I just had a really good talk with one of my coworkers about her 14-year-old daughter and music videos, and I had to recommend to her that she leave work IMMEDIATELY and go to Bay Street Video and buy the boxed Directors Set of videos by Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry. And then it occurred to me that I should tell all of you the same thing (especially
Speaking of buying things and videos…
I have officially abandoned all hope of finding my cell phone. Possibly it will turn up in the distant future, like Wesley, the cat I once accidentally lost, who ended up missing for almost two months, and was actually just hiding in the basement very confused and hungry.
Except the cell phone probably won’t be hungry.
And it will meow less.
And not have diarrhea for a week.
But I digress.
It is time to move on, to look at new options, new plans and new phones. Please advise me, oh wise and all-knowing LJ readers!
Three Choices for a New Cell Phone:
1) Stay with Telus, on their $25 ‘Big Deal Promo’ plan which I am contractually obligated to until October, which gives me a measly 150 daytime minutes, shitty 3 message/3 day expiry message centre, and makes me pay an additional $3 for call display and $6.50 for system access fees, as well as ¢25 e911 Emergency. This option entails buying a new phone at full cost, and paying a $25 changeover fee.
2) Change to Bell, on their $20/month OPSEU Corporate plan, with free activation, e911 Emergency for ¢25 per month, System Access Fee for $4.50 per month, Includes for FREE!: 300 Anytime Local Minutes, Call Display, Call Forwarding, Call Waiting, Conference Calling, Message Centre (Voice Mail), Unlimited Weekends (8pm Friday to 7am Monday), Detailed Billing, Per Second Billing and Unlimited Local Calling free for the first 3 Months as well as Unlimited Picture and Video Messaging (with Camera Phone purchase) free for 2 Months. This option entails paying $100 to break my contract, and if I enter another 3-year contract, getting a new phone from Bell either for free or for $50 (camera phone) or $100 (tiny camera phone with video capability).
3) Face the fact that the Gods do not want me to have a cell phone, and let it go. Cancel contract and live a happy, un-cell burdened life between work and home. Live with not having a phone at the condo and just use MSN when there.
Please give me your opinions in my cellular phone poll…
Thank you!
The Bell option does sound pretty good, although contracts are infuriating when phones get lost. Have you looked at Fido or Rogers?
If you’re seriously contemplating going phone-free, you might consider getting a pay-as-you-go phone for condo use and just being religious about not overusing it.
Thanks for the recommendation re: music video DVD. I just saw it in the shop yesterday, but I must confess that I haven’t been much of a music video guy for several years now. I think it’s got to do with inertia: if I’m going to commit to viewing something on TV, I want it to have a narrative arc at least 22 minutes in length. Hence my addiction to live concert DVDs and my total neglect of my U2 1990-2000 videos collection.
But: Spike Jonze is mind-numbingly cool. So that may tip the scales here.
In the meantime, I’m busy soaking up 2 new albums purchased yesterday (“Are You Ready,” Blue Rodeo’s new offering, and “Love’s A Real Thing: The Funky Fuzzy Music of West Africa,” a compilation of African psychedelic funk-rock from the 70s put together by David Byrne of Talking Heads fame). And I just got word that Amazon has shipped me 3 more titles (“The Heart of Saturday Night,” one of the albums Tom Waits recorded before he started gargling with gravel, “Take A Picture,” a weird 1968 psych-pop album by mysterious songwriter Margo Guryan, and “The World Won’t End,” by the awesomely poptastic Pernice Bros). So I’m going to have to declare a music-buying moratorium for now.
Whew! Long post. So, to sum up: not sure about music videos; got lots of new music on the way; but always appreciate recommendations, especially from your fine self, because a) you have stellar taste, and b) it’s always nice to know you’re thinking of me. Keep ’em coming!
#2, the scientologist want you to go with #1.
-caellum
Between the two, I’d probably take the Bell deal, but I too will ask if you’ve considered any other options? Previously, I wouldn’t have recommended Fido, as they don’t have the coverage you’re looking for, but now that they’re owned by Rogers, they can roam on the Rogers network, and their coverage is greatly expanded. And Fido still have a no contract-ever option (though you can sign a 2-year ‘agreement’ to get a sexier phone). So for me, the combination of Rogers coverage and Fido no-contract is a good option – it just depends whether their service covers you. Obviously Fido works downtown, but if you can establish that Rogers works in Weston and Oakville (and whereever else) you may want to consider it.
One thing to consider about getting a camera phone from either Bell or Telus is whether they give you any options to get the pictures off the phone. Classically, both companies charged you a network fee for offloading pictures, while Rogers and Fido let you do it for free through an infrared or bluetooth connection. Just something to check (I’m not sure if that’s still Belus’ policy).