That Time Sony Saved Me

How much do you rely on technology?! Do you use much of it? Do you set yourself limits? Or do you not really notice how much technology has become part of your life?! I am probably aware of how much I use technology but might be in a small amount of denial about it. Looking at the evidence… I have a tablet, a laptop, a camera, a desktop computer, a television in my room as well as the main lounge, all my gadgets in the kitchen and then of course my phone. People have joked that my phone is like my second child and yet obviously there is the underlying meaning there that I am surgically attached to it. It is a little upsetting I suppose but what they don’t realise is that my phone is literally my life in more ways than one, not become I’m obsessed but due to necessity. I try not to let it take away from my time with Alyssa and will put it away to go and play with her though it’s handy to have nearby for a quick photo of us. I’ve told you something here that is quite hard to admit and will go into more detail shortly but I have given you an idea of how important my phone is so imagine my reaction, the day I lost it…

Yeah I lost my phone. Well, I half lost it and half had it stolen. I spoke all about it in my post “Winter Sun: Family Holiday in Tenerife” – so yeah, not only did I lose/have my phone stolen but it was abroad, whilst on holiday… the first holiday I had taken in three years. 

I’m not going to lie… when I realised what had happened I burst into tears. Might sound pathetic but let me tell you this – I don’t buy anything for myself. All of my income goes on supporting and raising my child. I will happily live in holey Primark clothes bought years ago and made to last in order that my daughter has everything she needs including a roof over her head. However, the one thing I “treat” myself too is my phone which I have on a monthly contract. The worst thing is that when it was lost/stolen it was only four months old and was basically a brand new Samsung S8 and had my whole world on it.

So yes, I was that girl that sat and balled her eyes out because she no longer had her phone. The thing is that, when I say it is my world, I am not lying. That phone was my connection to my whole work world – emails, social media platforms, blogs, how am I meant to work on the go without a phone?! A PR will email 10 bloggers with an opportunity that only has 5 places and I always worry that if I don’t respond right away I will miss out, because it does happen. That loses me income and no income means no rent, electric, food and everything else.

Not only that but I am quite a solo person. I live with my mum and her partner but I only really have 1 local friend who has her own children and own life, though we chat and meet when we can. However, my truly gorgeous close friends and blogger friends are all over the country and we stay in touch via Whats App groups and Social Media and I have to say that without them at times I’d have gone insane. My closest friends and I all have children around the same age and we were all up breastfeeding in the night together and messaging each other when we were sad or happy or thought we were going nuts so not to even be able to message them and say hi was gutting.

I did have a tablet I could use – it was very old, very slow and couldn’t handle all the notifications that I get on a daily basis as a blogger. I had to strip it back to it’s bare essentials just to cope but couldn’t use the camera and obviously couldn’t add Whats App either. However, suddenly through the fog and tears in a blinding white light arrived Sony. I actually noticed that they had new campaigns running and got in touch with them to see if they were looking for any bloggers to work with. Their wonderful PR got in touch and confirmed that they were and offered me the new Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact and I squealed with joy and relief!

As I said, this all might have sounded rather pathetic to you but having a phone literally is one of the major tools to supporting my life and my daughter’s life as a single mother and now thanks to Sony, I have a brand new phone that is perfect for keeping me connected to both my work and my wonderful friends. Its got some amazing features as well that are going to be great for capturing moments with Alyssa – including a slow motion camera?! I’ll be doing a whole post on the phone itself and all it’s awesome features so keep your eyes peeled for that one!

That time Sony Saved Me… Literally!

*Sony sent the Xperia XZ1 in exchange for a review – all opinions are my own.