I Lost My Cell Phone

I was so upset the other day because I lost my cell phone. I did not realize how important it was till I lost it. All my phone addresses were stored there, my appointments, and some very important personal information. In an instant, my cell phone was gone. I went berserk trying to look for it, but it was nowhere to be found. Can you imagine the feeling of hopelessness when you have something important and is suddenly lost? Or, it can also be the other way around. Many times, we only realize the value of something when we have lost it already.

After I realized that my cell phone was lost, I went back to the places where I thought I may have left the cell phone behind. I felt like crazy looking at all the corners of the house hoping that I may just have left somewhere on a table, or in a chair. I tried to uncover all the carpets inside my car, looking and examining all the corners of the vehicle, above and under the chairs, hoping that it just slid off somewhere around the corner. But all my hopes and anxieties yielded nothing. Until the last minute, I was still hopeful that somebody would find it and call me up. I went to bed that night full of anxiety and still thinking where I could have left my cell phone.

Early the next morning I drove off to Circuit City with the intent of buying a new cell phone and have the lost cell phone cancelled. When I was at the store, I explained to the sales person at the counter what happened – that I lost my cell phone and that I wanted to purchase a new one. However, I told him as well that I have an old cell phone and I asked him if I could still use it and have it reactivated. Without any question he said “yes”, I could still use my old cell phone. And he said, “if we reactivate it here, you will be charged a fee of $20.00. I would suggest that you just reactivate it yourself through the internet so you do not have to pay anything.” And he gave me the instruction on how to do it. I thanked him immediately for his graciousness and advice. When I arrived home, and I tried to activate my old phone through the internet, it was telling me that I could not do it. I was surprised because I was told by the sales person in the store that it was possible. So I called my carrier immediately and asked them to reactivate my old phone for me. After trying, the person whom I was in contact with told me that I could not reactivate my old phone because it was not compatible with my new plan. So he asked me if I wanted to buy a new phone instead, and he could offer me some discount. Well, I said, I don’t know what phone you are offering me. I need to see it first before I make any decision to buy. So I declined the offer. But I needed a phone so urgently. What I did was to find a retail store in the neighborhood which sells my carrier. After driving to three different places in the area, I finally found one retail store in the neighboring town. At the retail store, I explained what happened to the manager- that I lost my phone and I wanted to buy a new one. He showed me some phone items on display. He offered me the most inexpensive item, a motorolla. He offered a proposition for me. If I purchase the phone with a 2-year contract, he can give me the phone for $69.00 dollars. If I just want to purchase the phone, then I have to pay the retail price which costs more than $200 dollars- which was for me ridiculous. Because I didn’t have much money to spend, I was forced to get the phone with a two year contract – so I could get it only for $69 dollars. Yes, finally, I got a new phone – but with some heaviness in my heart. Not only did I think about the money that I had to spend again, the troubles I have gone through, but also with the thought about the uncertainties of life. Life is indeed very unpredictable. We can be happy now, but maybe after a while we may feel sad again. At times we think that everything is going well with us until some tragedy or unfortunate event happens in our life, and then everything turns into a different game plan. And yes, isn’t it true that we only realize the value of something or someone when that something or someone is gone or lost forever? Therefore, we need to examine ourselves continuously, set our priorities, and value what are important. And let us not be deceived of what is really important. . As Saint Exupery said in his book ‘The Little Prince,’ “What is important is invisible to the eye.” Let this be a lesson for me and for everyone of us.