New Hampshire and post-traumatic stress

October 11, 2011 9:58 pm

You could say I literally fell into fall. It's uncanny how the year turned almost the second the sun leaned south over the equator.

It was Friday, Sept. 23, in the morning. I was dressed for the gym, anxious to go because I had been skipping for most of the summer. It was sprinkling and I was worried it would rain — I hurriedly biked from Columbia Heights to 19th Street, where I would hit the gym, dress for work, and start my Friday. This day was really exciting. I had spent the night prior meticulously cleaning the house for David's birthday party. We were sure to have a good showing, I was excited for a night of drinking and friends.

I was biking south on New Hampshire when several things happened. The intersection I was nearing became blocked by a vehicle, freezing my lane's traffic. The biker in front of me stopped completely and I realized if I didn't stop immediately I would hit him. I slammed on my brakes, handily stopping my bike, but unfortunately propelling myself over the handlebars and chest first into the pavement. I winced and grunted as even the force of the fall swung my laptop bag over my back, likely smashing a side of my computer (which it did).

I got up, smarting from the fall, and profusely apologized to the guy I nearly crashed into. He was very nice, obviously concerned for what looked like a very nasty fall. I was especially embarrassed and told him I was fine. I picked up my bag and bike and started to walk it through the intersection — noticing a very prominent burning sensation in my shoulder and feeling with each moment extreme discomfort and pain every time I tried to lift my left arm. Something was very wrong.

I walked maybe 300 feet, clearing the intersection and taking myself out of the gaze of any onlookers who might have seen my spill. As much as I hoped I had escaped major injury thanks to another bonehead move on my part, I wasn't getting away from this that easily. I had to go the emergency room and it was going to be a very long day.

...so, yeah, that's basically how it happened. A little over two weeks ago I shattered my clavicle in a bike accident on my way to work. It sucks, but since I've had a couple weeks to marinate on it, it turns out it's not SO bad (although it's not exactly a piece of cake either). So many hard-core cyclists actually consider a broken collarbone a right of passage. I guess this means I've got cred, right? Clavicles are actually among the weakest bones in the body and don't take a terribly long time to heal. That means it can't be that bad, right?

Who am I kidding, I've been absolutely miserable since this whole thing happened. Broken bones slow you down, big time. No biking, no gym, no running. Lumping my bike in the corner and hoofing it everywhere has made me feel like a bird with its wings clipped. Also, I have had pretty much zero fun. The first week and a half, the narcotics kept me away from booze. And last week, when I started to feel like I was in one piece again, I was sent back to bed thanks to a nasty cold.

If fall is going to start like this, what does the rest of the year herald for me? I'm hoping against hope that my doctor lets me bike again before my birthday next month so at least I get to enjoy some of this fall weather. Winter biking is nothing but miserable. The last thing I wanted to do this fall was drag myself around town in a sling, going back and forth between physical therapy (wait, wait...am I flashing back to last fall's ankle injury??)

After a great summer, maybe it has helped me to be more humble, getting knocked down a couple of pegs. I'm getting older — *grumble* — so maybe I need to have more respect the choices I make and the potential consequences. And if you really want to hear the jaw-dropper on this story: No, I wasn't wearing a helmet. I'm damn lucky I didn't break my skull.

But, on the upside of all this, it feels oddly exhilarating to push myself to these limits. I've never broken a bone before — I used to say that with pride. But now I can say I have broken a bone before and I'm better for it. Because the experience instills a respect for these dangers like no lecture can. I know the pain and loss of a mistake such as this and that is a kind of wisdom you can't share.

The boys of summer

September 13, 2011 3:36 pm

It's been a few months so I figured I'd do something novel and actually use the blog I spent several months building and designing.

What has kept me away so long? The last time I was here I chimed in about my liberation from credit card debt. That development has been so wonderful. It hasn't solved all my problems, but it's made it a lot easier to plan for future expenses. In the past few months I've embraced frugality like I never have before. It's paid some wonderful dividends and had a few surprising consequences. More on that later, if I care to share.

But what I want to write about today is the summer we are watching drift away. I want to take a moment and celebrate this summer. What a great summer it was!

