No cell, no deal?

[jay]

I'm putting together an autonomous drilling proposal in response to an astrobiology call, due in 2 weeks. Fortuitously, my counterpart S at our robotics partner company is at the same conference this week in Washington.

After laboring overnight, I found a printer at the hotel and managed to sit down with S and go through the proposal. She seemed enthusiastic, interested, even slightly flirty. We worked out several issues. Fine. Then, as we were dispersing at the end of the day's sessions, S said that she would be out of the office until a week from tomorrow, and asked for my cellphone number so that she could contact me from various locations with her questions and suggestions.

I said that I didn't have a cellphone. After a look of bewilderment, her body language changed. S became wary, a bit distant... obviously my technical credibility had just suffered greatly due to my lack of a given communications appliance. "But, you travel so much... how can you work without one?" "I use payphones and e-mail -- NASA doesn't pay for cellphones, I'd have to get a personal phone."

At the next possible interval, S ditched me... just as she might have lost some loser in a bar. It wasn't subtle. Who knows what will happen to our drilling proposal, now? Sigh...

Comments

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

Weird.

but what do I know. I'm just another loser who doesn't own a cell phone. :-)

Couple options...

[greeklady.livejournal.com]

Well... she may have been flirting. I know for some, giving someone a cell phone number instead of a home number lets you know how close you are to the person. Also I know people, (ok they are not poly) but they feel weird still calling the house because Mike may answer. *shrug*

I am such a loser as well. Ever since I left the dot com over a year ago I haven't activated my cell phone in my own name. Now that work may be an hour comute, I suppose I will have to get a cell phone for the just because you never know what will happen situations. Especially driving so far. Personally I have survived not having a cell phone. But I always hate the fact that when I may be by someones house I want to call first rather than just showing up. So I end up not seeing my friends when I am driving through their town.

Trade offs.

I doubt your drilling proposal will suffer due to lack of cell phones. I mean heck, you wouldn't have been able to work on it if she didn't happen to be in the same area anyway right??

[technomom]

How weird!

[hopeforyou.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with the rest: That is weird. I don't get it either. =/

I spent the past 2 years without a cellphone and I managed fine. I realized I would fare better with one, though, when my car broke down at 2 am on 280 S and no-one knew what happened -- there were no pay phones nearby at SLAC, either. And my sweeties were worried, and wanted me to have one -- so now I do. But I did okay without one most of the time.

Viva email

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Well, my cellphone is still registered in my
mothers name, being her cast-off, and it is
usually switched off and/or in the charger at
home.

The one time we did need it, was very traumatic
and urgent, so I have to admit that they have
their uses. :-(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

But for working on a proposal ... Email!!!

No wonder you're annoyed. Sounds like a great
project too, so I hope you can pull through despite S.

[purplejavatroll.livejournal.com]

Definitely very strange. We have 2 in the house, one work related and my personal one, but I keep mine turned off unless I'm expecting someone to try and be locating me. Otherwise, it's just for emergencies.

pjt