Never mind that the line between work and personal time was blurred. To me, e-mail-on-the-go was the best thing since sliced bread and air-conditioning.

Then, I left that job for one that did not need BlackBerry devices. Oh, the withdrawal symptoms! Taxi rides became excruciating and I twiddled my thumbs just to keep them busy.

I even had panic attacks when I logged on to my e-mail inbox and saw 10 messages awaiting my attention. How neglected they must have felt while I pursued an off-line life. For shame!

Two jobs later, I'm back on the crack. It beats hauling the clunky office laptop around just to read work e-mail messages.

Although I already have e-mail-on-the-go on my iPhone, those are non-work messages and they are at the mercy of free Wi-Fi networks around Singapore. With the iPhone 3G expected to go on sale in the US on July 11, and in Singapore a few months later, it may make sense for me to sync everything on one device.

But right now, a cellphone and a BlackBerry allow me to separate work from play. More importantly, it lets me switch the office off on weekends so I won't feel guilty having those work e-mail messages glaring accusingly at me when I check my iPhone for Facebook updates.

My iron-willed discipline might be born out of my recovered addiction, but hey, it is discipline nevertheless.

It's funny how, once in a while, technological advancement produces a device that changes social interaction.

When the BlackBerry smartphone was launched in 2002, it was the only device on the market to converge cellphone services with real-time e-mail and Web-browsing capabilities - what telcos call 'push-mail'.

In just months, executives worldwide were hooked. Some say the BlackBerry was singlehandedly responsible for instituting a 24/7 work schedule (or slavery).

In the job where I had my first BlackBerry, everyone had one surgically attached to his palm. The only time someone did not reply to an e-mail within an eight-hour turnaround was when he or she was on a long-haul flight.

The funniest instance, when we all realised how ludicrous our CrackBerry addiction had become, was during a company retreat.

The boss, having decided we had all been working hard on a deal, declared it was time for a holiday. Because it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, the resort we booked in Bintan was not high-end. The boss man, being of the generous luxury-loving kind, was crossing his fingers that we wouldn't be too disappointed.

Looking around the villa upon arrival, he concluded that it was better than expected. After all, he reasoned: 'The BlackBerry works so it's not so bad, right?'

Sure enough, before we had settled into our rooms, all of us were busy checking our e-mail!

I know couples who declare BlackBerry blackouts on weekend outings - even locking up the offending object. I have also witnessed unpleasant public episodes of BlackBerry widows losing their composure and creating scenes.

The most severe case of BlackBerry widowhood I have heard of has to be that of a friend's colleague's wife. Having suffered months of being ignored at dinners and having her husband disappear at parties each time the blinking green light flashed red, she snatched the BlackBerry from his hand mid-e-mail, stormed into the driveway, wedged it under the car tyre, started the car and ran it over the hapless device - several times. Hell hath no fury like a woman ignored?

Curiously, the converse does not appear to be true. A man neglected by a female BlackBerry addict might whip out his own and click away quite happily.

I'm resolute about maintaining a strict level of push-mail decorum: no checking of e-mail during meetings, dinners or movies. Like powdering one's nose at the dinner table, BlackBerry-ing in the presence of others is unforgivable.

So if you ever see me BlackBerry-ing in your face, do feel free to snatch it away and dash off to the nearest carpark to run over it. I am determined not to succumb to CrackBerry addiction a second time.

Why then do I have the sinking feeling that I sound like a recovering addict about to relapse in a big way?

joannel@sph.com.sg