I need a new mobile phone

New mobile phones are awesome little machines. It has been surreal seeing them transform from portable landline to handheld computers that have shaped our world. The problem is that I’m poor so I’ve resisted buying one since they are so expensive to obtain but more importantly maintain.

My poverty has not changed for the better over the years but I did break down in July of this year (2024) and got one. The breaking point came for me when everything required having 2 factor authentication and that requires receiving a SMS text message (something a traditional landline is unable to do). I found myself unable to function normally and realized it was hurting me not having a mobile phone.

These concerns were voiced with my mom and she graciously gave me her disused and dust covered Nokia 3310 (2017). The battery was bloated and dead but an aftermarket one for $17 on Amazon gave it life anew. I coupled that with the cheapest prepaid/pay as you go plan I could find and thought I was finally done catching up to the modern world.

And as it turns out the Nokia 3310 (2017) is what is now referred to as a “Feature Phone”. My mom and I had been jokingly referring to it as a dumb phone for years but feature phone sounds much better to my pride. Feature phones for those that are unaware are phones considered basic or bare necessities. They can’t do any of the things that modern devices can but are simply there to receive phone calls and text messages. It turns out that all the features available to us today with modern smart phones can make people addicted or feel overwhelmed. As such a market has developed for simple devices that these people can use to help them conquer these problems. I think the Nokia 3310 (2017) is a fine phone in this regard and I plan on giving it a more thorough review later on.

The problem is that a Nokia 3310 (2017) is a 3G only device. Of course I had absolutely no idea what that meant at the time but there are apparently wireless bands that telecommunication companies use to provide service to their customers. 3G is considered the old standard whereas 5G is the one being used in Canada now (a newer and better standard apparently). Unbeknownst and unfortunately for me my carrier is sunsetting their 3G service in March of 2025 and will no longer be supporting devices in the 3G band by the end of that month. Nor will any other Canadian carriers be supporting it either.

That means in essence that in a few months time my new phone will basically be a brick. Wonderful.

Begin at the beginning

I’ve been having trouble figuring out how to start the first post to this place (CatsGamesWhatever.com) I actually registered it back in October 2024 (it’s now November 2024) but had refunded it a week later during the grace period offered by WordPress.

Creating something, immediately or eventually hating it and destroying it is a pattern I’ve done my entire life. I’m 38 years old and I have nothing I’ve ever written, thought or made left from a life lived. As to why it’s happened like that it would probably require a psychological diagnosis as to the cause. If I had to guess through my layman’s analysis though it would be down to a mix of depression, hating myself, health problems and perfectionism. A caustic concoction that would eat away at anything it was applied to. I’m doing my best to change though and I hope this website will be another step towards not acting like I have in the past.

There are other reasons that I’ve started as well but I’ll get to those in due time. For now suffice to say this was enough of a first step. If anyone besides myself ever reads this welcome and I hope you can get something out of the words I’ve etched into this digital island.