Week 4 Blog

Hello!

Hope you're having a wonderful day!

For my week four blog post you are going to hear my weekend of cursing technology and the lessons I learned. On Saturday, I was traveling to Chicago for a family 50th birthday party. While I was in route, I looked down at my phone and the screen was completely black. It was plugged into the charger, and I was listening to music through my phone's Bluetooth. After pulling over and trying to figure out what happened, it was obvious that my phone was done for.  It had many cracks and scratches since I first purchased it in October of 2017.  It had been acting up for a couple months, and I just never made it a priority to get a new one.  Knowing that the price of new phones is anywhere from 7-11 hundred, I was also waiting for a "free phone" deal; I seemed to hear a million times over the years.  I continued on my journey to Chicago not really realizing I have nobody's phone numbers memorized.  Luckily, my brother was expecting me (and I knew where I was going) so, I was able to enjoy my night and the party, even though I couldn't take anyone's phone number; take pictures; receive texts, emails, calls; and I couldn't show off pictures of my adorable kids!

When I woke up Sunday morning, I realized I was doomed. 

I realized I needed to get info off my old phone and get a new phone. But my screen was black... Can this be accomplished? Well, the quick answer is, no. I visited 4 Verizon stores on my travels back to Iowa. Not one store could fix my screen, and nobody could retrieve any data. I didn't realize how many apps I had on my phone, nor did I realize how I used so many on a daily basis. 

The good news is, I enrolled in this class, and I've been diving deep into technology more in the last 4 weeks, than I had in my whole life. The bad news is, I lost all my data, most my photos, hundreds of contacts, and all my authenticator "sign in's" for my 4 different email accounts, my three banks, Netflix,  CANVAS, Disney+, home internet, school LMS, UBER, garage door, Wellmark, thermostat, Fitbit, Spotify, Sirius XM, and worst of all, my Dexcom G6 transmitter I use to monitor my blood sugar. 

I was in panic mode. Finaly, after 4 hours at Verizon store in Moline, after my 5-hour drive from Chicago, I purchased a new phone!

I like it so far, and I hope to love it soon, but the last 4 days have been trying to retrieve all my log-in information to put my life back online. Unfortunately, all i need is time and patience, and both are very limited for me right now.  Monday, I looked around the quad cities for anyone who can get my info off my old phone.  I found one guy willing to try, but it would cost me $300 dollars, and it wouldn't guarantee they would find anything.

As I begin my Friday I am finally in the acceptance stage of my grief, and I'm embracing technology 100% and Ive come to the conclusion that I am finally at the mercy of technology. I have to choices; suffer the consequences or enjoy the benefits.

I closing, I highly recommend backing up everything and enjoy the ride!

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