There is a glitch with my iPhone and my Mom’s iPhone. We are green and no longer blue when we text each other. With everyone else who has an iPhone we are blue, but the two of us…we are now green. 

Lots of explanations for this the sweet guy at Fido said. He and a lovely other guy took a lot of time fussing with all sorts of settings, trying different things to get us back to blue. Two very smart, tech savvy guys and two iPhones, now green instead of blue.

I Googled this before going to Fido and tried endless things yesterday with no luck. It happened at around 2:30pm. I watched it happen. One minute we are blue then the next, boom, green. 

If you have an iPhone then you understand the slight stress here. Just slight. A mystery, what just happened? Why are we green and not blue? Three seconds ago we were blue. My Mom and I texting back and forth our attention now locked in on this “issue” that’s come into our lives. Green and not blue. It’s actually ridiculous thinking that this is a problem. It’s not a problem, just a minor annoyance because things are not like they used to be. 

I secretly think Steve Jobs had this in mind. To screw with everyone. Just continually keep pissing people off even from his grave. Software updates throwing us off every couple months, imposing upon us new things to learn and adapt to, how dare he! Messing with our emotions. No thing or person or device will be in control of my emotions. I will handle this in the way that I’m sure Steve would want me to. And that is, to search high and low, talk to everybody, ask all the bots, Google, to find an answer as to how I can get me and my Mom back to BLUE! 

My first stop was the Fido store where I got my phone. I love the guys there. They are so kind and knowledgeable and helpful, the employees at this specific Fido store on Davie street are just next level. I won’t go anywhere else (except the Apple store if necessary, which in this case it was, I’ll get to that next). And the conclusion that we came to after trying all sorts of things was, that, this is just a system glitch and we would need to wait for the next software update whenever that may be, another mystery, in order for things to reset. Or, he said, to try a factory reset but backup everything first and see if that fixes it. 

“Factory reset” two terms that really scare the crap out of me. I love my phone factory. My factory is very special. If I need to wipe it and my Mom’s I just, I’m just, not prepared for this level of panic today. I can’t afford to lose anything else at this point. Reset my factory? I’d rather have a root canal. Two. Being green is enough stress for today. I’ll happily stay green, just don’t touch my Factory.

So, with that information, I bust down to the beautiful glass encased Apple store that beams with white calming light at the corner of Howe and Georgia street. When you walk towards the store, there are lovely concrete steps outside leading you towards the big glass revolving doors. It’s got this heaven like feel as you approach it. I wonder if Steve had that in mind too when he saw the actual stores infrastructure in his mind. Probably. Maybe he thinks or thought he was God? Or maybe he wasn’t involved in this aspect at all. It doesn’t matter really. Don’t even get me started on the staircase that leads from the Sales floor up to the second floor where the “Fixers” are. It’s like the second your foot touches the first step of this staircase, the ability to overthink gets wiped from your Universe, the ability to think period, becomes a challenge. You just start feeling and imagining, and everything else goes quiet as you take each step. Exactly what the Apple Gods envisioned I think.

And when you’re inside Apple it’s like another planet where people speak a different language and they know how to bring a sense of calm back to your world just with their smiles and attitude of “we can fix this, no problem,”  it’s like you know that, all your life’s problems will be taken care of in here and the second you leave the store, the world and your life will be righted and a lot brighter somehow. 

My phone is like my kid. I don’t have any actual human children so I use devices and animals as my kids and when something is up with one of them, they’re green instead of blue, holy hell I’m going to use every inch and ounce of my healing power, my wisdom, my ruthlessness to nurse my baby back into action. We all have glitches and it’s the kindness of other people and our own willingness to breathe love and compassion into our experience of these glitches, ours and other people’s, that makes life so beautiful.

As I walked to Apple though, I thought how non big of a deal this is. We are green now when we used to be blue. There is absolutely no difference or change in anything else, just the colour of our text bubbles and it doesn’t mean that anything is wrong. We are communicating just fine now in green as we always did when we were blue. But something is different now and it’s up to us to choose how we handle this glitch for however long it decides to stay in our lives, staring at us every day. 

