Re. Phone Hospital

Last week I posted about my new phone, Samsung Galaxy SII, having gone in to the phone hospital for repair.  People were hearing loud echo-ing each time I called them and used the microphone, but things were ok on speakerphone.  This only affected my outbound calls.  Incoming calls were fine.  It was very strange indeed.  So the phone went into S3 Interactive last Monday and I got it back Friday afternoon, around 4pm just as I was on my way to take mum for a carvery dinner.  I was so happy to get the call from Chris who worked there informing me it was back from Dundee.  I plugged in my sim card as soon as I got the phone and called my mum.  Mum was waiting in the car and said everything sounded fine.  Excellent!  Off I went back out and went to carvery and grocery shopping full with joy cos my phone is back with me AND is working!  I spent rest of the evening setting my phone back up logging into my Google accounts and other customised settings etc.  It was so cool to get back my Whatsapp, my Words with Friends and of course my Facebook.  Most importantly, I could view/ plan my lessons with my Google Calendar and my Gmail accounts.  =D

Saturday morning I called Kwik-Fit to check availability of a new tyre.  As soon as the guy picked up I spoke and the guy at the other end said he could not hear me.  Uh-oh!  No, please no!!!  Yup... the problem came back!  I had to complete the rest of the call using speaker.  I felt like a bombshell dropped.  No way!!  I did further testing calling mum on her mobile and our landline.  Same... Wth, do I really have to go back to S3 Interactive on Monday?!  =((

The bittersweet feeling of having my phone back stayed with me throughout yesterday and today.  And I was complaining to everyone about my phone having to go back for repair.  People suggested I get a new handset, which I wish I could but cos I passed the 'seven days after purchase timeframe' all faults are dealt with by manufacturers guarantee which means it gets repaired. I called a few people in church and they also heard themselves echo back and they could not hear me either.  How terrible.

Then tonight, just before going to bed, I was on the phone for a little while.  I was using the speakerphone and had the handset on my table.  Randomly I clicked on my Options and it brought up a few things including one saying "Noise Reduction - On".  I clicked that and it said, "Unable to turn on Noise Reduction when speaker is on".  So I then turned the speaker off and noticed a zig-zag looking icon with a line through it appear on the screen.  I brought up the Options and turned the "Noise Reduction - Off".  Voila!  Instantly the caller said they could hear me clearly and properly.  I asked whether they could hear any echo-ing.  No more!  That's fantastic!!  It seemed that the "problem" was so simple to "fix" in the first place, but I didn't think to push so many buttons, test so many options etc (guess in fear of making it worse).  But the worrying thing is, why did S3 Interactive not advise that such noise reduction could cause this interference?  On Friday they advised they "fixed the microphone support and performed software update" but had no mention anything was wrong or right with it.

I was sooo happy after that call that I called TWO more people and told them the same thing, about the Noise Reduction.  One person is actually an owner of the same phone.  They tried the Noise Reduction and it didn't cause any problems.  But then again it was I who called and not the other way round.  Nevertheless, I am right now delighted I will NOT have to take another trip to S3 Interactive in Clydebank.  It is not the most convenient of places to go to and definitely not a good use of time!  Whoo-hoo!!  I am so happy and I thank God for sudden urge to play around with the options, the itchy fingers and curiosity to try things out.  =D

Lesson of the Day:  There is no need to go straight for repair if you have a fault.  Try to find ways to fix it yourself first.  The problem may be easily rectified without wasting more precious time =)

Phone hospital

My phone is away for repair.  I put it into S3 Interactive in Clydebank Business park this afternoon.  What's wrong with it?  It took me long enough to find out, cos it wasn't that obvious.  Basically everytime I make an ordinary outbound call and talk into the microphone, the person on the other line can hardly hear me.  I've had a few people comment that I sound "far away/ distant and very quiet".  I had no idea why, and thought it was reception issue so moved around the house in hope of 'improving signal' but to no avail.  Once I made a call in the car and had full reception, yet the person said they could not hear me at all.  Another thing was, when I did some testing at home and I called mum, she said each time she spoke she would hear her voice bounce back.  I checked it and it was true.  Weird.  However, whenever I received an incoming call, we could hear each other no problem.  Whenever I made or received calls using speakerphone, again, no problems.  I don't make that many outbound calls, or at least not often enough, so could not catch this problem until over 7 days after I initially bought the phone, so cannot return to seller and have to deal with Samsung.  Therefore I located this Samsung approved repair specialist.  In fact, I have been here before once, with my Samsung laptop.  the left speaker gave off a crackily sound in higher volumes and this annoyed me.  It went in twice, but came out none the better.  So... I guess Samsung and I don't really mix well eh!  =(

