Item #3 is my mobile phone. It’s a T-Mobile G1, which I got for Christmas last year. It has many defects, for a few reasons. One, it was bought slightly used online, so I had to buy a new battery to replace the old bloated one. Then about a week after I got the phone, I was driving along the road with it on the armrest between the driver and passenger seat, and I had to stop suddenly. It slid forward into a cup-holder containing a mug with about a centimeter of tea. I wasn’t able to take it out of the mug until I came to a complete stop, which was a few seconds. Despite my best intentions at drying it, the keyboard is now mostly unusable, the buttons on the front don’t do what they’re supposed to, and I can’t pick up calls–I have to hang up and call them back.
So far I’ve been able to figure out workarounds to make it do what I want. I can check my emails and various social media sites (though slowly), text fairly well with the on-screen keyboard, and make the very few calls I need. Over time though, its problems are going to grate on me. Android updates are unattainable without hacking, since it’s an old model. I’m going to get tired of having to hang up and call people back. I’m thinking that if my internship this summer doesn’t give me a free mobile phone to work with over the summer, I might just splurge and get a new one. That I know will work.
I’ve learned my lesson. Always keep your phone in a safe place. And drink all of your tea.