That time I lost my phone in the South

I work for a restaurant chain, a fast food one. Not going to give away the name because they're very strict on what we post about our job online.

In this chain, I am a trainer. I have been with this job for over a year now, which makes me a senior member.

Back in December (A YEAR AGO NOW!) I was given the wonderful opportunity to be paid to train new hires at a new opening location! I was in CT, and I was sent to RI for my first traveling opening.

When the opportunity came to go to Tennessee??? Of course I said yes! These trips include paid hotels, and paid flights/gas depending on how far you're traveling. And since I'm in CT, I got a plane baby!!

I'll share more details on the trip itself;

but let me tell you about how I lost my phone ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)

Aye.

My roommate had the rental car, and she had the day off. She drove me to the restaurant, and as I was getting out of the car I heard a thud. I ignored it, and went inside so I wouldn't be late.

I shouldn't have done that.

Later during my shift, I realized I had lost my phone. Another trainer pulled up my roommate's number to text her, she checked the car but my phone wasn't there. After my shift I checked the car again, and I went back to the restaurant TWICE. One of the police officers managing traffic for the restaurant pulled out his flashlight to help me look.

But of course- there was snow. And when you loose something in the snow, you’re not finding it until Spring. (Happened to my mom, also with her phone…)

I used the find my device Google feature to try and find it's location. I was crying as I watched the battery percentage slowly drop to zero. What did I find every where I looked? Nothing. I tried not to cry as I drove back to the hotel. I woke up super early the next day and went back to the restaurant, hoping that with some sunlight I'd have more luck.

Nothing.

I gave up.

I told everyone at work, and it was hell. I know there's general advice to have phone free days for your mental well-being and to disconnect from technology.

I can't swear but- balogne

I HATED not having my phone. I can't check my schedule, I can't use WhatsApp or call anyone(which is required for work), and all my notes and alarms were there!

I thank God I had my tablet. My tablet at least had discord on it, I sent an SOS to my sibling to inform my family that I had no phone and needed to get a new one. (This SOS didn't work because apparently this sibling had deleted discord)

Since I was in a new state, and my tablet didn't have data, I couldn't really drive to a phone store to get a new phone. And, everyone is busy. I needed a phone fast, and no one else had the time to really help me out before the stores closed.

So, I had to do something painful.

I ordered a new phone off of amazon- with one day shipping.

Since I had Amazon on my tablet, and thankfully hadn't lost my wallet, I paid with my credit card.

I couldn't set up my bank account on my tablet to use my debit card because when I tried to login… I needed… a pin sent to my phone. I tried to download Whatsapp to my tablet… but I needed a code sent to my phone. I tried to call customer service for my phone line… but I needed a code…

Arghhhh. ヽ༼ ಠ益ಠ ༽ﾉ

While I was without contact all these days- my mom hadn't heard anything from me while I was in a different state. She called the restaurant, super worried, and the manager handed the phone to me. I calmed her down and assured her that I was fine, just phone less.

When my phone came in, then came the issue. How the —- do I set it up? I can't call anyone, and all of my coworkers are working. I pulled up discord with crossed fingers, and called my friend.

It worked!

A friend of mine had also been worried when I stopped all contact. I explained everything, and she started helping me. I needed to set up my new phone with an esim. But guess what I needed?

A CODE.

And, what do I do if I don't have a code?

CALL someone. ╥﹏╥

Through the discord call, my friend called customer service on her own phone. Through the discord speaker, I spoke the the customer service lady and she was a gem. My phone was set up, and all of the worried messages from my mom dinged their way through.

I finally had a phone again!

Looking back- I absolutely dropped my phone and someone stole it and deactivated me from tracking it. Thankfully, my Google account didn't report anything dangerous to my personal information, and I've been looking for anything strange in my accounts but nothing happened.

But that was a… not fun time.

I'm thankful I have a phone again, and now I have a purse so hopefully nothing falls from my pocket ever again.

I'm sure there's a lesson in not being dependant on your phone. And doing things for yourself and all that… no thanks.

I can't check my bank account without my phone, even if I know the log in. Even if I know my mom’s number, I'd have to ask to strangers to use their phone to communicate with her, and she has no way to reach out to me first. I can't photograph memories that I wish to keep. Or check my work schedule outside of the building.

But worst of all- I lost a voice recording that I paid a voice actor for ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·

So I guess the lesson is to pay for unlimited google drive space? No, the lesson is to be careful and aware of your surroundings. And rushing things is more costly than doing it carefully in the first place.

Aye.