Tragedy in New Westminster

A real-life account of three-to-six weeks of true Android loss

By Allie Davison, Columnist

Sunday, September 14—Day 1

Today the unthinkable happened. I’ve lost the one constant in my life. The only thing I’ve ever been able to truly count on is broken. My best friend. Excuse me while I go cry hysterically in the corner.

Monday, September 15—Day 2

I admit, that moment was not one of my best. The wailing scream I let out when I handed my best friend over to the Bell Mobility service and product consultant may have been just a tad dramatic, but come on—it was a shock to my system to give up my phone.

This is longest I’ve been without a phone since I was 13 and received a Nokia 3310 for Christmas. That phone didn’t have a camera, and the only game it had was Snake, but I didn’t know any better and I was in love.

It’s now been four days since I’ve had a working phone. And only one since I handed it over. Three-to-six weeks (minus one day) until they say I’ll get it back. Fuck. My. Life.

Wednesday, September 17—Day 4

Maybe it won’t be so bad. Like, a learning experience or something. A chance for me to mature as a human, sans technology. I’ve never know adult life without a phone, and it’s time to learn. How I face the challenges of not having music on the headphones, or setting up a lunch date without being able to let them know if I’ll be late at the last minute (or worse, waiting alone not know if someone is just stuck in traffic, or completely forgot that we’re meeting). How will I deal? How will I grow?

Monday, September 22—Day 9

This totally sucks. I don’t want to grow. I don’t want to deal.

Friday, September 26—Day 13

It’s been almost two weeks that I’ve lived without a phone. Time has slowed down, it feels like months have gone by. I’ve tried to put things in perceptive by making a pros vs. cons list. Terrible idea. Cons won by a landslide and I am now even more depressed.

I’ve stopped making plans with people; they’re too stressful to follow through on without my technological companion. I wouldn’t even leave the house, if it wasn’t for work.

The world has grown silent, without my cheerful notification bell ringing through the room. I have gone silent, unable to reach out to my friends and loved ones. My life is going silent.

Thursday, October 2—Day 19

Rejoice! Salvation is here! A phone will soon once again be safely in my hands. Not my phone, but a loaner phone. The sun is shining, birds are singing and my life has begun once more.