Three Men and a Handy

I wish I could take credit for that title, but that's all Björn. I bought a Handy (cell phone) over the weekend. It's a prepaid Nokia bar phone. A big step down from my iPhone, but really all I need for my life over here.

This is my fifth Handy, but my first in Germany. If you do the math, you'll see I have a bad track record with Handys. For the record, I've never lost (and not found) an American cell phone. Austria is another story. I lost one to Alpine skiing and one to the Vienna Forest.

In all my Handy-buying experience, the dude at the store has always set everything up for me. But apparently this guy thought I could handle it on my own. Not so much. It's not reading the SIM card. I tried for a while, but then gave up.

I asked for help at the office and between Björn, Marcus, and Daniel my phone still isn't working. I definitely had it in incorrectly, but now it appears to be in the right way and it's not accepting it. So, like everything else I do, I need to go back and do it again. And then I have to try and learn my phone number.

Also, while at the store, I met a girl from NY. She heard me asking for confirmation that my iPhone wouldn't work here (it won't and either will the old Austria one). Like me, she was wearing an orange coat. She's been here for a couple of months and seems normal enough. After my transaction was finished, I walked over to her and handed her my card with my email address. Making friends is a tough business, but at least I (almost) have a cell phone. Stay tuned.