Don’t buy a new phone!
If you were thinking I was going to give you all kinds of beauty advice and what clothes to wear or avoid to show how to age gracefully, this is not the post you thought it was! If you were hoping I had some super duper magical cure for wrinkles and dark spots, this is not going to make you happy! But, if you want to laugh at my struggles with a first world problem, this is definitely the post for you! (If you want a post on fashion, here’s one on how accessories can change your outfit.)
Am I the only one who just puts off buying a new phone until your last one is on its last little bit of whatever makes the doggone thing run? No? Hmmm… Well, I finally caved and bought a new phone. Get a new phone, I thought. It will be fun! First, buying a new phone is not fun. These things are crazy expensive. I mean Verizon makes it nice and easy by just adding a charge to your bill each month (along with all of those other who knows what taxes and surcharges).
I should have known it was not going to end well. I thought I’d just chat on my phone through the app to see if there were wonderful deals to be had. I don’t know if I got a good deal or not. I have a new phone. Let’s leave it at that.
Don’t try to back up old phone!
I spent most of one morning trying to delete enough pictures, apps, and what not to back up my old phone because I’m too cheap to spend $0.99 for extra Cloud storage. And, let’s talk about that Cloud. Like, where is it? Does it rain little random bits of people’s lives? If so, I apologize to the people receiving my multitude of rantings and ravings! Nigel said he would take care of it. That lead to another hour or so in the basement where the PC lives (but not Leslie‘s PC). He downloaded something and said we could transfer all of my photos there. Easy peasy, right? Nope…we finally got things downloaded, but who knows if I’ll ever see them again.
Don’t try to activate a new phone!
Oh, no! Do not try to activate a new phone on your own! I got the pretty pink phone turned on (FYI no home button on the new iPhones). I have transferred all of the data from my poor old phone to the new phone. But, is the new phone activated? No, no, it is not. The ironic thing here is I HATE talking on the phone. Give me a chat any day of the week! While the night I spent buying the phone went fairly fast (even though Mike the guy I was chatting with was a s…l…o…w typist), getting the phone to actually do its duty and act like said phone is not fast. I am currently in the queue to talk to a real person…a 20 minute queue which has already exceeded 20 minutes.
Don’t get upset with your photographer!
I admit it. I am not the easiest person with whom to live. I have a short temper (why wouldn’t I, everything else is short), and I’m easily frustrated. IPhone technology and I are not friends. When I was teaching, I loved technology. I had a SMARTboard, and I made that thing sing and dance for its supper! Give me a room full of students, and I’ll teach them how to make a brochure on Publisher. But, I have never, ever had any luck with activating new phones on the first go! Not a single time. This is maybe my fourth or fifth iPhone, and I’ve always had to contact support to get the darn thing working. Poor Nigel bore the brunt of my ire! Jack just watched from the safety of the back of the couch!
Finally, it works!
I waited in the queue for upwards of 40 minutes (notice the change in tense, here). Eventually, an agent appeared…and asked for numbers on the new phone. I was able to find one of the numbers, but I couldn’t find the second. He/she wanted me to pry open the phone and get a SIM card out. No way was I doing that…some cursey words probably flew a couple of times! Finally, I was able to read the microscopic letters of the number he/she wanted. That number was several miniscule digits long with so many zeroes in it! I don’t know about you, but counting the number of zeroes has always been difficult for me. After what seemed like forever, we got things squared away, and the new phone works! I can use it like a phone; I have already Facetimed family members. I even checked out Instagram! Whew!
The Lewk
This is not what I was wearing as I struggled with my new iPhone. Nigel purchased this lovely cardigan and tee for me for Christmas. I returned the cardigan, however, because I’d already bought the same one on super duper sale the week before! It appears to be sold out so I can’t provide a link. The pants (similar) are years old and so comfortable. I’m also wearing the Georgiana boots from L’Artiste. I really like these boots, but that light colored strap across the front sometimes breaks up the line from pants to toes. This time, I didn’t mind it so much. I was going for a contrasting color to the sweater and pants anyway. My necklace is an old Stella & Dot. The earrings are old Kendra Scott.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
I have to tell you I feel a little like I was doing a stand up comedy schtick with this post! I hope you read it in that light! While I was, indeed, very frustrated, in the end, the phone finally works. I also realize this is a very, very first world problem, and I know I am very fortunate to be able to afford a new phone in the first place. Believe me when I tell you I apologized over and over again to the customer service agent for my ineptness! And, while I was waiting, I was obviously writing this post! So, how about you? Do you have any frustrating tales of technological ineptitude? Were you wishing and hoping (I sang that in my head as I typed it…points if you get the reference) I was really going to give you tips on how to age gracefully? Did I, at the very least, make you giggle? Leave me a comment or two, and we can have a conversation! If you enjoyed my blathering on, please consider subscribing to my post. Thanks, as always, for joining me in the blogosphere.
