iPhone Widow

Those of you who know me well will be aware that I have been ‘iPhone-less’ for five days now! In the past, I have lost many BlackBerrys, and yes, these have been alcohol-induced moments of stupidity; however this time it was not the case, which made the situation even more gutting. I was on Newcastle’s Osborne Road, had one glass of wine with friends and while quickly making a dash from the car to my door in one of the UKs summer downpours, having had three hours sleep in three days due to assignments, dropped my beloved phone – or MJ, as we call him (not an interesting enough story to divulge!), unknowingly into a puddle.

Two of my best friends also became iPhone widows this year – one stolen and one left in a taxi; I became witness to the devastating effects (dramatic, yes…) of losing a piece of equipment which nowadays contains almost everything that we love. After locating my phone on the wonderful piece of modern technology that is iCloud, I embarked on what I seen as an MI6 style plan, visiting police stations, making statements, and moment by moment tracking my phone, taking screen-shots of poor, lost little MJ’s whereabouts! Quite honestly I became obsessed and am sure I was a nightmare for anyone who had to deal with me at the time!

This story, unlike many, does however have a happy ending with MJ being located and now waiting, excitedly I’m sure, for me at a friend’s house. As awful as the few days without my iPhone have been, I have had a big wakeup call to how reliant I am on this piece of equipment, and resultant, how much I am missing out on every day. Don’t get me wrong, as soon as I have MJ back in my handbag I will no doubt rely as heavily on him as I ever have done, however the past few days have in a way, been a dream. While sipping a coffee waiting to meet someone, I read a newspaper (hardcopy!), and for half an hour I enjoyed learning about what is actually going on in the world at the moment, both trivial and significant. When walking to the supermarket, instead of gazing intently at my iPhone screen, I became more observant of the world around me. And when having conversations with my friends and family, I gave them my full attention, not swayed by a Twitter of Facebook notification.

The loss of my iPhone, although severe at the time, made me realise how much I miss when I do have it. I have become over-reliant on the ease of entering the virtual world, with a click of a button bringing me directly to my Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest page; instead, with no technology I said hello to those who passed me by in the street, heard the birds sing in the morning, and made sure, when I did call my parents, that I told them everything of value; ending a phone call with ‘Talk later, I love you’ had a little more meaning when I knew I wouldn’t speak to them for a few days.

One of our last nights with both Debs and MJ

I guess what I’m trying to say is that although technology is there to be loved and shared, we must ensure that it doesn’t take over our lives, as mine had done. The ‘real world’ is there to be seen, heard and appreciated on a minute-by-minute basis and it becomes all too easy to ignore it when we have our lives wrapped up in one piece of technology. I’m going to see how long I can continue with this mind frame; I wish I was more confident that it will last, but I’m a tad wary that when MJ returns so will iPhone obsessed Laura.

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Writing this blog has been on my ‘To-Do’ list for quite some time now; I have always managed to put it off through university stress, spending my ‘holidays’ with family or chilling out with my friends into the early hours every evening. I don’t know why I keep putting it off in all honesty; I have always felt the need to share some of my more ‘insightful’ thoughts (if they exist!) with others, however I guess the fear of readers’ disliking what I’ve blogged always remained front-of mind.

So, just a little about me…My life has been filled with what I can only describe as the best family anyone could ask for (yes, everyone’s are), but I disregard this fact, believing mine to be truly special. My youngest brother is my greatest inspiration and has fuelled many of my personal interests; I love charity, am inspired by true perseverance and bravery and have a strong belief that everyone should be treated equally – I don’t believe in social prejudice be it based on gender, race, age or disability, to name but a few. My greatest loves have in part already been mentioned; my family and friends are my life, I also love travelling and charity and then to the more miniscule, feminine things such as florals, baking and taking photographs; I have simple pleasures.

Personally, I’ve always been one of life’s ‘talkers’, it is something I’ve always found relatively easy, and although I know many people will read this and think the obvious, that yes, talking is easy, I have many friends and family members who, when asked to public speak, would rather crawl and hide under the nearest rock. Putting these abundant words and thoughts into a blog however seems rather daunting and for quite some time now has been too scary! However, I have taken the leap, making no promises about my blogging content or style, but merely sharing my thoughts, memories, personal loves and hopes with you all!

I hope you enjoy what is to come; remember to comment with any criticism or advice – I’m willing to take anything on-board and work with it!