Anywhere from 2 to 10 days

Well, today we took the first step in doing away with our traditional landline phone.

Why did we finally do it? Well, after months of not wanting to deal with the headache of contacting all our utilities, credit cards, church, etc...we learned that our phone number qualifies under the new phone number portability law. So, we keep the number! (Thanks Cainam for the idea!)

Oddly, it will take anywhere from 2 to 10 days to complete. The guy at the store was rather matter-of-fact about it. One day next week our landline will stop working and the cell phone will receive the calls. When? Well, 2 to 10 days. Duh!

Since the phone is my old cell (which was 6 months old due to a free replacement for a broken one) is the new number, the process cost us nothing. We just pay $10 more a month for a separate "home" phone number with voicemail & caller ID. That's a lot better than the $35 we were paying for all those services. And frankly, $35 was a lot to pay to receive daily telemarketing calls. Everyone of consequence calls our personal cells.

I'll keep you posted on how this all works out.

Side Note: "Nature Boy" Ric Flair was also making some cell phone changes today. Ric and I seem to frequent the same shops and restaurants. When I was still working, he and I were in the line at Starbucks more than once. We've eaten at Dean & Deluca's at the same time. And we both use the same Verizon Wireless Store. I should really introduce myself. I never see anyone else I know around here. Maybe we should grab a beer or something.