a stolen phone, a love song, and a bet

A Stolen Phone:

I have been working on my own mobile app idea since before I started working at Cannabis College. My plan was to start writing code in January 2018 and finish by June 2018. I even had a prototype ready to show (see below).

During these last few months the app had been taking shape, but I still hadn’t had time to work out how I would make money off of it. Then a friend told me about an app called “AppyPie”. This allowed users to share their screen with others via a live video stream. I figured that it could be useful for my app. I thought about adding this feature, but decided to wait until after we launched our app.

On May 10th, my phone was stolen while I was at work. I immediately went online and searched for information about recovering my phone. Unfortunately, it only took me 4 hours to realize that I wasn't going to find my phone anywhere and that it probably wouldn't ever be able to be fixed. That's when I realized that my app was down. I lost over $400 of work that I spent weeks doing.

I began thinking about what I could do to help myself get back on track. I tried to focus on the positive side of things. But the biggest struggle was just the fact that I didn't have a phone anymore. I couldn't get any apps written because I didn't have access to my development computer. And I couldn't upload my prototype to AppyPie because I didn't have my phone

I made some calls and contacted a couple people who were willing to give me their old phones. One person said he'd let me use his Android phone. Another person offered to lend me her iPhone. Both of them agreed to meet up with me at a local Walmart store to trade phones.

When I got to the store, I was nervous. Would they think I stole their phone? What if they wanted their stuff back? We talked briefly about swapping phones and then one guy pulled out his phone. He opened it up and showed me a bunch of apps he had downloaded onto his phone. I asked him if I could borrow a charger. So I plugged it into my car adapter and plugged it into his phone. Instantly,I had my phone again! I plugged in my phone to his phone and tested it.

The two guys seemed pretty happy with me. I thanked them both for letting me use their phone, and I gave each of them a gift card as compensation. I walked away feeling relieved and grateful.

Don’t lose anything:

Even though I learned something valuable from losing my phone, I’m glad I didn’t keep it. Because now I know that I should never lose anything. If I don’t need my phone, I shouldn’t have it. When someone offers to loan you theirs, take advantage of the opportunity. You owe yourself nothing less than being careful not to lose your own possessions.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions:

If someone wants to lend you their phone, be sure to ask lots of questions. Ask for any documentation of ownership. Ask where they bought the phone. Get everything in writing.

Phone theft:

A friend had his phone stolen. He was upset about it, and I told him I would help him get it back. He gave me his phone number, and I called it. A man answered. My friend told him who he was, and the guy hung up. There were two missed calls and one voicemail.

I decided to call my mom and ask if she knew anyone who could help. She said no. So I asked her how many people she thought lived in our neighborhood. She replied, “About 15-20." I asked her if any of them might have taken his phone. She assumed they were probably just kids playing pranks. She suggested I leave a message for whoever took his phone. I left a message telling the person who stole his phone that I am looking for a phone that I lost, and that he could either give it back or else pay a fine. If he chose to pay the fine, then he would need to send me money via PayPal. I told him that I would keep calling until someone returned his phone. Then, I went home and waited. I waited a couple of days.

Love Song:

My boyfriend and I were talking about love songs. We both agreed that we liked some of the same ones, especially the acoustic stuff. We started making playlists and listening to each others' favorite songs. One day, we played around with Spotify, and I noticed that I could search for any artist’s name or title on the site. My boyfriend asked me what I was doing, and I explained that I wanted to find out if there was any music by him. Sure enough, there was a playlist titled “Justin Bieber.” In addition, there were two playlists named “Justin Bieber Acoustic” and “Justin Bieber Live.”

Bet:

One night, I was texting with my boyfriend when I got a text from a girl saying that she and her friends were going to go to a party. I said that I would join them. Before we left, I messaged him that I would rather not go. I felt bad lying to him, but I didn't want to say anything right away because I wasn't sure yet whether he wanted to come along. After a few hours of thinking about it, I told my boyfriend that I changed my mind and wanted to go. When we arrived at the house, everyone was playing beer pong, except one girl, who was reading a book. I sat down on the couch, where some of the guys were sitting. One of the guys asked me if I wanted to smoke a blunt with him. I politely declined; I don't smoke. Then, I saw him pull something out of his pocket and pass it to the girl beside me. I couldn't tell exactly what he was holding, but it looked like a joint. The girl lit it and handed it over to me. I inhaled deeply, and it tasted terrible. I put the joint out and passed it back to the guy. He took a hit and passed it to the girl beside him. She exhaled, and I could smell marijuana coming off of her. She placed the joint back in the guy's hand and he took another hit before passing it to me again. I held the joint between my fingers and slowly inhaled. As soon as I inhaled, I became dizzy and nauseous. Everyone laughed at me. My boyfriend came over to clean me up. He apologized profusely, but I refused to let him take care of me.

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