Cheap Electronics and Emergency Preparedness

Another post today already.

Shortly after I wrote the last post, somebody called me on my modestly four month old cell phone.

I guess I should explain. I hate buying new electronics. Mostly because I'm an environmentalist, mostly because I don't like figuring out and getting used to new stuff when I already have something that works and that I understand, mostly because I don't like spending money, mostly because electronics are just getting cheaper and cheaper, and I don't mean because they cost less.

This phone is the perfect example. My previous phone I'd had for five years, and it only bit it because I staffed a week-long backpacking experience for freshmen this summer, and instructors were required to have our phones in the field. No matter that we'd get no signal the whole time. Anyway, it stormed, my backpack ended up in a puddle...and wet phones don't do so well.

So I got this new one, a Motorola EM330 if you're looking into what NOT to buy, and after four months, I drop it when trying to answer it, and in perfectly unreasonable protest the screen breaks clear off. I mean, yeah, I dropped it. but let's face it, electronics these days are also just POSs. (What's a POS?)

This, as you can imagine, added extra complications to my imminent air travel to DC. Ah, but I was, at least, prepared. I had in my possession another old phone, because I hate throwing old electronics away as much as I hate buying new ones. Especially ones that still work. This one was my mother's, which she gave up when she went the way of the world and got her iphone. Both of my sensible parents encouraged me to get rid of that old one, to not just hang on to old junk.

But I had it on my shelf, waiting for such a moment as this. Perhaps I saw it coming. So a quick pop of the old SIM card, and I went from having a total travel plan meltdown (because there were numbers I needed to call that, like a not-so-sensible person, were not written down anywhere) to being ready for action once again.

Assuming I can fly out in all this snow.