Apple's list: Day #5 - a pat on the back

I started this project this Saturday so if you want the full background, see Day #1.

[WARNING! Extensive whining coming up] Oh my, oh my, this was a truly - excuse my language - SHITTY 24h! Started Tue evening when my iPhone decided it was time to start ignoring my sim card. It's a 1st gen iPhone bought in the States at about the time it was introduced and then unlocked for use with a sim card other than an AT&T one, and that has worked just fine since then, up until this evening. Due to many reasons I couldn't manage to unlock it again and so found myself without my phone/calendar/game consol/photo portfolio. No. Fun. At. All. A substantial amount of weeks ago I ordered an iPhone 3Gs from my phone company. Long story short: it hasn't showed up, and I have been compensated quite substantially for having to wait an unspecified amount of time. I decided to give them a ring anyhoo to see where I stood on the new iPhone front. After spending a ridiculous amount of time Wednesday morning queuing, I finally got to talk to someone ... COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT. Apparently they were upgrading the system and she couldn't get ANY information about anything. And her boss wasn't there. Well, boo-hoo! She told me I should call back SEVEN HOURS LATER at which point in time she was expecting the computers to run and her boss to be in place. Way to run customer service! I later rang again, got to talk to someone else who knew her stuff and didn't blame others, and I actually managed to talk them into lending me a random phone while waiting for my new iPhone (we always give our old phones away when we get new ones so we had NOTHING at home). Great, a small comfort, a pat on the back.
Next on the list: picking up my DSLR from the service center. Service center closes at 4 pm, I got on a tram at about 3:10 with ample time to get there before closing time (should arrive at half past at the latest). What happens? The tram's power is cut, and suddenly there isn't one tram moving all along the tracks from where I am to where I need to go! Gah! I get out and walk to the nearest bus stop where I have to wait 15 minutes for a bus that takes me to within two stops of where I want to go. From there i RUN about 1km (2/3 of a mile) to the service center. At 3:55 I enter the center, huffing and puffing, only to find out my camera isn't ready yet, since they had to order a component that will arrive Thur or Fri. The girl I talk to can probably physically SEE the air go out of me and the look of despair on my face. Here's pat on the back number two: She quickly decides I qualify for getting to lend a camera for the duration of my camera's stay with them. So, she goes to get me another EOS 40D and after signing a paper for it and getting the lens and memory card that was with MY camera, I walk out of there reeeeaaaally happy! BUT (of course there's a "but", it's that kind of day)... as I walk out of there, them locking up behind me closing for the day, and get on a tram (by now they're actually working again) half way home I realize: THERE'S NO BATTERY IN THE FRIGGIN CAMERA. Do I have a spare one at home? No. NOT. MY. DAY.

So, well, at least I got to experience two pats on the back during this "Friday the 13th" of a Wednesday the 11th, and so thought to blip it and use it for the project.

So, let's evaluate "a pat on the back":
- easy to blip: Not very, no. -1
- feelgood: Yes definitely! +1
- nice to be around: Not applicable... (0)
- availability: Depends on the people around you I guess. I hope you've all got people that can give you that pat on the back when you need it; but I guess the need isn't always apparent, and so the pats may not always be readily available. 0.
Words that came to mind: Consolation +1

So, how much easier does a pat on the back make blipping? The results are in, the points are tallied and a pat on the back is currently valued at +1 points. Lowest so far, but at least it brightens your day if not your blipspiration :)

Evaluated items so far:
+4 a project
+4 a boat
+3 a baby
+3 a pond in my backyard with lovely fall foliage
+1 a pat on the back