I am broken. Defeated. Completely worn down.
What happened? Everything. Yes, me and mine are healthy. I am still blessed beyond measure, and I am grateful to be here today. Well, mostly. I’ve lost something, and there is a huge void without it.
My HTC EVO 4G LTE is sick. Seriously ill.
Hold on a second. This isn’t you’re usual tech-addicted nerd whining about broken electronics. Not all of it, at least. This is a tech-addicted nerd whining about broken electronics AND broken productivity, thank you very much.
That device is my hub, and nothing underlines that more than my patched together process this week.
The device itself is exhibiting a weird screen issue. The best way to describe it something you’d see on a faulty LCD TV suffering from bleeding pixels. the entire screen is washed out and fairly unusable; even at 10% screen brightness, it is trippy. I consulted with some XDA/Android Forums stars, and concluded it must be hardware related, since the device acts the same in recovery.
But Wait, It Gets Worse?
Anyhoo, my to-do list is phone-based. It is cloud-backed up to Toodledo, so it can be accessed via connected laptop/computer, but now I am risk of not taking the blood pressure medication that, due to this horrendous occurrence, I especially need to take.
I am also blaming the missed devotional on this. Yes, I could indict myself for needing a reminder to commune with my Maker, but this post is all about blaming technology, so stick with me.
Forget About My Meds…
The biggest issue is my writing. I have become fairly proficient at ambidextrous one-handed smartphone typing via Swype keyboard, so much so that I do a good chunk of my draft on the Android WordPress app, and do the real fine-tuning online. My damaged phone is hurting me! Podcasts, music break, Flipboard, Ingress, Evernote… they are all gone. They are still here, but not right “here” so to speak.
Now, when I worked out my productivity flow, I wanted elements that would help in situations like this. I try to ensure that most parts are tied into cloud computing solutions so that I am not bound to one device. For the most part, it’s working. I might survive being without my trust EVOLTE.
And the phone? It appears it has to go into HTC for repairs. What gets my goat is the estimated cost of repairs. This baby is pristine; I’m weird like that. Three-piece protective case and screen-protector out the box… NEVER dropped. I think I expect a device that has been taken care of to last a bit more than just over a year.
More on that in the follow up post; my initial non-optimal contact with HTC is looking up due to the quick response of an HTCUSA executive.
Till then, will you join me in wiping away tears?
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