Land Line

It looks like I have to get a land line. After more than two years of only having a cell phone, I haven't missed a land line at all, except now.

I originally got a cell phone because it was difficult meeting friends to do stuff. We rarely met at work or home - near the usual phone numbers. The cell phone also came in handy when I traveled, since I could be reached in transit. After a while, I noticed the only people using my land line were telemarketers, leaving messages I would ignore. When I moved to Kirkland and the phone company there gave me a giant hassle setting up the land line, I decided to skip it altogether - after all, why should I spend hundreds of dollars a year so telemarketers could reach me? And despite the arrogance of the local phone company, they were the one utility that is easily 100% replaceable.

Unfortunately, cell phones don't seem to work with the gated community I now live in. I drove up to the callbox and did a quick test, and found if somebody dials me, all that shows up on the cell phone is "1 missed message". This isn't good enough if I want to let somebody in!

Another use for a land line will be for the alarm system I am considering connecting up. The alarm company says it is needed for the monitoring to work, although I spoke to another company and they said there is a way for the alarm to work with cell phones. That might not be as reliable, so since I have to get a land line for the community gate, I might as well use that for the alarm system as well.

Oh well, I'll get the cheapest land line I can get, with the fewest options. I won't give out the number, since I don't plan to actually use the number. I'll just answer if I am expecting somebody at the gate.