No one can deny that the weather this summer was amazing. Granted, we had a couple unbearable heat waves, but weighing that against everything else, on the whole it was very pleasant. August especially was probably the best summer month I've ever experienced in D.C.

There were a lot of things I did this summer but, perhaps surprising to my forward-looking self last spring, there was a lot of things I didn't do that I thought I would. I never got to go to the beach. That was a bummer, but I never could do it as cheap as I would have liked to and I made up for it with several trips to the public pool, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

There was Screen on the Green, of course. This year I had to skip two screenings, though. Sometimes life gets in the way of summer fun (just don't forget to check your car battery every six or seven years!) The nights I did make it down to the Mall were spectacular. The best night, by far, was the night they played Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I've seen it before, but what an amazing film to rewatch. Marilyn Monroe is so at home on the silver screen.

One of my favorite summer traditions is watching True Blood every Sunday night. It's silly and, sure, the series is jumping a few sharks. But it's still a ridiculous vampire melodrama and it's fun to put your hair back and watch a blood orgy. I watched most of the episodes at my friend Katy's house, out in Virginia, and when I wasn't driving anyone with me, I was biking out from Columbia Heights. It took about a half hour, but it was so thrilling to take a long summer evening bike ride through D.C., across the river into Virginia. Spectacular!

And there was, of course, some fun summer nights. I fell in love with the 90s dance night that sprouts up around D.C. every month. I always considered myself a huge fan of 80s music, but there's something about 90s music that really ignites my energy on the dance floor. I mean, I lived through the decade, it's like the soundtrack of my adolescence. Also, the surprising thing about 90s night that I noticed last spring, it's super gay! You can't swing a cat in that cramped bar without hitting seven gay guys. And it's definitely fun to get out and meet people and have fun!

So that was my summer. Hopefully I can keep getting out this fall. I'm dreading the winter, but I'll have the warm memories of the summer to help me get through. And there's always next summer...it's closer than you think.

Debtor's spring

June 15, 2011 10:10 pm

You could say the tone of my blog is kind of austere. It reflects the mood of the year for me, a year of investment and renewal. Blah blah, I write about this all the time. But today, I reached a major milestone related to all my cost-cutting and modest living: I'm finally out of (credit card) debt!

I have been gabbing on and on about my credit card debt issues with my coworkers and friends for months. Ever since I got a job after grad school, it's been my expressed desire to pay down my credit card by paying a health dosage over the minimum payment every month. In addition to this, I've saved and worked to bring down the debt entirely in a reasonable amount of time.

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to fiscal sanity. I realized that, if I took the money I was saving toward a new computer, I could pay down my debt a whole year early. I did some calculating, and I could save hundreds of dollars in interest doing this and I really felt I could stick it out years with the computer I have currently (I really just wanted to have the money on deck, collecting interest, in the event many months from now I want to replace my computer).

Even though paying off my credit card won't make everything in my world better — I still have student loans and I plan on shifting my above-the-minimum attitude toward that balance now — this is a huge psychological weight off my shoulders. Ever since June 2002, when I opened my first credit card to handle a major car repair I had at the time, I have lived under the burden of a credit card. Initially, it felt so unnatural knowing I could not pay down a debt with the amount of money I could make in one pay period. This was a feeling I just got used to.

My debt grew a lot in college as other car repairs came and I eventually moved the balance to a low-interest credit card. A few road trips here and there and I had near $2,000 in debt! Luckily, I spent a summer paying down the debt to below $1,000, and it seemed like I could kill it for good way back in 2005, but then life happened. Moving to California via a 3-month sojourn to Ohio cost me over $2,000! Plus I had to throw a $1,000 security deposit on my credit card just to get my first apartment. Suddenly, I was dealing with a major balance.

Can you believe that, back in the fall of 2005, I scoffed at the idea of budgeting to pay off my credit card as soon as 2007? It seemed way too far out for me and I wanted to do it sooner. When I took my eye off the prize and found myself into 2006 charging a trip to Europe on the card (!!), suddenly 2007 didn't seem so bad.

