take a number

I have 373 contacts in my cell phone. Out of those 373 people, I probably actually call maybe 30 of them, and probably only about 10 on a regular basis. I'm certain that a lot of the numbers are no longer even accurate. Why keep them all? There is actually a couple of reasons.

The first reason is at least somewhat practical. I've had the same cell phone number for about 12 years now (an eternity in these technologically advanced times). I get random phone calls from people (I'm not going to lie, it's usually the dudes) I haven't spoken to in years. I like to know who is calling. I don't like surprises in general. I love caller ID- I even have audible caller ID. I don't have to touch my phone to know that "Call From... Daddy... Mom... Home."

The other reason is a bit more sentimental. Amongst my parents, family, friends old and new, there are random numbers. A girl I hit it off with when we were both solo at a bar one night. Dudes upon dudes who I met that once and never heard from again, or we hung out a few times, or we dated on and off forever. It's a bit of a flashback every time I scroll through the numbers, checking on who I want to invite to the next party. I might not invite John Doe, but it's nice to remember the night we danced until 4am and then had breakfast at Anchor Grill.

I don't do scrapbooks. I don't really keep a journal anymore. Although digital cameras make it all the easier to TAKE pictures, they hardly ever get actually printed and perused. But all I need for a stroll down memory lane is my little LG enV2 and I can tell you stories about 373 different people.