携帯 Love

For those who don't read kanji, the title of this post is "Keitai Love," which translates roughly as "Kristine's Pretty Pink Cell Phone Rocks Her Socks."

In joining NTT Docomo, the only cellular phone service company that requires an alien registration card upon sign-up, I waited several weeks longer than the average ALT in acquiring my keitai. My beautiful phone, however, was well worth the wait. Not to mention that I received a free ドコモダケ toy with my purchase!

In buying my cell phone, I've taken a major step into the social sphere of Japanese residency. I can now stealthily blend among the general populace as I whip out my keitai on the train, typing away furiously on the keypad as I send a pointless, yet emoticon-filled message to a friend.

For me, the strangest part of Japanese cell phone ownership has been forcing myself to use text-messaging services, as opposed to randomly calling my friends. I have gone from a generously allotted 1000 "Whenever Minutes" (Thank you, T-Mobile!) each month to a mere 142. What's a girl to do?

Shut up and e-mail, I suppose!