Now I'm feeling a little incomplete without my phone because I am so used to having the important features like Google Calendar, GMail along with Whatsapp and Words with Friends.  Not to forget my 8MP camera and Facebook.  But the last two items are just extras.  Not essential.  My schedule is much more important.  Even important emails have to be read after work when I get home now.  So hopefully nobody will try to contact me in these few days.  Estimated time of getting phone back: Friday.  What the heck!!  "Really busy, with long queue of repairs" I was told.

Pending...

So that's a new thing on my Pending list.  The first thing that was pending from before was the plumbing.  Our toilet has had intermittent leaks/ flooding for the past few months.  By intermittent it was like once every 3-4 weeks where we flush and some water would leak out of the out pipe, seeming like a blockage was there or something.  Some "advice" we recieved said it could be the main street pipe was clogged up and that backed up the water.  Plumber One came up and helped up seal the "gap" where the water was flowing back out and said hope it helped.  It worked for a few days then the flooding got a bit worse and pushed out of the silicone gel thing he used.  Clearly that was not good enough.  He came up to inspect again and there was a leak as well now.  Mum thinks was due to the out pipe being moved when the silicone was applied the first time.  Plumber One denied it and then gave the number to Plumber Two who was the original guy who installed our bathroom for us.  Plumber Two came, witnesses the backflow of water and regurgitation through the bathtub plughole.  But it only happened once.  Then after further inspection and flushing lots of loo roll down the toilet the blockage seemed to have cleared.  There was no more back flow and no more sound.  Phew!  That was relief.  However, the small leak was still there, though very small now, but still there.  He said it will stop once the blockage is gone.  Mum was adament it was still there and wanted further attention to it.  However, Plumber Two said the pipe is not wet anymore and what mum saw/ felt on the pipe must have been the condensation from the water tank.  And not to worry.  We did not argue with him anymore as we were both mixed with relief that it would not leak anymore but also disbelief.

After Plumber Two left, we found the leaking continued.  Mum was fuming.  She really questioned Plumber Two's professionalism and vowed never to use him again.  We had numbers for two other plumbers we used from long time ago.  I called one: took my number said he'd get back to me in twenty mins, but never did.  The other plumber's numbers were both disconnected.  Guess he must have retired.  So... what now?  Leave the water to drip slowly and hope it ceases itself?  Mum was already very anxious and had lost hours of sleep over this.  I had lost sleep and had to reshuffle lessons to meet the mentioned Plumbers, but all to no success.  Mum spoke on the phone to church aunties and one suggested getting the number to another friend's plumber.  (You can see how things were getting a bit complicated here.)  In the end I decided not to call so many people.  I thought of asking a church brother's advice, see if he knew of any reliable plumbers who can do the job properly for us.  He gave me a number to call but advised against calling him out weekends due to weekend premium.  I advised I would arrange for Monday visit (today).  Called about six times over three days, left three voicemails and a text message.  Nothing.

When I was about to give up I got a call after leaving S3Interative (thankfully I plugged my sim into the K810i - very old phone but very RELIABLE!).  Plumber Three called back and said he was away for the weekend and left his phone at home.  He said he saw my messages and called me back straight away.  Sounded quite friendly and said he'd call me after 6PM this evening to arrange to have a look at the toilet.  I was really happy.  Was all ready for him then got a text message about 5:50PM saying it'll have to be tomorrow as something has just come up.  I asked him what time, asked if it were ok to be after 4PM, or else I can make sure I am home between 12-1:30PM (meaning I reschedule another lesson at last minute!!).  He said it's hard to say, but he'll contact me through the day tomorrow.  WHAT THE HECK!!  Plumbers are usually self-employed people.  At least these ones are.  I am a self-employed person, I would never do that to my pupil or potential pupils - arrange something, promise something then postpone like that.  Even if so, at least give a call to explain through the phone, not hide behind a text.  Arghhhh!!!!!!

