Frustration!

I never knew how dependent I was on my cell phone until the moment it no longer worked. The mishap was bound to happen sooner or later because for the past few months I've had issues with my phone shutting off at random times. But, being the tight-wad that I am, I didn't want to spend any money on a new phone. So I adpated. I became grudgingly accustomed to failed text messages and dropped phone calls. I figured I could put up with such a malfunctions until it came time to update my contract.

Haphazardly, that time came sooner than later. Today as I was walking out of my ELANG 350 class, I checked my phone to see if anyone had text me since my last text message about 50 minutes earlier (See? So shamefully dependent). Of course, my phone had shut off, so I proceeded to hold down the "end" key and wait for the flash anaimation to pop up, singlaning that my phone was functioning properly. Except this time, as I patiently waited for settings to set, my yellow- and red-leafed wallpaper did not pop up; instead, another animation of a guitar and some music symbols invaded my screen with a banner reading "Service Required."

"Service Required?" I asked myself. "How can that be? I always have service in Provo." (Well, I almost always have service in Provo. There are those occasions when the mountains seem to interfere with Verizons signals...)

I began implementing the scientific method, testing all sorts of hypotheses concerning my disfunctioning phone. To no avail, the darn device still flahed, "Serice Required." Naturally, the next step was to call Verizon and inquire "What the heck is wrong with my phone? This has never happened before."

Fortuntately, I was near a landline. When I called Verizon I spoke with a nice man named, Tim. Tim was very helpful as far as making me feel like the incident was not my fault, but he offered no solution for my broken phone. After being transferred to a Level Two Technician, (Verizon lingo), I learned that my phone's programming no longer works, and I will now have to make that new cell phone purchase I was so hoping to avoid for at least another 4-5 months.

Have you seen the prices for those things? $70-200. Sheesh! Who does that? All I know is that this new phone had better be the cats meow and had better last a long time. I have yet to make my purchase, so until then, I can be contacted via facebook, blog, voicemail, email, and snail mail. Take your pick.