Back in The Saddle with My BlackBerry at My Side

After a roughly 2 year hiatus I'm back in the saddle. Two job changes and a move to Berkeley later, I've decided to get back on the horse, and this time I'm serious. With nearly two years of material to choose from what should my first topic be? The BCS? Dems in control of Congress? People continuing to use the hated phrase "at the end of the day" (which, by the way, continues to spread to ridiculous proportions -- I'll have to do a follow-up on that)? No, the first post is slamming the anti-BlackBerry sentiment that pervades our society.

I am one of those people who is often described as a "crackberry" user. I don't go anywhere without my BlackBerry. I've used it on three separate continents to actually answer work email (how passeé ), check sport scores and play that addictive break-out game (high score 10300). I'm constantly stunned by the rampant jealousy of non-blackberry owners who scoff at my lack of embarrassment for using my device so frequently. I've noticed that the same people who complain about my "addiction" are the same ones to ask me to look up something on Google or check a sports score via my beloved device. Some of my friends complain that the BlackBerry gives me an unfair texting advantage since I have I have a full QWERTY keyboard, but that's like a Chevy owner complaining about someone who owns a Ferrari. What do you want the Ferrari owner to say? Oh you're right, I'll go back and buy an Impala?

Of course the #1 complaint by the jealous group of people who don't have a BlackBerry is how it "forces" you to be connected to work 100% of the time. They cite numerous examples of how it affects your "work/life balance". I've actually found (quite to the contrary) that the BlackBerry allows me to have a better work life balance. With a job that requires me to mostly email and call people I can work from anywhere that has a GSM signal. Plus, everyone I know who has a BlackBerry uses it to goof off all the time. And just like a cell phone, just because someone emails doesn't mean you have to respond.

For those of you with a BlackBerry (or other smart phones) you know exactly what I'm talking about. Once you've had your phone for a month you become accustomed to having the definitive answer in an esoteric debate over who appeared in a movie or the score of a game last weekend. You get used to knowing how your fantasy team is doing even while you're shopping for your friends birthday present, and you become attached to playing breakout while rinding the BART into San Francisco.