So, the toilet case is dragging on for at least another night.  I really really really hope that Plumber Three can make it up to check the toilet between 12-1:30PM cos I'll be home for him and if he is not I'll be very very disappointed.  If this goes on like this I might just go crazy and call up a very expensive plumber coming like JH Horn Plumbers and I'm pretty sure they'll get the job done very professionally with invoices, possibly guarantees etc and at a time/ day that it suitable for both parties.  Sake man!!  Money I have, but time I don't have any to waste.  I have a life to live here guys.  I don't want to think about toilets all day.

I always remember Rene Descartes' philosophical quote: "I think therefore I am."  Oh dear...

Cheaper Vodafone

Just before the new year I was talking about getting a new mobile phone in my upcoming upgrade.  I had always had my eyes on the Samsung Galaxy SII as I wanted to stick with the Android operating system and definitely need a faster phone as my HTC Magic (which is now two-and-a-half years old) is now very old, very slow and definitely lost all of it's magic!  The last time we looked at this I had considered getting the phone through another 18-month contract or buying a sim free handset and getting a cheaper tariff from Vodafone.  So this morning I called up Vodafone to discuss my upgrade options.  They offered me the Samsung Galaxy SII for FREE if I took a 24-month contract with them at my current tariff of £36/ month.  So that meant £864 over two year.  That's a lot of money AND two years is a long time!  Who knows what will happen to my phone then?  I wouldn't want to wait two year before any upgrade options become available.  OR if I took an 18-month contract at the same monthly cost I'd have to pay £64 for the handset.  I tried to ask for the handset to be free, played the loyalty card reminding them I've been with them since 2006.  But no, the system said No.  Haha!  An 18-month contract was reasonable, but I was not happy to pay the extra £64.  The customer service agent (who shall not be named), then advised, that I could take the sim-only contract for only £10.25 a month which will give me the exact same quotas: 600 Anytime Minutes, Unlimited SMS and 500MB data.  And I could buy the handset sim-free elsewhere.  He said a lot of people are doing that these days as it seems the cheaper option out there.  I was so glad to hear this.  £10.25 a month would save me £309 a year on the tariff alone.  All I'd have to do it get myself a sim-free handset and then the phone is all mine and I'd have much greater flexibility with it, like being able to use it in other countries like Singapore for example.  Haha!

So I am happy to say that from midnight tonight my new lower tariff will kick in and I will start saving money.  =P

Seats are taken

Earlier on the week mum and I logged on to Emirates website and we picked our airplane seats for our trip to Singapore.  It was very exciting indeed, especially when also considering whether our seats will be too close the toilets, too near the back or if we're up the front just behind potentially crying babies in their baskinets that hang from the wall.  Haha!  Our seats are sorted for now.  Any changes can still be made later I suppose.  We didn't pick our meals though.  Want to be surprised by what they offer us on the day.  I quite like my airplane meals from my previous flights.  Everything was quite yummy.  Haha!  So.. seats are sorted and we will be flying in August.  But that won't be my only visit to the airport.  I will be taking Cat to the airport in a few weeks time when she flies over to Singapore to see Nick again.  It wasn't that long ago that she complained it was too far away before she went over for her well-deserved break and to sort out wedding stuff etc.  But now it seems not long at all.  Not only that, once Cat is back then the time will countdown till her BIG DAY on 16th July!  My my!  My sister getting married!!  Things are going to be so difference once Cat is married and migrates to Singapore.  The house will be occupied by mum and I and we will miss her.  Must treasure all these moments that she's here with us.  Must treasure the meals that she cooks, must treasure when she cleans the whole bathroom, must treasure all the reduced priced goods she gets from supermarkets for the family, must appreciate all the baking she does.  For it won't be long before these things will no longer exist.  Where there will be one less person to ask me about exercising, about protein shakes, who sends me funny pictures on Whatsapp or share funny jokes with me.  My wee sis all grown up...

