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Published On: Aug 05, 2007 08:38 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Aug 05, 2007 08:38 AM
iPhone; Alex
Got one.
At the office, I got an e-mail from Dan saying he
snagged an iPhone at retail, so I called up the Old Pasadena Apple Store and
asked if they had the 8 GB
iPhone.
"Yes, we do."
"Okaythankyoubye!"
I was in Old Pasadena within 20 minutes, but I ended up getting delayed by about 10 minutes by parking lot vultures in the nearby parking structure. (Parking lot vultures are those vermin who follow pedestrians to their cars and then wait, and wait, and wait, until the other drivers eventually vacate their parking space. I hate parking lot vultures. I'm a parking lot hawk -- I circle around and then swoop into any empty space I see. I don't even wait for empty spaces closer to my destination. Any space will do, as long as it's large enough.)
Eventually, I made my way to the Apple Store and asked for an 8 GB iPhone. They had a box of them just behind the checkout counter. I handed my credit card over to them...
And it was rejected.
Frakking Citibank!
I have tons and tons of credit, so I knew that it was some sort of security measure put in. I had just used the card to buy gas, so I knew it worked. I immediately called Citibank. It turns out they put a hold on the card because of my previous online order for the iPhone. I probably sounded frazzled, and the customer service rep unblocked my card. I got back in line. Although the guy who originally swiped my card had set aside an iPhone box for me, I was worried that it might get lost in the shuffle of people in the store, and I watched nervously as iPhones slowly disappeared from the box behind the counter. However, the line wasn't long, and I got the iPhone.
Rather than leave, I went to the Theater in the Store, and sat down with my PowerBook, which I had brought with me. I logged onto the store's network and cancelled my online order.
-----
I picked up the boys at daycare, stopping to say goodbye to Alex. Alex is the school's long-time groundskeeper, gardener, and live-in handyman. (We have a small house on the school grounds.) He's leaving the school for his new girlfriend, who lives in Spain. He's a quiet guy, and we've hardly ever spoken beyond "hi" on some mornings. He seemed pretty uncomfortable with goodbyes, but he loves kids, and he gave William and James warm goodbye hugs.
-----
At home, I opened up the iPhone box and took pictures. Then I went swimming with William in our finally-clean-and-running pool.
Afterward, iPhone activation hit a snag when my old plan was found to be "incompatible" with the iPhone, requiring me to call up AT&T. I had an original AT&T Wireless plan, which then became Cingular, which then became AT&T again. Who knows how the plans evolved? I called up AT&T, and the lady walked me through some process or other to get the phone activated. Then, when it didn't activate immediately, she said that it might take up to two hours to go through their system. So, we got off the phone, and I waited.
About an hour later, I lost patience and called up AT&T again. After a while, I got through to an expedited activation service rep who surprised the hell out of me by not being able to locate my account using my actual cell phone number.
Read that again. That's not a mistake. I gave her my cell phone number, and she -- the representative of my cellular service provider -- couldn't find me in their system.
Well, eventually, we got things worked out, and my iPhone was activated.
Then I had a hiccup when iTunes hung as I tried synching for the first time. While I ran diagnostics on my G5, I set up the iPhone on my home Airport network, which made web surfing pretty fun.
"Yes, we do."
"Okaythankyoubye!"
I was in Old Pasadena within 20 minutes, but I ended up getting delayed by about 10 minutes by parking lot vultures in the nearby parking structure. (Parking lot vultures are those vermin who follow pedestrians to their cars and then wait, and wait, and wait, until the other drivers eventually vacate their parking space. I hate parking lot vultures. I'm a parking lot hawk -- I circle around and then swoop into any empty space I see. I don't even wait for empty spaces closer to my destination. Any space will do, as long as it's large enough.)
Eventually, I made my way to the Apple Store and asked for an 8 GB iPhone. They had a box of them just behind the checkout counter. I handed my credit card over to them...
And it was rejected.
Frakking Citibank!
I have tons and tons of credit, so I knew that it was some sort of security measure put in. I had just used the card to buy gas, so I knew it worked. I immediately called Citibank. It turns out they put a hold on the card because of my previous online order for the iPhone. I probably sounded frazzled, and the customer service rep unblocked my card. I got back in line. Although the guy who originally swiped my card had set aside an iPhone box for me, I was worried that it might get lost in the shuffle of people in the store, and I watched nervously as iPhones slowly disappeared from the box behind the counter. However, the line wasn't long, and I got the iPhone.
Rather than leave, I went to the Theater in the Store, and sat down with my PowerBook, which I had brought with me. I logged onto the store's network and cancelled my online order.
-----
I picked up the boys at daycare, stopping to say goodbye to Alex. Alex is the school's long-time groundskeeper, gardener, and live-in handyman. (We have a small house on the school grounds.) He's leaving the school for his new girlfriend, who lives in Spain. He's a quiet guy, and we've hardly ever spoken beyond "hi" on some mornings. He seemed pretty uncomfortable with goodbyes, but he loves kids, and he gave William and James warm goodbye hugs.
-----
At home, I opened up the iPhone box and took pictures. Then I went swimming with William in our finally-clean-and-running pool.
Afterward, iPhone activation hit a snag when my old plan was found to be "incompatible" with the iPhone, requiring me to call up AT&T. I had an original AT&T Wireless plan, which then became Cingular, which then became AT&T again. Who knows how the plans evolved? I called up AT&T, and the lady walked me through some process or other to get the phone activated. Then, when it didn't activate immediately, she said that it might take up to two hours to go through their system. So, we got off the phone, and I waited.
About an hour later, I lost patience and called up AT&T again. After a while, I got through to an expedited activation service rep who surprised the hell out of me by not being able to locate my account using my actual cell phone number.
Read that again. That's not a mistake. I gave her my cell phone number, and she -- the representative of my cellular service provider -- couldn't find me in their system.
Well, eventually, we got things worked out, and my iPhone was activated.
Then I had a hiccup when iTunes hung as I tried synching for the first time. While I ran diagnostics on my G5, I set up the iPhone on my home Airport network, which made web surfing pretty fun.
Posted: Fri - July 6, 2007 at 09:59 PM