Be prepared for a rant.

As some of you may know, I recently (last night) dropped my precious iPhone down an elevator shaft. I know. Crazy. But it’s the truth. Probably one of the oddest things that has ever happened to me.

Here’s the story.

I returned home after dinner to change clothes before going to a comedy show. Upon arriving at my building, UPS delivered a package for me. I took the package (medium-sized but relatively awkwardly shaped). Then I checked my mail and picked up three letters (probably bills). So, picture this. Purse over my right shoulder, box under my left arm, phone on top of box (I know, I know. Red flag), mail in right hand, keys in right hand, opening my old-fashioned elevator with the sliding gate, and *POOF* my phone falls. Not only does my phone fall, but it falls at the precise angle in which it slides into the small (one inch) space between my elevator and the floor. Of course, I look down, awestruck. Did that really just happen??? Yes. I heard it land. Nothing like watching your “life” slip through the crack. (Ok, that’s a tad over-dramatic, but if you know me, you know my life is in my phone).

Luckily, I was on the first floor so it didn’t fall too terribly far. I have yet to determine whether or not it is in one piece. The elevator man has to come to the building, put a mechanism into the elevator to stop the 220 volts of electricity that controls the door so he can climb into the pit at the bottom and retrieve my poor phone. Damn it.

Best part of the story, I leave town in six hours for the whole weekend. Yay.

On a lighter note, I had a lovely evening. Aside from making the occasional joke of the fact that I dropped my phone down an elevator shaft, it was quite peaceful. Uninterrupted. Frankly, it was kind of nice not having my “lifeline” attached to my fingertips.

It’s interesting to me to think about what life was like without cell phones. It’s crazy to think that people only reached out to other people when they were at home (or at a payphone, I suppose). There were no phone calls in the car, no calls on the way to work, no calls from bars or parties or dinners, no calls at all, really. If you left your house, you could choose to be completely unreachable. Not tied to anything or anyone. Whoa different than life now.

Now, people are constantly connected. Between Facebook and Twitter and Skype and all the other instant messaging services out there, and text messages, and cell phones and, whew, I’m out of breath. You can be in contact constantly.

The sad thing is that it becomes an addiction. I need my phone. I need to check my texts and missed calls and emails and messages and everything! I literally feel naked without it.

Sometimes, I hate it. Sometimes I get so sick of my phone constantly buzzing or beeping that I want to throw it out the window. But the addiction prevails and I. Must. Check.

Maybe one day I’ll have the willpower to leave my phone at home for an afternoon. Just take some time with my camera and leave everyone behind. Maybe.