I decided my body could benefit from a massage the weekend between the NYC Half Marathon and my upcoming 13.1 Marathon this weekend. I got a good deal at a fancy spa and booked my appointment for Sunday, March 28. I was looking forward to this day for weeks, and even more so after the muscle pain in my legs after the half marathon. I needed it.

The massage therapist introduced herself and brought me into the room. She asked me if there was any area I would like her to focus on and I told her that I recently ran a half marathon and would be running another shortly, and I would love her to focus on my legs.

The massage started and I wasn’t impressed. I actually spent more time wondering when she would move on to the next part because she was pressing down on muscles in my neck and moving them back and forth. It didn’t really feel like a massage, but I didn’t want to ask her to decrease her pressure because I wanted a lot of pressure on my legs, and didn’t want to have to keep requesting things of her. It wasn’t pleasant, but I stuck with it figuring I’d feel great when it was over.

But then, she saw my toes.

As I’ve mentioned, I have been initiated into the hardcore runners club with my first black toenails. I went to the doctor and he drained them. He told me that because I overpronate, I am prone to getting black toenails because of the way my feet hit the ground. He said bigger shoes might help, but I will likely continue to get black toenails regardless.

I did get bigger shoes, and the doctor was right, I still continued to get the blood blisters on top of my toes that turn the nail black. One of my toenails even fell off. Sexy! Luckily, many of my friends have this same issue and they assured me many times it is not a big deal. I also read Runners World religiously, so I know how common this is. The doctor even congratulated me on being initiated as a real runner! And since the nails don’t hurt anymore, the doctor told me there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Aside from the fact that the toe miiiiiight not grow back if the ridge closes, but that is not pertinent to this story.

So the lady, her name was Barbara, saw my toes and I could feel her judgement emanating from her when she was by my feet. I knew what was coming when she started to speak.

“I just need to say,” she began. “I see your toenails and you need a bigger toebox in your shoes.”

“Well my running shoes are actually a full size bigger than the size I wear, I have a lot of room in the front.” I explained.

“No. This is not normal. Your shoes don’t fit.”

I started getting defensive. And annoyed, given I was IN THE MIDDLE OF GETTING A MASSAGE.

“I went to the doctor and he said this is common because I overpronate, and it will happen even with bigger shoes.”

“No. This is not normal. You can’t listen to that. People say it’s common, but it’s not. This is very bad.”

I said, “Many of my friends have black toenails too and they’re all fine. It is just something that happens to some people when they run longer distances.”

“What do you mean by longer distances?” Barbara asked.

“13 miles?”

“Hahahahaha! 13 miles is not a long distance!” Barbara laughed at me.

Now listen. I know that running 13 miles does not a long distance runner make. But I didn’t say I was a long distance runner. I said I was running longer distances. And for me, 13 miles is a hell of a long distance. I got really upset that this person who was supposed to be relaxing me was agitating me.

She was acting like I was a poor idiot who doesn’t know better, when it reality I did a lot of research, went to the doctor (more than many runners do), went to a specialty running store and consulted with many other runners. I reiterated that I went to the doctor and that it happens to my friends.

“Any friend that tells you this is common is NOT a real friend.”

WHAT. Now the massage person is telling me who my friends are?! Then she went on more! “Are you a member of NYRR Clinic?” she asked. I am a member of NYRR but I had no idea what she is talking about so I said no. She said, “Well you get yourself to NYRR Clinic — they will tell you this is not normal, it is not common and it is a very bad thing.”

By this point I was almost in tears.

I have never been so relieved for a massage to end. Usually the hour goes by way too quickly but in this case, it felt like 10 hours of torture. And the massage itself sucked too, not that that even matters at this point.

I want to mention I also had a pedicure and that person was so nice about my situation and said she sees lots of runners there and was familiar with black toenails. After all, it just means that blood is pooled under the skin. NOT a big deal.

I did complain to the front desk. Although I was trying to be nice about it when I spoke to them (I didn’t even give her as bad a tip as I should have), but the more I think about it now, the angrier I get. I should have walked out of the room sooner and not even finished. How dare she? All I was doing was paying for massage and she just couldn’t let it go. Barbara overstepped her boundaries and was completely out of her place and made me so uncomfortable on a day that was supposed to be relaxing at a fancy spa. I know she was trying to be helpful, but that was not the time or the place. She could have approached me later on if she was truly concerned. Instead, she chose to ruin my expensive (even with a deal, it was not cheap) massage.

