I took a leap of faith yesterday and jumped ship from Verizon, in which I now have no loyalty, to Cingular, a company that pegs themselves as the network with the least dropped calls. I figured one provider could be no worse than the other.
Of course, I will have to suck it up when it comes to the bane of a majority of American cell phone users, the money I will pay to escape the bonds of imprisonment with this last mobile provider’s contract.
But, sometimes to have a better quality of life, a little hurt in the wallet is worth it, especially if the long-term benefits truly enhance your quality of life, as I’m hoping my new service plan will.
As for finally having a clear signal and being able to actually hold a call where I live, for more than two minutes – I’m impressed. I talked for an hour to a friend last night, and not one dropped call in my tiny basement living space, where before, I could hardly hold a conversation over my Verizon mobile. And this has been my only phone since I moved here. I don’t have a landline to fall back on, which made it that much more disastrous when I couldn’t even get the basics I’d expect from a cellular provider.
I chose the Cingular 8525, the Windows Mobile Pocket PC Phone -- I know I could have gone with a much cheaper model of phone, but that's just not me. I always want all of the bells and whistles, access to the Internet at all times, text messaging, email and multimedia capabilities. So, instead of another Treo (even though Cingular offers them in similar models, I felt too burned and hesitant to give these Palm models another try), I went for something different to the tune of about $450 before taxes and activation fee.
I don't like it that this one runs on Windows, since I have a Mac, but I was willing to make a concession since I do have Virtual PC, which allows my Mac to run Windows programs and because it’s almost impossible to find phones (except for the still elusive iPhone that Apple dangles above us like a carrot) that work well with Macs.
However, when I connected my phone to my Apple PowerBook with the USB cable, popped in and installed the ActiveSync software from the cd and then attempted to sync my laptop to this mobile machine last night, my computer said it could not locate the device - okay, this could be bad, but I was so damned happy to get a signal (and tired last night) that I did not focus too much on it; not going to jump the gun, because maybe there is an easy fix out there. (Et voila - sure enough, I did later find a potential fix via a Google search, which resulted in a website featuring third-party software built for the purpose of helping Macs and many types of PC mobile devices talk to one another: http://pocketmac.net)
I also tried a number of times to sign in to a few different email accounts with usernames and passwords I knew for a fact were correct, but, no matter how many times I tried, I was denied access. I’m thinking this could be because the customer service reps told me it takes 48-72 hours to get everything in place with the account. I guess time will tell.
Other than that, I LOVE that it combines the options of letting me access the Internet via broadband AND WiFi. My old Treo was only broadband-accessible. So that's a bonus to me.
When I showed the manager my military ID card, I also garnered a 19 percent monthly discount off my bill. Suh-WEET! Since my plan is around $120 per month, this is a significant enough savings, over time, for me.
Plus, Cingular has a store that is practically so close to me, I could walk there, and Verizon did not. I think there was an obvious difference in the level of customer service I experienced from the beginning.
When I asked if I still had to punch in a combination of keys each month to update the phone on the network, the guy just looked at me and laughed and said, "Nope, that's a Verizon thing." Apparently, my new device is smart enough to do all of that without my human intervention. Even cooler. I’m all for this non-preschool version of a Smartphone.
Having gotten used to the Treo, I figured I might have a slight learning curve with the Windows Mobile phone, but it’s pretty easy to navigate, perhaps even more so for devout Windows users.
So, Verizon, consider me a customer divorced from you, happy, and with good riddance.
P.S. Okay, maybe one other gripe I do have is that when I had my Treo, I could easily access radio stations, podcasts and other content from one basic screen, and, as far as I can tell, this is not available on the Cingular network?
Great class tonight, a lot of engaging discussions. Many of the students in this sociology course I'm in arrive early and leave a few minutes after the scheduled class ending time. So you can tell it's an interesting class. Our instructor is from Kenya, and he's been educated in London and Paris, so he has an endless wealth of knowledge and a more global perspective to share with us. I'm glad of that. I truly think that every college professor should not only have a requirement to be degreed, but they should also have had to spend a significant amount of time outside of the country. We need more instructors like this that cause us to think and really explore the world around us rather than doling out the conservative drivel of textbooks that tell us what to think.
Earlier, in the University of Maryland student cafe inside the main library, I wrote this rant centered around an assignment that I perceived was due today. Then, I later found out from a classmate that my assignment was not due until NEXT Monday --- whoops.
"So much for getting my first short assignment done for my class. I was sure that I had plenty of time today. However, I guess I have now learned both a better version of patience and to plan ahead more than I did.
The assignment was simple -- to use our textbook and two other introductory sociology textbooks, take the definition of sociology from each and then write a short bit about what school of sociology we think the author of the book hails from, according to how each definition was worded. However, we couldn't use any sources online, which is the avenue I would have chosen had I had the choice. I thought I'd just use the entire day Monday, since I was already off, to accomplish this. A whole day? Plenty of time, right? I'd sleep in and just hop on over to the University of Maryland's library since the one in Greenbelt, Maryland, where I live was closed.
I didn't count on a lot of things, like how long it would take me to get around on campus -- finding parking and figuring out the lay of the land. I couldn't make a copy of the book without a copy card. Well, in order to get the copy card, I had to buy one, which was $1 (minus the amount you then need to load onto the card in order to make copies and perform print jobs). However, as seems to be my lot in life, I was armed with credit cards only, and the machine would not accept them. I headed back over to the Stamp Student Union, from whence I had just come, to locate an ATM and withdraw money. Back and forth and around and around it seems I went to navigate so much just to accomplish a small few tasks.
