Yesterday was a bit of a shock to the system.
I forgot my mobile phone at home!
Quelle horreur!
Ever since I got a mobile phone (gawd! nearly 20 years ago now!), I’ve very rarely forgotten it. I can count on one hand the times that I’ve forgotten the phone, and each time, I felt like I lost a limb (and in some situations, sometimes more than one major limb!). There is this crippling sort of fear that encompassed me each time. I think it had something to do with my control issues. I didn’t feel on top of things when I didn’t have my phone. I felt like my most convenient (and comfortable) method of communication was snatched away. I remember feeling the same way when I moved back home in the Philippines. Mobile phone contracts are different in the Philippines and 3G access isn’t built into the mobile phone plans so I didn’t have access to the internet in the same way I do here (24/7 unlimited connection to 3G and a pocket mifi gizmo is a necessary creature comfort to me!).
Yesterday, I went to London and discovered whilst I was on the train that I’d forgotten my phone. I desperately wanted to get off at the next stop and go back to my flat and get my beloved phone. I didn’t. And for the rest of journey into the Big Smoke I felt utterly bereft. I could feel the familiar stirrings of a panic attack beginning. I was going to LONDON without my phone. How was I going to survive?!? Now bearing in mind that I had my handbag (which contained my emergency pouch – lippy, emergency meds, hand cream, pressed powder, hand wipes and tissues!), my purse (debit and credit cards) and my trusty bridge camera, I was panicking about the situations when I might have to use my phone. Also, Alan was with me (with HIS mobile phone).
But yesterday, despite the heat and humidity (it reached 31°C in London!), was the most fun I’d had. Alan and I had actual conversations and I was actually in the moment, enjoying each experience. Yesterday ended up being one of the best days ever. Sometimes, accidents turn out to be the best things. Going off the grid, albeit inadvertently, was a good thing to do. Maybe I will be brave enough to do this again!
Yellywelly 