There's no such thing as a free lunch... or a free phone

When you get to a certain age, things stop working as well as they used to.  That seems to include electronics as well as failing limbs.  Vlad mentioned to me that the speaker on his five year old phone wasn't working and my phone of the same vintage had been cutting out periodically as well, so it was time to upgrade.

Imagine my surprise when I went online and saw that you could get a new iPhone4 FOR FREE!  Yay!  Sign me up!  I filled out all the information online and procured our phones, to be picked up at our local Apple store.

That was yesterday.  Today we went to brunch and then drove 10 miles to the mall to pick up the phones.  A very nice young man entered all our information and then clicked "GO" or some such word all lit up in green.  

Wait for it... wait for it...

ERROR!  Try again!

Click "GO" a second time.

Wait for it... wait for it...

ERROR!  Call support.

An hour and a half later, our current phones had been deactivated and they were unable to activate our new phones.   Yeah... story of my life.

The manager of the Apple store sent off a high priority request to AT&T to resolve the issue.  It will take anywhere from 24-72 hours to get a response... if we're lucky!  

So don't call me.  I'll call you.  If I ever get a phone again.

* * * * * * * * *

Now in all fairness, the manager at the Apple Store gave Vlad and I each a new case for our non-existent phones for free.  Vlad suggested we tie a string between them and pull it taut to see if we can hear each other.  I'll let you know how that turns out.

When Worlds Collide

I had a hard week at work.  A co-worker's brother was killed in a hit and run accident, so we were grieving for her and her horrific loss.  She was devastated by the senseless death of her beloved brother and trying to come to grips with it.  Her life would never be the same.

So when a friend sent a last minute email suggestion that we meet for breakfast yesterday, I jumped at the chance to talk about happier events.  Our sons had been in preschool together and we'd continued to connect regularly ever since.

We enjoyed the usual chit chat about our lives and what was new.  Then, she brought up a tragedy that touched their life this week.  One of her son's best friends from high school had just been arrested for a fatal hit and run accident.  They were devastated by the news and trying to come to grips with it.  She spoke of how the young man's life was destroyed by his own actions and how his family would never be the same.

When worlds collide, we all grieve.