Lesson learned the Hard way

After my new cell phone crashed last Thursday, (after only two months of use and for no reason) it would have been smart to have the lovely people at Verizon print out my address book on paper. Which I am sure would have only cost about $20. But, I didn't, and today I am realizing how stupid I was. Less than a week later, my phone dies again, after dropping it on the floor at work. It only fell about a foot, and in my opinion, that shouldn't have caused it to cease working completely. This time, the phone won't even come on. I removed the back cover, replaced the battery several times, even blowing on it (cause that always works), and still I was left with a black screen and no power.

I left work early and made it over to the Verizon store near Lenox around 3pm. The technician was his usual pessimistic self asking me if I let it charge overnight. That is a BIG No-No with cell phone batteries. I denied practicing such irresponsible charging behaviors at which point he claims that the battery is probably dead. What kind of an idiot does he think I am? A few minor tests later and he claims that yes, in fact, I need a new phone, but that they are out of that particular phone. "We may be able to overnight you one". I asked if there were any other stores in the area with that phone in stock. Turns out, the Verizon wireless store in Gwinnett in fact had 7 left. So I dashed out with phone in hand. Up I-85 to the wonderful and great land of Gwy-net I traveled, looking for the Satellite Boulevard exit which does not exist. I just knew it must be near Pleasant Hill, and a few streets later I spotted the store. Long story short: Yes, they replaced the phone, but since the old phone will not turn on, it is impossible to retrieve my contacts. All 260 of them.....gone. It seems that although Verizon may have the best coverage and strongest signal, they are also operating on a network unlike any of the other carriers. SIMM cards are a foreign term here. All numbers are stored on the phone. I was sick about it. Luckily, I do have a few of my friends' numbers on my computer at home, but many are lost forever. Some I don't want back in the phone. But it is still a pain in the ass any way you look at it.

If you get a chance, send me a quick email with you home and or cell phone number.

Happy Holidays.