What's Up With These Technological Snafus and Don't They Know It's Making Me Lose Sleep?

            I keep telling myself that I managed to live quite decently before technology took over but that was before my world became computer driven. As a result, when something goes wrong, I go berserk. Why? Because I have no clue how to fix it and must rely on someone else’s expertise. This is a veritable nightmare for a control freak like me. No wonder I lost sleep this past week – everything went wrong!

            First, it started with my home alarm monitoring system. The battery in my key fob lost power. Not a big deal, one would think, but a MAJOR deal for the stupid computer voice on my touch screen that kept calling out “Zone Trouble! Zone Trouble!” I tried everything I could do to silence that voice. It was unbearable. I even tried reading the manual! That’s how desperate I was! No luck. I was forced to call the company and beg them to shut off the voice only to learn that I couldn’t do it without shutting off the system. Leave yourself wide open to burglars and killers or be driven insane by a repetitive computer robot. 

            “All you need to do is to replace the battery in the key fob, Mrs. Goldfarb.”

            Yeah, real easy. The batteries are special ones that are only sold in specific stores and the one nearest me was closed on Sunday when the system started its “Zone Trouble” chant. I did the next best thing. I turned up the volume on the TV. 

            The next day I raced to the store and had the battery replaced. I could finally relax over a cup of coffee with my web designer. Ha! That was just the beginning of technological torture. As soon as I walked into the coffee shop I was greeted with, “Do you know your website is down?” And . . . not just down – GONE! VANISHED! DEAD! 

            Someone had deleted my files and GO DADDY, who handles the domain, didn’t have a clue. I tried to remain calm when hearing, “There are worse things than having your website down.” I responded with “I can’t think of a one!”

            A few hours later, the website was restored but I wasn’t. I had just received word that the company handling the review for one of my novels had lost track of the data. Yep, lost. Gone. They would have to start all over again. 

            Cyberspace and clouds may be wonderful but if data evaporates like water in Arizona, forget it. Someone told me that astrologers believe it is because Mercury is in retrograde. I’m not sure what this is, but I’ll buy it! Anything to forget about technology for a while.