Is technology ruling YOUR life?

I lost my Fitbit at the beach in Costa Rica.  I had packed up my beachbag and folding chair, but hadn't gone far on my walk back to my villa, when I thought to check my Fitbit bracelet. I had noticed the opening was getting stretched. Sure enough, the little chip had fallen out. I emptied my bag, shook out all my beach stuff and checked everything. Nothing!

So back to the beach I went.  My heart sank, as I saw that a young Tico was busy stamping down all the markings I had left in my spot, with my chair and whatnot. I explained to him in Spanish what I had lost, and proceeded to comb that area carefully.  He assured me he hadn't seen anything.

I realized I would never find it, because it was small, dark, almost the colour of the sand, so I headed back to the villa, AGAIN.  I kept telling myself, “You don't need that Fitbit.  You know you are active. Don't be a slave to a piece of plastic!  YADA YADA YADA!"  All the while I was also telling myself this:  "You should go back and check one more time, following the path you took up the first time.  Don't give up so easily. You don't want to spend ANOTHER $100 on a Fitbit, do you?"
You love knowing how many steps you do a day. It’s a great motivator! YADA, YADA, YADA!”

BACK I went, explaining to the Tico that I wanted to search my spot again.  A neighbouring beach visitor, a lovely lady, looked around as well for me, but neither of us found it.  A bit desperately, I tell the young man that should he come across the chip, I am staying at Uva Blue Jungle Villas, and would be happy to give him a reward of $20,000 colones for its return.  I HAD to be desperate, to want to spend money!  He nods in understanding, and I leave the beach for a THIRD TIME.

However, I am still not ready to give up.  My mind is going a mile a minute as I slowly walk home. I am like a dog with a bone here.  I won’t let go! Then it dawns on me that there is ONE place I haven't checked.  I put everything down, open the folding chair, remove the wet towel I had stuck in the cup holder, and LO AND BELOW, there is my chip for my FITBIT.  I was so happy!!  How lucky was I, that I had stuck that towel in there.  That is what kept the chip from falling out into the sand.  I happily went on my way, just THRILLED to have recovered that lost piece of technology that rules my daily life.

Jeepers, I DO hope that young fellow didn't spend TOO much time looking for that chip so that he could collect the $45.00 reward. :(