Not so long ago I was the girl who emphatically said, “I will never own an iPhone! Who would want their phone, iPod and camera wrapped into one device? Then if something happens to it you’re totally screwed!”
So long good friend.
Flash forward to Tuesday morning, July 5th. I’m half asleep, dragging my feet in protest over the end of a gloriously lazy holiday weekend and the start of a new work week. There’s a water bottle on my nightstand. I think it has a lid on it (it doesn’t) and I think it’s empty (it’s not). I pick it up, I inadvertently tilt the bottle and approximately seven droplets of water splash onto my nightstand, right where my iPod happens to be. I probably could have done this a hundred times over and not gotten the angle just right so that the water would ricochet into the port at the bottom of said iPod. But this time…
I dried it off, the screen flickered and went black.
I left it propped up on my bed, hoping to drain the water from inside.
I read online that uncooked rice sometimes pulled moisture from technical devices, so I bought a bag at lunch and submerged the iPod.
By Monday evening I was ready to make the call…my iPod was deceased.
To make matters worse, it’s not technically *my* iPod. It belongs to my good friend Toni who (along with her husband) has adopted me when it comes to technology toys, graciously passing down their used electronics when they upgrade to new devices (I have also been in possession of a Huffman loaned XBox 360 since mine presented the red ring of death last year). I felt horrible on many, many levels.
But lo! A ray of light there still may be!
There is a silver (or as it turned out, a white) lining to this story. Since my parental units moved into their new condo in January, there’s been some talk of cancelling our family plan from AT&T because apparently their magical coverage fairies skipped over said condo complex with their snazzy orange silk. Parental units were already leaning toward Verizon because Mom’s work phone is Verizon and gets a signal at the condo and at their vacation abode in North Georgia. I saw my opportunity. I went for it.
Flash forward again to Wednesday night in the Verizon store where I looked my destiny in the face and knew there was no turning back.
I am not a person of impulse when it comes to big purchases (mostly because my bank account will not allow me to be) but I have been diligently saving over the last few months (for my Alaska trip in May…but whatever) and yes my rent went up this month and yes I have another trip planned to Tallahassee in October, but here are the facts that really helped my make my decision:
Fact #1: I cannot live without an iPod. I love music too much to not have it around me at all times.
Fact #2: A new 16gb iPod actually costs more than a 16gb iPhone with a new contract at Verizon.
Fact #3: I am 26 years old. I am single. I have no children. I am gainfully employed. I live by myself. There will be decades in my life when I have a family to take care of, a mortgage to pay for and other responsibilities that to tend to, none of which will allow me any flexibility for big and spontaneous purchases. But right now, I am nothing but flexible.
iPhone here I come.
By 7:30 p.m. EST, 48 hours after pronouncing my hand me down iPod DOA, I held in my hands a bright, shiny new iPhone to call my own. Yes, I was a little poorer than I was when I entered the Verizon store, but damn if I wasn’t happier than a kid on Christmas morning.
In twenty-four hours of iPhone ownership my life has improved in the following ways:
1. I am better able to keep up with emails and tweets for my growing business, Duolit.
2. I am better able to support my longtime favorite baseball team the Atlanta Braves (who I know beat the Rockies 9-1 today because my iPhone alerts me to the 3rd, 6th and final scores–previously, I only knew of their wins and losses when I caught SportsCenter in passing).
3. I am better able to communicate with my friends and family, including one of my old college roomies who lives in South Florida, but whom I got to see today through FaceTime.
Also in twenty-four hours of iPhone ownership, I’ve gone from that girl who thumbed her nose at people with their iPhones connected by virtual umbilical cords to being one of those very same people. I even downloaded FourSquare and have every intent of being that annoying person who “checks in” to every location I visit.
Sorry for the judgment fellow iPhone peeps…hope it won’t be too awkward at the meetings.
Later days,
– Shannon
