Shaking Things Up a Bit

I have been trying to think of something to write about that doesn't involve my dog, but it's hard to do that when it's about the most interesting thing going on in my life.

So rather than bore you with more dog stories (and yes, I realize that some of you actually are interested in my dog stories), I'm going to write about something relatively mundane, in the hopes that it will make my dog stories sound that much more entertaining in comparison.

On Friday I got a new cell phone.

My "New Every Two" time period for Verizon was up, and so I'd gone to the Verizon counter at Circuit City a couple times, and checked out tech reviews and user reviews online. Last time I got a new phone I just went in cold and ended up with a phone that I didn't really care for (although after a month or so I was used to it). So this time I wanted to be prepared. The problem is that doing the research led me to despair of finding a phone that I could be truly happy with. Because doing the research meant I was paying attention to every dimension I could possible think of as being important to me, and made me realize that what I wanted was a phone that was thin but sturdy and reliable, had good battery life and clear reception, crisp graphics and a user-friendly keypad, and looked cooler than my last phone, but that would still cost me next to nothing with my $50 credit plus rebate. And maybe it would have music-playing capabilities. And no music transfer problems because I have a Mac or because I use iTunes. And it wouldn't be so popular that my family and friends would get the same phone within a few months. (Brady understands how this can be a problem.)

It turns out that this phone does not actually exist. Surprise.

Still, I was actually kind of excited about getting a new phone, even if I had to compromise a few of my standards. I like getting outside of my familiar little comfort zone, shaking things up a little. A phone doesn't seem like such a big deal of course, but when you use it every day and carry it with you everywhere you go, a little change does mean something. I value familiarity, but I also really like change. I got a dog after all. But I wasn't supposed to talk about that in this post.

So I went back to the Verizon counter with my knowledge of stats and user reviews secure in my memory and asked the salesperson a few questions, trying to act confident and make sure it was clear I knew what I was talking about. I was kind of excited to get something new and very different. And half an hour later I walked out with...the updated model of my old phone.

I don't know quite how it happened. In the end I panicked a little. Well, maybe "panic" is a bit strong of a word, but at the very last minute I couldn't bring myself to go with something different from what I already knew and liked. It's kind of like food. I love trying new kinds of food. There are many kinds of food that I like. But on a day-to-day basis I eat the same things over and over again, and I am often uncomfortable with changing up my routine. Back when I was an oatmeal eater, Sunday mornings would come and I would think I ought to make something exciting, like pancakes or waffles or an omelet. But then I would realize that this would mean not getting to eat my oatmeal, and I'd end up with the oatmeal for the 792nd time in a row (okay, not quite, but close). If it's a choice between something I already know and like, and something I might like better but then again might not, I tend to go with what I know and like. I don't think I'm all that unusual in this sense.

But my new phone is a little different from the old one. Just different in nice, comfortable ways. It's lighter, if not thinner. It's slightly less bulky (just slightly). It's a classy deep red color instead of gray. And...well, that's about it. Everything else is pretty much exactly the same.

But at least now my phone looks different from my parents' phones. And Brady's phone. And the phones of everyone else who owns the old version of my old phone. And I'm displaying a picture of it right here so that anyone who cares about me at all can look elsewhere, or at least get a different color, when they replace their own phones this next year.