Stupid Moments... we all have them!!

Friday was my day to have a completely stupid moment. I am NOT one that is impulsive, and depending on the idea, I can easily over-think things... to the point that I usually talk myself right out of something, be it good or bad. I'm very critical of myself, and hate when I make stupid decisions. Here's my story :

For several weeks now I've been wanting to check out my cellular plan to see if I qualify for the yearly trade-in / trade-up on my cell phone. I've been looking around asking opinions from people with other carriers, various phones, and rates. Sprint has been my carrier since day one of owning a cell phone, and feel I have the best monthly rate to suite my needs. I haven't paid extra to get all the "bells and whistles" that my phone comes with. Who needs texting when I can just pick up the phone and talk? And internet... on a cell phone... seriously!! Just seemed ridiculous!! However... technology has come so far, and monthly plans that include all the "bells and whistles" have become more reasonable. I am such a geek when it comes to certain things. I'm not one that "needs" the latest and greatest toys the moment they hit the stores. I will say that certain technology does peek my interest, and I could easily fall prey to their lures. The BlackBerry has always been that item. It's nothing new... it's been around for some time, and over the years have improved greatly. I've always thought it would be nice to have one, but my lifestyle has not, and does not in ANY WAY afford me that luxury. :-( or so I thought... Until Friday.....

Friday (after work and before the Sabbath started) I decided to head over to my local Sprint store to check things out. I called to see how late they were open, and the guy on the line said if I came and mentioned his name, for that day ONLY, he would give me a FREE car charger. Well, shoot, that's roughly a $30 value for FREE... and car chargers are a MUST!! BONUS!!! I was going anyway - free charger or not! The store was packed!! They have specials galore and just in time for the quickly approaching holiday. I went to the phones I figured I could trade in for next to nothing... knowing that I wanted something that had a nice keyboard for texting. I still didn't have texting on my monthly plan, but figured in time, I would. SO many options... so many styles... it was nuts. I knew BlackBerry had a special, so I checked them out. Talked things over with one of the sales girls there.... and before I knew it I decided on the BlackBerry Curve 8330 in red (picture above). Oh yes.. HELLO beautiful!! Finally... I was gonna own all the bells and whistles, and for only $26 MORE every month. Seemed like a pretty darn good deal! And, to a person that hasn't had two pay cuts in one year, and has worked 40 hours every week for 52 weeks... sure!! Only problem is... that person is NOT ME!! What was I thinking?!?!?! I walked out of the store trying to rationalize the stupid buy I had just made. Then, when that didn't work, I tried to ignore thinking about the stupid move. I got home and played with that beauty till midnight. Yup... I was determined I was going to learn all I could, and play with all I could before the inevitable happened... the RETURN!! They told me I had 30 days to return the phone, but would have to pay a $35 restocking fee.... I knew I should have chose another phone at that point... but still didn't go with my gut feeling. So, at midnight I finally decided I needed to charge the phone and go to bed. I didn't sleep well that night. EVERY time I'd wake up or roll over, that stupid phone was on my brain... What do I do? What utility can I try and reduce? What do I spend money on that I can stop? How can I get them to waive the $35 restocking fee? Oh yes... all that kept me from sleeping. I finally got out of bed at 7:15 a.m., determined that I MUST return the phone and get one that will support my old service plan. I didn't even know what time the store opened - I did know that I had to be there when they did. I also knew I couldn't spend one more minute with that beauty!! I MUST GET IT BACK, and get my money back!! ALL OF IT! I raced to get ready, and decided to call Sprint directly to talk to Customer Service about getting my plan back, and find out what they can do for a long time, good paying customer. I got a really nice girl named Becky who completely understood my problem. She was able to re-activate my old phone, AND gave me a better plan, to include texting, for the SAME amount of money I was paying before!! (give or take a dollar). Can you believe that?!?!? PHEW, I was super relieved!! Now, I just needed to explain all this to the kids that work in those stores.

I was at the store at 10 a.m. when they opened... first customer, nobody else there to hear my sob story. Thankfully, I had a different sales girl (named Laura) who took her time with me. At first she couldn't understand why anyone would return such a great phone, at such a great price, with such a great plan. Then, after I told her I was stupid, honestly cannot afford an additional $26 each month, and couldn't even sleep knowing I made such a dumb move... she got it... or maybe she got nervous seeing complete fear in my eyes... not sure! Anyway... she talked me through other phones and features, and helped me make my final decision. The Lotus LG in red is what I got (picture left), the free car charger, and 15% off the protective case. A wave of happiness came over me as I walked back out to my car. My life (as I know it to be) was back to normal. I knew I could once again sleep at night. AND, she never once mentioned about me having to pay $35 to re-stock the phone!!! Yippeeee.....

I would like to say it was nice owning a BlackBerry (for 15 hours), but it would be a lie!! Maybe one day that little lovely will be mine... but until then, hey... at least I now have free texting!! All things worked out!!!