It's about time I got a new one.

So, I've had this "new every two" plan from Verizon for years now, and I've actually traded up once. The phone I got from that trade-up was ruined in August of 2006 when I took it on a water ride at Hershey Park (I'd forgotten to bring plastic bags for my stuff, and just took my backpack).

After that, I got my current phone (see pics at left), and from what I remember, they told me I'd have to wait two more years from the date of that purchase before I could get a new phone on the "new every two" plan. But I got a call a couple months ago, and they told me that I could get a new phone anyway. I didn't do anything about it then, because my current phone seemed to be working okay, and I didn't want to deal with the possibility that I'd have to pay the difference for the phone (you only get a $100 credit toward a new phone).

But yesterday, I just got sick of it. My current phone is nice, yes, but it's also bulky, heavy, and doesn't get good service on the first floor of my house, or in the basement at work.

So, I looked up new phones at the Verizon website, and found out I could get the phone I've had my eye on for months completely for FREE. All I had to do was redeem my "new every two" credit ONLINE, which gave me another credit for about $30 more. So, I got a $129 phone for $0.

I was expecting it to take a week or two to get the phone through the mail, but at the end of the order I saw that it said 1-2 business days, so I figured on Monday or Tuesday. But no, I got an e-mail a few hours later saying that the phone had shipped and giving me a FedEx tracking number. I checked out the tracking information. Lo and behold, the phone is due to arrive today by 3:00 p.m! As of 8:38 this morning, it's already on the truck for delivery in Hagerstown. This is too cool!

I'm getting the Samsung SCH-u740 (see pic at right), which opens in both directions: the same direction as a regular flip phone, as well as in the direction that my current phone opens (I have The V by LG). One of my co-workers has one, and I've had my eye on getting one of my own since he showed it to me.

Apparently, the delivery requires a signature, but that's okay, since Jen S. and Kayla are usually both home all day anyway. I so cannot wait to go home this evening! Of course, that's not really anything new--I just have a good reason to be excited to leave work today.

Anybody want my old phone? If not, I'm going to give it to this one organization I heard of that provides emergency cell phones to people who can't afford to have a regular cell phone plan--once I've got all of the data transferred, that is.