The First Smartphone Death

Almost two and a half years ago, I finally took the plunge and joined the world of smart phones.  I had been reluctant to give in for years, happy with my dumb phone and not seeing a need to join the techno-savvy ranks.  Of course, after I gave in, I realized why they're so darn popular.  I also realized - after I had already taken the plunge - that I had just signed up for a lifetime of paying a lot of money for a new phone when the time came to get one.
Since I don't like spending hundreds of dollars on replacing technology that works perfectly well (our car is now eleven years old and we have no plans on replacing it until absolutely necessary), I've tried to take good care of my phone.  Even though cases don't look as cool as having a thin, sleek iPhone, I always keep mine in the case.  I don't take it near the pool, and I try not to drop it (but let's be honest, my phone gets dropped quite a bit).
But sadly, it only takes one moment of carelessness to turn a perfectly useful piece of technology into a kids' dress-up accessory.  And that moment happened Monday morning when I went to use the bathroom and forgot that my phone was in my back pocket.  Two seconds later and my phone was in the toilet.
After wiping it down, I stuck it in the always internet-recommended bowl of rice, but the internet failed me.  I knew that there was no hope for my poor phone when I went to plug it in and the plug wouldn't even fit all the way in the port because the battery was so swollen.  I was very sad.
If this had happened in America, I would have just been out an unconscionably large amount of money and perhaps without a phone for a few hours or maybe even a day.  Being in Central Asia - as always - complicates things.  I'm pretty sure iPhones can be found in Tashkent, but I'm pretty sure that I'd have a hard time determining the provenance and/or authenticity of those iPhones.  And I bet the real iPhones are more expensive here.
Thankfully the pouch (our mail-order lifeline to the delights of America [cough. Charmin]) stopped banning lithium-ion batteries a few year ago, so I wasn't stuck with finding someone in the US who could act as a courier of banned electronics.
Unthankfully, the pouch has a wide delivery window and I have travel plans in two weeks that will go much more smoothly if I have a phone to take with me.
So that evening I jumped on the internet and started comparing used versus new iPhones.  Ultimately, with Brandon's recommendation, I decided to get another used phone.  At this point, phone technology isn't that different between newer and older models and I can't help but think that I'll probably find another way to break this phone long before its theoretical useful lifespan ends.  But this time, I made sure my phone wouldn't die the death by toilet and ordered a 7, which are waterproof.
The low point of my phone internet shopping experience was when PayPal wanted to text me a confirmation code to the phone that was dead when I forgot my log-in password one too many times.  I started out on the iPad, moved to the iMac, and finished on the MacBook before I could get PayPal to log me in without that pesky confirmation code.  Sometimes I feel like the internet is out to get me.
Brandon argued me into paying the outrageous $35 for expedited shipping, and it got delivered to Dulles this past Wednesday.  So fingers crossed that the Pouch Gods smile on me and: 1. get it out in the next shipment and 2. don't randomly reject my much-needed phone for having a li-ion battery (like they did to my new camera last fall).
I have discovered, however, that life is mostly livable without a phone.  Thankfully our iPad is cellular enabled so I can still have navigation while out driving.  Facetime and Facebook Messenger do an okay job of filling in for an actual phone, although when Brandon is in his office I'm out of luck.  Sadly, I can't order food because I don't have a phone to send confirmation codes to, but maybe that's okay anyway.  It's annoying to actually have to check email, since the iPad fetches it only when it's in the mood.
But, I will be happy to have a phone again whenever it shows up in Uzbekistan.  Dependency sure is annoying sometimes.