Nicety or Necessity?

I have decided I absolutely cannot live without my cell phone. What used to be a nicety for me has turned into a necessity. Let me explain.

I had a cell phone when I was in college. It's funny to think about it now, but by having a cell phone, I was in the minority. It was just nice to call my parents with so I didn't have to use a phone card for long distance. I think I rarely used it for anything else. I hardly ever gave out my cell phone number because I didn't want to waste my minutes. Fast forward to today. My cell phone is now my only phone. I got rid of my home phone when I realized I was paying $40 a month for 8 people to call me! It's like people stopped trying my home phone first, because they knew I would always have my cell phone. Everybody seems to have cell phones these days, even 7 year olds! I think you are in the minority if you don't have a cell phone. Oh, and text messaging has practically replaced email and half of my phone calls... I'm still getting used to that. A couple weeks ago I left my cell phone at work and practically had a panic attack. How was I supposed to communicate with anyone??? Good thing I still had my internet so I could text message my friend's phone via email :-)

I would seriously rather have a house without a dishwasher than not have a cell phone.

So what about you? What things were once niceties to you, but are now necessities?