I got it down a few thousand dollars before I moved to Missouri for grad school, but I couldn't kill it entirely. In grad school, I paid down my second credit card with excess student loan money, but there was nothing I could do about my major debt until I had an income again. In 2010, I leaned on the card a lot to get me through the months before I graduated and finally found a job. It was then (conveniently for the credit card) that my interest rate more than DOUBLED, racking up major interest payments.

I have no idea how much I've paid on various card over the years, but I can tell you that on my most recent credit card, I've paid over $1,050 in interest and fees alone. It's mind boggling.

But now I can take a step forward without the weight of credit card debt. Like I said, it doesn't solve all my problems. The challenge now is to save money and not spend wildly now that I have more money every month. I'd like to save up for the new computer in the next year and put money away for a rainy day. Also, I'd like to invest and hopefully save some money to buy a condo or apartment somewhere down the line. That will take years, but I'm ready to work toward that goal.

To commemorate this moment, I unearthed an old blog entry of mine that I wrote the week I first went into credit card debt. That was nine years ago! It's amazing how such a small debt caused such a huge headache for me:

The Week of Hell
June 2002

... So, how was my week of hell? It was horrible and I have a $1000+ bill to
work off. Once again, I really feel this is not that bad and that I'm
really blessed to even have a chance at paying all this back. ...

Now that I've had the chance to pay it back, I hope I'm blessed with the good fortune to never run a prolonged credit card balance again!

Winter sun

March 8, 2011 9:28 pm

I've actually had this post queued up for a week or so, I just haven't bothered to write it.

So I ran into a bit of good news recently. A week or so ago, when I felt particularly motivated to do something really boring, I decided to do my taxes. I had been dreading doing them this year because I thought one of the choices I made last year would come and bite me in the butt this year. You see, last year was tough, but it ended well. But when times were tough, I had to make tough decisions. It sucks that sometimes, though you were able to stay afloat and win the day, there are still some tax penalties for tough decisions.

Well, to my surprise, my taxes turned out a lot better than I had planned. Not only did I get to avoid the dreaded tax penalty I had prepared for, but I got perhaps the largest refunds I've ever gotten from the federal government. Hooray! What a surprise!

I'm sure we've all been in this situation before. What always happens when you find you have more cash than you anticipated? Invariably, you think of the responsible decision. There is a pile of debt that always needs to be tended to, why not put the money there? But where does it always ultimately end up? Ha, not on your credit card. In the past I'm pretty sure I've blown tax rebates on speeding tickets, clothes, and consumer electronics. But not this year.

I did some tabulating, and it turns out if I do put my money toward my credit card, I can get out of debt about three months earlier than I planned. This is huge. I have had my eye on the get-out-of-debt ball since I finally regained gainful employment and resolved to mend my hemorrhaging finances. The thought that I'd have to wait a year to get where I wanted to be was painful, but I have kept making the right decisions to get there. Now I find I get to take a shortcut and could be credit-card debt free in just four months. This is so huge!

So, yeah, I've had to reapportion some of the funds so far, but I haven't splurged. Basically, I needed a new laptop battery, a wheel for my bike, and some new shoes. Maintenance stuff, that's it! And I think I'll draw from my meager savings to make sure I can make my July get-out-of-debt goal so these unanticipated expenses don't knock me off the fast track.

But come on, more responsible decisions? It's great and all, but why do I keep having to postpone enjoying the fruits of my labor until months down the road? It's really no fun, I feel like I've been OD'ing on responsibility this year. But, like I've said time and again, this is what I feel this year has in store for me. Progress is so slow, but I'm getting there, right? A setback here and there isn't the end of the world, but I gotta keep pushing toward the light at the end of this tunnel. Nothing worth having is ever easy.

So no shopping sprees. No spontaneous iPads or gorgeous 27-inch Apple displays (damn, I want this one so bad!!) Just a frugal March and a shrinking interest payment. Sigh...someone save me from doing the right thing.

:-/

...oh, and I will mention something about the picture I took for this blog. I've been biking a lot by myself on the weekends and I snapped this beauty on Wisconsin Avenue. I know spring is above those clouds, you can see it's trying so hard to burst through from the other side.

Spiral down

February 20, 2011 9:13 pm

Eh, I'm going to write a somewhat moody post. You've been warned.

