Monday, December 19, 2005

Cell phones + water = bad

Ok, this post is going to be an attempt to explain the necessity for me to get a new phone.

It all started when I was in KC for the annual Wales' Christmas bash. As usual, our Friday evening was spent at the Plaza, first eating supper, then browsing the shops for awhile. We ate at Uno's, which is a great place to be introduced to Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Well, after supper, nature called. I knew that my cell didn't always stay clipped in its belt holster, but I wasn't quick enough on the draw, and - ploosh - I'll let you decide what happened there. This is accident #1, of three basic accidents that happened that night. I'll just say that all three had to happen for the night to turn out as it did. If any two of the three had occurred, no problem. So, my phone's zapped, and I don't know anyone's number in my head anymore. Accident #2: I'm browsing in Barnes and Noble (big surprise :)) and I check the time and realize I'm supposed to be back at Uno's right now. No big deal, when is the last time a group of around 30 people managed to meet and leave within 10 minutes? Apparently, it was that night. So I get to Uno's at 7:50, ten minutes late, and no one in sight. Hmm......... I start to think maybe I got the time wrong. I then realize that Accident #3 had already occurred earlier: the vehicle I arrived in had left soon after supper, so nobody that was left would have missed me on the ride home. So, I went back to Barnes and Noble for a while, thinking that If anyone did miss me and come back, they would probably know to check here. Well, it's not easy to relax in a situation like this, so I went back to Uno's, got a mocha from across the street, and decided to wait it out. Finally, at around 9 pm, I figured it was probably going to be up to me to get to Wales'. Another problem: I don't remember their address. After some intense memory searching, Glenwood comes to mind, but I don't have a clue how to get from the Plaza to anywhere I know. I started to take a closer look at the taxis all over the Plaza. Hmm... $2.20 + $1.70 per mile....I remember Tina saying something about 19 miles to the Plaza according to Mapquest....I have $36 and change in my wallet.....figure 20 miles....wow, that's close...Anyway, for the first time in my life, I hailed a cab. I told him I barely had enough for a 20 mile fare, so he knew I was interested in the shortest route, not the fastest. Anyway, I made it to Wales', with nothing but the change to spare after I paid the cabbie. I missed the whole gift exchange, but since I had put a gift in the pot, there was one left for me. It was a whole bag of gummi worms, gummi bears, sour worms, etc., which I ended up accidentally at Tom and Tina Fehr's place anyway. :( Oh, well.
On the bright side, I was not under a cell phone contract, so I just decided to get a new phone and forget about trying to collect an insurance claim on my old one. It's a better phone anyway, and Alltel ended up giving it to me for nearly half price (that's after the discount for a two year service agreement).
So I guess that's the long way around to say that I don't have anybody's number for my contact list, since my old phone was unresponsive to any and all resuscitation attempts. :(
Therefore, if you would like me to have your number, please respond via comment, or, if you don't want the few people who read this blog to also know it, by e-mail. ;)

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Snow, KC, cell phones

So it is time to catch up a little already. December 1 was the first snow accumulation here, and it has snowed twice since then, but only about an inch each time. This past weekend in KC was just what I needed to pick me up a little. I say that truthfully, despite the fact that the weekend did include at least one totally downer experience on Saturday night. If you don't know that story, but would like to, I may post it if there is enough interest. Another slight downer was the fact that my phone is officially dead. Alltel has no stores in Illinois, so my options were limited. I called them up to discuss the possibilities, such as insurance, upgrades, etc. Basically, the quickest and easiest option was to sign a new service agreement ad get a new phone. The supervisor gave me an awesome deal on the phone I was interested in, and it should be here tommorrow. I am kind of excited because it is a camera phone with a slot for a SD memory card and is Bluetooth enabled. Don't think I'll use bluetooth, but hey, it ended up only costing $30 more than if I just replaced my phone with the insurance. So if any of my adoring public is feeling frustrated at leaving me messages (which they aren't, because I still check my voicemail :) ) that should be taken care of in the next day or two. Unfortunately, I won't be able to retrieve my contacts, so I will have to start over again. Oh well, I only had about 40 contacts because it wasn't that long ago I had a problem with my other phone. Ok, so I am once again rambling on about unimportant things, so I'll stop boring you.

Ash