I had to live without my phone for 10 days and it didn't go well.

Few months after I bought a phone, the worst thing that could happen to a person that bought a new phone happened to me. My phone started to dysfunction. My brand new phone, that I was paying way more than I could afford, was having issues. And like any normal person, I too went through the 5 stages of grief. 

I pretended like I did not see that my apps were crashing and my phone was restarting randomly. I would just put my phone face down when that happened because I did not want to deal with it (kids, don't try this at home). And then I levelled up to the next stage. My phone would restart exactly when I was trying to send an important text, make an important call...or take a picture, or a million, of a beautiful sunset and boy, did that piss me off. I tried to look up solutions online but I couldn't find any that worked for me. Then I started bargaining. Is my phone shutting down and starting up on its own, which takes a total of 20 secs, really that big of a deal? I felt like there were bigger problems in my life. Then, I started to get sad. Why must it happen to me? I had a new phone after using my old one for several years so I really did deserve to have an upgrade. Why must the phone gods punish me? Oh well. But then I realised, to my utter dismay, that just like rest of my problems, failing to acknowledge it wouldn't make it go away. I had to reach out to support. I was a grown woman in my mid-20s, for god's sake. Why wouldn't I just reach out? 

What followed was precisely why. Talking to customer support was a massive pain in the butt. In total, I have probably spent 2 whole days and nights talking to a myriad of customer reps via text, phone and twitter in the past few months. Finally, one of them was helpful but of course, she told me the last thing that a bearer of a phone in 2020 wants to hear: I had to send my phone for repair and that it would take TEN DAYS for me to get it back. 

I remember it being a specifically bad week and I was livid to hear that I wouldn't have my phone for 10 days either. I made a mental checklist of things I used my phone for. Music, paying for things at stores, using my banking app, bank transfers for rent, checking the bus schedule, tracking my steps, tracking my period, my nightly meditation routine...my burgeoning tiktok career with 3 followers, among many, many other important and unimportant things. How would I survive? Was it even possible? What was life? 

I had so many questions and worries in my head about how I would do anything at all while I was on the bus to the repair shop. It was a bad week and things had taken a turn for the worst and I was spiralling. But how bad could it really be? Let's just say it was a week where my resolve was tested to the max. 

After I dropped off the phone for repair, I made my way to the bus stop and was thrilled to see that there was a bus schedule on the bulletin board. But I quickly realised that I didn't know what time it was because I haven't worn a watch since I was 13. A girl came by after a while but was it still acceptable to ask what time it is in today's day and age? There was no way she wouldn't run for the proverbial hills in my extremely tropical city so I stayed mum. The bus came after a while and I went home. 

Upon reaching home, I immediately realised that I had a big problem on my hands. I had infromed my friends and family that I had had to send away my phone so I'd only be available on whatsapp. Turns out, whatsapp desktop doesn't work unless you put your phone right next to it. The worst had come to  the worst, I had to reactivate the social media that I absolutely abhor because it turned out, the only way I could communicate with anyone anymore was using facebook. Could this day get any worse? *spoiler alert* Yes. Yes, it could.

I was upset and I just wanted to clear my head and there was an event happening in my city which promised good music and food. And I don't know a lot of people in the city so I just go to them alone. Usually, it's not a big deal because I love being by myself and have come to enjoy solitude a lot more. So. I got dressed, looked pretty and walked my way to the event feeling good about myself......only to be turned back because I was alone and didn't have a phone on me for the contact tracing app because of the virus-that-shall-not-be-named. 

The nice lady at the gate: HellOAr (this is how they say hello in Australian btw), do you have the app installed? I need you to show it to me before I can let you in. 

Me: Hi, sorry I'm without a phone....

Lady: Are you here with anyone?

Me: Uhhh.. No, I'm here alone...

Lady: Can you give me your friend's number, or boyfriend's, or brother's so we can put it down instead of yours?

Me: *with no friends, no boyfriend, no prospects for one and with my brother, whom I was refusing to admit I missed, was at the Sydney airport waiting to board a flight to Nepal as we spoke* Uhhh...

Lady: I'm so sorry. I can't let you in without it :(

Me: This is fine. I understand, thank you. 

When actually, it wasn't fine. Nothing was fine. Life was coming at me from all directions and all my efforts to ✨ stay positive ✨ were not working. I cried my way back home, like any normal person. It was a really bad day. Day 1 without a phone couldn't have been worse.

Day 2 was bad too. I couldn't listen to music when I was out on a run, or take any pictures of the million little things I take pictures of everyday and had to carry my purse with me everywhere to pay for things. And most importantly, I'd randomly get scared when I was out because if anything bad happened to me, there was no way for me to ask for help or let anyone know. 

Rest of the days went by in a blur. After a few days, I got accustomed to it and started to see the silver lining on this extremely dark cloud. Being completely disconnected definitely had its perks. I wasn't as accessible to people and news anymore. When I was out the house, I had no choice but to be present which was definitely a breath of fresh air. Escapism in the form of music, social media, news, phone calls etc wasn't available. I knew that after I had my phone back, I would miss this part the most. So later on, I really embraced the disconnect because it was unlikely I would get to experience that again anytime soon.

Oh wait, in between all this, I also had my period and could barely get out of bed so I fb messaged my cousin and she brought me medicine and dinner but since I wasn't online she had to call for me from outside my balcony because I was sleeping and wouldn't open the door. So there's that.

But really, I lived lifetimes in those 10 days. I also picked up interesting skills and did things I hadn't done in a while. 

1) Wrote an article on moving away from home and living alone, which I absolutely loved writing. Here's a link if you haven't read it already: On moving 6629km alone away from home. Writing always brings me so much joy. It was great. 

2) Took pictures on my laptop after many, many years because I looked especially cute this day and what was I going to do? NOT take a picture??

3) Made momo and wanted to take a picture to send it to friends and family who worry that I don't eat well so had to finesse it with my laptop. How did I take a bird's eye view picture with a laptop? A magician never reveals her secrets. 

In all fairness, I'd say it wasn't as bad as I'd expected. It was super inconvenient but apparently you can survive without a phone in 2020. Who knew? I got my first phone when I was 15 and prior to that, I did go everywhere without a phone. I didn't have as many responsibilities then and 15-year-old Anusha and I live very different lives, but if it was possible then, it's possible now too, though it was super annoying and again, far from convenient.  

However, it did make me think long and hard about our reliance on our phones and how it doesn't have to be a bad thing. Phones make life ***infinitely*** easier. What ISN'T possible with just a few taps on the metal-glass rectangle? Yes, we're all in an extremely unhealthy, co-dependent relationship with our phones but at the same time I don't think we cherish the technology enough. 

Lastly, I'm sure you're wondering if my phone got repaired. IT DIDN'T. I've been communicating with their customer support constantly and it's looking like they'll replace the phone but I'll again have to go without it for a few days before the replacement gets approved. So, yay me, I guess?