This week has been a truely miserable week and I have made a woeful circle ... wait, scratch that. Things have NOT been that bad. Before I start complaining what didn't go right, I want to give some credit to what did. Number one, my roommate got a new job and I took him out for drinks. That was fun, and it was a really decent thing to do. One of my best friends has always insisted on buying me a drink when I met some major accomplishment. Feels good to return the karmic favor.

And then I got sick the next day. I know, sucks, right? But I have a great job with understanding bosses who let me bail when I started coming down with a fever and kept things together for me until I got well. I also have a great doctor that, just a few hours after I was out the door, had me feeling much better again. And as for my wretched disease — strep throat, which had me out nearly a week after I last caught it — I delivered the KO in just a few days. Hooray for abbreviated misery!

Oh, and the cherry at the end of this week is getting to attend a very great info session on Drupal 7, learning everything that's changed from two very talented Drupal contributors, including one who actually oversaw the development of Drupal 7. Not only did I learn a ton, but I have the knowledge I need to push my personal sites to the next generation of web CMS and I have a roadmap to do the same (someday!) at my own job. Seriously, this is very exciting.

OK, now I think I've earned the right to complain.

So I end up talking to this guy on Monday while I'm having drinks with my roommate. I was a little shy to approach him at first, and I got the courage to do so and he seemed really cool. Kind of dorky, but cute and really fun.

Then the strep throat hit and, my God! If there's one routine sickness I hate more than strep throat, I haven't gotten it yet. It's a miserable disease and I was stricken with a fever for two days and couldn't sleep for more then one or two hours. You might say, "Yay! Two days off from work!" Well, there's nothing about a strep throat sick day that's fun ONE BIT. I ate Jello, condensed soup, and had to skip four of my fast runs this week. That really pisses me off. Being sick sucked, but texting the guy I met Monday actually helped me to feel better.

Couldn't really do anything about hanging out w/ him since I was sick and I also had my Drupal session. The session was Saturday and Sunday, all day, which basically nixed my weekend. Like I said, very interesting stuff, but I wish I could have gotten out to meet this guy.

Well, Sunday night, I want to see if he still wants to meet up next week — when I'm not sick or shuttered indoors — and suddenly I find out why he had been so quiet all weekend. Met someone else. Friday, when I was staying in recovering from my wicked sickness. What a bumrush.

As is life, I guess. This whole week feels like a miserable spiral, like I was running up something only to find myself falling down. What is interesting about it all is this week sort of typifies what I feel this whole year may be like. All in all, things are really good. I'm pushing that boulder up the hill, making progress every day, but I can't help but feel underfoot. I'm working toward something, but I'm not there yet. Progress is frustratingly slow and I have to expect setbacks now and then. But, come on!

Anyways, tomorrow is the start of another week. Certainly I won't be having strep throat again. Next weekend is wide open. I have five full days of fast runs ahead of me. See? I'm already back on the up and up.

Taco night

February 6, 2011 2:04 pm

If it's chilly on a Friday night and I'm hungry, you're likely to find me on the top floor of the National Press Building with my fellow journo pals downing some free tacos. It's a tradition I started in the dark days of writing my thesis and the early months of my official D.C. residence. In the past few months, as this bitterly cold winter sucked all the joy out of me, I felt obliged to return to this tradition, and how sweet it is!

I've been wanting to write about it for some time. I actually had my camera on hand Friday so I thought I could get some great photos of our group, but apparently there's a no-photo rule in the Press Club bar, so I was only able to snag a few candid shots.

Basically, every Friday night the Press Club bar offers up free all-you-can-eat tacos with the price of a drink. The catch is you have to be a member of the Press Club to get in. I was a member myself last February, giving me the privilege of inviting friends along for the fun. Basically, if you're a good friend of mine in D.C., you've likely been along yourself or you've gotten an invite.

I'll admit, on the surface it seems kind of lame. When I first heard about taco night, I instantly declined and went home Friday night to begin tackling my thesis or something. I don't even like Mexican food that much and my first tour of the Press Club was less than stellar. Unfortunately, you're not exactly rubbing elbows with famous journalists like Christiane Amanpour or Bob Woodward. A lot of the Friday night attendees are people you've never heard of. But there's something about the place that just charms you.

