Do you ever have one of those days or weeks or months when, no matter how much you plan and prepare, technology does its own thing?

I’ve had one of those months!

First there was the laptop.

A few days before I was presenting a masterclass, the back and hinges fell off my computer. In a panic, I picked up the phone and called the IT people, begging for help.

‘The good news is that we can fix it,’ they said. ‘The bad news is that the parts will take five days to arrive.’

‘Five days!’

‘Can you manage without your laptop for five days?’

‘No!’ I can’t manage without my laptop for five minutes. I wouldn’t be able to write or communicate or navigate my life in any way.

So, while I waited for the new parts, I continued to use the laptop. By this point, it was hanging together by a thread, but if I kept it at a certain angle, it was still (sort of) functioning. And within four days, not five, the IT people had got the parts and put everything back together.

With my laptop repaired, I thought nothing else could go wrong. I even felt quite calm, knowing that I had planned and prepared.

But then there was Zoom.

Twenty minutes into the masterclass, Zoom, for no apparent reason, turned me purple. I looked like a Ribena berry.

‘It’s like a disco,’ one participant said.

‘Freaky,’ said another.

Unsure how to resolve the issue, I just carried on, quickly adapting to the new purple me. At the break, I did the very technical turn it off and on again, which worked, and my normal colour returned. A little part of me felt disappointed because I’d realised that I quite like purple and perhaps I should wear more of it.

As far as technology fails go, it was the funniest I’ve experienced. I left the class feeling victorious. I had faced the technology challenges with humour. I had survived.

So, still trying to see the funny side, I tried to post about it on Instagram. Only to lock myself out of my account and spend 90-minutes trying to get back in.

I wasn’t laughing at the end of it!

I love technology. I really do and I am very grateful for all the opportunities it has given us. But I seem to have a special relationship with it.

There are a couple of stories in my latest book, Midlife Without a Map, about other technology fails I’ve experienced (they seem to be a recurring theme). Perhaps it’s me!

So, I thought I would share one of them with you. Thankfully, at the time of recording, all my technology was working well. It’s just my voice that’s the problem – I’ve been struck down with cold. Maybe it’s because of all the technology stress I’ve had lately.

Anyway, here is a video of me reading my story ‘My Technology is Failing Me’.

I hope you enjoy it.

Liz xx

P.S. Have you ever had a spectacular technology fail? Let me know in the comments.