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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 22 2014, 4:57am
Post #1 of 25
(919 views)
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I'm really beginning to hate cell phones
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So, though I have torched (not literally- one fell in soda, one got thrown after a bad argument with abusive parents, one fell in a snowy parking lot that got plowed before I realized it was missing) several phones in the six years I've been married, I finally managed to keep the same phone on me (with my two year old's baby pictures from home) for over two years unscathed.
That is....until the dumb thing fell in a sink full of soapy water 
Seriously- my hand was RIGHT behind it (it fell off the windowsill above the kitchen sink while I shut the window and saw it falling) and it was in the water for what? Half a second? Seriously....
So then it doesn't work at all for twelve hours, then it works (YAY!) only for it to not charge and then finally the battery died.....NOOOOO!!!!! 
I LOATHE smartphones- way too complicated (if I want a computer, I have a laptop- seriously who needs the internet with them constantly?  ) and I don't use internet on my phone anyway- I have a computer for that, for heaven's sake!
All I want is a basic flip phone or "brick" (meaning not flip, but not smartphone either) phone that texts, calls, leaves voicemails, and takes pictures (that I can text to other people). Maybe a calculator on it too, as I use that for grocery shopping, and an alarm to wake me up in the morning- and that's the extent of my cell phone usage.
You try telling that to a cell phone store employee- it's like driving up to a coffee stand and asking for a coffee with just cream and sugar, or even just a coffee black- they will look at you with bugged out eyeballs as though you're some sort of weird alien or something! Worst off, they won't even know what you're talking about at all....excellent way to confuse the heck out of someone.
Problem was exacerbated by their computer systems being down, so they took about an hour with each of the three people ahead of me, leaving me to try and figure out ways to entertain a five year old and a two year old for three hours in a phone store (hint on how difficult it was- my two year old LOVES phones!). Surprisingly they were pretty good, all things considered (the girls- not the employees). And I end up leaving because they're out of their basic phone, and the next one up is the same type as my husband's- which I absolutely hate because it's texting predictor is a complete and utter moron- it has words like trent and hummingbird, but not don't or any other commonly used vocabulary- and there's no way to add words (like your daughter's names or local street names, for example) to the dictionary! I haven't texted without predictor for about four years now, so trying to go back to it is nigh on impossible with finger memory the way it is....
Tried calling in on my grandmother's old blackberry, which I put my SIM card in, and that dumb thing is more complicated than my computer- I'm dead serious. By the time I got her contacts deleted (and accidentally called about six random people during the process) and managed to get my contacts in and call the cell carrier to work on insurance to replace my phone (and ended up having to do that four times because my cheek kept hitting the end call button right in the middle of the automated system) I was told that they no longer make my phone!!!!
AARGH!!!!!
Does anyone else have this much trouble with cell phones? I'm beginning to think Viggo Mortensen's idea of not having a phone at all just might well be worth it.....
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Kilidoescartwheels
Valinor
Aug 22 2014, 1:59pm
Post #2 of 25
(774 views)
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Hate is a strong word, but ...
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First, thanks for the chuckle - sorry to laugh at your bad day, but it was a funny post! Second, up until recently I had the old-fashioned flip phone with white numbers on a black background that I could see without my readers. But yes it was old, and we'd already replaced the battery once and the new one started getting weak. Gotta say, I am TERRIBLE about forgetting to plug my phone in to charge. So about 2 months ago I decided MAYBE it was time to upgrade to a "smart" phone. I went with Virgin Mobile, a pay-as-you-go plan with no contracts for about $35 a month. My old phone was an AT&T payg plan for $25, so I thought "Cool, I now have a data plan for only $10 a month more!" So in the 2 months I've had it I can count the number of times I've used that data plan on one hand, with 2 of those times to pay the bill! (Funny how that's the easiest function.) And everytime I want to do something besides call or text, I have to ask my daughter "how do you do this?" Like how do you save a picture to your photo album (still don't know), how do you delete that blurry pic with your finger in the way (still don't know), how do you delete your old texts and missed calls (still don't know) and how do you text a photo, anyway? Well she did show me how to do that. I also found out that if the music files are WMA instead of MP3 I can't save them to this phone, unless I buy an app for that. And I tried to download my bank's free app & somehow couldn't, so my daughter said I had a bunch of apps running in the background (I did?), and told me to get an app killer - who'd have thought, an app that kills apps? I realize that I might not be smart enough for a smartphone
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Aug 22 2014, 2:04pm
Post #3 of 25
(773 views)
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Did you try putting your old phone in a bag of rice?
