So I tell The Kid to stop freaking out and getting upset about stuff that really isn’t worth it: like a PC game that won’t go the way he would like it to go. I tell him it’s “just” a game, or that it’s “just” things…

Yeah, I míght’ve wanted to practice what I preach myself last Wednesday… Cos ya know… I kinda freaked out a little.

I have bought a legal version of Route 66 / Mobile 8 to use on my cell phone. I installed it on there, which was a bit of a drag, in March of this year. It has been working flawlessly ever since. I love it. I love using it. And I love having navigation at hand at all times and I love it even more that I have it ON my cellphone. It saves me having to drag around 2 devices all the time.

I also like it very much when stuff you are installing does what it should do. But we all know that installing stuff like that hardly ever goes without a hitch. I am lucky that I am not a total tech nitwit so I can usually figure out by myself what is the culprit and fix it: whether it is another program conflicting with it, whether it needs an update patch, whether I need to change some settings or whatever.

I ran the memory card of my cellphone that the application is on through the Route 66 Sync and Update program on Tuesdayevening. Merely because I had not done that for a while and was just wondering whether there were any updates of the maps I use. There were, I downloaded them and installed them. All good.

Pfff yeah, you wouldathunk! On Wednesday I was getting ready to drive off to see my girlfriend and her kids, with The Kid. We were running a bit late. I had packed an overnight bag, I had put the home made applepie in the car, we had made a last run to the grocery store to get the whipped cream I forgot to buy the day before and then we were ready to go. I put the cell phone in the car and clicked the “Route 66″ icon and …

* crickets *

Nothing… NOTHING happened! It didn’t work! Godfucking@!$#dammit!!! My girlfriend’s temporary home at the campsite was in the middle of the middle of the middle of nowhere. I had only been there once before and I was lead there by the navigation software and now it was not working and I was cursing the whole fucking world! I tried and tried again and nothing… Of course eeeeverything else on the cell phone was working except for the dang navigation software. Well, I was compleeeetely pissed off. COMPLETELY! And bummed. We drove off as I knew approximately where it was and after some driving around and using some common sense, I got there.

During the drive I kicked my own butt (inside my head of course) and told myself to get the fuck over it. That it was inconvenient of course, and that it was unfortunate, but that I would have a look at it when we got back home the next day and that after all it was just a “thing” and there were worse things in the world. When we got home the next day I ran the memory card thru Route 66 Sync again… nothing… I tried to fix the current installation with the original disk… nothing… I deleted the installation of the memory card and re-installed it from scratch… nothing… And my mood was swiftly detoriating to the point that I ended up bitching at The Kid over something he had asked me a kazillion times before and for not cleaning up his shit after himself… Granted, I was right, but I probably wouldn’t have bitched about it to such an extent had my mood been better… Well, strike “probably”… Heh… ahem..

After wallowing in my anger and self pity for a while, over not being able to fix the problem and about yet another truckload of money down the drain if I couldn’t fix it, I packed up my cell phone, wallet, and The Kid and went off to the grocery store. Still pissed off, knowing that I should really let it go… and then it happened, my lightbulb moment: I switched off my cellphone and switched it back on…

Yah, that worked… Navigation software is working again… Duh!

I freaked out over something that was NOT broken at all. And something that even HAD it been, would not have been worth getting so upset about… Something that I preach to my son all the fucking time… Yeah… this Mom should take note of her OWN advise sometimes… Which I very honestly told The Kid afterwards as well: that I apologized for being so bitchy all day and that I should really do myself what I teach him as well…

He kissed me and said “It’s OK, you are only human”

I love my kid