Christmas 2011: Inbetween Days

So after yesterday's impulse purchase at Hollister (haha!  forgot to mention that did I?) I have decided I will no longer be pursuing after the Samsung Galaxy S2.  For the past two weeks I have been online searching for the cheapest sim-free version so when my Vodafone contract expires (March 2012), I can ask them to give me discounted tariff if I don't take a phone off them.  Does that make sense?  So far the lowest price I can find for the smartphone is on eBay at £379.95, but this has now increased to £384.95.  I had thought about getting the handset itself and then getting cheap tariff from Vodafone whilst trying to maintain my current credentials: 600 Anytime Minutes, Unlimted SMS, 500MB Internet and Stop the Clock.  It will be hard to get anything like that for anything cheaper than £17.50 though, so that means if I buy the phone and get another 18-month contract with them, it might add up to £695 for eighteen months.  If I settle for getting the phone from Vodafone I would expect my tariff to go back up to £36 a month and that will mean 18x36 = £648.  Yes it will be cheaper by £47 but the phone MIGHT be tied to Vodafone after it and I might have to have it unlocked later. Unless it only "appears locked" like I discovered recently!

That's the phone issue settled, kinda, for now.  Just awaiting the call from Vodafone to ask me if I want to continue my contract with them and then I'll try my best to get the handset for free AND try lowering monthly tariff.  Could both be possible you think?  Haha!  We'll see!

Phone issue sorted, now next item on my "to-think" list is: Singapore.  The time is drawing near for me to start looking for flights to Singapore for Cat and Nick's wedding banquet in August.  The actual date is 4th August so mum and I will need to get there at least a few days before the 4th and anticipate fighting off any jetlag.  We didn't feel any jetlag back in 2008 when we went to HK, so don't expect to get any this time either, but hey, you never know.  Both mum and I have aged since then, haha!  =P  So trying to get the cheapest flights of course and more importantly, we should consider/ discuss visiting neighbouring countries like Hong Kong and/ or Malaysia, possibly elsewhere?  There is a small issue: mum does not want to be off work for that long.  She wants everything to be done and dusted and back to work within her two weeks annual leave.  She doesn't want to take any more than two weeks off work.  I, on the other hand, see this as a great opportunity to go travelling, sight seeing, eat great food, see friends, take photos, try new things etc.  You get the drift!  However, I cannot leave my mum to travel back to Glasgow on her own of course.  So... how long shall we stay in Singapore?  Will ten days be enough?  If I wanna go travelling and mum does not, will she be ok staying in Singapore whilst I travel around then come back for her and we fly back to UK?  Questions, questions....

Christmas 2011: Three days to go!!

Just three days till Christmas and I am still unwell.  I couldn't get up this morning for devotions and exercise.  The alarm went off at 7:15AM and it was my second time getting up.  First time was around 3:40AM when I got up for the toilet.  In fact I woke up cos I felt I couldn't sleep.  Think maybe the temperature was too hot or something.  I suspected fever, but thankfully no more signs of it through the day.  Anyway, I silenced the alarm the slumped back to bed.  I couldn't handle getting up and just wanted to give my body a rest.  A little rest turned into a long rest and I sprung up at the discovery of the time on my phone, 9AM!!  I had half an hour to get myself ready and out of the house for my 10AM lesson at Maryhill area!!  Gosh!

Made it on time for the lesson but I sooo wasn't in the mood for work today.  Gah!!  My voice had gotten much rougher through the night and it was not clearing today.  So each time I spoke it was very coarse, very croaky.  I didn't like it.  =(  First lesson was two hour long, after which I had a lunch break before second lesson of one and a half hours.  I was sooo relieved at the end of the second lesson.  I went home to get changed and then had to decide given my condition did not improve through the day, that it was not worth going out to Henry's birthday dinner.  It would be unfair of me to spread any germs around my friends.  Not a very good nice birthday gift for Henry either.  So I had to text him to apologise.  =(

I have a day off tomorrow though and hopefully I will get a long lie in.  Might get up 8:30AM and call the local surgery and see if I can get an appointment to see the GP.  Might need some antibiotics for this if there is so much bateria in me.  =(  Meant to be resting tomorrow but already I have a few things I plan to do: read, collect stuff to give to local Salvation Army shop, hoover the house, iron a new shirt, call the DVLA to make an enquiry (must call before noon when they shut!), select songs to burn onto an MP3 cd, and last but not least, contact Vodafone to ask if they can give me an unlocking code for my HTC Magic.