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My old LG Chocolate phone (my favorite of all of them) was on a counter where water from the sink had splashed so it was basically sitting in a puddle and I didn't notice it until too late. I put it in a bag of dry regular (not Uncle Ben's or minute) rice and let it sit there for a few days. It dried out nicely and worked fine for another few years.
I have an iPhone now and love it because I am on the go (and on the road) a lot and need to be able to keep all the balls in the air. This year is easier, only 3 kids in 2 schools, with the two oldest out on their own working but last year I had 5 kids in 5 schools, hubby and I both traveled for work and we both had sick relatives in 3 different states. It's a necessary evil to be able to keep in touch with everyone and get things done on the fly.
Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
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Rembrethil
Tol Eressea
Aug 22 2014, 2:30pm
Post #4 of 25
(765 views)
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My Mum has the same issue. She only wanted a simple 'dumb-phone' to call, text, and get/take pictures of the grandkiddies, however she recently got an I-phone 5c free with her contract, and we've been trying to expound its dark mysteries to her.
Personally, I don't have one at all. (And it could be argued that I have no life  ) I don't go anywhere that I need one, and don't have any form of personal transportation. I have no one I'd call, and that screen is way too small to browse the Net. I'd also try putting your phone in brown rice (A natural desiccant) for a few days, a week if you can spare it, just to rule out total failure. If that doesn't work, there are a bunch of basic pre-paid phones in the local retailers in my area. Would any of those suit your needs? They have Tracfone and StraightTalk around here. They even have water-proof ones!!!  Sorry, I had to say it. I'm so mean....
Call me Rem, and remember, not all who ramble are lost...Uh...where was I?
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acheron
Gondor
Aug 22 2014, 2:50pm
Post #5 of 25
(774 views)
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"it's bad enough we have a telephone"
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For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars, and so on -- while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man, for precisely the same reasons. -- Douglas Adams
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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 22 2014, 3:41pm
Post #6 of 25
(748 views)
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I haven't tried the bag of rice yet
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It seemed to dry in about 12 hours- right after it fell in the sink, it wouldn't work at all- didn't even have a screen. 12 hours later it worked again, except that it wouldn't charge, then I was able to use it until the battery died a day later.
I will try putting it in a bag of rice and see if it works, but it's been three days so it might be too late....I had insurance on it that will cost me $20 to get a comparable phone and I think I'm going to do that (and give this you-know-what blackberry back to my grandmother- I'm grateful that I can call on it but now the texts won't send, so it will be a good emergency phone til I get a new one I guess). After looking at the phone that replaced mine in the market it really is comparable (I thought the "upgraded phone" was the same as my husband's, which I can't stand, but it's not- it really does look a LOT like mine).
I have a lot of organizing things on my computer, and my girls aren't in any sports yet, so I'm thinking that I can survive without a smartphone/iphone for a while longer- and I'm home most of the time anyway 
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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 22 2014, 3:46pm
Post #7 of 25
(747 views)
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I will stick it in a bag of rice
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but after three days it might be too late
We did look at some of the pre-paid phones (and plans) at Wal-mart the day after, and for two phones with unlimited talk/text it seemed to run about 90 per month, and we pay 95 and change now). But since we're not on contract anymore, I am looking for cheaper alternatives
No worries on the waterproof thing- I get you lol
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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 22 2014, 3:55pm
Post #8 of 25
(750 views)
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I love calvin and hobbes (and so does my husband)!
I know, I know- people went without phones for centuries. But that was also a time where towns were smaller, people knew each other, and the doctor was a horse ride away (and would do in home visits). I barely know my neighbors, though I might be getting to a point where I feel comfortable asking them to use their phone if there's an emergency.
But I use my phone to set up appointments with doctors, dentists, etc, I use it to conduct business for the family, and I will use it to contact my grandmother, who lives 35 miles away, on a regular basis. I don't have a land-line, and I am the type of person to stop at car accidents and emergencies if there aren't emergency responders there yet, call 911, and assist how I can (I used to be a certified nursing assistant, plus I know first aid and how to direct traffic, and keep flares, a fire extinguisher, and other emergency things in my car).
