Giving Up My iPhone For a Droid.

Posted by: Mia Taylor on November 7, 2010

I decided that I was going to retire my iPhone and pick up a droid phone. There are quite a few reasons I did so.

  1. My iPhone response time was, well, quite unresponsive.
  2. My monthly bills, no matter how often a representative and I “reevaluated my current usage” were $100 or more (which did not include unlimited anything).
  3. Even paying that much, I had limited service in all my most frequented locations and almost every one of my calls ended up dropping at some point during the conversation.
  4. After almost a year of having the phone, and jail-breaking it to make it more useful, I just got sick of it. Apple doesn’t make it easy to customize anything and when you jailbreak it in order to personalize your iPhone, it makes it complicated to maintain apple software updates.
  5. Now that the Evo has come out and been on the market enough to drop in price significantly, I figured it was time to get my money’s worth in regards to product offerings and reliable service.
  6. And to boot, when my EVO screen breaks, I won’t have to break my warranty just because I’d rather have a 3rd party repair shop fix it than have Apple charge me 5x as much. Just sayin’.

I must say, it is sad seeing my iPhone sit on my desk, lonely and unused, but when rationality kicks in again- my EVO does everything (and much, much more) than my iPhone ever could have (Thanks Steve Jobs). It was getting on my nerves that Apple was limiting the capabilities of my iPhone so that they could constantly release new versions of the same phone, as a result, my new EVO phone has better functionality and can do more than the current iPhone 4.

It is safe to say that my $60-a-month, 1400-minutes, unlimited data, unlimited text messaging *and* 4G, is far better (and cheaper) of an investment. I am no longer following the footsteps of the mindless consumers that believe iPhone rules all.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPad and my new MacBookPro, but when it comes to phone service, I want what I pay for- and the iPhone just wasn’t meeting those expectations.

:: Six Months Later:

Hey All! I’m updating this post six months into my contract with Sprint and 6 months into using the less trendy but far more efficient HTC Evo phone. So far, it’s been smooth sailing. The phone, when plugged in to my computer, acts like any other USB storage device and I can simply drag and drop music, files, photos etc. onto the phone without using iTunes and without waiting an hour for the whole process to be completed. My phone service and reception have been great thus far. I really can’t complain about it. The 4G has worked great where 4G is available, the Apps in the Droid Market are seemingly unlimited and offer nearly every app that the iPhone does.

To be honest, I’ve been seeing a LOT more Droid phones out there, and everyone seems to be loving theirs just as much. Success!

If you’re thinking about changing from an iPhone to an Adroid- supported phone, feel free to ask me questions here. I’d love to help!

-Mia

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My Life is a Movie.

Posted by: Mia Taylor on August 26, 2010

My life should be a movie, because really, sometimes I have a hard time believing it’s not a well-timed, perfectly constructed Romantic Dramedy.

Opening scene: Las Vegas, Nevada where 6 lb 4 oz Mia is born.
Fade out to Mia’s mom packing for California shortly thereafter, realizing Las Vegas is not the ideal place to raise her daughter– or even BE for that matter.
Cut To: Dad peaces out, leaving Mia and Mom for his 3rd, then 4th, 5th, later- 6th and eventually 7 wives-turned-divorcees. (Not all at the same time, obviously.)

In any case, the following scenes pave the way for an interesting childhood. Including scenes where my I am 5-years-old and flying alone to Vegas every other weekend to visit my father, where mom and I hop on a Harley Roadster and ride with 200k other Harley Davidson bikers to South Dakota, where I board a ship to set sail for three months and travel the world, and where my mom and I come back from a movie to realize our house has suffered from a devastating house-fire.

Like I said, Romantic Dramedy.

Where’d the romantic part play in, you ask? Good question.

Cut to: May 2010, Beverly Hills and Brentwood, California. Split screen-Guy and Girl meet on a dating site , and chat with each other each day during work. After a couple weeks, she finally decides to ask him if he wants to meet up after work for a drink- since they’re going in the same direction.

Fades to: 6PM, Girl ends up being early for this mysterious rendez-vous and gets in some shopping; scores 2 heels and an Apple product in under 30 minutes. She’s a pro.

Pan and Zoom to: Girl’s iPhone text message alert- “New text message from Jordan.”  The moment of truth…oddly enough, she wasn’t nervous. She picks up the phone and calls him, “it’s quicker than texting,” she rationalized. In actuality, she wanted to hear what he sounded like before meeting him. Is that so wrong?

Cut to: He’s standing on one side of the crosswalk, she’s on the other, they’re on the phone. “Walk” reads on the sign and before long she’s running to get him and turns them in the other direction- wait, why was she running? Excited? Already? He was cute and it was clear there was a connection from their earlier conversations.

