One of my sweet reposters who I care deeply for said they would like a story time, and who am I to refuse such a kind soul, hm? So everyone, prepare for a very long ramble of tragedy, frustration, and woe. An explanation as to why I hadn't posted art for a while.
...This will be a little dramatic, I promise y'all I'm perfectly fine now and I'm only writing like this for entertainment purposes.
I had just made it back to my own home after a week of dogsitting for my aunt and uncle. Tired of dealing with a slobbery, clumsy, and downright stupid dog, ready to go back to my own house, my own bed, and my own food. I can finally be back on my sleep routine, with my tablet in its set spot, playing a gameplay of re7 to comfort me as I drift to sleep.
At least, that's what I thought. But as the night started to grow darker and darker, I noticed something very, very strange.
See, when I use my tablet as a sleep aid, I keep it charged and secure, so the battery doesn't die in the middle of the night, and I won't have to worry about the battery in the morning. But as I prepared it for the night, plugging it up in hopes of getting comfortable, I realized that the battery icon... did not indicate that it was charging. 'Strange,' I had thought, 'This cable must be dead.' And like any good soul, in the darkness of my prepared room, I start looking around for another charger to use. My newest cable, one I was waiting to use when my old cable eventually broke, was brought in for help. I hooked it up to the device, and.... still no icon change. No ding to show it had been charging at all. Confusion ran through me, and I started trying other ideas. I changed the outlet the tablet was being charged at. Nope. I used older cables that still worked, still no. I even checked the fuse in our cold garage, still. No. There was no use, and I had to admit defeat once and for all.
My tablet was broken. I'll have to deal with it in the morning, and suffer a restless sleep without my usual routine. Oh well, no biggie, I'm an adult, and I could get this fixed in no time. It was likely just the charging port that had been broken, and I know a place to go to get that fixed. Which leads us to...
Now, this was the tamest, and calmest time in my spiral towards anger and resentment. There's a repair shop just down the road from my neighborhood, a place I pass quite frequently on my way to my college campus. It's a cute little place, right next to a Dunkin' Donuts, too. I had taken my phone there once, and they had fixed it in only two hours with consistent communication. Surely, this time would be no different. Surely, they would treat me with the same level of speed and coordination as they had in the past.
Oh, Syd. Poor, poor Syd. How wrong you were.
I make it in on the next Monday morning. As usual, quiet and slow in the shop, an employee at the help desk. I don't tend to make judgements about people from a first glance, or a short, unpleasant interaction. People have bad days, I used to work in customer service, too and know how exhausting people can be. When I first met this employee. I wasn't surprised when she looked exhausted and unhappy, I only note this to shift my own attitude and be more pleasant with her. I calmly explained to her what I believed the issue to be, offering her my tablet for her to check.
She goes through a diagnostic procedure, the tablet... obviously, isn't responsive, because it has to be plugged in and connected to get a result. I again tell her it's probably the charging port. This has happened to another old tablet of mine back in middle school, I knew what the symptoms looked like. However, she's the expert, she fixes devices for a living, so when she says that it's a battery issue, I believe her. She checks the back for a battery compatible for my tablet. There's none, they'll have to have it delivered. Perfectly fine. The delivery will come some time this week, and they'll have it finished by Saturday.
My schedule is typically very, very busy on weekends. So, in my head, I decide to wait until that next Monday to go pick up my order.
I should've started growing concerned about the due date when I got no word about a delivery... or that the order was complete. Yet, I don't catch on until I go back in..
That Monday, as I said, was the day I wanted to get my tablet back. After all, Art Fight was just about to start, and I wished to join this year with cute ocs and enough inspiration to fill ten sketchbooks. So, I went into that same, tiny shop, ready to pay up and go home. To my utter shock, not only had they not finished the tablet at all, then DIDN'T. ORDER. THE BATTERY. I come in, ask about it to the new woman behind the counter (the manager btw), and she ordered. The part. In front of me.
So what had they been doing with my tablet for the entire fucking week?? NOTHING?? I was confused, irritated, and distraught. Why on earth was nothing said to me? Why did they not inform me of the due date being pushed back?? Why had they done NOTHING?? No matter. I stay calm, I listen to the manager inform me that the part should be there by Wednesday, they'll get it done then! They'll even send me the tracking details for the delivery to my email! A little bit of a time crunch for Art Fight, maybe I'll be a little late.. But that's fine! I'll wait and come back in the Wednesday.
...Guess what guys? No email was sent. Wednesday rolls around, I come back to the shop. Part still isn't delivered, will now be there on Friday. They'll fix it Friday. Okay.