For one, it's incredibly classy. It's got a great view of the White House and the Washington monument. And the fact that you need a Press Club membership just to be there feels kind of cool. Drinks are fairly reasonable (Coronas are just less than $3 a piece, although they did raise the price of long island iced teas by a $1 from last year). If you've got good company, the experience is truely sublime. Unlike other enclosed happy hour spaces around the District, you can actually hear the dinner conversation. There's a good mix of older and younger professionals, so it's a great place to mix and have fun.

I've been on a taco night kick big time since I've resolved to kick my winter blues. I did my bit for our succeeding Washington Program class and introduced them the joys of cheap drinks and tacos, but I've also got a great group of people going that include my most favorite DC journo friends. Getting everyone together after a long week is a great way to kick off the weekend.

Taco night used to be the one and only fun thing I had time for when I was in the midst of testing and writing my thesis. I stubbornly clung to it as the one acceptable social engagement I could accomodate between regression tests and marathon writing sessions at the Library of Congress. A year later, I still stubbornly cling, mostly to keep our tight-knit group of Missouri journalism grads together and socializing. We've lost some great taco night regulars to the ebb and flow of life. But they should all know for a few hours on Friday night, there's always a mountain of tacos at a place a journalist can sit back and enjoy the company of good friends.

If last year is any indication, in a few months I'll shed my frequent taco night trips for patio happy hours and late summer nights. As is life, but for now I can't get away. You just won't understand until you see for yourself.

Subdued

February 2, 2011 8:17 pm

I won't apologize for how little or much I post here, just so you know. It's been a long time since I blogged regularly, so I'm going to let entries come to me whenever and however that may happen. I have a few on deck, but I'll wait a bit on those. But I do have one today...

I mentioned it briefly when I was greeting 2011, but this year I am hard at work on many things. It's not unlike the several years that have come before this. I always feel like I'm building toward something, setting benchmarks and taking steps toward an ultimate goal. Last year was a tremendous year for reaching ultimate goals. I graduated from grad school. I moved to Washington D.C. I landed an excellent job I can see myself working at for the next several years. But I'm not through yet. There's more ground to gain and I'm hard at work.

Basically, since I moved to California, I feel like I've made several personal sacrifices. I've left behind friends. Invested in my career instead of my social life. I dragged myself through these stressful, difficult, and lonely situations for years. It's always difficult for me to make new friends in a new place. Since I left college over five years ago, I've "started over" at least three times. That's an incredible burden for someone like me.

I have a lot to show for these hard times, and I would certainly go through it all again. But that brings me back to my goals for this year. Basically, I want to make investments in myself and my lifestyle. I want to meet new people. I want to exercise more and make major progress toward my long term running goals. I want to, basically, have fun! So far, this has all gotten off to an interesting, somewhat subdued beginning.

On the "have more fun" front, I'm doing alright. I'm trying to get together with friends fairly regularly. We try to do happy hours once every two weeks, and between that there's taco night at the National Press Club (more on that later). I've more or less punted on my goal to meet more people until this spring and summer. It's hard for me to warm up to people during a winter like this.

But the other investments I'm making are a bit off putting. I run just about every day and get to the gym before work every day, just plugging away at my fitness goals. I've felt some great progress, but I know there's so further to go. I'm kind of addicted to it, actually, but I feel like it puts people off. How often can you really talk about how you had a great run during your lunch time at work or that you met your personal best on the bench press?

It makes me feel a bit disconnected as I somewhat-selfishly focus on myself, but I hope it's understood this has all been a long time coming. I feel like I've let all this slide for so long, it's in the interest of my own personal happiness that I pursue these goals and achieve them. I'm actually trying to reach out to some other friends who are seeking their own goals like mine so we can offer some mutual encouragement.

So yeah, you might see me running a lot from now until May, but it's all in the interest of doing some really fun stuff come summer time. I can't wait to get to the beach and get a great tan. I also can't wait to increase my speed and set a new personal best at my next marathon later this year. All in due time, I suppose.

Porter Street

January 17, 2011 8:50 pm

I thoroughly enjoy jumping on my bike and taking to the open road. Obviously, the dead of winter is not the most ideal time, but I am determined to not let the cold keep me from my passions. This holiday weekend, I took two bike rides down Porter Street, a challenging, steep route that keeps my blood pumping and piques my interest.

