(P)homeless, Part Deux

Dismiss any thoughts you may have had about the Huertas being perfect.

Both of you done? Ok, good.

When I wrote about our home phone debacle last week, I didn't realize that I set a jinx into motion.

Stephen and I mostly agreed that we would just hold on to our cell phones for the time being. We have them already, so why not use them?

Well, had.

Stephen lost his phone. And while "lost" might not be totally accurate (he's pretty sure he left it somewhere where it isn't anymore, and thievery is likely to blame), it is no longer in our possession.

Trust me when I say that this is rare for Stephen and way more common for me. I am the messy one, and I am the one with the poor track record. I've lost watches on floors of department stores, and "misplaced" recipes mid-meal-production.

While the phone may be gone for good, we've learned a few things.

The big one is that the cost to replace the cell phone is minuscule when compared to the forgiveness of each other's faults. Stephen is way more forgiving of me when I "misplace" something, so it is only right that I start to do the same. Remember, I am working on Jennifer, Version 2.0. With a little bit more prayer, I will (through God's grace) keep moving forward.

The other things we've learned? 1) Life does not end when you can no longer text your significant other, and 2) AT&T is a powerful place with powerful people. Do not mess with them.

(P)homeless

We are unreachable as a couple.

Not that you can't get a hold of Stephen or me.

I have no fewer than five e-mail addresses, a Twitter account, a Facebook page, a blog, and a text-ready cell.

You are privileged if Stephen answers his cell when you call, but he will get back to you. Eventually.

No, apparently you can't get a hold of us together.*

As a modern (read: cheap) couple, we do not have a home telephone. We figured we didn't need one right now because everyone we regularly communicate with would contact us some other way. Yet, I can't help but feel like we are missing out on the cute, "You've reached the Huerta's!" answering machine messages that those classic couples (read: any newlyweds from the 90's) enjoyed.

We wanted to wait until we got into our own brick-and-morter house before we broke down, spent the extra twenty bucks and got a permanent Team Huerta number.

Stephen, as an unwilling blog participant, broke down our thinking: "The pros of not having a home phone are 1) we're already paying for cells (which we use), 2) no telemarketer spam,** and 3) we save some green. The cons are that we can't open the gate to our apartment complex from our unit without a landline, and that we have no single family number. Now, what are you watching?!"***

Anyway, what do you think? Should we revise our plan and get a landline now, wait until we're in our first house, or are we never going to need one?


*Yes, even though I have created a family e-mail address.
**This is what Stephen calls it, but it has to have some other, official name. Anyone?
***I was watching Smart House. You know you remember Smart House. Don't even pretend you don't.