Android :: Missing Functionality / Calendar / Unlocking?

So after 6! years of Nokia 6230, I finally bought an android phone - HTC Desire. And while of course this is like switching from a Peugeot to a Porsche, there are still some functions i was unable to find / figure out so far! I'll number my questions and edit in your solutions, because I'm sure future users will have similar questions.1. a REAL event reminder (calendar): True, i can choose between different sounds that remind my when something in the calendar is due. However, it only lets me choose options like "Ascend", "Freeze", "Facebook pop" and others which at most last 5 seconds. What I need is something that keeps beeping until I turn it off, like an alarm clock, or at least beeps really loud for more than a minute! 2. I can only choose from default settings when i set when to remind me of an event (5 mins, 10 mins, 24h...), on my old phone i was able to set a custom remind date+time, like "the day before at 9.15pm"! I'm sure this is possible as well in the Android calendar?3.Also very annoying in Sense: If I choose to lock my screen and use a drawing pattern to protect it, I have to FIRST drag the bar down and THEN draw the pattern to unlock, which is kinda unnecessary and very annoying, because I'm locking and unlocking my phone really often. Is there a way to disable the "unlock bar"?