iPhone Ordeal 2017

I had just resumed my Zumba workout at my regular haunt. Last Monday - 13.02.2017 - was my third class after CNY. I had gone there about 20 minutes early. The Aerobics class was still in full swing, the upbeat music blasting so loudly.

None of my Zumba mates were in sight yet. So, I proceeded to register myself and then sat down at the lounge to wait. I tinkered with my phone while waiting. Gradually, my Zumba mates arrived, and then some of us got talking. A while later, the Aerobics class ended, and the ladies came up huffing and puffing, their faces red with all that physical exertion, soaked with their own sweat.

As they came out, we got ready to go into the studio. I put my phone into my carrier bag and trailed after the my Zumba mates, and our session began. An hour later, we were done. I was sweaty and tired and wanted to go off quickly. I called out my goodbyes and went out of the door. My hands searched my carrier bag for my car keys ... and somehow, it kind of felt empty. So I went back into the studio, emptied my bag at the counter - my purse was there, my car key was there ... but my phone was missing.

My friend, A, helped by calling my number - but the phone was turned off already. Then, a few of us searched the entire studio, but we could not find my phone. So we called the owner of the studio and also the Aerobics instructor to ask whether they had seen my phone earlier. The answers came back negative.

I myself had no idea when and how my phone disappeared. Had I dropped it while I was putting it in my bag, without realising it? Did I leave it on the table, thinking that I had put it in my bag? Nonetheless, if I had dropped it or left it on the table and people had seen it, wouldn't the right thing to do be to pick it up and return it to me? I mean, these were people I see at least twice a week ... familiar people. I couldn't believe that they would just take my phone away?

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I was surprisingly calm. Perhaps it was because I had been through it before. Back in December 2013, my purse was snatched and I lost more than just my phone - my iPhone 4. Because I lost that phone, I replaced it with an iPhone 5S. It cost me RM2499 at that time. Three years on, I was still using it. The phone was still in good condition - good screen resolution, good speed, and just to cut the story short, it served me well. It could easily serve me well for another year or two. 

Back at home, the first thing I did was to call my service provider to have my line barred. Next, I went to iCloud. I had 3 devices linked to my Apple ID. My iPad Air, my stolen iPhone 4 - its data had been erased on 23 December 2013, but I still keep the phone linked to my ID, and also my missing iPhone 5S. Its status was offline. So I set for it to be erased remotely. Though the phone was locked, just in case if the thief managed to get it unlocked, the data I had stored in the phone would get erased once the phone went online. 

I was quite confident with the security that iPhone provided. I was quite sure that the thief would not be able to get it unlocked without a passcode. And even if she did, she would not be able to use my phone as long as it was linked to my Apple ID. So why would they take a phone that they would not be able to use? Sell its spare parts? 

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14th February 2017. Valentine's Day. I spent the afternoon shopping at The Spring. I visited my service provider, and got my replacement SIM. Then I went to Urban Republic to enquire about iPhone 7. They assured me they had all the colours in the model and the size I wanted. I also went to Switch, and they too said the same thing. I spent over an hour at Switch and there was this Malay boy there who was really nice. He attended to me for the longest time and answered all my questions ever so politely ... and finally, I decided to buy iPhone 7 in silver and 128GB. He went inside but came out with the bad news. There wasn't any of that in silver and I had to settle for the other colours. I hesitated because I had liked the silver one the most. So I ended up NOT buying an iPhone on that day though I had really, really wanted to buy from that nice boy. That model and colour and size sold out in the entire of Kuching, he said. Wow ... I thought times were bad and people were tightening their purse strings .... apparently not, huh? 

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15th February 2017. I had been contemplating since the day before about iPhone 7 - should I have just gotten iPhone 7+ in silver? Should I have just bought iPhone 7 in jet black or gold? The thoughts just went round and round my head .... so finally, I went online that afternoon and made my purchase from the Apple Store. 128GB iPhone 7 in silver. Shopping on Apple Store was a breeze. A confirmation email sealed the deal ... and on the same day the phone was shipped. It would take a week. 

That evening at about 7.00 p.m., A called me. She said that the Aerobics instructor had found my phone, behind the sofa seat at the studio. What?? I had never sat there. How did the phone end up there? Nonetheless, I was thankful that whoever had taken the phone had decided to return it to me. She could have just kept it or sold it for scraps. 

Now, I had an Iphone 7 on its way, and my iPhone 5S back. Sigh. From having 1 phone to having no phone to having 2 phones, all within a week! So, I decided to give the 5S to Dad. It's a better phone compared to Dad's current Redmi.

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17th February 2017. I got my iPhone 5S back that evening. Phew. I turned it on immediately, keyed in my password and had it unlocked right away. So glad to have it back. I thanked the studio owner for returning it. 

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21st February 2017. My iPhone 7 finally arrived. It took me a while to set it up .... and then I erased my iPhone 5S and set it up for Dad to use. iPhone 7 was slightly bigger, but it's a powerful phone - clear and fast and I know I will look forward to using it. I must also make it a point to take good care of it since I now know that iPhones are attractive items to steal.