It started off like any other work day, coffee, time lost on the computer and the realization that I had back to back meetings, just another day in non-profit management land! I figured I would grab a late breakfast with the martial unit before heading into the office for the meeting, since it was sure to be a day when lunch might be a questionable happening. So off we go to the diner we generally grab breakfast when I realize I probably should turn on my phone/communication device/office on the go since I was expecting a call from a rather important city official regarding my agency’s lack of commercial kitchen and whether or not we could come up with a mutually agreeable solution that would allow nutrition and cooking classes to resume. A situation that sadly had been at a standstill since we had reopened in our larger location back in January, needless to say a very busy day where I needed to be reached.
I power up my phone only to realize a few minutes later that my little symbol thingy that tells me I have connections wasn’t showing up. No problem, these gadgets are temperamental at times, let’s turn it off and try again in a few minutes. In the meantime, the man and I get to the diner, place our order and I try again…same thing. No connections. Still no biggie, I pop the battery out of my gadget and figure that will right this wrong. Food comes, conversation and eating ensues, I put the battery back, see I am a great multi-tasker! Only the phone clearly is having an issue, it doesn’t load up as normal and it’s clear I am still not connecting. Oh fuck me! I play some more and realize I can make calls, getting them seems to be an issue but the very nice man from the very intimidating office did indeed call and I was able to access the voice mail. Small miracles of miracles.
It’s at that point I am faced with the scary prospect…a day without my device…oh no! A day where I am clearly not going to be able to be by the computer at all times. Fuckity, fuck! I take a deep breath and remember that once upon a time, a device was merely a phone and no one expected instant replies to their emails. In that moment I was reminded of that movie from a few years back, A Day without a Mexican, yeah a poor bad comparison but these little gadgets are sneaky, we become so dependent on them that to be without them strikes fear in our hearts.
In the end, I survived the grueling work day, the nice city man and I made peace and came to a mutually agreeable solution but my next stop after work was the Verizon Wireless shop. Let me state that my phone is only 14 months old but in technology years, it’s a dinosaur, they don’t even carry my model in the store anymore and they are giving it away on the website. Needless to say when I walked in and explained my dilemma, I could see the desire to entice me into a new phone in their eyes. Sorry, kids, I need a phone with a keyboard and I like my phone, you will have to pry this baby out of my cold dead hands. In the end, the phone was saved (for now) but it took the dreaded factory reset. For those not in the know, when your phone gets the factory reset, all your shit, settings, apps and things that make your phone… well your phone are wiped clean. It’s like the phone came out the box again but it’s not sparkly and new.
I must say they tried hard in their low pressure way to get me to see my folly and give into the new phone, but I stood firm. So I am back with my sorta new phone, missing all the bits and pieces I kept in it, but damn it, I still have my much beloved keyboard. Yet the handwriting is on the wall, one day I will have to go over to the full touch screen technology. Nooooo! A day without a device, oh so painful but survivable.
