On Google.

In retrospect I guess it all started with Blogger. I blame Ambulance Driver for it all as I was somehow led to his blog one day. It started innocently enough- just one blog, I figured I could stop any time I wanted to. I certainly didn't *need* it, it was just something to pass the time. But like with any addiction one hit led to every now and then, every now and then led me to other blogs and before I knew it I had a whole folder of bookmarks in Firefox dedicated solely to blogs. Then the webcomics came.

I dabbled with Google Docs briefly, collaborating on a project that never came to fruition, but then realized that Google Docs could serve as an online repository for the assorted certificates I hold and also as a resource for students to find my lecture slides.

I eventually figured that a folder of bookmarks wasn't enough and so when I upgraded MS Office I found that Outlook 2007 could handle RSS feeds. That worked for a while but eventually it started to get a bit wonky and so I started getting my fix via Google Reader. I was in heaven. Google Reader had all of my blog subscriptions right there, in one place and I could even go back and look at older posts and search older posts. It was like blog porn to me- it kept me happy and it kept me high.

It really, truly started getting serious last winter. I was on a road trip, I was sick and tired of my Motorola RAZR2 cell phone and so I stopped in to the T-Mobile store. I swear the sales woman could see me coming from a mile away. I casually looked at the T-Mobile G1 with Google and she knew I wanted it. She really didn't have to sell it at all. I wanted it and she made it possible for me to buy it without paying the full retail price. Android made me happy. I liked its format and I still do today. I found that I could sync my calendar in MS Outlook to Google Calendar which automatically got pushed to my G1 and I could do it all in reverse, scheduling and canceling appointments and meetings and work shifts on the go from anywhere. I was drunk with productivity.

I was good for a while. I could do whatever I needed to do while on the go. I really didn't foresee needing or wanting any more services. That is, until I was introduced to Google Voice. I didn't really see myself changing my life over to a new phone number. I had been with the same cell phone number for six years and I didn't want to change and so, like Blogger, it was a novelty at first, something to toy around with. Then I learned that instead of using T-Mobile's voicemail system I could set up my phone so that it used Google Voice's system and I could record customizable voicemail greetings that would automatically change depending on who was calling. I could use Google Voice to connect phone calls between two locations- I could sit at work with no cell service and have Google Voice dial the base number then connect me to my sister in Kansas without a long distance charge showing up at work. Google Voice coupled with the functionality of Google Calendar and Google Docs with the entertainment and informative value of Google Reader, why, it was like my birthday plus Christmas plus a blowjob rolled all into one.

I draw the line at Google Health. I refuse to let my personal medical information sit on a Google server somewhere. But still, Google is taking over my life and it is all your fault Kelly Grayson. All. Your. Fault.