Monday, August 06, 2007

Well, At Least She's Pretty

I'm not going to begin one of those posts where I say sorry I haven't posted in a while, I'm so uninspired, I have nothing to say blah blah blah. I have plenty to say I'm just ridiculously busy. But I will try and do better and make some time for my tens of readers.

I was going to write a product review for my Mint Chocolate phone, now that I've had it for a couple of months. And aside from the fact that I still love the cool metallic color, it was going to be mostly negative. But I've been finding that most of my problems with the phone are user mistakes. I suppose it would have helped if I had done more than scan the operating instructions but I'm a guy...we don't read instructions. Not when I can repeatedly stab at the buttons and pound the phone with my fist like an ape with a remote control he doesn't understand. I would even occasionally waved it in the air and make unintelligible screeching noises. But I bought the phone mainly because I wanted a music player and phone in one device. I didn't want to have to switch repeatedly between the two when I was going to the gym or about to take a particularly boring subway ride. So I was crushingly disappointed and told anyone who would listen about how distressed I was at the absolutely lousy sound quality of the music coming out of the player. And this from someone who isn't particularly picky about audio quality. If it's loud enough with a decent bass beat I'm a happy homo. This phone, after I finally got the Micro SD storage device and the earphone adapter that plugs into the other adapter that plays the MP3's that all need to be converted to WMA files before they play, was sorely lacking on either front. Or so I believed. So much so that I had begun shopping for a new music player, thinking that I would have to put up with carrying two devices.

Until I found the other, separate volume control wheel attached to the earphone adapter. Almost a month after buying and using it.

The sound is fine now.

Speaking of phones, I was in one of my favorite thrift stores on 3rd Ave. this afternoon. I was shopping for some vintage shirts but instead found some cute picture frames. While I was paying for my purchases I noticed this sign posted next to the cash register:

"We cannot provide you service while you are talking on your cell phone. Please let us know when you are ready."

Fucking brilliant. While I was employed briefly in my retail career, I can't tell you how much it frosted my butt to have somebody come to the register to pay for their purchases (sometimes an entire cart full) all the while yakking on their phone. They frequently wouldn't even deign to say hello, let alone thank you or goodnight. It's unbelievably rude. Of course, I've been fighting this battle ever since cell phones became prevalent during my days as a bartender, so I realize this is impossible to win. But hoping against hope I still may be able to convert even one person, when paying at a register, ordering drinks or having any other interaction with a human service provider, GET OFF THE FUCKING PHONE!

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