Thoughts?

____________________________________________________________________________

Update: The spa has offered a complimentary massage to make up for this experience.

After moving at the end of December, I was no longer living near a New York Sports Club location. It didn’t make sense to pay for a gym I can’t conveniently get to from my own apartment so I (sadly) ended my membership. And I figured with Core Fusion for strength and running outside for cardio, I was set.

I decided to handle any issues with cold/bad weather/dark running by trying a one month membership to a small gym very close to my apartment called Strive NYC. Their website advertises the following offer in two different places on their site:

Low Priced One Month Trial, convertible in the first two weeks into a Yearly Prepaid Membership or a One Year Commitment Pay-as-you-Go Membership

Sounded perfect for me! A low priced one month trial to use the treadmill as I pleased, just two blocks from my building. And by the time the month ended, it should be a little warmer out.

So last Saturday I went in to Strive to find out more details about this offer, as well as the price of their 3 month membership option. I met half of the husband and wife ownership team, the wife Malou. She took me on a tour of the gym.

Strive NYC is very small. There are no classes. It is literally just machines, which do not have individual TVs. However, there are shared TVs up against the wall. The locker room has no amenities, but it looked clean and nice. There were renovations going on around me.

I figured this gym would be perfect for me since I planned to use only the treadmill. I figured it would be much cheaper than NYSC since NYSC lets you use any of their locations all over New York City, has individual TVs on the machines, has a much larger variety of machines, offers lots of classes and has amenities in their locker rooms. Strive only has the one small location. And I read some reviews online that put the monthly price as low as $30 a month for some people.

Once the tour was finished, I told Malou I enjoyed the tour and was interested in the one month trial. Malou shook her head, looking at me like I had two heads:

“There is none,” she told me.

“But it says it on your website.”

“No such offer exists.”

“OK, but why does your website mention this offer on both the homepage and the membership page?” I needed to know.

But Malou seemed to have no idea what I was talking about. She would not give me a one month membership.

Malou and her husband Yves are the owners. So I assume they control what goes up on their website. I assume they approve the content. I assume they KNOW the content. But based on Malou’s reaction, either she truly has no idea what’s going on with her own business or she lied to me.

I decided to find out the prices for the 3 month membership and was SHOCKED to find out that each month is more expensive than a month at NYSC. That’s right. Strive is charging members a higher price for a small club with no classes & no amenities than NYSC charges for big clubs with individual TVs, locations all over the city, amenities, classes, etc. What a major ripoff. I really hope some of their members find this post and switch to NYSC. Even Crunch Gym is cheaper than Strive – and they are famous for all their unique classes!

I’m not saying anything is wrong with a gym that isn’t fancy. I’m not a snob. I just think that a less fancy gym should charge less fancy prices.

I told her that I was paying less at NYSC. Malou shrugged. I walked out. Malou did not try to make me any better offer. I went home with a bad taste in my mouth and pulled up the Strive website. Just to double check.

Yep. The offer was right there, both on their homepage next to a highlighted Special Offer image and also on their membership page.

I sent them an email using their contact form and pasted the one month trial text. I explained I was in there earlier and was told this offer doesn’t exist, and I asked why they advertise it on their website. I never heard back.

*Update: In a Google search of Strive, I found this case study from their web developer. As stated here, “I worked closely with the owners to create a clean and welcoming design aimed at attracting a wide audience.” So it is confirmed: the owners DO know the text on their website. They just don’t feel like honoring it.

I don’t like to bash businesses that are just trying to survive in a very expensive city, but I have no tolerance for blatant deception like this. I was willing to pay Strive a fair price for one or even three months. The owners at Strive don’t seem to care about standing by their offers or running an honest business. They don’t know who I am or that I’d write about their horrible customer service on the intertubes for everyone researching New York City gyms to see.

But they should treat every customer as if he or she writes a fitness blog. Because you never know who just might.

It was the last straw for me. I have been experiencing jaw pain for awhile and finally the pain was so uncomfortable that I couldn’t take it anymore. I made an appointment at the boy’s dentist for the following day.

I called my old dentist to get a copy of my last x-rays, since my insurance does not cover more than one set of x-rays in a one year time period. I needed to come to my new dentist prepared so I wouldn’t have to pay for new x-rays. The old dentist office told me they need my request in writing. I faxed it to them and a few minutes later they called me to tell me they received my fax, confirmed my email address, and told me they can’t fax it to me because it won’t work well. They gave me two options: email it to me or fax it directly to my new dentist (I thought it didn’t work over fax?). Since I didn’t have the fax of my new dentist in hand and I was by my computer (although they suggested I to call and get it and call them back), I told them to go ahead and email. They confirmed my email address and said they would send it.

