Phone Misery and Phone Envy

Phones seem to be the bane of my existence these days.  Not my land line.  My land line is fine.  We understand each other.  It sits there in the cradle and chills until it rings.  I answer it and all is good.  When it is a telemarketer I don't answer it.  It gets it. 

My cell phone is a completely different story.  We are not soulmates.  We actually hate each other.  I bought this phone about a year and a half ago -- maybe a little longer -- and it has been a love/hate relationship from the beginning.  I rarely talk on the thing -- we text all. the. time.  It is simple, it is easy, it keeps us from getting into conversations that end of a bit combative.  By "we" I mean my dear daughter and myself.  I don't verbally express myself too well sometimes and she only listens with one ear so there is a lot of misunderstanding going on which leads to ...well, you get the picture.  Texting is much, much easier.  Except for when it isn't.  My texts tend to fail.  I can type a nice long text message and it fails.  I retype it, a shorter version, and it fails.  I finally end up texting "call me" and it fails.  I have to turn the phone off and back on to get the text to go.  I don't get texts in a timely manner either -- one day it took two days to get to me.

It is the phone. Not the carrier.

So, I go to my handy dandy T-mobile store across the street where we usually do business.  I walk up to the display with the Apple iphone SE.  The price tag says $384 in big letters/numbers.  They tell me that is the price with a contract.  I don't have a contract.  I don't want a contract.  I just want a phone.  Well, in that case, it will cost me $441.00 with the addition of a new SIM card.  That was posted on the price tag in such small letters that I needed a magnifying glass to see it.

I walked out and said I needed to think.

I came home and looked at the Apple website.  It is the internet's version of a glossy magazine.  Eye candy.  No prices.  Anywhere.  Apparently you can buy the phone in the store SIM-free for $449 but I didn't get that from the website.  Then you can go to the carrier and buy the SIM card and link it to your account. 

This whole thing is a major pain in the neck.  So, I decided to check out the no-contract phones at Target which is where I got my current phone.  Apparently Target doesn't carry T-Mobile products anymore.

By this time I am banging my head against a virtual wall.  So, this morning, I am going to call both T-Mobile and the Apple store and get a price on the phones.  I can't believe I am actually considering spending that sort of cash on a stupid telephone.  However, we are caregivers for a six year old and we are on call for a 95 year old so, unless I want to just stay in my house next to my trusty landline, I have to have a reliable phone.  FYI -- my husband doesn't believe in cell phones, will only carry one under duress and won't turn it on unless he needs to make a call --- to bad if you are trying to find him.  So, he has leisurely hours at Lowe's and Home Depot to just stroll around and peruse the offerings -- me, I have to be in control and available at all times.

Blah.

So, I am hoping they have the phone in Rose Gold, 64 GB and that I don't have to sell my first born to get it -- his wife and children probably wouldn't like that. 

Wish me luck --