My mobile phone died on me last week. I woke up to a blank screen. The alarm didn’t go off. I checked the power lead. Tapped the screen to make it come alive. Tried to re-boot the phone. Nothing worked.

The phone had literally fallen apart. The back casing was off. The glue holding it together came unglued, and I could see the insides. Not much good as I didn’t/don’t know what’s what, and how to get it up and running again.

Yes, I have abused my phone. I’ve dropped it several times. Not on purpose, of course. I wipe it down with sanitizer every day, a habit I haven’t yet been able to shake off from the Covid years. The day before the phone called it quits, I took photos in the rain, of the rain, and got it a little wet. The phone is not waterproof. It’s also quite old as it was a pre-pandemic purchase. I think I may have caused its demise or at least hastened it.

It was Friday morning. I had no way of contacting/informing anyone of my inaccessible situation. Many things played in my head. One, I was seriously grateful it didn’t abandon me on Thursday. There was a collective wreath contribution organised for my classmate, who had passed away on Thursday. Without my mobile, I would have missed it.

Two, I needed to get in touch with my husband. I knew I could use my mum’s landline for that. I was at my mum’s on night duty. On cue, the phone, a bundled Time Telekom and Astro service package, didn’t work as well. A technical manoeuvre ensued. I turned off all the power switches and turned them on again. Voila. I was able to call my husband. Only because I remember his mobile number by heart. I don’t and still don’t know what my home and his office landlines are.

Three. Kalyani, my mum’s caregiver, whose mobile number I couldn’t remember. I didn’t make the effort to memorise it because it was already in my now non-functioning mobile. What if she needed to get hold of me, and me, her? Four, how do I order vegetarian food on Grab for my mum’s lunch? Five. I was grateful it wasn’t my mum’s oxygenator. As bothered as I was about my phone falling apart, it was the lesser of two headaches.

A headache or more to the point a migraine. I know how important mobile phones have become in our digitalised world. I cannot leave home without it. I cannot live without it. A reality that became immediately, and disconcertingly apparent. From day one, and many days thereafter, I was painfully reminded of my loss.

I needed a mobile phone to buy a new replacement mobile phone. There was no question of repairing the old one as that would probably take a few days, and what if it couldn’t be repaired. I couldn’t afford to be in a phoneless state. Back to my purchase. The payment could only be completed after the Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) sent by my bank to my mobile phone was verified by me. I was phoneless. What to do? The staff at Maxis, the network service provider from whom I bought my new phone, inserted my SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module i.e. with my specific phone number) into one of the many wi-fi connected mobile phones on display. She completed the purchase transaction for me.

My new phone was empty of information. This worried me. I thought I had done back-ups on my old phone. Where though? Google Drive. Or so I imagined. The only thing saved on Google Drive were some photos before November 2022. Nothing subsequent was available. I lost all my phone contacts bar 6. My WhatsApp contacts were equally sad. Everything was gone including information on my mum’s medicines and my go-to data on Samsung Notes. My pharmacy, retail and banking apps that I needed for purchases and transactions were no longer there. Big sigh! Big lesson!

I also have new phone issues. Understanding, finding and familiarising with the phone’s features and functions. For instance, my WhatsApp doesn’t display sender names. Yes, yes, the names of the few contacts that I have. It just appears as WhatsApp. There is no headphone jack. I can’t listen to BFM without Bluetooth headphone/earbuds. The speaker sounds fuzzy. App downloads were initially frustrating but better now. All else seem ok. I bought the Samsung A34 5G after a quick Google ‘search and compare’ of phone models offered specially at Maxis. Why? Maxis’ price was RM299 plus a 24-month subscription contract versus RM1,599 at Samsung stores.

I’m on a rebuilding mode. It will take me awhile before my mobile and I get up to speed. In the interim, I’ve backed up my information on Google One.  I hope.