all's well that ends well

I am sitting in my friend living room, watching her cats do what cats do best, relax. I want to be a cat in my next life. Or maybe a tortoise.

Last week, I trekked up the Whangie not once, not twice but three times in 24 hours. You may wonder why... well, I took a half day off work to spend it with my friend Jo. It was a beautiful morning, it was her birthday and we hadn't had a chance to meet for weeks. Our walk was wonderful, with lots of chat, a flask of coffee and some freshly baked tea bread. We enjoyed the view, found hairy caterpillars and watched birds. We saw a cuckoo chased by two small unidentified brown birds and observed the skylarks having a bonny old time. 

When Jo dropped me off at home I noticed I didn't have my phone. There wasn't much I could do because I had to attend an Exam Board meeting. I assumed the phone would be in a puddle or in a crevice in the rocky outcrop where we had our elevenses because the Find-My app could not find it, which was a bit disappointing. I reported it as lost on the same app and composed a wee message with my landline number for a potential finder then went to my meeting. I also cancelled two debit cards that I stupidly keep inside the phone cover. 

After the meeting, James and I drove back to the Whangie, climbed up slowly, each checking one side of the path. We searched some time around the rock formation after which the Whangie is named but no luck. This is the spot where I last used the phone to zoom in on the cuckoo we spotted. The phone did not ping on the Find-My app, with full reception and 4G for James' phone. I was not hopeful. We retraced our steps down to the car park, again scanning the sides of the paths. 

Thus defeated (but satisfied I had done my best) I went to book group, where I drank too much Prosecco and told everyone about my tortoise obsessions. We also discussed Japanese toilets and the book we read - Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, which I liked but could be improved by a rigorous editor. 

First thing the next morning I went to our Tesco Mobile shop to get a replacement SIM card and to purchase a new phone. Unfortunately, they can no longer issue replacement SIM cards in store. Something about fraud protection. On the phone, they asked me exactly the same security questions so not sure how moving the service to a remote location improves security. It is definitely worse for the customer because the SIM takes up to five days to arrive. It must be equally frustrating for the shop workers.

Then I started with all the marking that needed done. 

You never guess what happened about halfway through my pile of marking! Yes, my laptop played a sound, indicating that my lost phone was momentarily active. On the Whangie in amongst the rocks James and I had searched the previous evening. I abandoned work and we hot footed it back up the hill and with the location now clearly marked on the Find-My satellite view map on James phone, we closed in on the darned device. It was in a crevice under the rock I had sat on for my coffee, barely visible. I swear it smirked when I picked it up (completely undamaged and dry with 10% battery charge left). On the screen clearly visible in big fat letters was my message to the finder. Good to know that works!

spot the phone

With the Sim card blocked, I can't use it as a phone. I can't buy anything because I have neither Apple Pay nor debit cards. I can't sign into some apps that require two factor authentication via my blocked number. I hope I am not being kicked out of my work applications on my laptop because that also requires two factor authentication. 

I do however have a new phone that I don't need. It has no SIM card either. This will start a long overdue phone pass the parcel (as we call it). Sam gets my old phone which is only three years old as opposed to his five year old handset. Sam's old phone will get a new battery and will replace James' phone, which is missing part of the back and holds together only because it is in a shatterproof case. It is a mystery how it got shattered and how it still works. Meanwhile, Alistair has also lost his phone (last seen in the house, which we have searched twice top to bottom). He can have the shattered phone although I am not sure how to fit a replacement SIM card without it falling to pieces. Maybe he can have Richard's ancient work phone, recently replaced.No phone is wasted until it is no longer working. Then they go to recycling for disassembly. 

I finished marking on Sunday so I can start Monday without a back-log

Thanks for visiting 😊