That Time My Smartphone Left Me Stranded In LA + Battery Saving Tips

This is a Fashionista Events opportunity.

Momma Told Me: Some skills will always be useful.

Confession time. Just last Friday I was on my way home from #SoFabUOTR Los Angeles after having consumed one too many Johnny Rockets Milkshakes and running on 3 hours of sleep. I generally don't drive long distances after dark because it makes me uncomfortable, so the very thought of passing through Los Angeles on a Friday evening at rush hour immediately gave me anxiety. I live just under 80 miles North of Los Angeles and it can take 2 1/5 to 3 hours to travel that seemingly short span. It is not for the faint of heart- but I put on my big girl panties, cranked up my Jason Mraz CD and hit the road counting the miles until I could turn my engine off again.

If we did not live in a world with 4G connected Smartphones I wouldn't have even attempted the trip on my own, I kid you not. That is how severe my anxiety is, driving through, around, or past the 405- Carmageddon never ended ya'll. Driving in SoCal takes a special kind of patience, or serious road rage; and I don't seem to have been born with either. But I was good- I had my smartphone by my side and Google Maps would navigate me around any and all delays without a second thought. Or, at least that's how it normally goes.

Not 15 miles from my starting destination, and 25 minutes into my trip my phone's screen went black just as I was merging into the heart of downtown LA. I frantically tapped the screen thinking my phone had somehow fell asleep, my heart sinking into my stomach as I begin to realize the USB cord I had been using to charge on my trip had jostled loose and was no longer connected. My phone, my GPS, my lifeline was DEAD and as far as I was concerned I was stranded in the middle of a foreign country speaking another language. Resorting to my primal instincts I was forced to pay attention to my car's navigation system and actually READ the highway signs. I knew where I was headed, and vaguely how to get there, but without my phone to hold my hand I was needlessly stressed and panicked.

For better or for worse, we rely on our smartphones to do a lot in our day to day lives. They keep us in touch with loved ones, clients, and bosses, tell us if that mole is suspicious or an ingrown hair, guide us clear across the state without a single road map, send emails to other countries in an instant, keep the toddler from screaming at the restaurant, and help us take selfies worthy of a PEOPLE magazine cover. When was the worst time your smartphone battery died on you? Check out the hilarious video below which pokes fun of how the world might fall apart if we all lost mobile power!

What Daughter Says: I know how to read a map, but I'd rather learn how to keep my smartphone alive.