Where I often link up:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, My Bijou LIfe, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, and Away from the Blue. Please check out these blogs if you haven’t already done so!
Oh don’t start me Marsha! Like you I have no patience and also get frustrated real quick. So when I get a new phone I leave it all to Gerben. It’s not my thing at all, and I don’t read the users guide……..I should….
I should have just left it to Nigel, but I was determined to finally get it right. As Deb mentioned in her comment, all I had to do was turn the new one on, place it beside the old one, and make sure Bluetooth was on. Everything worked…except the ability to make a phone call. Actually, the new phone would pop up a message every once in a while saying it wasn’t activated. But, I was finally able to get it done! Grrrrr…I didn’t even get a users guide…not that I would open it! Hahaha!
I’m wondering if iPhones are the same the world over as here in the UK if you have an old iPhone and a new one, you just turn the new one on, hold it next to the old one and it magically copies everything across via bluetooth. Every single thing. Mine took 5 minutes at the most! Moral to this story – next time you upgrade your iPhone, come over to the UK to do it ;-).
Oh, I would love to come to the UK…I don’t need a phone to do it! Nigel and I have made several trips to London and Basingstoke (when he was working, that was his homebase in the UK). We had planned to take a train trip around the UK, but we all know how that has panned out!
As for the phone situation, that’s exactly what I did. It transferred the data perfectly, connected to the Internet, but it wouldn’t make phone calls at all! Luckily, the agent was able to do something on his/her end, and we were done. But, I do think I may have lost a month or two off my life!
Thanks, Deb, so much for coming by!
First of all, i love the cardigan and those boots. Great taste feom the hubby to buy upu the same cardigan you bought yourself! Secondly, I think Inonly once ordered a phone online and set it up myself. I awaygo into the store att or Verizon depending on who my carrier is and let them do the work. I hate being on the phone with phone companies. It always take forever!
Thanks, Mireille! I was a little surprised to find this cardigan in my stack of presents! Thankfully, Nigel understands! I hadn’t really intended to buy a phone that night, but I was just chatting away…and boom…I bought a phone. I thought they would set it up at the store, but that wasn’t even offered. I probably should have asked, but I was in a hurry. That didn’t pay off as I then spent so much time getting the dumb thing to work!
No phone talk from me this morning, I want to start positive. I love your sweater, but am glad I don’t need to wear heavy sweaters anymore.
However, i love your hair today! I want to look like you, soft and sexy. Any hints on styling? I’m in a cut or keep mode now and would appreciate ideas.
Keep up the great posts.
Hahaha! That tells me you may have a phone story or two! If I didn’t wear heavy sweaters, half of my closet would disappear! That’s ok…I am not a warm weather person anyway!
Thank you so much about my hair. Here’s what I do…it’s a lot! I only wash it twice a week, but I use conditioner the other days as it is just lifeless if I don’t wet it down every day. I alternate volumizing treatments…sometimes it’s Bumble & Bumble, Aveda, Evo. One thing I do is buy the Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion. It’s a weird powder you’re supposed to puff into your dry hair, scrunch around and have glorious texture and volume…yeah, right. I don’t know who gave me this tip, or if I just did it one day. Anyway, if I’m using anything other than a spray, like a moussse or cream, I puff some of this powder into that and spread through my hair. Then I blow it dry upside down. Next, I use a 1.5 inch barrel curling iron and curl the crown and wrap on velcro rollers, pinning them in. I think what you’re noticing is that I’ve been wrapping the top straight back…three big velcro rollers straight back. As it’s cooling, I put on my makeup. Once that’s done (see how high maintenance I am), I take out the rollers and re-curl them with the curling iron. Then, I hang my head upside down and spray it with a light hold hair spray. I whoosh it back up…fluff it a bit with my fingers and finish spraying with Redken Triple Take 32. Once I’ve set it on the rollers, I don’t brush or comb it…I only use my fingers. I really think it’s the rolling it back on top of my head instead of doing it to the side like I used to that’s created the difference. Did you make it this far, Lesley, or did you give up? Haha!
