And it's that time again to renew my contract. T-mobile now gives you more incentive to renew for 2 years  by giving you a bigger discount on a new phone. Though my basicker-than-basic non-cute Nokia 6010 has served me well since my beloved Sony Ericsson t610 got stolen by a fat black woman, I've been shoppin' and comparin'. The phone must:

- have Bluetooth connectivity (my Bluetooth headset is eagerly awaiting "reconnection" with a suitable mate ... )
- have a calendar (I use this for daily scheduling of patients as well as social engagements)
- not be a Motorola (Motorola's user interface is not intuitive to me)
- cost less than $100 after rebates
- be somewhat cute (why do anything if it ain't cute? heehee. J/k. This is a total bonus.)

My finds so far:

The Nokia 6103 vs. the Samsung t509

	Nokia 6103	Samsung t509
Bluetooth?	yes	yes
Calendar?	yes, familiar with setup	yes, unsure of capabilities though
Hello Moto?	no	no
Price	$49.99 after rebates	$49.99 after rebates
Cuteness	not so much	dude, sweet!
Can charge and talk on wired headset simultaneously?	yes	no
Can access calendar while talking?	yes	no
Mobiledia Reviews	here	here
Official Phone Info	here, user guide here	here, user guide here

Do you guys have any experience with either of these phones in these aspects? Any votes?

Updated thoughts: it may sadden you to know that the tie-breaker might lay in the fact that the Nokia has a place to loop a wrist strap through, allowing for customizable cuteness. Dang. I was so hooked on the look of the Samsung though! C'mon Samsung, there's gotta be something that'll make me choose you ... Update to the update: after playing with the phone at the store, it DOES have a wrist strap. :)

More updated thoughts (after going to the store and playing with the phones):
- I need to be able to access and view my calendar WHILE in the midst of a call. The Samsung t509 does not allow access to the calendar while calling; the Nokia 6103 in the store didn't have a SIM card so I couldn't try it out, but my current Nokia 6010 allows me to do so (as did my Sony Ericsson t610 before), and so I would assume they would continue to have this function available.

- I don't NEED this function so much as I would strongly PREFER this function ... I like being able to talk on my phone while charging. I like using whatever method to talk on it that I want, be it by holding the handset to my head (least commonly used), or using a hands-free headset. Both phones have Bluetooth, so I could use a Bluetooth headset to talk while charging, BUT in the event my Bluetooth headset craps out, I wouldn't have the option to plug in a wired headset because the headset SHARES the same plug-in port as the charger. BOOOO. My basicker-than-basic Nokia 6010 allows this, albeit it does not have Bluetooth. I just don't like relying on things that need to be charged and can run out of battery when you most need to use them. Update: just found out through looking through the Nokia 6103 User Manual that you CAN talk and use the wired headset at the same time. The T-Mo rep at that store didn't know what they were talking about, AND refused to show me the retail box when I asked! >:(

Preliminary course of action:
Hold off on the contract renewal and let myself go month to month until some phone really catches my eye and meets my reqs; wait until I go to Asia later this year and get myself something really cool (~drool...).

Eddy was nice enough to have a bunch of us over at his pad for his world-famous green onion pancakes this weekend. I got to show off my hot 'n sour soup. :) Good food, good company, good times!

My camera started getting passed around the room and somehow we started on this "sexy" photo shoot spree. All the silly pictures here. DON'T ask. Hahahahah.

I've decided that if you don't at least have a vague grasp of the facts of life by the age of 50, I'm sorry, but I can't help you.

Boo! I'm alive! :)

Last post, I was gearing up for "IT". "IT" meant my friend Wanda's wedding up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I survived:
- photo duties
- wedding slideshow duties
- toast duty

I had fun, in a masochistic kind of way. :) By the end of the night, the camera was getting SO heavy, so I put it down (gasp!) and strutted my stuff on the dance floor, in my bare feet. I haven't strutted my stuff in AGES. It felt good. :)

Post-wedding, you could say I got digital burnout. I needed to process the pics, but didn't feel like it. Well, I have to, so I'll be getting around to it sooner or later. I'll post up something real later, but here are a few of my favorite shots that day:

having the maid of honour* and close friends pose with the groom

jumping for joy

groom getting a head start on some butt gropage while dancing

*Hey, the wedding was in Canada, eh?

Wish me luck.

Oops, it's not tomorrow, it's ... later today. In 5 hours, in fact.

I like eating at Sweet Tomatoes. I think Souper Salad is slightly less expensive, but the oodles of variety (lotsa vegetarian variety too!) at ST and the more upscale presentation of the food and the restaurant in general make ST a nicer experience overall.

And so, I was surprised to see this when getting my salad:

... with my ring that I had left at Selena's for like EVER. Thanks Selena for safeguarding it for so long! (Darn the clarity of the digital camera, showing off each and every finger hair ... )

Selena brought me my ring when we met up for Crystal's birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. It turned out to be a girls' night out, though it was never intentionally arranged; 'twas simply coincidental that all boyfriends / fiances / husbands decided not to attend. Which is fine. We usually can manage to have fun without them. :)

Photos here!

Weirdo window washer man showed up again today. And he actually spoke somewhat clearly today.

Weirdo Window Washer Man: Do you need your windows cleaned for five bucks?
Me: No thank you.
WWWM: Are you SURE you don't need your windows cleaned for four bucks?
Me [ noting immediate discrepancy in price ]: Yes.
WWWM: You remember me right? Do you have my business card? Here, here's my business card.
Me: Yes! No. Thanks.
[ WWWM exits, and 2 seconds later I hear VIP Spa's doorbell ring as he solicits their business. Somehow I doubt that a "spa" with all of their windows blacked out would need them cleaned. ]

His business card:

Thanks to Eddy for the tip! Vienna Teng is coming to town again, Sunday, August 6th, 8pm, probably to pimp her newest album. It's $16 a head, with a hefty $5.15 "convenience charge" per ticket. Since there is no advantage to ordering tickets together (doesn't save on the convenience charge, doesn't guarantee sitting together), I won't be doing any organizing (phew!) and just be giving everyone a heads up on the concert via Evite. Yes, my pretties, this means you'll have to buy your own tix. :) You can do it online or in stores. No savings at Ticketmaster outlets - I'd say just get 'em shipped then (I think there's a free shipping option). I've become a big fan of 1) not wasting time driving somewhere, 2) not wasting gas driving somewhere, 3) not wasting breath and sanity dealing with rude customer service people. Ah yes. The joys of internet transactions!

I'll be sending out an Evite to people, just to get an idea of who's going.

Details on Vienna's website here.

Buy tickets now by clicking here.

Some pics from her last visit here.

Hmm. Vienna has spikes of glowing light emanating from her head in this poster.

Update: OK, I just tried to purchase a ticket. In addition to the $5.15 convenience charge per ticket, there's a $4.93 "order processing charge" that is apparently PER order. So maybe there IS some advantage to purchasing in bulk. Well, it'd be worth it if 2 or 3 people purchase together. Anyone wanna piggy back with me on the order?