Then, it turns out, in a university of this size and stature, there was only one -- count it ONE -- introductory sociology text in the entire library. The librarian told me they didn't generally carry textbooks.
So that was great news. I knew they didn't carry them in the Borders or Barnes and Noble types of bookstores any more than this library did, because I'd already combed through the stores throughout the week. So where does one find a sociology textbook then without buying one?
I'm going to arrive early and discuss this with my instructor today, but this is a really frustrating beginning to my studies.
Also, I was disheartened to discover that University of Maryland University College students are not offered access to the UMD wireless network, to which there are over 200 points on campus. We use the facilities and attend classes here, but we cannot access the wireless when we need to get on the Internet and do some research in the library. I find this very disconcerting. Even when I offered to pay for an account, I was told that the option is not even available.
One thing I believe about student life -- is that nothing is set up to be inexpensive or easy. It's as if college is not just about taking classes and showing your smarts but navigating many annoying, inconvenient levels of bureaucracy, paperwork and the lack of common sense, as if in a video game, to see who can remain patient and keep her wits about her.
I am already tired and my class begins at 7 p.m. and lasts another three hours. I hope to discover I wasn't the only one who had pains locating enough textbooks for our assignment. I guess we will see.
On the up side, I have my bearings better. I now have a clue as to where the Stamp Student Union is in relation to the McKeldin Library. This is the first time I've had the opportunity to glimpse the campus during daylight hours, and when I drove around at night before, I succeeded in nothing more than getting lost.
So at least I won't feel like such a lost soul. I'm now debating whether I might benefit better from just taking courses online from now on, to save myself the hassle of beating feet all over campus just to accomplish the things I need to do, to avoid the freezing cold commutes to Marie Mount Hall where my classes are held. But I'm afraid I'd let myself off the hook too much were I to just have my classroom contained within the framework of my laptop, which I could choose to open at will or not. Plus, the time-consuming walks from place to place have got to add to my daily exercise quota, right? That's got to be good.
Long evenings, costs, frustrations -- I guess without these things college just wouldn't be college, would it now? Besides, there are many other people who have undergone this process and lived to tell about it. I'm sure I can too, and that I will come out wiser and with gobs more patience than I ever dreamed of acquiring."
So, as you can see, I was very excited to find out I had another week on the assignment. I guess if I'd kept up with my syllabus and actually referred to it, I could have saved myself a lot of heartache today.
I just hit Ticketmaster Online and bought my ticket to see Loreena McKennitt's international Ancient Muse tour that comes here to Washington DC on April 24, DAR Constitution Hall. I found out about it in the Washington City Paper, one of my favorite local publications in the area.
I'm so excited. I've always loved her music ever since she did the song "The Mummers Dance," and that was years ago.
She's kind of obscure to those not interested in this genre, kind of like a New Age, Pagan type of music
Oh I just love living in Washington DC -- finally I'm in the right location for me, a place where I can never get enough culture, art and music! DC totally rocks, IMHO.
In case anyone was wondering what happened with my earlier enthusiasm on posting about the upcoming Avonwalk for breast cancer, I just wanted to announce that I will not be doing it this year. I've thought about it, and since I didn't hear a lot in reply from friends and family, and I'm already working and going to school and feeling pretty busy lately, I plan on trying again next year since this is an annual event. I think once I've been here longer and know more people in the Washington DC area and once I'm more used to my schedule, I will give it another shot. So, it seems like a cop-out, but I just don't want to make a promise I cannot keep, because that's no better than not doing the event. For the people who expressed interest, I thank you and hope you'll keep me in mind for donations next year. My best gal friend at work is doing the event, and I'm going to be donating to the cause via her page on the Avonwalk website. If you feel that you'd still like to give and don't have any of your own close friends in mind for that, I'd like to suggest you consider Maureen as a representative. She is the spunkiest, coolest, most intelligent go-getter of a friend I know, and I know she would very much appreciate your support. You can access her page and see how far she already has come to her goal here. Thanks and take care! I was tempted to try, but I know how I am about taking on too many projects that excite me at once, and this is one cause I'd not like to shirk my duties on. Very worthwhile! Please check out. P.S. You do not have to live in Washington DC to donate, because it can be done online.
I called AAA and thanked my lucky stars I finally signed up for it for the first time in my life two weeks ago. There must have been a reason.
They are going to come out and assess it, but they say if they cannot pull it from off of the snow without damaging their vehicle or mine, they can refuse to do it. Then I don't know what my options are if no one will tow it. I'm guessing I will have to call around and see who does snow removal? Not sure. Even in Wyoming this never happened to me.
Anyway, enjoy the pic as I wallow in this freak incident of a morning : ) Jen
I still have far to go in making the site look more creative and interesting and keeping up with posting enough audio to keep people listening, but I am amazed at how easy it is. It only took me recording via the built-in mic on my Mac PowerBook laptop using Quicktime 7 Pro (only a $29.95 purchase) and then using Apple's iWeb program to quickly and simply create a page for my podcasts. Then I just use my .Mac account (a little over $100 for a year it costs me, but with many benefits that pay for themselves for the avid Mac user), and that's where I host the collection of podcasts. I even now have an ongoing feed displayed on my main blog at Tribe.net.
What did you dream about last night?
Honestly, it was weird - a girl with three arms, one on one side and two on the other - and two of her arms on one side were kind of grown together into some weird configuration, and yet I noticed she had all of her hands visible on those arms, and that each hand, despite the disconfiguration, was elegantly polished pink on its fingernails. That's all I remember, except for the fact that the dream had background music, which was the song "Ironic," by Alanis Morissette.
