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…