Friday I learned the hard way that Uggs aren’t meant for running.

It was 8:40 a.m. when I stepped off the Metro. I wanted to check my email before a 9 a.m. meeting, so I was booking it to the office. Like most Washingtonians, I was scooting up the escalator at a brisk clip and dodging the odd person standing on the left. Since it’s cold outside, I usually commute in my black Uggs. They may not be pretty, but they’re comfortable and warm. (And not as ugly as Crocs.)

Near the top, my Ugg got caught on the step and down I went on all fours. People were nice and helped me up. Embarrassed, I pulled myself together, grabbed the ubiquitous black handbag that all women in DC carry and checked to see if my jeans were bloodied or torn. Ignoring the pain in both my knees, I plowed through the turnstile thinking, “A, no one ever needs to know about that.”

It wasn’t until 3 p.m. that I realized my cell phone was gone. I looked around my cube. It wasn’t there.

I emptied the entire contents of the ubiquitous black handbag. Umbrella, wallet, checkbook, make-up, hairbrush, static cling spray, first aid kit, dayplanner, notepad, pens, iPod, keys, scarf, gloves, lip gloss, breath mints, book and journal. No cell phone. I was set for everything except calling people.

I sat there confused for a few minutes since I distinctly remember putting my cell phone in my bag that morning.

I called my cell phone. No Rocky Top played.

The roommate was taking a sick day, so I IMed her. She called my cell phone. No Rocky Top. She searched the apartment. No cell phone.

“Damn.” I thought. I really like that cell phone.

The roommate suggested that I go through my bag again. After all, she’s seen how big it is.

Once again: umbrella, wallet, checkbook, make-up, hairbrush, static cling spray, first aid kit, dayplanner, notepad, pens, iPod, keys, scarf, gloves, lip gloss, breathe mints, book and journal.

Again, no cell phone.

“!$#@”

Mentally retracing my steps, I realized that the phone must have fallen out of my bag when I tumbled on the escalator. A cell phone dropped in the Metro during morning rush hour was going to be long gone.

One of the craziest afternoons ever then proceeded, and I stayed at work until 8 p.m. By the time I arrived home an hour later, I was exhausted, frustrated and in pain. My knees were swollen and bruised, my bad wrist ached, and it hurt to walk.

At that moment, I just wanted to call someone and cry. The combination of exhaustion, frustration and pain do that to you. I pulled out our old-fashioned land line and realized something. I had no phone numbers. I haven’t memorized a phone number since I first got a cell phone at 17. Nearly a decade has passed since I was required to remember one.

“Damn,” I thought again.

A few numbers did stick out. Aside from my parents current number and the number at their old house, I had McGuyver Dad’s old office number, Beka’s parents and LF’s parents. I opted for home and left a tearful message on their answering machine. Sometimes you just need to cry to someone, even if that someone is a machine.

Maven Mom called back a little while later. Apparently she had flashbacks to fifth grade when I came home from school crying everyday. Fifth grade really sucked…

She cheered me up and helped sort through the Verizon account. The prospect of a new gadget was making me happy. Saturday, I scoped out the cell phones and Verizon and did some online research. This afternoon, I decided on a new LG enV. It had a 2 megapixel camera, a full keyboard and the most important feature–it came in orange. Between an upgrade credit on the account and in-store sale, I got the phone, bluetooth headset and car charger for only $60. I wasn’t happy about spending $60 outside of my budget but losing one cell phone in 10 years isn’t a bad track record.

Two lessons here:
1) Back up your cell phone numbers and memorize the important ones. I went from about 200 numbers to six. If you know me in the real world, please shoot me an email or Facebook message with your number.
2) Don’t run up escalators in Uggs, especially during rush hour. Checking my email before work wasn’t worth losing my cell phone.

The good news is that I have a shiny orange cell phone that matches my Rocky Top ringtone.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 7:41 pm and is filed under Croc watch, shoes!, family from the south, DC adventures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.