Delayed gratification is my new mantra. Say it. Say it again. Over and over and over until it makes your head hurt. Delayed gratification. Delayed gratification. Delayed gratification.
It doesn’t even have a catchy rhythm to it. So it’s hard saying it; almost as hard as actually following it and living it. And live it I do.
Now, I don’t want to sound whiny. Certainly, it would be easy to talk about not being able to get whatever I want whenever I want it. We all experience that, usually from the earliest moments when we can formulate the desire for something…anything. My youngest daughter, for example, screamed for a bottle at 2 minutes old (really!), was given it by a kind nurse, and has had trouble with delaying gratification ever since. So I get, it: we all have trouble with it. But I’m talking about the single most annoying delay in my life to date. This thing is so big it makes me shudder to even write about it. Yes, Virginia, I’m talking about having to wait for my Verizon iPhone.
The news that Verizon would be rolling out its iPhone in early February got my geek revving, so to speak. I had been waiting for this for years. I mean, I love my Blackberry, suffered through the learning curve, and even upgraded about a year ago to a new Blackberry that made my old one look down right old fashioned. I even went to great lengths to customize the thing so it would be cool and useful. But I’m an Apple guy, hands down. I’ve made it known. I’ve waited. And I’m due for an upgrade in March.
So when the big announcement hit, I was beyond thrilled. Ecstatic probably is more accurate. The March upgrade date would coincide nicely with the post-February rush. All of the early adopters would be neatly ensconced with their shiny black iPhones, and I, paragon of patience that I am, could just saunter up to the old cell phone upgrade counter, plunk down my $199, and join the ranks of the Steve Jobs disciples. But, as in most things in my life, really in all of our lives I would presume, there was a catch. All of the tech geeks quickly came out with their reviews, and nearly all felt that the huge rush of iPhone users in February would do horrible things to the Verizon network, that the phone, being 3G, would have substantial limitations, and that, and here’s the kicker, Apple would be announcing a new version of its handset in June, one that would possibly be 4G. All I have to do is wait until June.
So, there’s the dilemma. Jump early and have a slower, less functional phone for two years (well, at least one), or wait and see if the new phone is worth the wait. It’s really a no-brainer, and I’ll make sure I’ll wait, but it’s, yet again, one of those moments that are inherently frustrating. Kind of like the trickle of rejection slips my stories have been garnering as of late, but easier, I suppose, to deal with.
And there are really many other things to worry about, after all, but, for a techie, some things just sting a little bit more. Maybe while I’m waiting I’ll get one of those stories published. You never know.
