So I shopped around for a prepaid account. I'd have stayed with AT&T if they could have matched T-Mobile's deal, but they couldn't. So I switched to T-Mobile a couple of weeks ago. Instead of paying nearly $500 a year for service, I figure I'll now pay about $100. An 80% savings, right? Oh, I was proud of myself! Mr. Penny Pincher.
But there's always a catch. Or catches.
First catch: I had to buy a new phone. My old AT&T phone wouldn't work on T-Mobile's network. Fine. There were three choices of phones: cheap, not cheap, expensive. "Which phone will work internationally as well as domestically?" I asked. Answer: the most expensive of the three. Of course.
So I bought it, and prepaid for 1000 minutes, enough to get me through a year. And on this, my 11th trip to Vienna, I brought my new phone with me so I'd be able to connect with B should we have need, while running around here or in Barcelona (where we're going Friday) or wherever.
But here comes the second catch: The other day I tried to send a text message to a buddy in the States. Nothing happened. Also, I noticed I got ZERO bars---no reception whatsoever. I couldn't connect to the network.
So I messed around on T-Mobile's website, trying to figure this out, and got nowhere. Called them on B's landline, and after going through the usual robotic menu selections, they hung up on me: Please try calling back when we're not so busy, the robotic voice said. Not so busy? It was 3 AM in America. How busy could they have been? Everyone waits until 3 AM to call customer support?
All right. So I emailed them. And just now, when B and I returned from our adventures, I got this lovely response via email:
Please allow me to inform you that prepaid customers cannot roam internationally except in Canada and Mexico. We do apologize but you will not be able to use your phone in Europe. We cannot provide you the SIM unlock code that you needed because your account has not been active for 90 days.
Does this mean that AFTER 90 days I can unlock the SIM? Furthermore, WHY is it locked? Locked against what? And then what? Do I have to get a special SIM that works in Europe? How much does THAT cost? And why the fuck do I have to wait ANY days? It's a PREPAID ACCOUNT. If I use up all my money, cut my phone off and don't worry about it! My bill, you see, is PRE-paid. I can't cheat you out of ANY money by running up a huge bill while roaming internationally!
You know, flying out here, I kind of marvelled at how our society more or less seems to function, more or less reliably. More or less. At least when it comes to technical matters. How do these planes fly? How does the mail get into my mailbox? How does the electricity almost never go off? Etc. What a miraculous age we live in!
But be warned. If you have a prepaid T-Mobile account, forget taking your phone to Europe unless you want to stick it down the front of your pants and continuously check the VIBRATE ringtone function.
Well. In a way, I'm glad I don't have to screw with it. Eleven times here, and when did I ever need a mobile phone before? Answer: never. So what the hell.
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We ran errands today and on the way back to the car, parked near us, I saw the absolutely SMALLEST car I've ever seen. It's microscopic. It makes the Smart car look huge by comparison.
This is it (photo stolen from Flickr, but this is the car in question):
It's a French car called the Aixam.
I'd love to have one, if they'd go faster than 45 KPH (about 30 MPH.) I mean, sometimes I want to go 46 or even 47 KPH, so this car is out of the question.
But the most fun would be answering this question from all the SUV-driving rednecks and uberyuppies I know:
"Why are you driving THAT tiny thing?"
"I'm trying to compensate for my rather gigantic apparatus."
Which is ridiculous, of course, because I'm only slightly gigantic. But still.
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Heringsschmaus is a traditional Austrian feast associated with Fasching (that is, the carnival season) and it involves eating fish (traditionally herring, but any fish will do) on Ash Wednesday. Lent begins and you're not supposed to eat meat. At least, not land animal meat, I guess. So, fish.
A lot of restaurants in Vienna offer Heringsshmaus dinners or buffets but the cost has gotten a little out of hand in recent years. But, no problem: B's mom and dad invited us and B's sister, R, over to their house to eat.
As a side note, herring is supposed to be a wonderful cure for hangovers, which you're likely to be suffering as a result of all the drinking you've been doing up until now during Fasching (or maybe just because you're European.)
We didn't have hangovers, B and I, but we were looking forward to Heringsschmaus with her family. B's mom made some fantastic open-face sandwiches:
These sandwiches had either tuna, or sardines, or salmon, or matjes.
She also made a herring salad, which I didn't get a picture of. I was too busy shoveling the stuff into my pie hole.
We sat around the table laughing and telling stories. Later I showed pics and videos of home. It kind of surprised me that B's family wanted to know more about where I live and what goes on there (answer: NOT.TOO.MUCH.) but they did, so it occured to me that I need to shoot a video of the city, my hangouts, my wonderful friends, and my work-in-progress house. Send 'em a DVD.
In a way I'm afraid to do this, because once the Viennese see how horrible their city is in comparison to the fantasy wonderland I inhabit, they'll no doubt begin a mass wave of emigration. But that wouldn't be so bad...we had the Irish, the Italians, the Chinese, etc. through the years and now I guess it's time for the Austrians.
Within a generation, we'll all be eating herring and fine pastries and crying about our horrible soccer team.