I pretty much bike everywhere. I never used to. A year ago, when my D.C. residency had grown to a handful of days, it was hard enough for me to step onto the Metro than bother to bring my bike out onto the street. It wasn't until last spring that I truly embraced the many benefits of D.C. bike commuting. Now there's hardly a day I'm not taking my bike with me, rain or snow.

It's a four-mile round trip for me to get to work and home again, pretty reasonable if I do say so. Along the way over the many summer, autumn and winter days, I've been soaked in rain, menaced daily by D.C. drivers and doored. But that doesn't stop me. It's a daily thrill to hear the road rushing fast beneath my feet. Weaving in and out of traffic, traversing some of the most picturesque streets in the city, it's truly a blessing to have this opportunity.

But the necessary trips are not enough. Every so often, I get the urge to bike farther. I don't get to Wisconsin and Connecticut avenues that often, so I like to take a ride to Porter Street now and again. It's a great route that brings me from the residential streets of Columbia Heights to the picturesque hillside homes in Mt. Pleasant that overlook Rock Creek Park. But from this point on, things get difficult. After Klingle Street becomes Porter Street, the grade becomes so steep it's hard to catch your breath. It stays this way for what seems like an eternity and it only gets worse when you look up ahead. But if you can handle it, the trip is invigorating and exhilarating. I feel my blood pumping so hard as I move through the winter air that it feels like the coming warmth of spring might just burst from within.

Once I make it to Wisconsin, it's all fun and exploration for me. I like to stop by Social Safeway if it's early. This weekend, I stopped by for breakfast and had some pastries, a banana, and a whole quart of milk. That might seem like a lot, but it really hit the spot after a ride like that. What a way to greet the day!

My friend Amber says, when it gets warmer, she might join me to explore other parts of the city and maybe snap some photos. I took the photo above on my way to Georgetown today after I took the long way down Porter Street.

I know spring will come in time and all the frozen bike enthusiasts will thaw and flood the streets of the District, joining me. But this winter, when I feel like seeing how far my body can take me, I look forward to the lonely trek down Porter Street, facing the brisk weekend sunrise one steep hill at a time.

The extra bone

January 11, 2011 11:30 pm

In June, I had an accident. It was a stupid accident and it's all my fault. I'm ashamed to admit what happened, but suffice it to say my foot has not been the same since. I woke up the Sunday following the accident and I knew something was wrong. Before I set about rectifying the other disasters of the previous evening (which included an unexplained sum of $15 in my pocket, a lesbian on the walk of shame — from Virgina, and a missing cat), I had time enough to tweet one thing:

Why does my foot hurt??

It was seven weeks before I decided to get a good answer to that question. What seemed like a simple sprained ankle had indeed improved, but a pain lingered. Since I was a month or so away from having to train for my next marathon, I sought help. Following my appointment, I had found myself having to accommodate the new passenger on my leg:

Ah, the seven weeks I spent in the boot (which was only supposed to be three, but whatever). The outpouring of pity.. Fighting old ladies for the handicap seats. Catching the bus ... so happy those days are over.

You see, what I have been subjected to wasn't entirely my own (drunken) fault. For some crazy reason, a bone in my foot called my navicular bone actually comes in two parts instead of the standard-issue one. A bit of gristle — my doctor's words, not mine — is all that keeps this bone in a proper, nonpainful place in my foot. When I injured my foot, I really messed up this fine equilibrium and the pain I have constantly felt since has been an indication that the natural workings of my foot are in disrepair.

But I have recovered a great deal. Since October or so, after a few weeks of physical therapy, I have been walking in two shoes again. I've taken to the streets again on my bike, which fortunately has been unencumbered by my injury. In November, I started running again. I had to back out of what would have been my sixth marathon though. That hurt.

My doctor tells me jokingly that I'll never run a marathon again. I don't believe him. He says it's possible I'll hit a wall when I resume my long runs. Facing this, my only option will be accepting this limitation or attempting surgery to remove the extra bone. My physical therapist was more optimistic. She told me that, in time, my foot would heal completely. The fact that it's an injury connected to the bone and tendon that is responsible for my body's balance explains why I've had to endure such a long recovery. It's hard for a spot to heal if you're using it every day just to stand up straight.

