Strange Fruit

Following years of procrastination I have finally hauled myself into 2004 and am now in possession of a corporate Blackberry.

It's a neat little device that allows me to remain smothered by the email asphyxia that grips my company, even when I'm not actually at my desk.

But, contrary to popular belief, it does appear to have its uses. I find it very helpful to be able to see my Outlook calendar as I hurry from meeting to meeting, floor to floor, and building to building.

It has a pokey little web browser that can come in handy when I absolutely must find out "who was in that movie", "where that little restaurant was", or other such trivia.

It's also pretty useful on the subway where I spend the mornings deleting the chaff that has arrived in my electronic post bag overnight. (The downside is that this has disrupted the age old routine of deleting them when I get to work, and now I find myself staring blankly at my screen wondering what to do for the first half hour of the day.)

And there's that crappy little Arkanoid-style game that is strangely addictive.

Addiction! That's the overall problem with the pesky little things. Previously I've enjoyed scoffing as I've sat in meetings with 75% of the attendees fiddling with their fruits - "that will never happen to me!" I secretly thought.

But now I find myself teetering on the brink of that precipice. It takes a great deal of willpower to keep the thing in my pocket and not give my thumbs a workout.

I can't really explain the phenomenon. It's either my prolifically short attention span, my low boredom threshold, or my love of gadgets.

Either way, it would be interesting to hear of the watershed lawsuit involving Blackberry induced RSI. It can't be very far away.