Fade to: Guy and girl strolling the Santa Monica promenade after a few drinks (they forgot to eat dinner, as they were too involved in conversation), headed to watch the sunset when all of the sudden, they happen upon a 13,000-person audience gathered on the beach for a free Jack Johnson concert.

Before long, they’re laughing and running through crowds of people to find an ideal spot. She

First Date: Jack Johnson Concert

pulls out her phone to capture this moment- the best date she’s ever had. They kiss- it was bound to happen. It was perfect.

Fade to: 12AM… they’re finally parting ways for the evening. After all, she ended up falling asleep in his arms while listening to music- it was about that time.

It was the beginning of something very special <3

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Senior-itis of the 21st Century

Posted by: Mia Taylor on August 7, 2010

Senioritis: a sickness of which is a result of rejecting adaptations to technological advances of the current day. Also referred to as Senioritis of the 21st Century.

My grandfather’s old, true, but when it comes to high-functioning Seniors, he’s a prime example of one that does it all. He runs a newspaper for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division Veterans, owns a Commercial Real Estate company, drives up to his cabin an hour away each weekend and even shovels the cabin driveway of multiple feet of snow each Winter. So when he complains about the technological advances being “beyond [his] comprehension,” I reassure him that he’s more capable than he thinks.

Recently, we’ve convinced him to abandon the use of his archaic iMac desktop computer and to invest in a “portable, lightweight laptop,” to which he replied…”I like my old thing just fine, It works doesn’t it?”

Luckily, he grew rational when his old crapper kicked the bucket. I think my Grandmother getting an iPad made him realize that he should “get with the times.”

Well, my grandfather, knowing my allegiance to ever-improving technologies, forwarded me his email reply (Yeah, see? He knows how to do that) when another “Senior” friend of his sent him an “Invitation to Join Facebook.” I about died.

Take a look:

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What a gem.

Posted by: Mia Taylor on July 29, 2010

You see, I’ve happened upon a gem and I’m not sure I want to share it with anyone. But because I’m such a nice person and happen to love writing about travel, I guess it’s in the stars that I tell you all about the gem that is Washington State.

After meeting my new man, and subsequently realizing I’d never been to his hometown/state, I finally ventured out to Washington just in time for his annual family camping trip. En route, I flew over Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier at 30,000 feet and even caught a glimpse of Seattle. We made out way straight to the woods, a much needed respite from the mundanity that has been my schedule lately, in an area near Lake Kachess. For 4 days I was without internet connection or cell service, and boy do I miss it.

Here are some snapshots.

At first I thought this was Mt. Rainier, but as I look closer at the top, it looks like it has erupted at some point, making me believe it’s actually Mt. St. Helens… could be wrong, but it’s beautiful nonetheless. [I stand corrected...this is Mt. Hood. And has never erupted ]

Another shot from the sky. This, I believe, is actually Mt. Rainier. See how the top is still intact?

After a hike to the top, looking out at Lake Kachess. Simply beautiful.

A shot of seattle from the plane. I didn’t get to spend time in Seattle, as I was camping all weekend, but next trip I’ll definitely venture into the city.

A shot of the mountainscape adjacent to Lake Kachess. The last day we were here, I spent some time reflecting during sunset.

At dusk, and before mine and Jordan’s return down the hill, through the forest, in the dark.

When we returned, it was time to sit by the fire with Jordan’s family and mentally prepare for a return to the city. One I was definitely not ready for.

As you can see, Washington state is beautiful. I look forward to spending more time out there, and seeing everything it has to offer. I’d love to visit Puget Sound, Seattle, wine country, and hike some of Mt. Ranier. If you’ve been to Washington, feel free to comment with some recommendations!

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Anatolian Food and Culture Festival

Posted by: Mia Taylor on July 6, 2010

For Mother’s Day my mother, who is often mistaken as my older sister, and I made our way down to Irvine to spend the day eating delicious kabob, watching cultural performances and buying trinkets from a slew of Turkish merchants at the Anatolian Food and Culture Festival.

The festival was equipped with culturally themed bounce houses for children, a mile-long wall of the chronology of Turkish history for the elders, historically dressed festival hosts and, well, food- for me.

Get me near any kind of food and I’ll eat it. Get me to a food festival and, ladies and gentlemen, we have one over-stuffed, slightly paralyzed Mia.

After inducing cataclysmic paralysis, I decided that there was no way to digest all the goodness I had just eaten unless I kicked my feet up and enjoyed some traditional Turkish dance.

I looked kinda like these guys:

Ok, maybe not exactly, but you get the idea.

After a bit more shopping and wandering around aimlessly, it was time to head out. With memories of Istanbul ’06 near and dear to my heart, it was tough to finally call it a day.

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