Cell Phone Device, We Meet Again

A quick note before we begin:
I am blogging on my biz site much more regularly than I had been for... well, for the bulk of its existence. It's easier when things work correctly, yaknow? So, I plan to post most modeling-related stuff there, instead of here. I think I just need that distinct differentiation between the content on PF, Updates, and Members Only. But the Updates blog is free and you can subscribe to it! So really, you shouldn't notice a difference if you do that; in fact, you're more likely to notice an increase in my blogging frequency. :)

---

It has been nearly three years since I had my own phone line. When Makal and I met in 2005, I had a phone. A slick red flip phone that did everything I didn't know I needed it to do. But it was red! Oh so shiny glossy delicious red. About two months into our relationship, I had to more or less abandon the phone; my ex-housemate, whom I had so graciously allowed to stay on the plan after we stopped living together, charged MASSIVE amounts of stupid shit to his line out of retaliation for my new relationship. Yeah, he went there. And wouldn't pay it back, saying it was "stolen" (if it was stolen, I find it quite odd that the thief held regular phone conversations with his parole-officer step dad...). Of course, Sprint wouldn't refund those charges, as it had been "stolen" for 3 months at that point and I was S.O.L. Super.

As it turns out, I didn't really need a phone. I kept in touch with anyone worth keeping in touch with via email and IM. So once I shut down that account, I was never really in a rush to get a new one. My lacking a cell phone only became an issue when we moved to Portland and I started going to the occasional modeling job while Makal was at work. I usually just took his cell with me because I could reach him at his direct line at work. But it has become more of an issue for those same reasons; remarkably, it is really beneficial to have a cell if you're a model. Okay, not that remarkable, but I am still surprised by the number of professional photographers who insist you call them to discuss shooting, instead of just email. I think it's because almost every photographer who's done so is a huge Ranty McRantersons, and it's hard to rant so prolifically and needlessly via email. /eyeroll

So on Saturday, Makal and I headed out to the Bridgeport Mall. We are planning on each getting the new iPhone 3g. There is an AT&T store not 10 minutes from us, so why did we drive to a mall 30 minutes away? Well for starters, it's one of the classier malls in Portland, and by classy I mean it's an open air mall with courtesy umbrellas during the rainy season and valet parking year round. The baristas ask if you want your caramel machiatto made the "Starbucks way" or the traditional Italian way, and nod approvingly when you squish your face at the mere mention of Starbucks. That sort of mall. I expect the employees of any store at this mall to be well trained in dealing with hoity-toity self righteous rich bitches. This inherently means that if you are not a hoity-toity rich bitch, but can still conduct your affairs with class and even show a degree of respect for the employees, they will love you and appreciate the chance to work with/sell to a sane, normal person. Much better service than you'd get being a non-hoity toity person at a mall that is used to dealing with emo high schoolers and their crazy Sears-shopping mothers.

So we head into the Apple store, and asked the first salesperson who offered assistance about getting a credit check before Friday (since we will be new AT&T customers, and wanted to expedite the process). He had absolutely no idea about what was going on or what we were asking about, so we turned the corner and went directly to the AT&T store. The man that helped us there was super nice, well informed, and presented his sales pitch(es) without seeming gimicky or forced. We explained what we wanted to do that day (credit check) and what we planned to do on July 11th (buy iPhones). In under half an hour he had Makal's old Sprint number transferred to his new AT&T account, let me choose my own new number, and we both had free phones to keep us connected until we come in on Friday. Awesome! He was so thorough and made it so that we will be able to skirt most of the lines on Friday and keep our in-store time to a minimum.

And so it begins. For the first time in three years, I'm going to have a cell phone and be able to conduct my affairs without asking Makal if I can borrow his. I'm gonna text message people and take random photos that I can immediately post on Flickr. I'm going to snap sexy self portraits and send them to my boyfriend while he's at work (one of my major arguments for why I should have an iPhone!). And I'm going to work, finally calling all those photographers who will surely just talk at me for an hour about all the other stuff they're thinking right then, just so we can talk for 5 minutes about a time and place.

I would never have thought that a gadget like this would make me feel so free to go out into the world and do mah thang. But come Friday the 11th, Imma be doing it. Maybe if you're nice I'll send you a picture. ;)