Reading, Writing, Ranting, and Raving.

Recently I’ve done very little of the second but a great deal of the first, third, and fourth.

There are several reasons for this. The Engineer and I were selling a house, we spent two weeks in Europe, and our credit card was compromised. I had a major issue with two banks when a check for $50 was treated as one for $5000, and my lovely HTC 1 smartphone died the night before we left on our trip after only thirteen months of usage. I also didn’t final in my writing chapter’s contest, a discovery that hit my motivation like a sliding tackle on a soccer player.

I have — as you may have guessed — been a little distracted.

Still, the house is (finally) sold. Our trip was wonderful, with lots of time spent with Darling Daughter. The credit card was replaced, and the banks were suitably apologetic, backing up that sentiment with a monetary credit that recognized the frustration and worry their mistake had caused.

Verizon, alas, has been less helpful. I ended up spending $40 to use Darling Daughter’s “upgrade,” plus a $15 set-up fee and the cost of a new (not-smart) phone. Verizon’s best offer was a $30 credit toward one of their certified used smartphones.

The cheapest one is $219.99.

I think not.

Look, I get the whole twelve month warranty thing. I understand they probably get a lot of people trying to scam them for a new phone. But, I also know that exceptions could be made for, say, long-term customers whose phone died a month out of warranty.

There is a bright side. If I replace my old iPod, I’ll still be able take photos and use the apps I’ve come to depend on.  This will cost less than one of Verizon’s used phones, even without their oh-so-generous $30 credit.

More importantly, I expect to spend less time distracted by emails and social media.

Sending less money to Verizon each month will be a bonus.

I call that a win.