The last thing that happened last week was one that I didn’t expect. It was a Friday then.
On my way to work I listen to podcasts and music on my PSP, like I do since I had it last month. I held my mobile phone, a Motorola V3i, on my hand and had it set on vibrate mode so that I could feel when somebody’s calling me. When I got in front of the building where our company office is located I placed the phone on my lap, put back the PSP on my bag, and hurriedly jumped out of the FX taxi. Only upon reaching my work desk have I realized that my phone was lost!
I tried calling it, just in case the driver saw it and picked it up. The phone was out of reach. Either the driver saw it and turned it off, or somebody else saw it, picked it up and turned it off as well. Either way it appears that the one who got it had no intentions of giving it back. I tried calling my phone for a few more hours without any success.
Needless to say, as the day went on I felt stupid and ‘handicapped’, without anything to reach my wife. Fortunately an officemate let me send messages on his phone to my wife and parents to let them know what happened that morning. Later in the afternoon I filed for undertime, left work and went to my wife’s office to have a companion while traveling home.
I was surprised to find out that she wasn’t that much upset with what happened, and suggested that we buy a new one to replace what I lost. I knew we don’t have money on hand, and the bank isn’t open until Monday, so that made me all the more surprised. Apparently she got her credit card that day and we could use it to get a new one, and pay for it on the next banking day using our savings. I was really feeling sorry and ashamed of the fact that I had to buy something using her credit card that I feel the urge to tell her how sorry I am over and over.
Her workplace is located in Makati, so we went to Ayala Center to look for a mobile phone. Our first stop was at Avant in Greenbelt 3. There I saw my first prospect — a Sony Ericsson K610i. It’s not too expensive, and my wife was suggesting that I ought to buy something 3G-capable. We left and went looking for another store that offers a lower price compared to that of Avant. So we went to Park Square I.
Indeed, the shops there offered lower-priced phones. I saw a K618i and made up my mind on it. Just as I was examining the phone before my wife pays for it, my wife pointed at something at the store shelf and asked the salesman how much the phone costs. Finding out that we could still afford to buy that phone, she argued tooth and nail for me to get that phone. Knowing the specs of the phone and having read above average reviews on its performance, I bit the temptation and agreed on getting it instead.
I admit I came home feeling contented after I got my new toy. Our savings took a dip though, and that prevented me from feeling really happy about it.
That’s a really big lesson for me.