Friday comes, still no email. Instead of going in and wasting gas for my shitty car just to be disappointed seems like a bad call. So I call their store instead to check on the progress. ...Still no part. It may come on Tuesday now. Fucking... Tuesday. Okay! Fine! I hang up, I sob over this tablet for a little bit, then wait for Tuesday. Of the next week.
Tuesday rolls around. I call the store again, I'm sick of coming in... BUT THIS TIME ITS DIFFERENT. Oh my lord, they actually have the battery, they'll get it done as soon as possible!! Yay! They'll call to let me know, and they start working on it after I hang up.
I come in Wednesday, thinking this time... Surely it's done. A man is at the front desk, somehow recognizes me from a conversation we had, and informs me that their WiFi is out, and they can't do any repairs. Oh..! Okay? I'm still not entirely sure how that affects a fix, but they're the ones that do know, so okay. I leave and wait for them to call instead. Surely they'll have it done by the next day.
If you can't tell by now, I apparently have a horribly high hope for these people.
Thursday comes, I get a phone call right at 11:00 am that I had missed. I had just done a part of my job for the day, and WOAH! How exciting, a call from the store! That means my tablet must be ready! I check the voicemail left behind to read the manuscript:
"Hello, Syd, this is (Name of the store), we're calling to unfortunately let you know..."
The battery was defective and burnt the employees hand. They would have to deliver a completely new one. I call back to ask how long it would take, and they promise to order express shipping, meaning only four days at most. Meaning... Monday or Tuesday, as they're closed on Sundays. Fine. Whatever it takes. As long as this fucking fixes it. Right?
The final week, in my head, regardless of what happens. It was been a month now of me not having this damn tablet. My sleep schedule has been so fucked without my usual routine, I haven't indulged in the hobby I enjoy completely because my main drawing source is gone. I'm complaining to my friends and family about it, and some even got irritated that I wasn't sticking up for myself more. I've had real cry sessions about this at least two times now. If I can't get this thing fixed by the end of the week, I tell myself I'm done, I move on, maybe take the tablet somewhere else.
I call that Tuesday. They have the part again. It'll be fixed by Friday, ready to pick up. Wonderful. Amazing. I'm sitting at home with my stepdad, scrolling on my phone while he scrolls his computer. While leaning against him, I get another call on my phone from the store.
"Hello Syd, this is (Name of the store)... Unfortunately-"
Oh my god. The battery. Didn't fucking fix the tablet.
Remember how I said it was likely the charging port?
...They were going to get a delivery for the new charging port.
A month. An entire fucking month had passed, and they were only just now listening to my advice. They billed me $150 for that battery, they wanted $75 more for the CHARGING PORT. THAT I SAID WAS THE ISSUE. IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I was done. I was sick of waiting, and I promised myself this would be over. So I keep my promise.
I hang up. I look to my stepdad, and sob once again. Being the biggest sweetheart he is, he holds me immediately and squeezes me to try to calm my nerves. He's already coming up with ideas, giving me advice on how to handle this, looking up where to buy new tablets. I'm lucky to have people like him in my life. Without him, I may have just kept on waiting for this tablet to be fixed forever, and paid $225 for poor communication and four weeks of effort that could have been finished in maybe two at most. Instead, I got a new tablet ordered off of Amazon (still cheaper for me, actually... huh.) and delivered literally the next day.
So, regardless, after four weeks, it was over.
My old tablet had many drawings from several years of hard work and improvement. I lost eras of art phases, sketches most of you will never see. It still saddens me, it was why this tablet was so, so important to me. I lost photos and videos as well, several gaming clips with friends of the past that I held dear to my heart. Gone completely. There's so much I wish I got to save and treasure just a bit longer.
But I can move on. It's been actually very fun for me to have this new tablet. I've gotten to redecorate, test new brushes I haven't tried, work on fresh canvases and new colors. It's so nice to have a completely clean slate, even if my nostalgia will always miss the old one.
However, the best thing to come from this was the dearest friend in my heart right now. There were many who stood by me and comforted me, but I have to thank one special individual in this time. He never, ever made me feel as if this turmoil was a burden on him to hear about, and he never scolded me or pushed that I should sue or hunt them down. He understood I only wished for it to be over. They related to me, spoke kindly to me the entire time, excitedly discussed what drawings we would make in the future and how I would soon stream games to him using it. Even more to me, he was the one who had checked in about these problems. I never had to worry about texting them suddenly with this new bother, he already knew and kept me in mind. I know you may read this, as you have my posts notify you and I literally told you I was writing this... You made me feel so, so special. Thank you for being there for me.
Anyways, with that whole sappy bullshit aside... I'm a much happier person again. No egregious amounts of money spent, and a nice tablet, and a big FUCK YOU to that damn store. I'll be leaving a review for them once the two week period is up and they can't charge me the $150.
Syd will be back to drawing!
