my new best friend

i've been wanting a new cell phone. the phone i have is fine, but my digital organizer thingie has been slowly dying...the battery lasts for only a day, and in a world of slimmer and trimmer gadgets, it was really getting too bulky. i was looking to consolidate my phone with my organizer for a win-win solution!

the last time i had signed a 3 year contract with telus, after 2 years, they offered me a $400 phone credit to sign another 3-year contract. so i took them up on their offer. now, i've just completed my 2nd year of said 3-year contract, so i figured they would do the same for me this time around. i called once, and the lady said no. i only had to call once more to get what i wanted! happinesss!

so i got a blackberry pearl, and i have named her ruby. she's silver and compact and beautiful! i feel just a little bit closer to my brother who had a hand in her creation, i'm sure. she's wonderful and allows me to send messages via facebook too! the camera is better than i thought it would be and even though it's not a windows-based system, it's very user-friendly. i was also unsure about using just the pearl trackball to navigate through the controls since i was used to a touch screen and a stylus to input tasks and appointments. it's been fine though - i haven't subconsciously reached for the stylus once! i haven't synced it with my work computer yet, but my first impressions are very good.

tips and tricks to getting a new phone:

>i find if you call during the day on a weekday, you get the full-timers who know what they're doing and want to help, versus the part-timers who are stuck working weekends and are bitter about it. the first time i called (and was rejected) was on a weekend; the second time (when they gave me what i wanted) was a wednesday just after lunch.
>i told them that i wanted to upgrade to a smartphone (which means that i need to upgrade my plan, which means more $$$ for them).
>if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. i think kris called about 10 times to get a new phone and eventually got it. i'm lucky in that it only took me a couple of tries. the bottom line is, persistance is key!