Easing into the 21st Century

I like to tell people that with my new cell phone, I'm easing into the 21st Century. T-Mobile had notified me that they were upgrading their service, and my old phone would no longer work, so they were sending me a new phone. I was apprehensive, as I'd had that one for several years, knew how to work it, and it was big enough I could hold it and punch numbers at the same time! Oh well, progress marches on.

The new phone arrived, and sure enough, it was of a size one could lose forever in the depths of a medium-size purse. Not to be deterred, I plugged it in overnight to charge the battery, and launched into the activation phase. With limited time to devote to phone conversations with English-impaired Middle-Easterners, it took three days to get that accomplished. I won't go into the excruciating details of holding the land-line phone with one hand and trying to hold the new (tiny) phone and punch in, with the other hand, codes they are giving me. We were even successful at transferring remaining minutes and old phone number to the new one.

THEN I decided to fully embrace modern technology and set-up Voice Mail. After two more days, I finally asked for a supervisor, who subsequently discovered that this particular phone did not have Voice Mail capability. I did express my opinion of the whole operation. I also asked if she would please circulate a memo to everyone at the end of those toll-free phone numbers, that this phone did not have voice mail. That would save both them and future customers a lot of valuable time, and I suggested I be put in line for some bonus minutes for this time-saving idea. I don't suppose those will arrive any time soon.

So, here I am, contemplating canceling the pricey land-line long distance plan, and relying on a phone that comes with games, but cannot take messages. I'm certain they did that on purpose, knowing we'd decide it would be worth it to spend money on another phone. Well, they were correct. Found a phone that wouldn't require a bank loan, and it even came with a card that, once installed, would double the minutes on all future minute purchases.

Time passes: another two weeks for the new phone to arrive. Got it charged up overnight. Waited another 24-hours to a day where I could devote the whole morning to dealing with Middle-Eastern accents. I had worked out a system by now--lock cats out of the room, pull up hassock for a work surface, put down a non-slippery pillow to hold the phone while I punched. Got the phone activated, transferred remaining minutes and old phone number. They would send email instructions on setting up the Voice Mail. By now it was time to go to work. That evening I worked on the Voice Mail thing to no avail. Had to call the dreaded toll-free number again. Nice guy this time, sounded like a real person instead of a robot--actually chuckled at some of my witty remarks. However, he had to resort to an off-phone techie, who worked about 30 minutes before, hallelujah! getting my Voice Mail working.

OK, I'm set. I've more or less mastered the basic functions and how to move around on the thing, managed to add all the numbers of friends and family to the phonebook, picked out a nice phone-like ring (no movie soundtracks for me), and so far have contrived to avoid falling into the games section. I've made one call (successful) and answered one call (accomplished). Haven't gotten any messages yet, so it's still to be verified that Voice Mail is set up correctly, and I can actually find and hear a message. But it's major progress!

I feel with all this under my belt, I could apply for a position on the next space shuttle.

Story ID:	3232
Written by:	Carol J Garriott (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Organization:	home/retired
Story type:	Musings, Essays and Such
Location:	Seadrift Texas USA
Year:	2007
Person:	Carol Garriott