I kept thinking, maybe we’re not supposed to be blue anymore, we are being set apart just the two of us for some reason and that maybe this means something else? The Universe sending us a message (in green not blue obviously) and that, according to my last post about mystery, that, we should start paddling towards it, accept it, believe in it, and not search so hard to solve it when it’s not causing us harm or changing anything in our lives for the worse. Maybe this mystery is supposed to sit there with us and it will resolve when it’s supposed to and I shouldn’t be running around to Fido and Apple asking questions and searching to get back to blue. Except my curiosity gets peaked with technology and I love learning things about my phone, my kid, so, I still wanted to do a bit of investigation because it was, odd, that it is just us and with everyone else we are blue. The Fido guys were at a loss, and they know, A LOT. So, a trip to Apple was important for my brain. 

I am currently sitting in my hallway typing this in my Notes because I had this blog post in my head all day going from store to store and it was busting out through my ears and nose, so I’m sitting here on my rug with my jacket and boots still on typing away. When this happens, when stuff swirls in my mind I have to stop everything that I am doing, sit down, cross my legs, breathe and let it rip. I’m grateful I’m not holding a pen and a notebook right now and that my wonderful phone has this writing feature. There should be more writing features, for people who, like to write and type, a lot. I bet there are, I just haven’t discovered them yet. I should have asked the Apple guys, oh well, doesn’t matter really, the Notes app is great and works just fine. 

The consensus, after much prodding and three different geniuses thinking and fussing with both of our phones was, that I needed to make an appointment and come back in a day or two, they were not about to give up, and it was almost closing time. I scheduled a time to return in two days and for now, we remain green. Will we revert back to blue ever again? Who knows but they reassured me that this has happened before and that they are certain that in two days me and my Mom, will be back to blue. 

I had an inkling that this is what they would say and I was prepared for it and my Mom will be ok too, we are resilient the two of us. Just bring it on. But just like any glitch that throws your system slightly off kilter and remains a mystery, how you choose to understand it and allow it to affect you is what matters. Steve knew what he was doing, taking over the emotional health of the world. Nah. You’re always in charge of your own internal mess, chaos, calm and beauty, it would be nice though, if Apple dished out less glitches. I guess I could surrender my iPhone for an Android, but, I’m very loyal, and there’s glitches with anything, so I’ll stick with this kid, she’s been a blessing so far, glitches and all. 

Welcoming her glitches and loving them and learning from them, enhancing my mental attitude, maybe that’s what Steve had in mind. I do believe the Universe threw this glitch at us for a reason. The timing is comical. Here’s something else you sweet resilient souls, will you let it burn or let it dissolve? I’m ok with being green. I’ve always felt more green than blue anyway. I love green. Kermit the Frog would argue with me however, as he says, “It’s not easy being green.”

I’m coming to like them, these glitches. Forcing me to orient my thoughts and feelings and even a little bit faster too. And the more glitches that happen, the better.

Thanks Apple and thanks Steve! Keep the glitches coming, watch me love them, welcome them. I am fireproof. And so is my Mom and so are YOU. You can handle it all and more and the more that comes at you, glitches here and there, don’t lose sight of the bigger picture. Does. This. Actually. Matter? No. 

What mattered today and what will always matter is the great conversation and funny discussion I had at the Fido store with two very nice and amusing guys. We even gave each other a high five before I left the store. (Initiated by me of course, I thought hugging it out might be a bit much, but, I thought about it). 

What matters is the warm, kind, patient, honest, determined and friendly humans at Apple who just want to make your experience with your phone and thus your life, better.

I have shelter, food, running water, a bed to sleep in, clean air, sturdy healthy legs to get me from A to B, healthcare, my eyesight, safety, and love. I am grateful for these and never take them for granted.

What matters is that my Mom is here, I am here, and we can text each other any day, any time, from anywhere, whether we are blue or green, makes no lick of a difference. 

Happy Glitching! 

(Ok time to get off the floor)