My labmates quirked a collective eyebrow in disbelief when I asked them for cellphone advice. "What do you need text messaging for? Won't you be near your computer most of the time?"

Why _do_ I want cellular coverage, anyway? Is it an ingrained habit that makes perfect sense in the Philippines but not in Canada, like the way our vestigial tailbone must have served some purpose a long long time ago?

Twitch, twitch.

I'd like to moblog. It's a great way to keep track of my little discoveries around Toronto. Ideally I should be able to take a picture and record some sound while walking along. Non-cellphone way: fish the digicam out of the bag, snap a shot, then start sound-recorder on my system.

Aha. I want to be able to get in touch with people at home, who aren't always going to be at their computers. For example, when arranging Skype sessions. _That's_ my main use case. Non-cellphone way: Chikka or some other web/mail to SMS thing. Of course, that means I should've set up a Chikka account first... Hmm.

Hmm. Let's try using those workarounds first.

If I do take the plunge, here's more info:

Rogers texting plans and international text info: $ 0.20 to text Globe, Smart, or Sun

Same price for Bell international text messages. Bell can take messages from ICQ. Bell prepaid? Hmm.

At CAD 0.20, that comes out to roughly PHP 9.12, which is actually cheaper than international text from the Philippines.

HMMM. Looks like we might actually be able to make this work. And of course, there's missed-call stuff... =) Now I just have to figure out if I can cheaply send long e-mail with pictures attached...

そのコンピュータはかなり時代遅れだったので役に立たなかった。 The computer was so outdated that it was good for nothing.

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