My Phone is Broken.

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Today started out like any other day. I slept in a bit, had a leisurely breakfast, read a bit, and then went out for lunch. I found a nice little soup shop just down the road. Though the woman in charge didn't speak English, the guy working the tea stand next to her did and they both worked be sure I got a lovely meal. I sat down and shared a table with a cute, little Thai grandmother and enjoyed the best tom yum gung I've ever had. I will certainly be back!

I then took the bus to the Canon repair center near my home. My beloved camera has suddenly developed an issue with the settings dial. If I want it set on "low light" it's "portrait" instead. If I want "auto" it's "video" and if I want any other setting, it just flips over to "aperture" a setting I am not so good at using. While I could function for a while like this I worry that this could be indicative of a larger problem or problems to come. Like anything, it's best to see the doctor earlier rather than later.

The woman who took my camera and info told me they'd call me soon with information. She couldn't give a specific price estimate (which is what I'd wanted) but a range that I could live with. And then she said the queue was long so it might take until next week. It figures, I have lots of free time to wander and take photos and my good camera is getting serviced. At least I still have my old one and it still works well, despite the dirt under the lens. As long as I avoid wide range nature shots it'll be fine.

I got home and took my phone out of my bag to recharge it. But wait, the screen won't turn on. I can't turn my phone off, either. It won't take a charge. It worked an hour ago, so what happened?

I tore my apartment apart looking for the tiny receipt that I got when I bought it. I couldn't find it. I finally decided to just go to the store and hope that they'd believe me when I say I bought it one month ago so it should still be under warranty.

At the shop, it turns out they don't service it. But they did get it working again. And they got me another copy of the receipt. And they directed me to an actual repair center because obviously it's a software problem. And they'd know it was under warranty because my phone's ID number tells them when it was sold--no receipt required. I love good customer service.

At the Samsung repair center at MBK mall, I took a number and sat down. I knew my problem could probably be fixed easily, so I wasn't sure how to change my "send out" number into a "repair in 30 minutes" number. The woman next to me wasn't strong with her English but did a lovely job explaining that the tech would determine whether it gets sent out or not. If not, I then wait thirty minutes and take a different queue number. It made sense but I was still grateful to have it explained.

When it was my turn they looked at it and said I needed a software update. (After only one month?) But they would take my phone and call me when it was ready in a few days. "Um, wait, that's my phone. How will you call me?" I asked. They asked if I had a hotel number instead and I said no, I lived here, and my mobile is my only phone. (Not to mention, why can't they do a software update onsite? It's not like they need to take my phone apart.)

Well, then I was suddenly moved to the "wait thirty minutes" group and told to come back. Not having another phone number paid off. I wandered the mall looking for beer koozies (my beer always gets warm here) and a cool, refreshing beverage. I only ended up with the beverage but it was great to enjoy a Hong Kong milk tea again.

At six o'clock, I returned, took a new number, waited ten minutes, and my phone was ready. Thrilled, I left.

On my way home, the BRT was having major delays for reasons I never did figure out. I just know that they had us lining up at the top of the stairs (rather than downstairs where we usually wait) and then we were escorted down the road and up a step stool to the bus while another bus sat blocking the lane. While I was waiting, I realized that more settings were reset than I'd even known about. I expected to have an ugly wallpaper and different ringtone, and no accounts set up. But I didn't expect that my phone contacts would have vanished (since it was backed up) and that I'd have no internet.

When I got home, I called my mobile phone provider. It was a long shot, but it seemed worth a try. After over two hours talking to two different women and trying to set it up manually, my phone was back online. It was nearly ten o'clock. I thanked the women for their time and patience and hung up. At this point, it's beer o'clock.

While all of this made it a terribly long, frustrating day, there is a silver lining. A big one. I was able to deal with it on my own. For the five years in China, if something like this had happened, I would have had to find a friend, set a time, and hope that things could be resolved. Or, I might have to hire a student as a translator when we were both free. But I had to rely on someone else and their translation skills. Now I can do it myself. I'd nearly forgotten how to. I'm independent again. And that's a great feeling.

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Photos

My Amazing Lunch
Sadly, it was all downhill from here.