Get Dressed To Make A Phone Call

When you're a kid your life is nothing but a series of firsts. First steps, first teeth, first broken bone, first driver's license, first kiss, first run-in with John Law, the list goes on and on. But as you get older the list grows shorter and shorter. You've done many things at least once, and the older you get, the less inclined you are to doing anything new or anything dangerous. If you haven't ever jumped from an airplane once you turn 30 chances are good you never will. And I'm over 30. But I did buck the trend today, and had another first.
   I had my first Skype call.
   Since my computer has a camera built-in I've had this capability for a year and half now, but I never downloaded Skype, never installed it, never felt the need to. But a friend of mine is doing some freelance work and is using up her cell phone minutes, and she was under the mistaken impression that I used Skype regularly. She is also one of those people who doesn't have a land line, for some unfathomable reason. I did a quick install, set up my account, and she called me. It was interesting, much like video teleconferences they've had for decades, but from the convenience of my own living room.
   I gotta say, I don't like the idea of having to get dressed to make a phone call.
   I knew she was going to call, so I combed my hair. Not something I'm used to doing for a phone conversation. That's the great thing about phone calls, you can do anything - and I do mean ANYTHING, just ask my sister - while you're talking to someone. But not with Skype. I have to sit in my chair at my desk, stare into the camera so I look engaged, and be careful not to make any noises that the microphone might pick up. And trust me, I make a lot of noises no one else wants to hear.
   It's convenient for keeping in touch with loved ones, foreign exchange students talking to their parents back home, for instance, but for a quick chat or what have you, I'm not so sure video phones are a great idea. If I gotta make sure I'm wearing pants before I answer the phone something's not right with the world.