Tuesday November 17th

I started this blog to post random things I see and random thoughts I have through out the day. I encounter so many things that I find interesting and that I want other people to see. However, as much as I want people to see these things, I don't want to clog up people's Facebook feeds with my posts. So this is the new one-stop destination for all things Shep. This is Shep's Universe.

So as some of you might know, I've gone more than two weeks without a phone. To be honest, it's been kind of nice. A mini-vacation, you might want to call it. However, I'm so disconnected from the world. I don't know how many people have smart phones which send emails straight to your phone, but having gone without one, I've missed a lot. I'm used to having emails at my disposal as soon as they're sent. I haven't had that liberty these last couple weeks, and I've missed out on events and announcements as a result. It's been unfortunate.

Anyway, I was finally able to go to Verizon on Friday to get my new phone. They didn't have a replacement phone in stock, so they shipped one to me. She said it would be here Monday. Not that I was awake for most of Monday, but the phone didn't come. I went to my noon class and came home, still no phone. I updated my Facebook status:

Dear Verizon, where is my phone? You said it would be here Monday, it's Tuesday and still absent from my life. I haven't had a phone in two weeks, and I would like to reconnect with the world. I've been so lost without my phone, my housemates sent out a search party, my parents filed a missing persons report, I fired a SOS flare. Dear Verizon, please get me my phone asap.

Soon after I made that status update, the door bell rings. Indubitably, it's the FEDEX guy with my phone. It was incredible. I was in the middle of cooking so I couldn't do anything. Additionally, I needed to get a synch cable in order to save my contacts, more on that later. I was elated that I got my new phone, but I haven't been feeling well. I took a nap instead of immediately trying to activate my new phone.

So I IMed my housemate to see if he had a synch cable that I could use. I don't have mine in Michigan. He said he had one, but he wasn't going to be back until 7, so I had to wait. No biggie, I'm a patient guy. I didn't get to try to activate my new phone until after a student organization meeting. Anyway, I first had to download blackberry desktop. No biggie, but when I went to try and synch up my phone, I realized that the cable didn't fit. Apparently, the Tour and the Storm have different synch cables. The Verizon lady said that I shouldn't have problems if there are other Verizon users in my house. Well, I have a problem.

Then I went to set up my Verizon account. Account name, email, no more problems, until they decided to text my "temporary password" to my phone. Hey Verizon, I'm making an account so that I can activate my new phone. My old phone is broken. How the fuck am I supposed to get a text message on my old phone if it's broken? Why can't you email me my temporary password like normal people?

Basically, I can't activate my phone. I have to go to the Verizon store to activate my phone, and I'm exceedingly angry right now. I'm eating Reese's Miniatures and M&Ms in the Stacks, trying to make myself feel better. I'm steaming harder than Mike Matusow though.