Cellular Saga

I never thought I'd get so attached to an inanimate object.
I mean, sure, I love my camera and would hate to lose it, but more so for the photos I haven't transferred to the computer than the actual replaceable camera. I'm not attached to jewelry at all. I wasn't able to find my engagement ring and a pearl necklace for some time, and while I hoped they would turn up, I wasn't upset. And then there are the things I need in everyday life that will inconvenience me if I lost them, but would not affect me emotionally.

So why am I getting tender about my cell phone? I've gone through nearly a dozen cell phones since I got my first one in seminary. I replaced each one happily and gave the old one to the kid/s (whoever was around at the time I had any given cell phone).

Well, I guess I should just breeze past this latest phone situation, right? I lost my cell phone a couple of weeks ago. I know I misplaced it at home, but by the time I picked up the landline to call to it, several days had passed and cell phone's the battery ran out. Which meant I couldn't find it by its ring.
I searched and searched... shrugged my shoulders and went onto Plan B: get a free replacement from the mobile company that I am already eligible for.
Once we were doing that, I wanted to downgrade my calling plan, since we were stuck in a contract with a plan that was way too large for my needs.

Long story short, I didn't find any plan small enough for me that I was happy with, and decided to go with prepaid. Did some research, clicked around, computed some math examples... and ended up with a plan that has a flat 10 cents a minute rate, 24/7 with no conditions. That's $10 a month for 100 minutes (which is more than enough for me) and the extras roll over to the next month. Sounds great! (Better than the $90 a month we've been shelling out.)

Now for some background info:
I don't need to be attached to my phone every second of my life.
If I leave it at home, I don't go back to get it.
I don't use the camera because I always have a REAL camera with me. (I only use it to get a good photo for the phone's wallpaper or to send a picture to the blog when we are out having adventures.)
I don't store all my contacts' info there.

So there is nothing that I lost together with the phone. I just will feel much better if it shows up.