Phone Woes

I resisted getting a cell phone for almost a decade after everyone else had started drinking the Kool-Aid.  I have lots of reasons why I don't like cell phones and I won't bore you with them here.

When I went to Belgium for a month in 2003, I felt like I needed to have a cell phone on the plane in case we were hijacked.  It was not long after 9/11 and I get weird about needing to feel in control on a plane, so I was sure that traveling over the ocean for that long necessitated a cell phone to bid adieu to everyone as we went down.

As I went through the procedure of buying the phone, I learned that it would be the cheapest way to call home while I was there, so it was a good win-win.

I was sure that when I returned, I'd let the contract run out and then not bother to renew.

Ha ha.

I've been with t-mobile since the beginning because they were the only carrier at the time that had an overseas plan.  I just kept it when I got back because I liked the monthly price they charged for the amount of calling and texting I did and on we went.  I have a grandfathered no contract plan that works fo rme.

3 phones later (3 phones in 10 years is pretty good, right?), I'm feeling a little pressure to join the big kids and get a smartphone.  At almost triple the monthly fee that I currently pay, I just don't want to do that.  And, the district provided me with an ipad that allows me to do a lot of things on the internet that I would do on a smartphone, as long as I can find wifi.

When I got my phone the other morning, it looked like this.

Which is what it's supposed to look like when it's closed.

But then I slid it open and it looked like this.

And that isn't what it's supposed to look like.  The screen was dead.  I could still dial and make a phone call but no texts would show up and I would not know if I had missed a call without checking my voicemail from another phone.

So basically, I had to call the old fashioned way by dialing a number and hoping it was the right one.  And if someone called, it was like the old days with no caller ID.

I felt like a pioneer.

What bothered me the most was that for a while, there was still a very faint light that allowed me to think that there might be an incoming text and I would never know what it said!

I spent 2 days with it like that and warned anyone who texts  me often that I was out of commission.  And I debated for those 2 days what I wanted to do.

K-ster checked with his provider to see what adding a phone to his account would do and how much the phone would be.  I checked with mine about upgrading.  When all is said and done, there wouldn't have been much difference between his or mine but mine would have allowed me to get a new phone every year if I wanted to for about the price I would be paying on his plan.

And then I thought about what I need a phone to do.  And really, with the amount of time I spend online in the classroom and at home, I don't need to be online on the go.  Yes, there are many times I wish I could quickly go online in a store to check something or check an email that had directions to the place I currently can't find.

But really, tripling my bill for that isn't something I want to afford right now.

I heard rumors that carriers do let people still keep just a voice and text plan in this age of smart devices, so I check with t-mobile.  The girl told me they had one non smartphone in the store for $72 which we all agreed was too much.  She told me to walk my little self right over to Kmart and buy a prepaid t-mobile phone that would take a SIM card and it would work fine and my plan wouldn't change.

I was dumbfounded!  So, I walked my little self over there and for $35, I bought a fliphone that is really exactly what I need.

Buying a prepaid phone made me feel like a drug dealer or terrorist, especially when the lady asked me if I was going to go over to t-mobile for help with it and I told her no, I'd be doing it myself.  I felt very sneaky getting it out of the package and setting it up in  my car.

But, it does exactly what I want and has a nice battery life and didn't break the bank.

Now, if I can just find the choice of sounds for incoming texts so I can change it from sounding like an incoming bomb, I'll be tickled pink.  I've changed the ringtone but I really fear I'm stuck with an incoming explosive for my texts no matter what I do!