The Trials and Tribulations of Having a New Phone...

Tonight, I got a new cell phone. It's been two years since I got my last one. Prior to my last new phone, I'd had a lovely little phone that I'd loved. Then I'd accidentally left it on a phone while en route to Los Angeles to visit a friend.

So, on that trip to Los Angeles, I'd gone to the cell phone store and picked out a new one. I had previously had a normal phone that could access the web but wasn't a 'smart phone,' per se. I ended up with a Blackberry. I don't know why I picked the Blackberry other than the fact that it was pink and I was momentarily blinded by the fact that it was a Blackberry and it was cool.

I hated that Blackberry. It wasn't that I hated the Blackberry in general but I'd chosen the cute one that had a smaller keyboard than normal. This meant that there were two letters per key and when you tried to text/instant message, you often ended up with things like "yat" instead of yay or "ygr" instead of "the".

In addition, I had the unfortunate accident of dropping that Blackberry down the toilet.

Twice.

To its credit, it still worked. Both times, fortunately, it was a clean toilet. It was an unfortunate accident resulting of my putting my phone in the back pocket of my jeans and not realizing it would lead to calamity when I went to the bathroom.

Both times, I managed to use a combination of a space heater and rice to dry it out.

Both times, the phone continued to work once it had dried out. Nevertheless, I still have a text message from my younger dated August 8, 2048 that came as a result of dropping my phone down the toilet the second time. I'm not going to delete that. I mean, how often do you get a text message like that from the future?

The fact remained, even without the toilet incidents, I was not a fan of this Blackberry. I decided a few months ago I liked the shinyness and niftiness of the Droid. I mean, for goodness sake, it said "droid" when you got a text message! How cool is that?

Then I changed jobs. Then I found out that my office would pay part of the fees of a Blackberry if I used it for work as well as for my personal life.

The Droid seemed less appealing. Not so unappealing I didn't do massive amounts of research to let me know why it really was smarter to get a Blackberry than a Droid.

I finally decided that while the Droid had nifty apps like The Food Network App and that one where you can scan any barcode and find out what it belongs to, the Blackberry was a solid communication tool. When I looked at my history of apps and such, the most I ever really do is surf the web, instant message people and check Facebook.

So, when I went into the Verizon store tonight, I knew I was going to get a Blackberry.

I did. I think I like it. I've also got a new number which is a bit alarming. I've been clinging to my Los Angeles area code for the longest time, not willing to relinquish the last vestiges of that former life.

Then, recently, I realized that when you give local people that number, they look at you like you're from Mars. Or Venus. Or someplace else. Which you are because they really only know their area code. Everything else is alien. It's just the way things are.

So, I decided after two years of being a foreigner in the Midwest to give in. I finally gave up my L.A. area code and now have an Ohio one.

This means I have to let everyone who calls me know that I have a new number. This could be done simply by sending a text to everyone.

I tried to do that. Unfortunately, on my new phone, the 'delete' key looks a lot like the 'enter' key. It took three texts to let people know I had a new number. After the third, I felt rather like a twit. I mean, how many texts does it really take?

Still, people are being nice. They've responded. I figure the ones that want to stay in touch will. The ones that don't...won't. It's ok by me. It's the way of life. Every now and again, we do a little purge in our lives. Sometimes accidentally. Sometimes on purpose.

Now all that remains is to figure out how my new phone works. It has a lot more buttons. It has a lot more dangers. Still, I think with perserverence and diligence, I can conquer it. On the plus side, it's also harder to dial which means it's less likely that something, say, like a puppy named Sookie can steal it and call someone which used to happen with my old phone. Nothing worse than accidental dog dials.

Except, of course, having to talk on a phone you know has been dropped down the toilet.

Twice.

Here's hoping I'm a little more careful with my new phone.

I'll keep you posted.

Happy Wednesday!