Oh!  More on that last point!  I made a really cool discovery, just moments ago!  I was searching on Google for HTC Magic unlocking codes.  I wanted to see if I can unlock the phone from Vodafone so it makes it more flexible for use with other sim cards, like UK networks or even abroad to HK or next year, Singapore.  I remember I called up Vodafone for unlocking code for my K800i waaaaay back when as I came to end of contract with them.  They gave me the code no bother.  So I was curious whether technology has advanced since then (2007?) and I might get a code off the internet instead.  Whilst searching I came across some websites asking for IMEI numbers before they sold you a code for about £10-£20.  Among the searches there were also threads that discussed unlocking codes and someone said that Vodafone don't tend to lock their phones anymore, that some phones are just branded Vodafone but works with other network sim cards.  So.... I was very intrigued by this and thought to try my Orange PAYG sim card on the HTC Magic.  And... it WORKED!!  It took a few moments for the sim to be picked up and a signal established.  Although the startup screen displayed Vodafone as per usual, the Orange signal was strong and I was able to call "453" and it told me the account balance of my Orange sim card!  Whoo-hoo!  How cool is that?  That's one less item on my to-do list for tomorrow!  Haha!!  So now it seems I have two sim free phones at home.  Will be handy when travelling abroad or when there are visitors in Glasgow who require a phone I can lend them either my Ericsson K810i or HTC Magic, but for the latter, would have to warn about lagging etc.  Haha!  Nah, won't be that bad after a I perform a handset reset.  Oooh yeah!  Will do that once I get a replacement phone.  Lol!

Christmas 2011: Four days to go!!

Meant to be in bed right now, but have been tempted/ distracted by a website: Vodafone.co.uk.

My current contract expires mid-Feb, Vodafone allows upgrading up to 90 days before contract ends.  It was almost a year ago when Vodafone offered me Half Price Line Rental for a 12-month term, meaning I was due to pay £17.50 a month and still get the full benefits of my tariff - 600 Anytime minutes, Unlimited text messages, Unlimited Data usage and Stop the Clock.  The 12-month is running out soon, and although I was previously told I would get nine months at £17.50 and the last three at full tariff, out of goodwill (and my miscalculation), I called up Vodafone and they kindly discounted my tariff again in November AND December bills.  Praise God!  =)  However, now I know it is definitely time to get a replacement phone.  My phone (HTC Magic) has lost it's magic.  Coming up to being two and a half years old, it is running uber slow, the contact name/ number often don't display when the phone rings, camera takes ages to load and process pictures, even turning the phone back to the welcome screen (pressing of home button) takes such a loooong while to refresh.  I can no longer use the quick way of Google-searching things which this phone was designed for also, due to the loooong lagging delays.  As you can imagine, this has bad effects for when running a business and of course for my social life (Fb, texting, Whatsapp etc).  Oh yeah, I cannot seem to view video clips that people send through Whatsapp either!  Grrrr!!

So I have my eyes set on another Android phone.  I have grown attached to having my Google accounts linked directly to this phone, having everything at my disposal.  So the Samsung Galaxy SII is something in my focus.  But I'm trying to figure out which is the best deal to get with Vodafone.  I will not look to end this contract, cancel, then restart a new contract.  Will not take any tricky routes or try any loopholes as such because I do not want to port my number across or anything that might disrupt my business calls.  So... I think I will be busy these next few days trying to figure this out and calculating.  Haha!

Missed the gym for the third day now.  Still managed to do some workout at home after my morning devos, but just not the same is it?  Well, can't be helped really.  My 'cold' or 'sickness' has not gotten any better.  My voice has gotten rougher in fact and was today teaching whilst clearing my throat very often to make sure I am heard and that I don't sound too 'froggy'.  Sake man, how frustrating.  I am meant to go to Henry's birthday dinner at Prezzo tomorrow evening as well.  I finish work at 2:30PM, so hopefully no more coughing fits either.  We'll see how I feel after work before I finally decide.  I need proper rest, but haven't taken a day off so far as any cancellations made less than 48hrs before will be charged, meaning I will the pupil a lesson.  So I called my Friday lessons off today and explained I was not well.  Thankfully the Friday lessons are for pupils who saw me in my sorry state on Monday when I was coughing like crazy then as well.  I'll see them next Friday instead.  That way I will not risk giving them any more of my germs =(

Ok, to bed I go!!  Goodnight!!