I didn’t receive the email. Since it was the end of the day by this point, I figured I would check in the morning.

The next morning I still received no email, so I called the new dentist to get their fax number. Then I called the old dentist and said I didn’t receive the email and would be happy to give them the new dentist’s fax. The woman, who at first pretended to have no recollection of talking to me the day before, then said “I told you, it doesn’t work over fax.”

Clearly she did remember me. And clearly she did not remember telling me that she could fax it to the new dentist. Maybe she meant email, but fax and email are two very different words.

So I gave her the OK to email it. Again. She said the person who does this isn’t there and I said I needed it for today. She put me on hold and came back and said she would do it.

A few hours later, still no email. It was nearing the time for my dentist appointment, so I called the old dentist once again.

This time, the woman I spoke to — her name was Frances, although I don’t think she is the same woman I spoke to before — told me they don’t have anything in writing from me and they won’t send me anything without a written request. I told Frances I sent my request yesterday, someone called me to tell me they received it, and now I am just waiting to get the email with my records. I explained calmly that I called the day before and was told the email was on its way; I called again this morning and was told the email was on its way. I never received the email, so I just wanted it sent already!

Frances said she has no proof that I sent in request, and I need to send it again. I explained that I was home today becuse of my dentist appointment, and I don’t have access to a fax. I realize in retrospect that I might have been able to email them my consent, but she did not mention that as an option and I was too heated and upset to think of it myself.

She said I should get someone else from work to do it for me. I was frustrated and while asking someone else (although not from work) have been an option, why should I have to start calling people and seeing who can send a fax for me and hope it happens in time for the office to send me my x-rays? So I told her that is not possible, I already sent in my request, I know it was received, I am just trying to get my records.

Frances said, “You probably don’t need these. Your insurance will probably pay for new x-rays.”

What? How the hell would Frances know what my insurance does and doesn’t pay‽ Frances was so dead set against emailing me my records that she was literally going through each excuse she could think of, wasting much more time than it would have taken her to just SEND the email. And I happen to know that my insurance only covers x-rays once a year, so they wouldn’t actually pay. I feel bad for the patients that believe the stuff she makes up to get them off her back.

I told Frances once again that my insurance won’t pay more than once in a year. I just want my records to bring to my new doctor. By then I started to cry a little.

And then. And then Frances said, “Well it’s your fault you waited until the last minute to ask us for this.”

MY FAULT‽ Through tears, I told this woman that my jaw was killing me yesterday, I called the dentist, made an appointment for the next day, and called her office to get my x-rays. I told her there WAS no last minute because I was just trying to get my pain taken care of as soon as possible. You’d think someone who works in a dental office would know a little about pain.

My tears did not sway her. She said “This is office policy.” I asked, “What if you send them directly to my doctor, not even to me?” She said no. I asked if she could find out who I was talking to before who I know received the fax. She said no. I asked her if she could check to see if the fax was in my file. She said no.

At this point, I ws hysterical and out of ideas. Except for one.

I played a card that I save for only the most necessary situations. It is a card that will always work, but must be used wisely and with restraint. That card, my friends, is the HIPAA card.

Being someone who needs to lug a stack of medical records to every new doctor I see for my GI problems, I am well versed in the experience of obtaining medical records. As a result, I am very well aware of my HIPAA rights.

The HIPAA card must be used only as a last result so as not to dilute its potency. If everyone started throwing around terms like “patient rights”, the phrase would lose all meaning! Once this loses meaning, well, good luck at accessing your own information.

I said, still through tears, “I’m familiar the HIPAA act and I know my rights and I know I have a right to my medical records.”

She said she would call me back.

A minute later, she called back to tell me she (miraculously!) found the fax I sent the day before and said she will be emailing me my x-rays.

A minute after that, I had my medical records in front of me.

What did we learn here?

• We learned that dentist offices are just as incompetent as doctors offices.
• We also learned that HIPAA is a sacred word and must only be used in extreme situations.
• And we learned, as we always learn, that people are assholes.

And since I recently said I would counter negative posts with something positive, here is a funny video of Santana digging in the car (positive) to counter the fact that people are assholes (negative):

And please click here to enter to win a Physique 57 or Core Fusion DVD — believe me, you want these!

