Texting 101 or, It Adds Up Fast

Verizon's customer service department called me today, asking if I wanted to upgrade my text message feature, as my bill this month was $107.00 extra with text overage surcharges.

Huh? What?

Maybe I overreacted when I sent my college student a text (heh) telling him he was on my major, um, bad list and that he owed me $107. He texted me right back, telling me I was crazy; no way did he text that much over his plan. Turns out, he was right and the Verizon guy was not entirely accurate in his description of where those charges came from, which I discovered as my son and I went through the bill online together. (Although college boy does owe me $33!)

Actually, MY phone number was the main culprit of text overages, because I didn't have a text plan (I do now)- I didn't realize I texted that much. Oops.

Oh, but I've been busy catching up on methods of communication lately. Facebook (FB rocks, I can't believe I missed out on this for so long), Twitter, and now I'm blogging (again). And, of course, the ever present cell phone and (much to my chagrin as I looked at my Verizon bill today) text messaging. Not to mention email, oh, who could live without email?

I have a theory about all these different methods of communication (you'll learn I have a theory about almost everything!). I think we have all those different methods of communication and information access because there is too much we have to keep up with now. There's too much to know and too much to learn and too many schedules to keep track of and we simply don't have enough brain power to keep it all upfront and accessible. My theory is that the internet was the result of the progression of our knowledge- we had to have someplace to look up the stuff we can't remember because that chunk of memory has been temporarily taken over by the latest studies on breast cancer and the endless political interviews and all the other bits and pieces of information that we are bombarded with, everyday. We need the internet. We must have cell phones. I WANT A BLACKBERRY.

But I digress. And that was more of a soapbox than a theory. Eh.

Which is why I upped all of our text plans, gritting about the cost as I did so- I know we're not likely to cut back on our communication shortcuts. I did manage to get Verizon to credit me the $107 with my new text plan. Now, if only Comcast would offer a special on my broadband...