The horror!

This was what she used to look like...

It was a nice sunny September Sunday at Georgia Tech, and I was happy. After a good weekend of fun with my friends, I was relaxing, listening to music, and planning out my homework schedule for the day. In the middle of my happy day dream, I felt something sliding out of my pocket. The feeling was followed by the most horrific sound I have ever heard; yes, it was my phone, and it had just broken.

Alas! It has been proved (to my despair), that the "invincibility of the iPhone", that people brag about is bogus. Turns out that you are going to have a terrible day if you drop this nifty device on any of its four corners. Apple has released a statement about this (that many iPhone users do not know about). The statement says that if the iPhone impacts at a point where the pressures are too much for the glass to sustain, the screen can get damaged. This is quite obvious, and I have no idea why I did not think of this (but then again, I did not intentionally smash my phone towards earth). It obviously is my fault for not taking care of my phone, but it is almost impossible for me not to be a little angry with Apple. I bought this phone on a contract with AT&T (as I do not have a Social Security Number, I had to pay a deposit), and hence, I am stranded when it comes to warranty issues.

The first thing I did when I realized that my phone was damaged was look up solutions on the internet. Then I proceeded to call Apple's customer care service. It is understandable that this kind of damage does not come under regular warranty. What I found displeasing about this episode was that Apple's monopoly in the cell phone and music industry has created a situation where they can price their products (or repairs) at any amount and get away with it! Consumers are going to pay that price to keep their products in good shape (this excludes third party companies that will fix your product for you at a better price, which, by the way, I feel is not a very good idea as this will render it impossible for you to ever send your product to Apple again if there are any future issue). This monopoly is terrible for consumers, and exponentially amazing for Apple. If only there was a company that could rival these entertainment gods, we would all be happy, and left with a lot more money in our pockets.

Now I sit here, depressed and sad, that my beautiful iPhone has lost its charm. Nostalgia engulfs my thoughts; about the good times when I would look at my phone and smile, as she was indeed, beautiful…

(You can pay your respects and condolences at: http://db.tidbits.com/resources/2009-06/iphonescreen_cracked.jpg)

Football!

September 5th, 2009. I attended and watched my first American Football game. It was Georgia Tech vs. Jacksonville State University. Honestly, I was quite disappointed with the sport and the overall game play. This was the first time I had watched an entire football game. I am a soccer fan, and hence was expecting some fast paced action from the sport. My friends tried to explain to me that the game was boring only because our opponents were not good enough; they promised that I would love our next game against Clemson: The White Out. Truthfully, I was not looking forward to it. My first impression of the sport corrupted my mind into thinking that the sport was utterly pointless and boring. During the week between the two games, one of my friends introduced me to Madden 2009, a virtual football game for the XBOX 360. Soon enough, I got a hang of the game and started understanding the various rules and the plays. A day before the game, I was quite sure that I would understand what was happening on the field.

September 10th, 2009. It was GAMEDAY. The air was buzzing (quite literally) with excitement, people were pumping themselves up for the evening game, families were tail-gating all over campus, and I was waiting for my math class to end. I had everything, the white t-shirt, white shorts, white shoes, white socks; I even wore a white turban! The white out was about to begin. I was lucky enough to get front row seats near the south end zone, in a stadium with 55,000 football crazy fans. To my surprise, I enjoyed the game thoroughly. It was entertaining, fast paced, exciting and overall: fun. All I could talk and think about was the game and how great football is. The sport caught me by surprise and now I am looking forward to the next game!

This situation made me realize that I should not trust first impressions, and that everything in life should be given a second chance.