Pre-Script: This is the third time I've written this post today. Not because of any technical problems with the site, but because i was trying to do it at work and work kept interrupting. Stupid work. Anywho...
I did it. I finally broke down or bucked up or whatever it is you do when you want something but don't have the courage to go out and get it. That's right: I bought an iphone.
It just struck me as odd that I would consider this to be an iconic act. I am not, on the whole, a consumer as far as the acquisition of things goes. I pretty much just spend my money on rent, gas, bills, food, and drink. Perhaps the occasional movie, but that's not really acquire anything but experience. And can you really put a price tag on experience?
Yes. Yes, you can. Let me put a price tag on this one.
It was mid-to-late afternoon on January 10th. For some bizarre reason I had stayed up all night conversing with some of the regulars in my favorite chat room. I was also conversing with people that I had only ever heard of through the chat or had only ever heard of me through the chat. It was a very "Lady Hawk" moment. So, as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes at around 2pm, I decided that it was time to make a purchase.
I have friends with iphones. I have seen the things they can do. My current phone was starting to die. I had the thing for over three years. I figured it was time for an upgrade. So, I got up, got clean, got dressed, got lunch, and got down to the local Mac store. Mac stores have a decent set up. The wide open space and clean lighting is very inviting, and there's lots of stuff for you to play with while waiting for somebody to help you. Eventually, a sales person came over to me and we started the process of my acquisition of my next step into a larger world.
It's easy: they have you type in all your information, specialize your plan, and pick your phone. Then they activate the phone right there, help you pick some accessories, charge it all right there, and send you on your way. They have these portable credit card readers that they can use anywhere in the store. Makes shopping easy.
The only hitch in all this was that I had to switch from Sprint to AT&T. Since I didn't have my account information with me the sales clerk pulled up Spint's website where, in theory, I should have been able to access my account. However, the site did not recognize my phone number, my address, or my email. Which was sorta dumb. So I said "screw it" and activated the AT&T account with a new phone number, which I would then have to relay to every single person I would ever want to contact me again.
Aside from that, very pleasant shopping experience. The final receipt was in the area of $450.
Now, the iphone, aside from being a phone and an mp3 player, is just a fun toy. There's all these ridiculously useless but oh-so-entertaining apps to download. For instance: you can download an app that let's you swing your iphone around and make lightsaber noises. I can't imagine there is a male between the ages of 25 - 50 that has an iphone and doesn't have this app. So naturally, I spent a lot of time downloading anything that was A.) free and B.) remotely interesting. I took my iphone everywhere with me while exploring it's seemingly endless utility.
Including the bathroom.
The lesson here is: do not try to play a game one-handed while drunk. You will drop your expensive toy, possibly into something you'd really rather not have to retrieve it from.
But retrieve it I did because, bloody hell, I just spent $450 on that thing. I tried to shake it out (and then washed my hands VERY thoroughly). I propped it up so some of the remaining...liquid might eventually drip out. I let it dry over light. I tried to plug it back into itunes to do a system restore. But alas, my new toy was dead. I had owned it for 4 days. I looked over the warrantee to see if dropping your phone in the toilet was covered. It wasn't. I called tech support and asked them what my options were. They said my options were to buy a new iphone. Needing a second opinion, I went back to the Mac store and asked them what my options were. They said they could take a look at it, but it would probably be a couple weeks before they told me just to buy a new iphone. I decided to skip the wait.
Now, when you buy a new iphone with the plan, the actual iphone itself is only $200, but if you want to buy one without the plan it's $400. However, I told the guys my story. Also, I work in customer service, so I make a very strenuous effort to A.) not make any demands, B.) be an asshole, C.) make any salesperson's job harder than it has to be. Since I was cool, they were cool, and only charged me the $200 for a new phone instead of the $400.
So, total price tag on this experience: approximately $650 + tax.
I like to think of it as "stimulating the economy via recycled beer".
Happy Jenday