Eulogy for a phone

Well, it had to happen. It's been pretty smooth sailing since I've been here, so I was due for a minor calamity. And so it was that in the space of three hours this evening, I managed to (a) lose my cellphone and (b) break the latch on my washer/dryer. Sigh.

I liked my phone. It was little, it had a flash for taking pictures (vital for capturing those friends'-embarassing-moments-in-the-bar shots), it was tri-band (so I could use it in different countries, just swapping out SIM cards), and most importantly, it was durable (the frame has been cracked since I dropped it on a co-worker's granite patio about two years ago, but it worked just fine). And now it's wandering around Shanghai (in a cab, or with someone who found it in said cab) without me. Sigh.

Fortunately, there are only a couple of numbers in it that I won't be able to recover easily -- all of my US numbers are still safe and sound on my old SIM card, and most of the China ones are either on my email or obtainable from family members. Also, most mobile phone use here is prepaid, per-minute usage, not monthly packages, so I don't have to worry about someone running up my bill. But I will continue to miss the phone. I'm pretty sure I can't install "London Calling" as my ringtone from here.  Moreover, there goes my alarm clock. Should the search for either an alarm clock or a shiny new phone merit a posting, y'all will be the first to know.