I Felt Lost ...

On Sunday morning, my dad picked me up 15 minutes early to take me to the train station. I was on my way to a conference in DC for the ASTD (look it up), and I was of course rushed, thanks to pops. In hindsight, I should've known that he'd be showing up early - that's what he does - I should've told him to pick me up at 7:30 instead of 7:15 (which means, he got to my house at 7).

Normally, this wouldn't be such a big deal - I'm usually ready (for whatever) 15 minutes early ... I wonder where I get that trait? However, the day/night before, I partook in an annual bar crawl (I'll be posting about this shortly), and I was pretty hungover ... translation, I was still a little drunk. I had most of my stuff packed, so, I hurridly grabbed my stuff, and ran out the door.

About 15 minutes into the drive to the train station, I realized I had forgotten something ... my cell phone! At first, I didn't think it was a big deal - after all, I spent most of my life without ever needing one, right? I soon realized how much I relied on my LG.

First, when I got to the station, I met up with a couple of co-workers who were going to the conference. They immediately asked for my cell number - you know, just in case we got lost, or so that we could figure out where to meet up after the different sessions, etc. Yep - that is when I first realized this could be a problem.

For most of the conference, I had to wait in "strategic" areas so that I could meet up with said coworkers. I also had to rely on the hotel phone to get updates on where everyone was going.

On another note, I couldn't text funny anecdotes to my friends, and my wife ... that was truly a withdrawal for me. I began feeling my thumbs getting restless, not to mention a sense of feeling naked without the cell phone. This feeling only increased as the week went on.

But, a bigger issue was trying to communicate with my wife about when my train would be arriving, so that she could pick me up at the station. I ended up taking the Septa to a local train station, and decided to walk home. I figured it would take no longer than 20 minutes. Boy, was I mistaken! It took more like 45 minutes ... and to top it off, it was not only humid, but the heavens were threatening to dump an ass-load of water on top of me. Luckily, all it did was drizzle.

I learned my lesson - I'll probably end up sleeping and showering with my cell phone, just to make sure I never forget it again.