For the longest period of my life, I had never felt as handicapped as I have felt in the last six months, simply because my mobile phone went through some changes. It is now that I realize that my whole world really cannot exist without digital technology.
MeI know, I know. You may be wondering just how dependent my life really is on these tiny semiconductor devices that, you know, were created by humans like myself. If you're a millennial like me, you'll probably be able to relate and won't see my "reliance" on technology of this age as an issue.
You see, I grew up in the time when digital technology began reaching every family in their homes—the time when every single house could have some digital technology at their fingertips.
We didn't have these fancy gadgets we have now when I was a kid. But growing up, all these technologies started booming, and I was privileged enough to explore them at such a young age. It's probably why I'm so immersed in it right now, as they always fascinate me.
I was usually the kid my folks, neighbors, and other old peeps around me would reach out to whenever they had some issues with their devices. And when I did solve their problems, I looked like a tech prodigy to them, which I wasn't.
Fast forward to why we are here...
I went to bed one Saturday night like a normal person would, but with my phone close to me, as I usually just fall asleep in the middle of doing something on my phone (usually playing chess). And then the following morning, which should have been a normal Sunday morning, I woke up to find half of my screen (vertically) blank.
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I could see only one half of the screen just fine, but the left half was just black all the way. So I couldn't even see anything that was displayed on that side, but the entire screen's touch response was perfectly fine. This was just the beginning of my rollercoaster ride with the phone.
Doing my normal activities with my phone slowly became much more of a challenge as I really could not navigate the phone easily. It was then that I began to use my PC more—mostly for doing Hive.
I had only joined Hive recently, and I was just getting the hang of the whole engagement idea. So that was a pretty good (or bad) excuse to just become inactive because I wasn't used to using my PC much.
But they say blessings come in disguise, right? Well, I didn't ask for this kind of disguise, but in hindsight, I am grateful that my phone went bad.
You see, I never really used my PC to do more than just watch Netflix and chill and read school documents. I never bother with anything else because my phone can do so much for me.But now that it was on sabbatical, I had to learn, relearn, and unlearn.
The first challenge was that I couldn't type. My prowess on the keyboard on my phone was commendable. You could even call me a ninja typist. I was proficient with speed and swiping. The inventor of swipe typing is a genius, I must say. But on the keyboard of my PC, I couldn't do much...after playing Mavis Beacon so much as a kid. I guess that's what a lack of practice does.
Thanks to my brother, @ starstrings01, and his impressively intimidating dexterity with typing on keyboards, I was spurred into learning to type. And damn! It was frigging challengingk at first.
I was very inconsistent at first, as it was a big challenge to think of 10 fingers for every word. But then, the drive and spirit of persistency kicked in, and I was determined to push through. I had started learning about it way before the whole phone ordeal, but it was around July that I began to get serious with it. I didn't have many choices.
I started with a speed of 10 WPM on Mavis Beacon, and then I quickly grew to about 20 WPM. MB on my PC began to misbehave eventually, so I opted for online typing sites to learn from and practice with.
And somehow, from then until now, I have been able to hit my highest speed of 69 WPM. How I zoomed from zero to hero in five months is a story I'll sure tell, but for another day.
Fast forward to the present...
You may have wondered, "Why didn't you just get your phone fixed?" Well, the thing is, I really wanted to, but there were some factors that inhibited me and some that made even myself reluctant about it.
I never like to have repairs done on my gadgets, and this is because over here, counterfeit parts are more like the norm. Having my phone repaired came with some caveats. And they centered around the fact that the phone may just never be like it was. I may just find one or two more things damaged in the course of getting someone to fix it for me.
And also, I had a lot of bills on my plate that I just couldn't think much about actually getting my phone repaired. So, I just stuck with my PC.
With time, things started to get worse and worse with the phone. And just about a month or two ago, the cameras just began to "not work." It happened right in the middle of shooting this video.
Photography...?
Well, just before the screen went bad, I was into phone photography, sort of. I loved taking photos with my phone and then processing them to make them look really great, in my opinion.
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I could still manage to take photos and then move them to another device for editing, but when the camera blacked out, I was down to zero.
The changing narrative...
My phone has served me well over the years. It had been loyal for 3 years, so packing up now deserves nothing more than a general salute to bid it farewell. In this review, you'll find how it stuck more than a brother all this time: It deserves a befitting closure.
I didn't go far from its family line and went on to get one of its successors. And for every day that I have spent with it, I am loving that I made a carefully tailored decision according to my needs.
ℍ𝕖𝕪, 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕥, 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘, 𝕠𝕣 𝕦𝕡𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕖. 𝕀𝕥'𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕.
I can imagine how those months were with you. Good thing, you used the opportunity to make your PC ur companion and became a faster typist 😂😂
I played with Mavis beacon those days, I could type so fast like a computer but not anymore.