Wow. I have to say, I was nervous about my guest post at Carrots ‘N’ Cake, but I am so happy with how well received it was. The topic seemed to resonate with a lot of people and I hope that my experience will help others — and hopefully I snagged a few new readers in the process. If I did — welcome!

Earlier this week I took a free Memoir Writing class at Gotham Writers’ Workshop. It was wonderful. I learned so much in only an hour. Of course, the purpose of these free hour long sessions is to whet your appetite so you sign up for a full length workshop. Gotham offers 6-week, 10-week and 1-day intensive workshops, in addition to Online Courses and some other seminars here and there (including How to Blog!).

Their little plan worked and I wanted so much to take a workshop. I absolutely loved the Memoir Writing workshop, but I was also fascinated by the Humor Writing, which as I mentioned is taught by Sara Barron. Their prices aren’t bad at all; in fact, they are the same prices the courses were back in 1997! But even so, it was more money than I could hand off right now.

Sara Barron

So I gave up the dream. I told myself, “maybe in the Spring.” The one-day intensive Humor Writing conflicted with a wedding, but I was considering the one-day Memoir Writing.

And then the Gotham Fairy came to bestow my wish upon me. By Gotham Fairy, I mean the boy. And I am fairly certain the boy does not want to be called a fairy, so let’s just leave that phrase there and never speak it again. But I digress!

The boy saw how much I wanted to take the class and knew that there was a $50 savings if I signed up by today — and he offered to buy it for me as a reward for all my running! I’m not exactly clear why running warrants a reward, but I wish I knew this sooner. I would have started running a year ago and reaped many rewards.

I told the boy repeatedly that he didn’t have to do this, that the class will still be here in the spring, etc. But he insisted. I pushed back. He wrote me a check. I enrolled in the class.

He is the best boyfriend. I really did want to take it now because the teachers shift and I can’t know for sure if Sara will be teaching in the spring. But I do know she is teaching now. But I still wasn’t 100% sure if I should take the Humor or the Memoir class. So I opened up the course syllabus for each online and sat here, just an hour before the discount deadline, going back and forth comparing the two. The truth is I want to take both. Whichever one I didn’t take now I will surely take in a one-day intensive format or in the spring. But which one which one which one? The Memoir class did have a lot of topics that I really want to learn. The Memoir class would also be *easier* in a sense — I can write what I know, and while it would be a challenge, the facts are all there. The Humor class had it’s interesting class topics as well, also things I want to learn, but would be a much greater challenge because, really, what if I can’t think of anything funny? How could I be funny on demand?

After lots of back and forth, it was one section of the Humor Writing syllabus that sealed the deal for me:

People – Finding the stupidity in people. Round and flat characters. Showing vs. Telling. Methods for showing characters. Ridiculing groups of people

YES. Oh, yes. I already write about stupidity, but now I can learn to do it MORE and make it BETTER!

And I wanted to take Sara’s class (her book) and I think that while the Memoir class might help me more in the long run, the Humor class would be more beneficial to me right now with my blogging — I can practice on here! Also, I have been trying to figure out how to become Sara Barron’s best friend and stalking her on Facebook and learning where she might be sometimes but not actually going there myself simply hasn’t been enough.

The class starts September 30 and is every Wednesday (except two holidays) through December. It will be cold. I will get home very late. But that isn’t stopping me. It will be a huge challenge, which makes me very nervous and very excited. I feel like my writing has become stagnant. I write on this blog, I write for my job. I write write write. While I certainly can write, I haven’t felt myself improving or producing anything spectacular lately. I know I can do better, but now I need guidance and a big push in the tush. And I need to be challenged to venture out of my comfort zone. I don’t like leaving my comfort zone — new places cause anxiety, new people scare me, new situations confound me. But if I am ever going to improve or write anything more than this blog and work communications, if I am ever going to improve on this blog and work communications, I need to be challenged. I know I can’t keep going on the way I have been going and expect great things to come to me.

And I want to write funnier blogs! Now that I am about to take this class, I really regret not writing down more funny/absurd/stupid/ridiculous things that I’ve encountered. Now I do, since I have a blog. But a few years ago? I remember that stupid things happened but I don’t remember specifics. Damn.

I used to keep a “funny book,” a little notebook with a quote about humor from Oscar Wilde on the front, but I didn’t keep up with it too well. I will need to ransack my apartment and find it because I am sure it will bring back some memories. And I want to see that quote again, I remember loving it. I think I will also go through old Google Chat saved conversations from as far back as I can and try to dredge up some funny memories.

