The 14 questions that could make my life simpler

One of these days, I really will learn that women in their 40s who are unmarried but have wanted to BE married all their lives are that way for a reason, and they're not worth wasting time on. If I was more cynical about it, I'd come up with the following questionnaire for prospective dates, so that I can rule them in or rule them out in the span of less than five minutes and move on:

1. Are you allergic to cats?
   
2. Have you ever used the word "chemistry" in a personal ad?
   
3. Do you own a car?
   
4. Do you actually use it?
   
5. Is your single most popular activity "working out?"
   
6. Do you have any problem with the idea that if you become part of my life, you might be written about on the web, anonymously?
   
7. Have you always wanted to be married, but somehow "never found the right guy?"
   
8. Are you extremely close to your mother?
   
9. Do you never wear anything but flats and running shoes?
   
10. What do you use first: conventional or alternative medicine?
    
11. Do you pronounce the "t" in "often?"
    
12. Do you check your email less than once a day?
    
13. Do you own a wireless telephone?
    
14. Is is off most of the time?
    

See how easy this could be? 14 simple questions, and I can either see some promise in someone or rule them out as an impossible fit.

I wish everything was this easy.

Among other things, the new wireless phone is going in for repairs... the touchscreens are more fragile than they seem, and this one cracked, though the LCD display underneath is still OK. I called T-Mobile, and stupidly, they basically said, well, since you dropped it and it cracked, we won't fix it, the only real solution is for you to buy a new one from us.

What the fuck kind of crap is that? It's not like I was asking them to fix it for free or anything, and it's not like these things are unfixable. Apparently they just have no means to repair them, so their only solution is "buy a new one we won't fix if it breaks, either."

In about ten seconds on the web, I found a place in California that will do a complete LCD-and-touchscreen replacement in two days for $159 plus shipping. One hell of a lot cheaper than buying a new one for $400 and throwing the old one away just because a $60 part broke. I'll be sending T-Mobile a nice note about this one, I assure you.