Okay, deep slow breaths. Sit up straight, focus ahead of you. That’s what I was wondering if I’d have to do once I did what I just did. Won the lottery? Finished burying a body in the backyard? Put a just emptied cartoon of milk back into the fridge? Nope, I cut my ties to Verizon.

I just cancelled my landline home service. I gave up a phone number I’ve had since 1991. I’ve been talking about doing this for a few years now, having grown accustomed to my cell phone as the main conduit through which people connect to me. It took me awhile to convince Diane that we’d be better off without it. Since going back to grad school in 2001 and working in a DC nonprofit and politics since 2004, most of the people I met were under 30 and never had a land line in their life. They’d always had a cell and lived full lives.

We’ve been spending approximately $34 per month for the honor of being harassed by telemarketers during odd hours of the day and evening. If we call our friends out of the area, we’d use our cell phones, which gave us free long distance. If we called each other, it was free (no minutes used) on our cells. I rarely sent or received faxes, and there are online or store options (e.g. Mailboxes) that can handle that rarity from a previous era. I ditched long distance service on our home line years ago, but still hung on to the basic service. Partly, it was due to the nostalgia for a number I’ve known for so long, second only to the one I grew up with at my parent’s house.

Feel free to contact us on our respective cell phones. We’ll be listening! See this post for my actual cancellation experience. Grab a hot dog, it’s entertaining…