By the way, remember when I was freaking out and trying find a way to fit in a workout before an appointment back in March? I went so far as to call it a workout dilemma?? Just because I didn’t want to miss a day of exercise once every other week? Silly old me. And I mean that. OLD me. These classes don’t start until 7 and I will surely have some free time, but I will use that time to read, write, window (or really) shop and eat dinner. No stressing about workouts these days.

Anyway, this ended up being much longer than I planned. The last thing I want to say today is that this weekend is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. The last two Rosh Hashanahs we celebrated the Year of the Henry. After a 2 year reign, I am pleased to announce that this new year brings with it the Year of the Puppy! Rejoice!

Shana tova and have a great weekend!

Hi friends.

Run
I ran outside yesterday for 32 minutes! That is a PR for me and even more of an accomplishment is the fact that I had NO knee pain the entire time — or after! My hip didn’t hurt during the run either, although that one did act up when I was walking to dinner later on. But I am SO excited that my knee felt fine the entire time! This is the first time I ever ran outside where it didn’t hurt. About a month and a half ago, after a failed run, I told the boy that I decided running is not for me. I would not try it again, my body can’t handle it. I’m glad I didn’t listen to myself and tried again!

I hope this leads to longer runs in the future. But I will not rush into anything. That was my old mistake! My plan is to run outside once a week — no more. Every week, if I feel no pain and no weakness in my lungs, I will increase my time. Last week I ran for 25 minutes, this week was 32 minutes. Maybe next week will be 40 minutes. Gradual. If I start incorporating spinning back into my routine, I will not do that more than once a week as well. Because really, when I overtrain and injure myself, I can’t do either!

My once concern during my run was my heart rate. I wore my HRM and as soon as I started my run — and keep in mind I run slower than you probably walk — my HR jumped to 170. If there was a slight uphill, it would reach 198. Throughout the run, it remained between 175 and 188. This is even higher than my HR during the most intense spin classes. And it stayed high the entire time. Which is part of the reason I felt so beat after 32 minutes. My knee felt fine but my lungs did not!

I expressed my concern to the boy, who is a doctor, and he explained to me that it was a very hot day and that it is not at all abnormal to have such a high HR during even the slowest of runs. And then I did what we tend to do here in blogland — I compared myself to other bloggers. “Well this girl lives in a hot climate where it is always very hot and HERS never gets this high,” and “This girl lives close to us and hers never gets above 175!” The boy reminded me that everyone is different, that people who live in a warmer climate are more used to running in these temps, we all weigh differently and we all have different cardiovascular ability. You can’t compare!

And then I felt better. And happy, because I RAN FOR 32 MINUTES WITH NO KNEE PAIN! I can’t wait to tell my PT on Thursday, at our final session (for my shoulder though). More on shoulder PT this week!

Phone
Two weekends ago I brought my phone into the Verizon store. I signed in and waited an hour for my turn on the technical assistance line. When my turn finally arrived, I explained to the technician that every time I press the 1 button, a 2 comes up! He told me that my warranty had expired so he couldn’t replace the phone. “What about insurance?” I asked, having paid $4.99 a month for the last 2 years to protect this phone. “Insurance doesn’t cover software,” he explained. I later found out that it was not at ALL a software problem, which you’d think someone in TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE would know. Anyway, he told me I needed to leave my phone there for 45 minutes while he upgrades the software, which might fix the problem. Again, I later found out this was a ridiculous statement as it was NOT a software issue.

I left my phone there and exactly 45 minutes later I returned. I approached the technical assistance guy and he was busy helping someone else. Eventually he looked at me and told me the software upgrade didn’t work (duh) and there was nothing more he could do. I told him I was eligible for an upgrade in a few weeks, could he just move that date up and I would upgrade on the spot? He said no. I told him I need the 1 button! He said he was busy helping someone else and if I want to sign in again and wait for my turn (another hour) he could talk to me more.

I left.

I waited an hour to speak to him the first time, and 45 minutes for him to do something to my phone that was unrelated to the problem. I was NOT waiting another hour! WTF.

