My Plan

I so desperately want an iPhone 3GS, it hurts me. Unfortunately, I just don't have the money to come up with the cost of 2 of them (for both my wife and I) plus the differential in service plans for the first year on my own. With me only doing random consulting gigs, our regular living costs are eating up any amount of money we would be able to save for these phones, and unfortunately, the we also need to eat - one of those things they don't tell you before you move out of your parent's house.

So I've heard about people starting their own web sites or signing up to take donations for their own dreams - going to college, mission trips, etc., and I though so why not my dream? Sure, maybe it's not as noble as those other ones, but its a dream nonetheless. [Besides, with Jon writing all the content, all I have to do is keep cribbing off of his stuff. This is payback for first semester English @ VU many moons ago - which also explains all of the spelling errors in his posts.]

My goal is to somehow raise $1440 ($840 for the cost differential and $600 for the phones) over the next X number of months and this is my first step in doing that. If I can get a few hundred people to all donate just a few bucks, maybe I can actually do this. Who knows, maybe this thing could go viral. Maybe Apple will see this and knock a few bucks off. Anything can happen, so why not try, right?

If you are so inclined, click the DONATE link on the right. No amount is too small (well, maybe anything under $1), nor too big (even though it's not the size that matters), nor too random - my grandparents (God rest their souls - all four are gone - but THEY would've bought me one by now) would enter in some wacky, non-even amount like $120.67 (I think my grandparents had a bit more money than Jon's), just like they did on several checks for birthdays over the years. Seriously. But I digress. If it were me, and I saw some guy doing this, I'd personally throw him a Lincoln (that's a fiver, by the way), but that's just me. I'm as generous as I am sexy. Wait, that means I'm not sexy at all. You get my drift.

So if this works, I get a black 32GB iPhone 3GS. I guess you're probably asking yourself...

So what's in it for me?

Excellent question! Aside from the the warm, fuzzy feeling you'll get from helping me achieve my dream of owning a shiny black beauty, I haven't quite figured that out quite yet. But I'm open to suggestions! Should I create a donor list? Sell "advertising"? Look for corporate sponsorship? Do some free-lance contract negotiation of some sort? Pictures of me in buttless chaps holding a lollipop while a midget spanks me with a wooden spoon? Uh.... wait a minute...

Leave a comment and let me know what you think would be a good "thank you" or "...I scratch your back" kind of thing. I'm really open to (almost) anything. As long as its legal. And won't require me getting too naked. Nobody needs to see that.

My iPhone

So this is the iPhone I REALLY want - the top choice on my wish list! It's a black, 32GB, iPhone 3GS. Its truly beautiful!

Despite what my wife might tell you to the contrary, I will admit that I am not picky. I also like the white one. The original metal back from the first one used to be my favorite until they increased the memory and added the compass in the 2009 lineup. I would like to say I'm not stuck on this particular model and size. I know it's the most expensive model. But I also know Apple well enough that if I don't get the top of the line today, I'll be lusting after the next revision sometime in the next six months. I don't even have to get a new iPhone 3GS - I'd definitely go "previously owned". But because of the restrictions on AT&T service regarding the service plan, it's really the only option in the US.

My Story

Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed of owning an iPhone. That touch-screen-goodness called out to me like a beacon. In 2008, my dream had been realized. I was given an iPhone to use for work! It was heaven!

Like many dreams, it was too good to last. I lost my job and its iPhone benefit. As you might guess, despite their sleek elegance and beauty, iPhones have less than stellar phone plans when compared to others, so switching service plans for both myself and my wife would be costly. That, coupled with the fact that trying to get my wife to switch away from a "friends and family plan" was like trying to cram a cat into a bucket of water, forced me to keep our existing phones and service plans with a competing vendor, like one that offers free calls to a lot of other people. That was the end of my iPhone days.

Ever since, I've been wanting to get another iPhone. Every time I pass an Apple or AT&T store, I look longingly at the selection and think of the old days. Now that we don't have a service contract any more, and the fact that our existing phones are exhibiting death-related symptoms, the time is right for it to be (almost) practical. Plus, we don't have kids that would abuse them or otherwise damage the investment. Heck, I've even got my wife generally ok with the idea of switching if it wasn't for the difference in cost of the service plans!

[Thanks to Jon Burk @ iwantajeepwrangler for the idea for this site and almost all of its content. Go donate to him, too.]