We can text if you want to

A week or two ago I got a new cell phone. Just about everyone knows how much I dislike phones in general and cell phones in particular so it might surprise you that I bothered to get a new one. But really it was no bother. My two years with the old phone were up, so it was free, and Matt picked it out, ordered it and set it up for me.

The only part that was a pain was transferring all my contacts, but I did it over a couple of hours one night while half-watching TV with Matt. Most shows demand and deserve no more than half your attention anyway.

I have never jumped on the texting bandwagon. For one thing, I didn't have free texting until maybe six months ago. I never initiated texting, and every time someone texted me it cost me 20 cents. Rarely is a text worth 20 cents. "It's a girl!" Yes. "Happy Presidents Day!" No.

Once we switched to a plan that included free texting I no longer minded receiving texts, but I still rarely responded to them. My bare-bones phone didn't have a QWERTY keyboard, so it could easily take me five minutes to write two or three sentences. So much easier just to email or, yes, call.

However, have you ever tried to get people to stop texting you? Good luck. This is why I told Matt that whatever phone he picked out for me had to have a QWERTY keyboard so I could respond more easily. Not necessarily sooner, mind you -- like my old phone, my new phone's primary residence is my car.

But now if I'm stuck at a stop light I can use that time to text back my hair girl that yes, I love the color and cut, still not sure about the bangs, but I will like them more when they grow a little, and thanks again for being so flexible about letting Claire come with me. Whereas three weeks ago I would have either ignored her text or painstakingly typed out "Great thanks" (because it was too much trouble to use punctuation with my old phone).

Technology is supposed to make your life easier, so here's to the Samsung Exclaim for a job well done.