"Crack"berry

Crackberry. Have you heard of this term? Word Spy (www.wordspy.com) defines it as, "A BlackBerry handheld computer, particularly one used obsessively; a person who uses such a computer obsessively." I've found this picture that, sadly, describes it better than any definition:

Source: http://crackberry.com/

Anyway, the day before I officially started work, Melvin and I went out and bought me one. After months (coincidentally the exact number of months Melvin has had a Blackberry) of justification of how a Blackberry saves time and promotes quality of life - I caved in.

On our way home from Married Couples Fellowship tonight, I was singing to David Crowder (my usual commute CD - for now at least) when I was interrupted by my Blackberry's flashing red notification light and found myself terribly irritated at the interruption. At that very moment, I questioned whether it really saved me time and promoted my quality of life. There have been times where I've found myself madly clicking away on my Blackberry on my way into/out of the office, on the way to/from the restroom, and really any "in between" chance I get. Even when I'm on the toilet (if it's a longer episode), I reach up to my purse in search of my Crackberry.

Then I thought, "What did I do one week and two days ago when my life was void of such a device?" Well, I probably would have sincerely greeted a passerby, finished a conversation with my 100% attention, taken a moment to clear my head and take a deep breath, or even a quick conversation/prayer with/to God. I find, at least personally, that often times the "luxuries" of life add to the complexities of life....possibly in ways that aren't what God had in mind for us.

John Tesh, evening deejay for 95.9 FM, reported that people who make $100,000+ tend to be more stressed than those who make less than that. Studies suggests that the reason is that these individuals work at least 25% more than those who make less. I guess that's not a very surprising statistic considering the "ambitious" world that we live in but the question is, is it worth it? I guess the real question is "whose ambitions?"

Back to my thought, it is going to take A LOT of willpower but I refuse to be a Crackberry addict. So if you see my obsessively clicking away on my phone, please say a prayer for me!