I decided I would make do with no 1 button until I was eligible for upgrade. I wasn’t planning on upgrading yet, I wanted to wait until there was a phone I really wanted, but what can you do? I needed a phone. During the week I was talking to my cousin about my problem and she told me that they absolutely lied to me. She went through a similar experience at Verizon with her warranty-expired phone, and they replaced it for her. She explained to me that if their product is defective, they HAVE to replace it. Regardless of warranty or insurance or anything. They sold me a defective product, it is their problem to deal with. She told me she would come with me to the Verizon store that week and make sure it worked out right.

On July 4, the boy and I made a stop at my apartment and since we were by the Verizon store near me, we decided to go in. I figured it wouldn’t be a madhouse like the other one, and when we walked in we were the only ones there! I went to Technical assistance and the girl told me the same thing as the guy at the other store. She said there is nothing she can do. Then I explained to her that I am eligible for an upgrade in a couple weeks, can I just get my upgrade discount early? She said no. I confirmed again, asking if there is any way at all she can allow me to upgrade early. What is the difference if I do it now or then? My phone is broken now! She said no, I could deal without a 1 button if it’s only a couple weeks.

Angry and annoyed, I went back to the boy who was standing at another counter talking to sales people.  I started mumbling about how angry I was and how I was switching to AT&T and how this is ridiculous and on and on and on. After a couple minutes of my grumbling, they asked me what was wrong. I gave them my phone and explained again about the 1 button. The guy played around for a few minutes and told me that not only is my 1 button gone, but my entire touch screen was shot as well.

I was thrilled. First, because I had suspected more was not right with the phone (I haven’t been able to scroll in quite some time and it just didn’t seem as usable as it used to) and second because he recognized and acknowledged the real problem, something no one in Technical assistance there was able to do! He told me it was not at ALL a software problem and he couldn’t believe that guy said it was. He said the screen was dead, that was it.

He explained my options to me, which was this: Pay $50 to have my phone replaced or UPGRADE EARLY using my $50 upgrade credit! After all the arguing I had trying to get them to let me upgrade early and this guy can do it with no problem? GRRR!

But I was happy. I won! I got what I asked for and I would get $50 off any new phone! Most of the phones sucked. And then I saw the BlackBerry Curve.

I had been toying with the idea of a BlackBerry for awhile, but because of money issues I didn’t think much of it. Every now and then I would think about how much I would benefit from being organized, like the time I forgot to go to jury duty in May (oops). But I know the data plan is more expensive, and the phone itself is expensive, and do I really need it? And I heard rumors that the iPhone might be coming to Verizon in 2010, so I wanted to wait around for that. But here I was with a broken phone and a $50 credit. In front of me was a BlackBerry that was on sale for $49.99.

IT WAS FREE!!!! A free BlackBerry! I know that a new one — and better and cooler from what I heard — is coming out next week. But that wouldn’t be free. And whatever the new and better features are, I’m sure I don’t actually NEED them. Not enough to justify the price — no matter what the price is, it wouldn’t be FREE! And my last phone was the brand new original cool version of its kind (LG Voyager) and I do know that after I got it, better versions came out. So really, you can never win! And this one is FREE!

And the data plan? Only $10 a month more than my current one, although the insurance is a few dollars more a month so that will add up. But that’s OK. So I got it! It is light pink and it has a light pink case and it is so pretty. At first I didn’t want pink but the Verizon guy and the boy convinced me to first get the pink phone and then the pink case on top of it, and I am happy I did!

It was SO hard at first! I didn’t have any idea how to do anything. And the keyboard is much more difficult to type on than my last phone’s was. I was a pro at fast texting on my old phone. But it all started making sense. It began to click. The more I played around, the better I understood it all. The guy at the store told me it would take about 5 days, but here I am 48 hours later and I think I get it pretty well! And I seem to know it better than some of my friends who have had theirs for months.

I have been loving talking to Melanie (and now Jen!) on BBM. Wow, that makes chatting so easy and quick! I can’t wait for the boy to get the new one (as he most likely will) so we can BBM all the time! And I installed Google Talk and Facebook and downloaded a ringtone. Whenever I get a new phone, I treat myself to one ringtone purchase (yes, I know you can do it for free on the BlackBerry but I didn’t feel like going through lots of steps). So every time you call me, I will hear Shake Me Like a Monkey Baby. Every time it rings I am so caught off guard! I felt very cool on the shuttle this morning to the subway when I busted out the BlackBerry. Very, very cool.

And it has only been 2 days and I already don’t know how I ever lived without it.

Gotta run now, but I will be back tomorrow to talk about my 4th of July on the Hudson! With pictures! And as I said, information about my shoulder physical therapy.

Woo! Federer!