Well, it's been over six months now and I'm running about as fast as I was after my last marathon. I try to run at least five days a week, at least 4 miles a day. In the last couple weeks there has been very little pain. Only a mild discomfort or dull pain that usually fades after a mile or two.

This spring, I'm going to try a long run. Maybe 12 or 16 miles. I want to know if this is really going to limit me and I'll need the surgery. I would do it if it meant I could run again as I have for the past decade.

It's hard to imagine living a real life without the thrill I get from running. There's so much left to accomplish for me there. It's the best part of my day, stepping off the treadmill at work after finishing a good four-and-a-half mile run. I look forward to the day that, God willing, I can do this without the hint of pain in my step.

1-11-11, 11 a.m. ... the iPhone comes again

January 10, 2011 9:50 pm

Everyone knows it. It was inevitable. Steve Jobs' master stroke from 2007, which debuted on AT&T's network, will expand to Verizon tomorrow just before noon.

I didn't expect it would interest me. That was until Apple disappointed me this past summer. You see, I haven't bought a new phone since 2006. I know, who cares, right? But I watched the iPhone blossom and rewrite all the rules of smart phones. I instead bought an iPod touch, which I treasured for years. I ran hundreds of miles with that device at my side. But it was all an appetizer for the main course: an iPhone of my very own.

I had a 32GB iPod touch, which I filled to capacity with thousands of songs. I had hoped to join my iPod and my phone together with a memory upgrade — 64GBs, which would hopefully make it's way to a new iPhone...eventually! I thought that would be back in June, but alas, I'm still waiting.

Well, I got sick of waiting and got a used iPhone 3GS, which quenched my iThirst while leaving me free to upgrade to a new phone whenever I like. Yeah, I hate AT&T. I've heard good things about Verizon. So if the price is good, the capacity is right, this could be my time.

Anyways, that's my iSaga. So what have I heard about the iPhone V?

  • The Verizon iPhone will be sold with an unlimited data plan. AT&T no longer offers unlimited plans for new iPhone users. I guess this is encouraging, but I'm sure new users will pay through the nose for it. AT&T raised their data price $5 so users could enjoy maximum data bandwidth — 2GBs a month. How much you wanna bet Verizon ups that another $5 for you to get back to an unlimited plan?
  • The new CDMA iPhone should hit stores by the end of January (or in Steve speak, "a couple of weeks.") Apple and Verizon employees are reportedly restricted from taking vacations during the first few weeks of February, but it's unclear whether this is due to the new iPhone or the rumored iPad 2.
  • It's possible the new iPhone will be dual CDMA/GSM, meaning the device can function on both AT&T and Verizon's network. The all-in-one device will be easier to port to varying networks overseas and would constitute an iPhone 4.5 upgrade, basically becoming the new iPhone to both AT&T and Verizon customers. This is still up in the air, but one thing is almost certain: the new iPhone will not run on Verizon's 4G network, or LTE network. Apple will likely wait until this standard is more widely adopted overseas.

Competition is great. My hope is that, once AT&T and Verizon are on equal footing, consumers will ultimately benefit. It would be great if data rates fell and monthly bills became more reasonable (after all, the U.S. tops the world in mobile data fees).

Will I pick up the new phone? Right now, I'd say the odds are 1-in-3. Maybe 1-in-2 if the phone is offered in a 64GB variety. But I've waited this long, why not just save my money until June when the iPhone 5 hits the scene. We'll see...

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Welcome

Nick's Blog is the personal blog of Nick McClellan, multimedia journalist, Missouri School of Journalism Masters graduate, and Washington D.C.-resident.

Contrary to more recent news/political blogs I've authored, this blog is intended to be more personal/interest based. Please remember that the views expressed here are solely my own and, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch.

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Thanks for visiting my new blog! I'm just ramping things up here. So far, there's a lot of archive content from my previous blogs. Eventually, I want to put some cool dynamic stuff here, but I will need a few months to collect some fresh content. Enjoy reading what I have here and thanks for stopping by!