Say NO to Crack!!

I have hit rock bottom. Hi my name is Jamie Chitty and I am a blackberryolic.

I knew I was addicted and I have admitted it in the past. I have to have it in my hand constantly. I sleep with it under my pillow so I can feel it buzz at 3 in the morning. It's an obsession, a safety blanket. I can not function unless it's attached to me. I should wear one of those holster thingy's but fashion gets in the way of that idea. So instead I carry it around, always looking down.

Today, on my way to work, my life almost ended all due to a little red device.

Every morning on my way to work I walk and check all my emails that I have received throughout the night. My boss wakes up early so there is usually several work related ones that I get an early start on. So there I am, walking down Bleeker and up MacDougal, in Starbucks, order a Chai and then on the way to the subway and never once looking up. Email after email after email. Text after text after text. IM after IM after IM. Somehow managing to avoid cars, people, poles, potholes and bums along the way.

This morning, while taking a different route on 6th Ave, I was right in the middle of reading a new bio on a client. Now, this totally could have waited till I got to work but to make myself feel more important, as people tend to do when they purchase a tiny high tech machine, I felt that I had to read it then and there. Walking, Reading. Reading, Walking. My head so far down it could have look as if I were asleep or praying. Then I hear in the background, "Miss, watch out, Miss Watch it! MISS STOP!!!" I am grabbed my a man in a yellow hard hat and look in front of me. A HUGE hole where the Subway grate was missing. I walked Right into their construction site and never even noticed.

"Oh my, thank you SO SO much! Whew!" So I turned and continued to walk on. My head returned to praying position. After all, I wasn't done reading.

"MISS MISS LOOK UP!" I looked up with an abrupt stop and there was another huge Subway grate missing. Seriously? 2 in a row? I looked back at him and smiled and said, "You are a hero. I'm an idiot" and then thought to myself, I need to stop reading this and pay attention.

Did I stop? Of course not because I received a little but powerful BUZZ on the Crackberry. More to read. Standing on the corner of 6th and Waverly I stood back to let the sweeper truck pass by. I hate those things. They are giant and loud and scary. And they tend to spit out street juice on you which makes me want to vomit.

It passed by but stopped at the light. I walked behind it to cross the street. Must Get to Starbucks. But then, BUZZ, another important message. I look down and began reading away. At this time i am right behind the sweeper truck not even noticing that it is backing up. There was no Beep Beep Beep that you normally hear, or maybe there was, How would I be able to tell after all I almost fell down 2 deep dark holes 5 seconds ago.

When I DID finally look up the truck was actually touching me and I was being pushed back. Once I realized what was going on I cartooned jumped out of the way and stood there watching it to continue to back up. I walked over to the man driving the truck and said, "Dude you just hit me!" He didn't even care. And he shouldn't care because it wasn't his fault.

Walking in Starbucks I made myself put my Killing Device in my bag. I was almost killed or worse, on crutches in NYC. I made myself focus.

That lasted till I got out of the Subway and began walking along 42nd street along side Bryant Park and over looking the4 Crystler Building. You would think that would have been enough to keep my attention. Nope, not at all. Back to the "important" messages and head back down.

I guess I really need rehab. My goal this weekend is to put it away. Leave it at home ONE day. Thinking about it makes me cringe. Or maybe I will start with turning it off at night and NOT sleeping with it under my pillow. Why do I need to email at 4 AM anyway?
Do I really care the someone updated their Facebook status to, "I can't Sleep"?