I'm Not Gonna Lie, I Think I Already Have a Repetitive Motion Injury

About a month ago I was walking across campus to get myself something for lunch when the sky opened up and started dumping water on me. I had my little pocket umbrella with me, but by the time I got back to the office, my feet were sliding around in my sandals and my skirt was soaked through.

A few days later, my cell phone suddenly realized it had been exposed to a great deal of moisture, and started turning itself off and on, over and over. And over. This unexpected new feature made it so that I couldn't actually place any calls, but the worst part was the fact that it vibrated at length every time it turned on and off. So I took the battery out, which solved the problem of the irritating vibrating, but didn't make it any easier to, you know, actually use the thing.

My uncle was kind enough to let me borrow his old phone for a few weeks while I worked on securing a new one of my own, but it's weird using someone else's phone. There were phone numbers and photos and things on there that I had to just... work around. It was kind of like carrying someone else's old wallet and having to keep all of their old cards and receipts, mixed in with your precious possessions.

Anyway, I spent several weeks debating about what kind of phone I wanted next. How much was I willing to pay? Was I ready to make the jump to a smartphone? Could I afford a monthly data plan? I'm hugely indecisive so I spent a lot of time reading reviews and comparing phones, but finally I made a decision: I found a well-reviewed Android-based smartphone that was on sale for $50 (with a 2-year contract, of course). I walked authoritatively in the store, I told the sales guy which phone I wanted and asked if they had the same deal in the store that I had seen on the internet. He said yes, and took me to the display phone. Just as I was getting used to the feel of it in my hand and familiarizing myself with the menus, he says, "You know, the iphone 3GS is also on sale for $50."

Well, shit.

So, even though I did research for 2 and a half weeks in order to avoid this very scenario, I spent the next hour or two trying to decide between the two phones. It literally hadn't even occurred to me to buy an iphone, because I don't really think of myself as one of the Apple Faithful. As a result, I had to ask a million questions about it and spend lots of time starting at it. It was a trying time for everyone involved, I'm sure. At long last, I made decision, paid, and left feeling much older in years but much richer in phone. So here I am tonight, hanging out with my new phone:


Really, the worst part about the whole experience was having to sign that paper promising to act like I'm better than everyone else from now on.


You win this one, Apple. But my laptop is still an HP.