Unfortunately the need for a car in a rural area where my husband's 12 miles one way commute to work is a short commute, and the fabric store and bulk grocery store, and the pharmacy, are between 12 and 15 miles away, to me necessitates a cell phone in the car, at least for emergencies. People are more likely to die in a car accident than most other causes of death not related to obesity, so in a world where cars are the primary mode of transportation (and where it snows in the winter enough that people can get stuck fairly easily) a cell for car emergencies seems reasonable to me.
And if it weren't for ridiculously long hold times calling call centers and such, I probably wouldn't need unlimited talk (and though I could get used to it, I may not need unlimited texting but everyone I know texts me instead of calling and even if I don't look at the text I get charged for it regardless). I don't know how to block receiving text messages.
Sigh.....first world problems I guess
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Loresilme
Valinor
Aug 22 2014, 7:35pm
Post #10 of 25
(726 views)
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Maybe you could find it online
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I've found whenever I want to buy something that goes against the mainstream - like, a simple phone, or an unusual clothing size - the only way to find it is to buy it online. Stores don't carry inventory on things that don't sell a lot. Also, besides out-of the-ordinary items, I've found discontinued items still for sale online. Or you may find that phone for sale used or refurbished.
Start with Google, type in the model # and 'for sale'. Don't give up on finding that same phone just yet :)! Good luck!
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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 22 2014, 10:51pm
Post #11 of 25
(719 views)
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I looked carefully at the replacement model, and it looks nearly exactly the same as the torched one and only cost me $20 for them to ship it to me (I ship the old one back). Not a bad price at all for a new phone, and if it doesn't work out like my old one did then I can try to find it online as you suggest
But it really does look exactly the same- different cover (it's black and looks less "sleek" than mine- which is fine with me because mine kept slipping out of my hands because it was so smooth on the outside) but the design looks almost like it could be my phone So fingers crossed it works!
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Loresilme
Valinor
Aug 22 2014, 11:58pm
Post #12 of 25
(713 views)
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I looked carefully at the replacement model, and it looks nearly exactly the same as the torched one and only cost me $20 for them to ship it to me (I ship the old one back). Not a bad price at all for a new phone, and if it doesn't work out like my old one did then I can try to find it online as you suggest
But it really does look exactly the same- different cover (it's black and looks less "sleek" than mine- which is fine with me because mine kept slipping out of my hands because it was so smooth on the outside) but the design looks almost like it could be my phone So fingers crossed it works!
Funny how our phones become our trusty little friends . I feel the same way about mine. It sounds like your new one may be as comfy and familiar as the old one, just a little updated with a few extra bells & whistles !
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Bracegirdle
Valinor
Aug 24 2014, 5:17pm
Post #13 of 25
(697 views)
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No text
No goole
No facebook
No call waiting
No tweet
No hee-haw
No diddley-do
I do though make occasional PHONE CALLS with my cell.
I do though receive occasional PHONE CALLS with my cell.
Dats it! Life is complicated, I don't have umpteen hours to figure out how this thing works.
More power to the up and coming that didn't grow up with NO TELEVISION - PARTY LINES (don't know what they are? Ask us!) and computers decades in the future.
Hey! I CAN run this thing (somewhat) unless it tells me I've been bad! OUCH! 
Some say "Why"? - I say "Why not?"
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Aug 25 2014, 4:17pm
Post #14 of 25
(681 views)
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Sadly, we actually need them in our present culture.
I wonder at the days when I drove around with no phone, and got dead cars and flat tires and had to knock on doors for help. No knocking on doors now (yeah, would you let someone into your hose in this day and age???)
I have a basic ATT plan, no text, no internet (in fact, I had to have them turn it off when the bloody phone kept pocket dialing the web...), as I can't afford more.
I work at an arts and crafts store, and one of our benefits is if you have a phone you can go online with, you can get a coupon right there (usually 40 or 50% off one item).. I''m surprised how many great grandmother generation people have smart phones. There are still a few holdouts.
One issue I have is the $*&^&*^!!! who feel the need to be yammering on their phones as they go through a checkout line.
FOCUS!!! YOUR FOCUS NEEDS MORE FOCUS!!!!
