Our Trip to Verizon
I could kill my buddy John. You see, he brought his I-phone by last weekend. I checked it out. It was better than my old Droid. The market had passed me by. It had been a long time since I upgraded.
I thought about it a bit after John's visit and the next day I stopped by the Verizon store to see if I was, in fact, due for a new phone.
As luck might have it.
At dinner I announced to the kids that we would do a telephone hands-me-down sort of thing. I would upgrade, my old phone would go to Jake and his old phone would go to Sam. We would all gain a little.
After dinner we stepped out to the store. I was in my pajamas.
I guess I have officially given up.
Jake was fired up. We stepped in front of a 20-something guy who was a virtual encyclopedia of telephones. He spoke so quickly that I had to have my translator there for me. Before long he and Kathy were in a full-fledged discussion of plans, mbs, gbs, and whatever the hell else came up. They were talking cell lines, land lines, data plans.
It sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher.
My phone was ordered.
I swiped my card.
"You need a support package," the kid said.
I turned to Kathy, and she nodded. Luckily the kid had the same exact phone as the one I ordered. He picked my support package for me.
I swiped my card.
I was informed that it would arrive in a couple of days by FedEx. I would have to keep the old phone until then. That broke Jake's heart. He wanted to leave the store with a Droid.
As luck might have it, he didn't want my old Droid anyway.
"Be patient," Kathy said. "We'll find a good deal on a new one and come back in a couple of days."
Now my kids don't ask for a lot. They really have gotten much better in that regard. Jake nodded, but I saw the look on his face.
And I was done.
"Which phone do you like?" I asked him.
He showed me.
"I can't believe I need to wait."
I took my credit card out. He had been sick and survived. He was a good kid. He really wanted it. All the bad parenting that was part of my decision didn't seem all that important to me.
I swiped the card again.
God help me when that bill comes due.
I thought about it a bit after John's visit and the next day I stopped by the Verizon store to see if I was, in fact, due for a new phone.
As luck might have it.
At dinner I announced to the kids that we would do a telephone hands-me-down sort of thing. I would upgrade, my old phone would go to Jake and his old phone would go to Sam. We would all gain a little.
After dinner we stepped out to the store. I was in my pajamas.
I guess I have officially given up.
Jake was fired up. We stepped in front of a 20-something guy who was a virtual encyclopedia of telephones. He spoke so quickly that I had to have my translator there for me. Before long he and Kathy were in a full-fledged discussion of plans, mbs, gbs, and whatever the hell else came up. They were talking cell lines, land lines, data plans.
It sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher.
My phone was ordered.
I swiped my card.
"You need a support package," the kid said.
I turned to Kathy, and she nodded. Luckily the kid had the same exact phone as the one I ordered. He picked my support package for me.
I swiped my card.
I was informed that it would arrive in a couple of days by FedEx. I would have to keep the old phone until then. That broke Jake's heart. He wanted to leave the store with a Droid.
As luck might have it, he didn't want my old Droid anyway.
"Be patient," Kathy said. "We'll find a good deal on a new one and come back in a couple of days."
Now my kids don't ask for a lot. They really have gotten much better in that regard. Jake nodded, but I saw the look on his face.
And I was done.
"Which phone do you like?" I asked him.
He showed me.
"I can't believe I need to wait."
I took my credit card out. He had been sick and survived. He was a good kid. He really wanted it. All the bad parenting that was part of my decision didn't seem all that important to me.
I swiped the card again.
God help me when that bill comes due.
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