Valentine’s Day Miracle

My ordeal last night at Port Authority was incredibly frustrating.  When that payphone ate my 4 quarters after I had to buy a newspaper to break a $20, I had to suppress my urge to scream.  At that moment, I gave in to my weakness and went outside to bum a cigarette.  I hate bumming cigarettes from strangers so I always offer a dollar.  I actually don’t like doing that either but it’s better than buying a pack and having 19 more cigarettes to last me several days.

But something unexpected happened after my post last night.  I used my brother’s phone to call his cell phone, and he picked up.  He asked me to meet him at a bus stop near my house at 9:40.  9:40 am?  No, 9:40 pm, as in right now.  I grabbed my jacket and ran out of the house even though I had 10 minutes to spare.  I waited for the bus outside the car because I just couldn’t wait to get the phone back, and I was nervous that it wouldn’t happen.  I went back in the car when it got too cold, then went back out again when it was almost 9:40.

At 9:42, the bus arrived.  I let all the passengers get on, and I approached the driver at the end.  My face must have said it all (and so did the fact that I didn’t have a ticket in my hand) because he handed me the phone before I said anything.  I was very grateful, and my attempt at giving him some reward money turned into a handshake.  I saw a pleasant look of surprise on his face so that made it worth it for me to give him some money ($30).

He must’ve charged the phone because it had more battery in it than when I lost it.  And having the password protection on it was a great idea, since he couldn’t unlock it and I had to log into Gmail to unlock the phone.

After what happened in Port Authority, getting my phone back yesterday was the last thing I expected to happen.  But St. Valentine must be real, because he performed a miracle last night.

Worst Valentine’s Day Ever

The title makes sense only because today is Valentine’s Day, not because of any bad romance (not sure what that term really means, just trying to sound hip after the oldies post).  I was supposed to pick up my phone from the driver today.  He was fairly specific in his instructions, to meet him at Gate 325 in Port Authority between 6 and 6:15pm.  I assumed this meant his bus is scheduled to leave at 6:15.  I got there early, around 5:40pm.  I asked first bus driver at the gate about the phone and he said he wasn’t the guy.  I would have gone back to the front of the line, but from the front, I cannot see any clocks.  Since it was still fairly early, I just walked myself to the back of the line.

But the place was a madhouse.  I assumed New York Port Authority was always like this during quitting time, but from what I overheard, this was highly unusual.  There was even an announcement that all incoming and outgoing buses were delayed by 30 minutes due to passenger volume.  I realized this was because today was Valentine’s Day, and everyone was rushing home to their loved ones, or going out on romantic dates.  I got back to the front of the line a little before 6.  And from that moment on, I walked into every bus at the gate, which arrived every 5 to 10 minutes, and no one knew anything about a phone.

At 7, I figured enough time has passed to cover for the 30 minute delay, so I decided to give him a call using a payphone.  Problem was, I didn’t have any change.  Or any singles.  Or a $5.  I just had $20s, and I didn’t want to ask for quarters with a $20, so I just bought a newspaper.  It then cost me $1 to make a call from a payphone.  Rang twice, then hung up.  Ultimate frustration.  That was the breaking point, as my stress was slowly building and building up to that moment.  I had to give up for the day.  I talked to an employee there and he said the bus scheduled to leave at 6:16pm actually left at 5:55pm, which means I might’ve missed him when I went to the back of the line.  Thinking positively, he could not pick up my call because he was driving.  Negatively, he changed his mind about returning the phone.

Well, it has now been about 3 hours since he theoretically started driving the bus tonight, so I’ll call him again.  Hopefully, I can pick it up tomorrow, but that would ruin MY Valentine’s Day, since my wife and I had plans tomorrow night.  We may have to skip dinner and go directly to Broadway.  I hope that doesn’t happen, but more importantly, I hope I find my phone…

 

OtterSucks

A quick note: why is everyone selling everything these days?  McDonalds wants to be Starbucks and sell premium coffee.  Subway wants to be McDonalds and sell breakfast.  IHOP started selling dinners a long time ago.  And who does grocery shopping from a pharmacy?  Has anyone bought eggs from CVS?  And most unlikely match of a retailer and its products, why is Staples selling Bounty paper towels and Windex?  I guess it’s good for the customers that we have the option of making less stops if we need to buy multiple categories of items.  Still, some of those are a bit weird.

On to the main post, which is not any more deep nor thought-provoking than that quick observation.  I never used a case with any of my previous cell phones.  I thought my phones looked small and sleek, and a case would make the phone bulky and harder to use.  However, I do use a case now because this is no longer just a phone.  I do a lot of things with this phone (such as writing this blog) that I really want to protect it.  I bought a case, but I didn’t just buy a random case from a kiosk at a local mall.  I researched and found that Otterbox makes the most sturdy, if bulky, phone cases.  They were a bit more expensive, but I got one online for around $20 – $25.

My phone, the original Motorola Droid (in this case, original is not a good adjective to have, as it is synonymous with outdated), has a sliding screen, so the case comes in two parts: case for the phone, and a plastic frame for the screen.  Well, when the plastic frame broke the first time, Otterbox sent me a replacement.  When it broke the second time, I had to ask if this was a known issue.  Well, my research must not have been complete because it turns out that they were aware of this “variability” with their case.  Well, I’m not going to take a chance on a third case, so I’ll be asking for a refund, which they offered.

I’ve always been a step behind the times when it came to cell phones.  I had a beeper (SmartBeep, only $1.99/mo.) when other people started getting cell phones.  When I finally got a cell phone (Nokia 6120), people had flip phones.  When I moved on to flips, others were already on sliders.  I wanted a phone with a cool sliding screen and when I got one, the iPhone came out and touchscreens were all the rage.  Well, I am finally caught up with the technology, although I still have a year and a half left with this phone so most likely I’ll be a step behind the times once again.

Coming up tomorrow: my return to the mic.

Replacing the Droid

As mobile phones become more advanced, people tend to rely on them more. I used to just have to save my contacts when changing phones. Then there were texts and notes (I don’t mind losing texts). Now, with this Droid, I would have to save my MP3s, other applications with data in them, Internet bookmarks, and I would have to reinstall my favorite applications. I know it should be easy with Google sync but having never done it, I’m not all that confident. Anyway, more we put our lives onto our phone, more we come to rely on them, and harder it is to replace them, which is inevitable when dealing with a fragile electronic machine that you carry around everywhere.

Seeing that this phone is more like a tiny computer, I’ve learned to live with the occasional slow performance, occasional difficulty of relocating the phone screen after accidentally getting out of it during a call, and such. But today, I decided to stop by the Verizon store since I was at the mall to study anyway. My bigggest gripe was that the MP3 player would start when I plug in the headset, which gets annoying since I use my headset for other reasons, too, such as YouTube and Sports Radio. Well without even verifying my problem, Verizon said they’d send me a new phone. I was hesitant because of all the reasons I listed above, but decided that it would be worth it, since I got some scratches on this one anyway. Hopefully, the new phone won’t have any problems.

But I wasted almost an hour at the store – wait almost made me leave. But I guess it was worth it for a free replacement. It is now 12:30 pm and I’ll be studying until my wife joins me for lunch soon. Then it will be nothing but studying until Borders closes. Kinda hungry… where is my wife?