# Things it took you over a year to finally figure out **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 5, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-it-took-you-over-a-year-to-finally-figure-out/258447 "2004-08-05T14:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-it-took-you-over-a-year-to-finally-figure-out/258447/1 "2004-08-05T14:01:19Z")
After having this cell phone since May of last year, I finally found out how to… HEAR VOICE MAIL!!! All this time, I had been clicking on the screen button whenever I saw that I had voice messages waiting. I’d listen, hear my voice greeting, and then silence. I attributed it to faulty programming on the part of Verizon or Nokia or the cell phone fairy or whoever and promptly did nothing about it. I just told everybody, “Don’t bother leaving voice mail. It doesn’t work.” Some people persisted though, and I let their attempt to drag me into the modern age fester on my call-in screen. Eventually, the notices went away, so I continued to live my life the same as before, content that sometimes the best action is inaction. Then I got into a conversation with techie at work, and told him, “Yeah, my cell phone sucks. What brand do you use?” He told me Verizon. I told him I do too, and I couldn’t get my voice mail on it. He asked me if I put in my password. [sub]uh…password?[/sub] Then it hit me: when I first got the phone, it prompted me to make up a password. I hit the pound sign, then something else, and put in what I thought my password might be, and it worked! I all the sudden started hearing voice messages from weeks ago! I reminisced about what I missed! I heard heavy breathing! I still don’t remember what I’m supposed to punch in before my password, but the point is, I DID IT! A roomful of chimpanzees eventually can type the Bible, thus so can I! I heard you can play games on it too. that just reminded me: there was a skit on Hee Haw once that had two lazy guys laying on hay. One says to the other: “Hey junior. Ah heard yew got a new Sears catalog.” Junior says “Yep. Ah learned yew could use it ta order stuff with.” THAT’S ME! THAT’S ME!! ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-it-took-you-over-a-year-to-finally-figure-out/258447/2 "2004-08-05T19:03:25Z")
Heh. I was sharing this little revelation this morning. Every year around Easter time they’d show The Wizard of Oz on the tee vee, and my family would always watch it. So, I had seen the movie at least once for every year of my life. Then my high school did the musical, and I played 2nd violin in the pit orchestra. Several rehersals in, we began “If I Only Had a Brain.” Suddenly I realized that all the "If I Only Had a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ " songs started with the same da-ba-da da-ba-da dum run at the begining. Then I looked closer. Heeeeeeeyyyyyyy . . . they’re all _the same song in different keys!_ Yes, I know, there’s a thing at the end of the movie where they even sing all the songs together . . . I really have no explanation for why it took me so long to figure out that they’re the same, or, rather, how on earth I got the notion that they were three totally distinct and very different songs.