I need to have a conversation with you to provide customer service, I am not competing with your need to be bionically plugged in to your device.
I also have issues with people in general who are just kind of always plugged in and MUST always answer their phones.
Noooooooooo, sometimes you need to be focusing on other stuff.
I too have issues with phone store people who want to sell me the latest greatest.
Nope.
It just needs to make phone calls.
Nice to have that camera, but it's a pain to download to the computer, so, maybe I don't need that part either.
My best cell phone adventure was a voyage I did with the Longship Company (longshipco.org, Oakley MD, USA). The 40' Viking longship Sae Hrafn set out from a back creek toward the Mighty Potomac (farther upriver is Washington DC), with me chasing it (and paddling circles around it) in my kayak, taking pictures and video.
At some point, after beating into the wind (longships have lots of rigging to catch wind, kayaks don't) toward Blackistone Island (also called St. Clements Is.) someone uttered the Immortal Words "...want to scout ahead?"
Sure.
I set out, through the waves and wind (what kayaks are great for), saw the island, set a compass course, reached the island, found a landing beach (under the lighthouse)... and saw no longship behind me.
Phone rang, I couldn't answer, no phone zone (it's Maryland, it's the middle of the Potomac, it's flat, whatthe????????)... I raced to the potti, then ran around trying to find a phone zone, found one, got a spotty conversation that sounded like every bad reception radio call in every action film ever... gzzzzzt.... frble... turning...... zzzzzt..... frble..... wind...... gzzzzt...." Finally found a spot under the lighthouse where I could actually call and heard "we're turning back due to wind..."
Cool. Fine. I have a compass course.
Compass course points toward two large bodies of water separated by trees. I have to pick one.
Hmmmmmmm. Port. Starboard... port.... starboard....
Compass course seems to match port better.
Star paddling.
Nothing looks familiar.
Try to call guys on ship.
Gzzzzzttttt. Frble.
See marker buoy. Unfamiliar marker buoy. Call guys on ship in rather exhuberant waves (noo nooo nooo, can't drop phone overboard). I am in kayak with two inches of freeboard in waves....
Faint voices answer.
Me: "I'm by marker buoy blah blah..."
Ship: (rustling of charts and maps and stuffs) "There is no marker buoy blah blah..."
Me: "Yes there is... I'm sitting by it..." Hopefully I am not up the wrong creek without a chart...
Ship: (rustle rustle, crinkle crinkle) "Oh, there it is..."
We established my location (bouncing up and down in waves and being blown about in wind whilst trying not to lose cell phone in the bloody Potomac), and that I should continue up the bay (St. Clements Bay) to the second creek on the left or something (Canoe Neck Creek)....
"Creek? What creek? did we come down a creek?" Which is why you always look behind you as you travel, and take charts.
I paddled up the bay and looked at a lot of trees and stopped at some (wrong) beaches and one place that was closed and had a huge fence and dogs that sounded like Farmer Maggot's but could not be seen.
I fled.
I finally flagged down a passing sailboat (under engine power), and asked where the heck Canoe Neck Creek was. They pointed vaguely at treelines and gave directions and finally offered a tow...
"Don't worry, we won't get 'er up on plane or anything..."
Hah hah, sailor humor, sailboats don't get up on plane, only speedboats.
They towed me to the mouth of the creek, and at dusk, I found the ship and the guys all kind of worried, even though I'd phones them a few times.
If I hadn't found the sailboat, I might have had to make landfall somewhere on the bay, then try to phone my friends and describe where I was so they could come find me.
Bottom line, phone good.
Really want a leash for it though, so I don't drop it in the drink....
You can actually see the longship parked at the mouth of Canoe Neck Creek, on Google Earth ... looks like a big canoe.
"Judge me by my size, would you?" Max the Hobbit Husky.
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Bard'sBlackArrow
Lorien
Aug 25 2014, 11:10pm
Post #15 of 25
(661 views)
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even though I'm something of a tech head...I still do not like relying on tech extensively
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I do not text,
No Facebook
No Twitter (I really wish contests would skip social media)
I use my phone for calls, watching movies, music and the calendar.
I do not keep it on unless I am commuting or the weekend at home (and it's never in the same room as I am.)
I am not keen on being tied to technology. I miss the pen pal stuff I did in my teens and early 20s...
