretentious point #6); bus pulls up at mall and I trek through clearing Gmail (pretentious point #7) for which notification tone (pretentious point #8) is Jessica by the Allman Bros Band (also theme for Top Gear which I heart majorly); consider trying Google Talk (pretentious point #9) but resist and set GTalk alert tone to Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles (pretentious point #10) and GTalk new message tone to Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot (pretentious point #11); outside the mall again and clearing Yahoo Mail (pretentious point #12) which doesn't have a tone and consider trying Yahoo Messenger (pretentious point #13) but resist, barely, and set messenger alert to Beyonce's Irreplaceable (pretentious point #14) and new message tone to ACDC's Shook Me All Night Long (pretentious point #15); flick a message to Twitter (pretentious point #16) and set twitterberry direct message tone to Missy Elliott's Get Your Freak On (pretentious point #17), friend update to Del's Mistadobalina (pretentious point #18) and reply alert to Jay-Z's Can I Get A (pretentious point #19) which also updates Facebook status at same time (pretentious point #20); cross road and realise have not set windows live messenger alert or new message tones. Cannot be assed, really. By this time I'm about to walk through the doors of the library so turn off the iPod touch and lock the BlackBerry...and then wonder what the hell was I just doing?!

When on earth did I get to the point where I feel I have to be so contactable as to have to go through all of that before I even get to work? Before I'm even barely awake?

When did my phone become another appendage? Why did it become one? How did I not notice? And what will I do now that I do know...? How funny - as I finish typing this paragraph my phone is blaring Mistadobalina, so I look and it's John Key tweeting with an update LOL. Geez.

For those interested, the apps I've mentioned above are listed:

Facebook - view friends' updates and status, post your own, send/receive wall messages, pokes, emails etc.
Flickr - take a photo and post to your Flickr account immediately (my testing)
Gmail - keep up to date with your Gmail messages by sending/receiving
Google Mobile Apps - launches Google products such as Gmail, Google Maps, Search, Sync and Latitude
Google Talk - chat in real time with contacts list, sending/receiving messages
Twitterberry - post/receive updates to/from Twitter (although you cannot: direct message someone, view saved direct messages, access favourites)
Windows Live Messenger - send/receive messages
Yahoo! Go - Yahoo version of Google Mobile Aps so you can check Yahoo mail, Y! One Search, Messenger and Flickr

And now frickin' Jessica is playing, letting me know I've got a Gmail email. ARGH. It is slightly ridiculous, eh, think about it...ipod in one hand, headphones on, blackberry in the other hand, walking along juggling reading one thing and texting/typing in another. Can I get any more isolated? Probably LOL Can I get my head any further up my own arse? Oh, most definitely :0)