Vodafone is the Devil

Last night I made a blunder, American-sized. I should start by saying that my cell phone is an amazing piece of machinery. It can connect to my laptop via USB cable, and I can upload and download pictures, movies, mp3's, documents, my day planner, etc both ways. Last night I was bored and decided to play around and see just how much the little powerhouse could do. Somehow I stumbled upon a feature that allowed me to use the keitai as a modem, thereby connecting my laptop to the internet. Holy crap, it was a beautiful thing, especially considering I still don't have internet in my apartment, and the international center where I regularly use the computers had been closed when I went earlier. God knows how long I sat there staring at the screen, smitten, typing e-mails and checking myspace. My keitei really was a little powerhouse.

At school today, just as I was pulling my lunch out of the microwave, there was a phone call for me. It was Vodafone, my cell phone carrier, telling me, in Japanese, that last night's internet joyride had cost me 37,000 yen. I fell into a chair, literally. In case the conversion rate isnt fresh in your American minds, 37,000 yen = $350. I started crying. I continued crying, many Japanese teachers now staring at me, as I called the English customer service number and asked if there was any way to reverse the charges. No, she said, she couldnt reverse the charges, but she could sign me up for unlimited internet usage in the future for just 4095 yen per month... did I want to do that? SERIOUSLY?!?! I hung up.