To the dear OP, i used kill iPods all the time. The last shuffle i had shuffled into a mug of hot water and lemonade. I sympathize I must have gone through about 5 of them before I finally got a phone.
... on the other side of tomorrow...
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Meneldor
Valinor
Aug 26 2014, 1:22am
Post #16 of 25
(658 views)
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Swordwhale, I don't have a cell, nor want one.
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But in your case, I think you might want to consider GPS. Just sayin'...
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. -Psalm 107
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Bracegirdle
Valinor
Aug 26 2014, 2:45am
Post #17 of 25
(657 views)
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I don't have a cell, nor want one.
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The iron in that plate armor might stop the signal anyway - lol
Some say "Why"? - I say "Why not?"
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Aug 26 2014, 3:41pm
Post #18 of 25
(638 views)
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(then how does Iron Man even use all that tech he's got in his suit????)
"Judge me by my size, would you?" Max the Hobbit Husky.
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Bracegirdle
Valinor
Sep 1 2014, 1:42am
Post #20 of 25
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Note from Bracegirdle to Bracegirdle
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I do have a cell phone. I use it to make calls and receive calls when away from my landline.
What's a "landline" you ask? Its the one that goes "ring, ring" instead of playing some silly song.
** BG hangs up, puts phone back on hook **
What's a "hook" you ask.... nevermind.... 
"...or ever still a herald on
an errand that should never rest
to bear his shining lamp afar,
the Flammifer of Westernesse."
-Bilbo Baggins
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MistyMountain
Lorien
Sep 2 2014, 2:03am
Post #21 of 25
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Watching me with my old flip phone, my co-workers are always telling me they think it is time for a new phone (meaning smart phone). NO! NO! I don't want a smart phone. I don't even want the flip phone really. That was the best part of living in the adirondacks -- no cell towers, no cell phones. If I can figure out a way to move back up there, this flip phone will be going bye-bye. And don't even get me started on GPS!!
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Sep 2 2014, 2:17am
Post #22 of 25
(607 views)
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My landline plays a Bach Cantata
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But it is a cordless phone so no hook.
I will keep my landline for as long as I can. We live only 20 miles from Washington DC and on 9/11 the cell towers were overwhelmed. I was one of the few of my neighbors who still had a landline and I was able to get through to relatives at the Pentagon and Capitol.
I love my smart phone for when I'm "on duty" and need to be 3 places at once, but when I'm on vacation at my uncle's cottage it's no phones at all. There is no landline and no electricity to recharge cell phones. We turn them on when we need to in an emergency. Otherwise, I am off the grid. 
Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
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Bracegirdle
Valinor
Sep 2 2014, 5:01am
Post #23 of 25
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I'm a "Moonlight Sonata" man myself but
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I have a friend whose cell phone plays "Mule Skinner Blues" by the Fendermen (and real loud!)
If you want a great laugh listen to this:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1NNVC_enUS490US490&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=mule+skinner+blues
But, ah, I'd sure like a couple weeks of peace and quiet at your uncle's cottage - for sure.
"...or ever still a herald on
an errand that should never rest
to bear his shining lamp afar,
the Flammifer of Westernesse."
-Bilbo Baggins
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Dame Ioreth
Tol Eressea
Sep 2 2014, 10:54am
Post #24 of 25
(601 views)
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My kids figured out how to change the ringtone
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on my hubby's phone when they were in elementary school. Unfortunately, not knowing what was coming, they changed it without telling him and that particular day was the day his company had a massive riff. He had the unhappy job of laying off over half of his team, a group of people he had worked with for a long time. I called him to see how he was doing and his voice was somewhere between strangled laugh and crying. I had caught him in the middle of delivering the pink slips and that new ringtone had started to play from his phone as he made his way through the cubicles. My kids are all into 60s and 70s rock music and my daughter had changed his ringtone to this. 
Where there's life there's hope, and need of vittles.
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
(This post was edited by Dame Ioreth on Sep 2 2014, 10:59am)
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zarabia
Tol Eressea
Sep 2 2014, 11:29am
Post #25 of 25
(595 views)
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Oh dear! That would be very awkward
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But thanks to SNL, all I can think is, "More cow bell!" Sorry
BTW, you've inspired a new thread on ring tones.
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