My Latest Obsession

Last weekend, I went to the city to visit Danny, as usual.  We celebrated Valentine's Day early since I had to be back on LI to work and such on Monday.  On my way back, I didn't have time to call the house before getting on the train back to my town.  And since I don't have a car, I have to call my mom to get a ride home from the train station.

As you would expect, I called the house from the train, using my crappy cell phone.  For those who don't know, I currently have a Tracfone.  It's a pay-as-you-go phone service, I prepay for minutes and then use them up, and the cycle continues.  In the past I've attempted to connect to the internet using this phone, only to discover (to my dismay) that I was being charged for the time it takes me to write out the web URL I want to visit using the number pad.  It's safe to say that this phone totally sucks.  What I didn't realize was the full EXTENT of the suckiness.

So I called my house.  Nobody answered.  I called my mom's cell phone, no answer.  Then I tried my dad's cell, and yup you guessed it, no answer.  At this point I was starting to slightly panic, because I was already on the train and was going to have to find SOME way of getting home, hopefully without having to pay $7 to take a taxi.  I kept trying, finally left a voicemail on my mom's phone.

Once I had done all that, I noticed that my phone had used up 10 minutes of air time.  Just for dialing and listening to the ring of a phone that was going unanswered on the other end.  I mean, REALLY?  They charge me for waiting for someone to pick up??  That was the last straw.

I've decided that a new phone is not only a fun thing to get, but it was now a NECESSITY.  I'd been looking at cell phone plans and things before, but now I'm starting to get serious.  Tracfone might be [somewhat] cheap and convenient, but it doesn't really do everything I want my phone to do.  Not to mention that my Tracfone is archaic and has zero features (except Tetris).  What I'd really like is to join the rest of the world and get a SMARTPHONE.

No, I'm not a spokesperson for any cell phone company.  But I must say that I'm smitten by Virgin Mobile's "Beyond Talk" plan.  For $25 a month (taxes and fees included yay!) I could get 300 minutes, and unlimited text, email, data and web.  My little sister has had a smartphone for like a year and I've been desperately jealous of her ability to google things at a whim.  With Virgin Mobile's cell phone plan, I think I could actually be able to do this as well!!  I've pretty much decided that I want to get this phone:

It's called the LG Optimus V Android.  It's $149, available at my local RadioShack and compatible w/that Beyond Talk plan that I want.  The price isn't unreasonable for a smartphone... and I just NEED THIS DAMN THING!  I'm toying with the idea of getting this phone like, as soon as I get my first paycheck from my new job.  (I'm starting part-time with them, so I know my check won't be huge but I'm pretty sure I could swing $150.)  This phone has EVERYTHING that I want.  It's 3G, WIFI-capable, access to the Android Market, has all the silly apps I'd need, it's touch screen...  need I say more?  So yes, I'm kind of obsessed with this phone right now.  I feel like I've been stuck in the stone age with my current cell phone and I want to upgrade!  NOW!  Please?  So hopefully within the next month I'll be getting this new phone.  Hopefully I won't have to change my cell number (I'm worried that the 646 area code will prove to be problematic when trying to transfer, since I now live on Long Island) but at this point... it would be worth it.  I'll post emphatically if/when I get this phone so um... stay tuned?  

OH and in case you were wondering, my mom got my voicemail and was able to pick me up at the train station, so I got home just fine.  :P