Me: IT Genius

Ok, so as I was on the phone talking to Monique, a volunteer for 200 Orphanages, my I phone died.

I knew it was going to happen, it's a first generation I Phone 3 g and it had been slowing and losing its charge for weeks. Mr. D warned me time and again...get a new battery. Like this would be simple.

So, when the I Phone actually died, I plugged it in and it wouldn't charge. I was in full panic mode... you know the feeling. I have 1000, yes 1,000 photos on the phone, my contacts, notes, texts, and calendars were backed up, but the 3+ years of photos...  on the spot beauties of grandkids mostly. These were memories, photos I may be able to do without, but didn't want to. So, a rescue attempt ensued.

Since it didn't help to charge the phone from my computer or the wall, I thought I'd go to get the new phone I knew I needed. It was time. Best Buy and the AT&T store were nearby, so I drove there at 8 in the morning after dropping Shammai at school. I went to Best Buy first thinking they were open, because there doors were open, cars in the lot...lots of people milling about...but it was just the construction crew they were letting in. Psyche! Next stop the At&T store. They don't open until 10. Well of course they don't! It's Scottsdale.

So, I came back home, did a few things and then at 11 went back to the At&T store. My new phone choices were the I Phone 4 G for $100 or the I PHone 3gs (almost the same phone, so no new accessories to purchase) for $1.08 cents. Guess which one I chose? I actually paid for my new I Phone with pocket change: 4 quarters, a nickel and 3 pennies. It really made me feel frugal. Frugal and a computer genius all in one day.

Well, the nice gent from At&T got my new phone all set up so I could make calls and I went find the Battery Plus store to buy a new battery for the old phone to at least recover the lost photos.  At Batteries Plus, a young guy  (maybe 25) at the counter said they could order a batter and have it in a week. RIGHT! I'll just wait...HA! Well that wasn't going to work, so he found me a store in Chandler many miles away that had one in stock. I went to Chandler.

Then he said... "I can give you some instructions and maybe your husband can help you install it."

Wait... did I just time travel to the 1950s? Yes. I must have because 25 year olds don't really think this way, do they? He really said this. Let me repeat it for effect:

"Let me give you instructions and maybe your husband can help you install it."

After coming out of shock, I said, "Do you really think my husband is more techie than I am? Do you know how sexist that is?"

He back-pedalled, hemmed and hawed and gave me a few websites (that was nice of him as I probably couldn't find these on my own) and rushed me out of the store.

Let me repeat that... from a 25 year old young man to Jan, an ardent Helen Reddy fan: "Maybe you can have your husband help you install it."

Oh boy.

Any way, I go to the next Battery Plus store that actually had an I Phone battery in stock and this young man tells me that he can have someone put it in and it will be ready next week. RIGHT.

He told me it's really hard and will take you more than an hour. WTH? I said, "Give me the $40 battery and I will call you when I am done."

So... I went home and immediately began to tinker with the I Phone. It indeed took me an  hour + to get the battery out...I followed an online tutorial from a website provided by the sexist clerk. I learned that one has to be careful not to disturb the important parts of the I Phone, especially not knowing what or where those special parts are. But, heck, the perky little gal on the Internet could do it, so why not me?

I got the battery in and didn't get all the screws back in because they are like small...miniscule. Seriously, how could one's husband with bigger hands than mine and fatter fingers even begin to put those tiny screws back in. This is what took the hour +. I finally gave up on the screws, put it back together sans screws and plugged it in.

NOTHING. I thought I would have to send my phone to the Apple store for recovery... then realized I had just put in a non apple battery, so I would be charged a lot. I reinstalled the original battery just in case I had to take it in. I also prayed for help...which if that had not been my fall back position, I may have not had to go through the battery insults.

But, it now dawned on me that the battery may not be the problem. So, I went to my favorite search engine: ASK. "My I phone died and won't take a charge. I was led to a few do-it yourself fix it sites one of which a girl like me gave this as a solution: "Just reset the phone, then plug it into your computer. Turn your computer off, then back on. Do this a few times if it doesn't work the first time."

I followed her instructions. After a few tries it worked. I then looked up how to save my photos from the phone without syncing. I again asked ASK "How to sync my photos from the I Phone. It led me to a little You Tube video to show me how simple it was... another little girl doing the tutorial from her home computer...

So, now all is well with the world again. I have my new phone, my photos are recovered, I own quite a few small screws, an unused I phone battery and have a renewed appreciation for Helen Reddy.

Thank God for the Internet, zip lock bags and the swiffer.