I love using my phone for hive and other things more than pc...it's just super convenient for me...I do hope that issues like urs won't arise for me too cos I don't like using pc ..lolz
But Jay, your phone tried oo ..3 good years...that's superb 👌...you managed it well...I guess the guy was even tired 😴 of you. lolz 😂😂😂
Glad you now have a new phone...Oya, please do and publish a song. I have missed that voice 😉🥰😍
My PC is one of my closest companions now, alongside my new phone. And yes, I am now a fast typist. But guess what? I just realised how super slow I have become with a mobile phone.
Now, I make a conscious effort to do most of my engagement with my mobile phone. That way, I can relearn how to type fast and not over-rely on my keyboard dexterity. That'll be going back to square one, somehow.
I think we actually are many that only used Mavis Beacon for fun. We only wanted to get to the end, and that was why we became good at typing then. But as we grew older and busier, we just never practiced.
I really hope (pray, in fact) that you don't go through what I did in the past couple of months. The transition wasn't easy. But if you could learn to type, you should. It actually is satisfying to be able to make posts in under 30 mins.
My phone "over-tried" in fact! I love to get gadgets that will last me for as long as necessary. I love them to be durable and reliable.
Don't worry, I have a song cooking up. I have so missed singing on Hive as well.
Whew! I can imagine waking to find your device gone. Exact thing happened to me twice, 3 years ago, but mine was vertical lines all over my screen and I couldn't see a thing. The first time I prayed for a miracle and it happened, the second time I knew my phone had been called home. I repaired but it didn't last long.
Like you, I rely so much on my phone too. People think it addictive but I disagree. Why waste all that possibility with a device thinking it's addiction? I knew it wasn't an addiction because after that incident, I spent over 5 months without one and I was fine!😂
But having it pack up when you needed it the most, somebody must've been pretty upset at you 😂. Blessings must have a thing for disguises 😂, I guess the camouflage makes the experience more fun😂
😂😂 my table. I can recollect intentionally typing nonsense just to get to the end of the stories. I wish I practiced then 🤦🏾♀️😂
At the end it's good you waited and made your decisions carefully.
Ps: Get your soap and water ready, we must wash the successor. Purification rites yunno, to ward off evil 😂😂😂
For the same reason that phones never remain the same after making some repair is why I was reluctant to fix mine. I just feared that something could go wrong, so I saved up for a new one instead.
I think it's people that do not know how much productivity they could yield from leveraging on the power their mobile devices provide that reason in such a manner. I mean, "I am making money with my mobile phone and you are telling me to stop?"
I wonder why phones can't last forever. If everything goes well with the phone, and there will be zero abuse, why not? But I guess nothing lasts forever, really, and so it had to pack up someday. It just happened at the wrong time. Yet, I don't think there could ever be "the right time."
We are plenty on the Mavis Beacon matter. Many of us started strong, but take a look at us now.😄
I have taken it to my pastor for spiritual protection and I am assured of longevity. Thank you...😅🤭
This is truly a blessing in disguise, well I'll tell my funny phone story till then I guess I'd have to change my phone, cause unlike you I have no PC to save me, as for typing speed I think I'm faster than you are on the PC. Thanks to working at a cyber cafe for months 🥰🥰💪💪💪💪
Give us Photography baby 😍😍
Oh, wow. You are faster than 69 WPM??? You sure are damn fast.
What happened to your PC, by the way?
And yes, I'm bringing more photography now. I'm new to it, actually. So I'm looking into exploring it.
My screen got broken 😭😭😢, but I'll just get a new phone instead . Looking forward to your other contents
Ayy...I know how that can be. I do hope you get a new phone.
I look forward to seeing your content as well.
Thank you 😊❤️
69 Words per minute.. In 5 months you became faster than I am. I have been typing for years and my max typing speed was 65 words per minute, then I dropped and was finding it very hard to pass that 60wpm, but you passed 65 WPM as if it was nothing. Man na you oh!...
Your phone was used for 3 years before it developed this fault, I must say it has tried. I don't usually like using a phone for more than 2 years. When a phone is getting to its second year, I always think of changing it. Now you got a new device with a badass camera, I am sure you would set Hive on fire with it.
I believe having a mentor like mine was the main catalyst to my growth. If only you had mine. It took an obsession (or addiction, maybe) over getting pretty comfortable with using the keyboard to cause the leap.
As much as I love to explore great phones and their prospects, I still prefer to stick with one for a couple of years before changing.
Now that I have a phone, Hive is definitely going to be set on fire. I am now making deliberate efforts to take really good photographs. And I'll be sharing them often from now.
I bow for your mentor oh...make me self go dey mentor myself be that as I no see mentor to mentor me...
I just wish I have the same eye for photography like you do.
I only try to capture what I see.
It’s just like been cut off from the world. Ago, I had such experience. Omg!! I missed so many clients
You can imagine. I didn't find it appealing to have to go through all that for months.