Thanks again for the compliment! Believe me, no one (except Nigel and he has to) has ever said I’m soft and sexy! You’ve made my day!
Oh this is so me! I both love and hate technology but I dread getting a new phone so much. I don’t even like to update my phone and see the changes it makes. My last 3 phones I actually sent my father in law or husband to the store and told them to just pick out whatever was closest to the old phone and bring me back something that was all working and set up and ready to use because I just can not stand going into Verizon and trying to deal with it myself! LOL. (Though I do pick out my own phone case on Amazon)…
I adore technology…when it works! Actually, when I was teaching, I was right in there learning all I could. But, iPhones are a completely different story for some reason!
You are smart to have someone else just take care of it! The problem with that is Nigel would come home with the original iPhone because it was on sale! Hmmm…going to have to check out Amazon!
I had to laugh at the subject. It reminded me of the time I didn’t want to give up my flip phone because it needed a new battery and they didn’t make it anymore.
But I love how most places will do much of those steps for you when you buy it. And I try to tell myself that it’s all good brain learning, haha.
OXOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
The sales assistant at the store assured me it was easy…just turn on the new phone, turn on bluetooth on the old phone, place them beside each other, and voila! I was so happy when all of that went as planned. And, then the messages saying the new phone was not activated began. I was so frustrated because I knew I was either going to have to call Verizon or chat. I chatted…Nigel called…the wait time was anywhere from 50-78 minutes! But, as they say, “All’s well that ends well!”
Marsha, this literally made me laugh out loud! I can totally empathise with you about this stuff. I also really don’t like talking on the phone either — I never really have. I used to get myself in such a tizz at work when I had to phone someone to interview them for an article! I much preferred talking to them face to face!
As for buying new phones, I usually get my husband’s hand-me-downs which doesn’t bother me much, because at least he knows exactly how it works so can sort it all out for me!!
Happy New Year, Marsha!
Hugs
Suzy xx
Suzy, the funny thing is I can talk for hours with a close friend on the phone. I think it’s because we’re having a conversation and can finish each other’s sentences. But, I just don’t enjoy dealing with other things on the phone! I usually get an old model iphone that’s cheap but decided to go all in this time!
I’m so glad you laughed…as I was rereading it, I kept thinking this is such good standup comedy! Tooting my own horn, I guess!
Have a marvelous New Year, Suzy!
It’s very frustrating when tech doesn’t behave as expected. Don’t hate me though, I’ve never had trouble activating a new iPhone. But don’t get me started on the problems I inadvertently caused with our Internet while painting the wall with the connection. Eke! The problem coincided with bad weather so we went down that rabbit hole for while….
Love your outfit! Such a pretty cardigan. And of course I love your l’artiste booties.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
You are so right…technology is wonderful when it works! I sometimes worry we depend too much on technology these days. I’m not 100% suure if I know how to work everything should Alexa go on strike!
I have a real problem with L’Artiste! The shoes are just so fun and unexpected. I like their quirky nature…the poor man’s Fluevog!
Lots of fun to be had with new phones! Enjoy the variety of what you can do and hope it continues to work out for you. Love that line about you being tempered as everything else is short!!
Hahaha!! My temper is indeed as short as I am! Nigel will vouch for that! But, my temper tantrums are also short…so there’s that! I haven’t even played with it much yet. I think I’m a little afraid of it!
Thanks so much for coming by!
It’s good that you’ve sorted out the new phone!
Your image is beautiful!
wdresscode.blogspot.com
Thanks so much!
I love that cardigan on you, it’s beautiful! 🙂
it always takes me a while to get used to a new phone – and I work in IT so it’s a bit embarrassing when I struggle with it, haha! I just stick with Samsung phones, they have it all simplified now so that when you get a new phone, you touch it and the old phone together and tap on the screen and it moves all your files and settings across. Makes things so much easier, then I just have to play around with all the settings that weren’t on the old phone to make sure it’s how I want it, haha!
Hope that you are having a great weekend! 🙂
Well, supposedly, all I had to do was turn on the new phone, place it near the old phone, making sure Bluetooth was turned on, and bingo, bongo, boingo, I’d have everything done! Everything was done except the phone being an actual phone! It all turned out in the end. But, it was a not fun couple of hours!
Thanks so much about the cardigan. I do love a cardigan, and Garnet Hill makes such lovely ones!
I’ve had a quiet weekend…trying to take Christmas decorations down and finding excuses to just ignore the tubs!