Apple Broke My Heart

The year was 2010, I was in my late teens and on the market for my first smartphone (yes I did get a smartphone later in life but I don't think kids need smartphones.. but that's another issue).

Ever since the release of the iPhone 4 I knew exactly which phone I was going to get. The sexiest looking phone on the market with some of best performance reviews versus Android. I was all set.

I went into Verizon and laid down my card. "iPhone 4, black", I said. It was beautiful. The packaging, the phone, everything. Jump to 2 months later...

"Unfortunately we cannot downgrade you back down to iOS 6", said the Apple representative over the phone.

"Are you sure??", I said, "my phone is basically a brick. I can't connect to iTunes, I can't make phone calls, my texts get lost often, and the connection is super slow and NONE of these problems were there when I was on iOS 6..."

 "Unfortunately we cannot not downgrade the phone", he replied, "Apple gives a very unique customer experience that cannot be altered with".

My heart was broken. Here I just spent hundreds of dollars on a phone that was now a brick with the feature of lighting up...

But hope was not lost. Where there is a hope, there is used devices with older software on eBay!!

The used iPhone 4 come in the mail... SO EXCITED. It was iOS 6.1.3 and will work for sure!
Powered it on, and it asked for iCloud password. Didn't know the previous owner so I contacted Apple again... This time... I was pissed.

"Unfortunately we cannot unlock the phone for you".

"But I purchased it legitimately and am the owner of the phone. I just need it unlocked", I said.

"Unfortunately we cannot not unlock the phone", she replied, "Apple gives a very unique customer experience that cannot be altered with".

Now my heart was broken... over $1200 down the drain and I had TWO bricks..

Because of the "Apple Experience" I will never buy an Apple product again. If they sacrifice customer service for this crappy controlled environment then I want nothing to do with them. 

Blast From the Past

Have you ever looked on your past and missed it? I know I have. It almost seems surreal and fake when you looked at who you used to be (either in high-school or college). It's like you want to go back to the "good 'ol days". 

It started when I bought a new computer, while transferring files over to my new computer, I found some old pictures and started looking through them. As I found more and more pictures of past relationships, experiences, and things that are no more; I began to grow sad and sorrowful. I wanted to go back to those "good 'ol days" and remake my past to get as much of it as I could. 

Back then, I didn't notice what was going on. I simply lived my life and didn't think anything different. I didn't think that those days were really the best times of my life. I had free time with good friends. We never knew what we were doing or what we were going to do. We just did what we figured was fun and enjoyed life. We made mistakes, we lived with regrets, we dealt with drama, we created laughs, and we had a blast. It was so simple. 

As time passed, we hung out less, friends got jobs, moved away, or moved on. Girlfriends became ex-girlfriends, and fun became planned time with the few that stuck around. We got our hair-cut, we got jobs, we enrolled in higher education, we started getting bills and time, started to become more and more precious. 

What I have to learn now, is that this is the way of life. Maturity sets in, you realize that there is a time to grow up and move on. And this is all okay, because you're ready to grow up. Growing up isn't bad, it's good. And those "good 'ol days" can become a beautiful memory of regrets and joy. And I can look at old pictures or videos with bitter-sweets thoughts. And know I had the time of my life, and hope to pass on that knowledge to my future kids someday and tell them, "kids, make the most of your youth, 'cuz once your up and grown, you'll be in a different stage of your life. That is the way of life". 

If people stayed kids forever, there would be a lot of problems in this world. Maturity sets in for a valuable reason. And good times don't have to stop, they just look different. 

So to finalize, I'm happy that I had the youth I had. And I can't wait for the next stage of my life, my career, my house, my wife, my new relationships to come. In fact, I think some have already started...

Body, Truth, Reputation

There are only three things we can take to our grave when we die. Here is my opinion on those three things that should remain in the forefront of our minds as we live day in and day out.

Our Body
It seems obvious enough to see that when we die, our bodies die with us. Knowing that, we should take care of the bodies we have been given. I take this as meaning we should eat healthy, exercise, and refrain from physically and mentally damaging activities. This being said, I know I want to care of my body. Also the benefit here is that I live a happier, longer life with less pain and less worry.

Our Truth
Lying these days seems to be a normal method to keep us out of trouble or to keep someone in the dark. People lie for many different reasons by a liar is not one who can be counted on. Lying to an extreme can even be unlawful and liars can be punished. One person's word can be his or her reputation. When I know someone who lies, I don't count on that person for anything. Their word is dead to me. This being said, I will retain my word and try my very best not to lie. The benefit here is that people will trust an honest person. It will make it easier to have better friends and better acquaintances.

Our Reputation
One person's reputation ties directly with their word. Reputation can be the difference between a better life and