Technical Difficulty

Last week, our apartment experienced a major technical difficulty. The flat screen TV in the living room went dark! There was sound, but no picture. As a person who watches more TV than she would care to admit, this was a serious situation and we needed immediate action.

Obviously, we call for backup. The TV people say it will cost $150 alone just for diagnosis. What the crap. The TV costs maaaaybe 180 bucks. This route was not economically sound. If the TV people are going to rip us off, at least be a little smart about it and charge $150 to diagnose and fix the telly.

So before we decide to sell off the telly as "The Perfect TV for the Blind!" I did some internet research. I found this video and decided that the backlight inverter thingy was dead and we needed a new one. I put my sister's muscles to work as she took the TV part. I would have done it myself but my brain is far more useful in these type of situations. Also, unscrewing is a lot harder than screwing!

But you know what was harder? Trying to figure out which board was the backlight inverter thingy. There were two board thingies and I could not figure out which was which. But seriously, which one is it?!

 

Those yellow gift boxes did not have diamond rings in there. And I also wasn't able to pull any of the wires out to look at the boards. What was I looking for? I've no clue. I found some model numbers and letters and did another quick google search with the numbers and "backlight inverter" and found the white board (which I hoped to be the right board, see what I did there?!) on ebay sold by a small TV store in good ol' North Carolina! The account had excellent seller reviews so I took a chance and added the $45 part to my cart.

When the part finally arrived, I carefully yanked out the wires and replaced the board and held my breath. My sister was out of town and therefore, wasn't present to put the screws back in so I had to do it myself! This was the most frustrating part. All the screws were different sizes so I had to do a lot of troublescrewing to put the TV back in one piece. I plugged it in. And omg, it WORKED. And the screws haven't fallen out! I can't believe it. Google is my best friend. Whenever I need or want something, Google has it for me in an instant and makes me feel like I can do anything!

And my reward?! TV aaaaand a month of lime sodas courtesy of my sister. BOOM!

Happy belated birthday to my spirit person!!

You know how some people have a spirit animal? (Mine is the seal btw).
I also have a spirit person. Her name is Honey Boo Boo and she is the most sparkly person I ever did see.

Uninhibited. Open-minded. Sassy. Happy. Loves everybody. These are my favorite things about her and I feel so in tune with her.

Happy happy birthday Honey Boo Boo child! 8 is great!

Oh and here are some Halloween pictures of me as my spirit person. I want to be buried in my Honey Boo Boo costume.

My Flower

I'm 27 years old and I'm not ashamed to say I lost my flower back in mid-July. Someone stole my flower. (actually I'm not entirely sure if that's true, but it's fun to say!).

Backtrack... I love my jean jacket. And I LOVE my flower on my jean jacket. I probably should be embarrassed by how much I love it, but luckily, I have a high embarrassment threshold. It's part of my signature look. I feel the most jen pham in it. It's me.

And now, it's nothing but a phantom limb.

I was de-flowered (but not de-valued!)at another 90s night. It fell off of me while I was dancing. And I didn't notice until we stepped outside the bar to go home. I was heartbroken in my drunken state. The bouncer wouldn't let me back in because I was such a mess (emotionally, mentally and physically). So my friend Mario went back in to look for my beloved flower (sidenote: Is that a friend or what?!). He came out empty-handed. My heart dropped.

The next morning, we woke up and the pain of loss was still stinging. So I called the bar and was advised to email Lost and Found.

Hi there!Last night, I lost my flower at your bar. It's not how it sounds! I have a light greenish/yellowish flower with small black polka dots that I pin to my jean jacket and it must have fallen off because I was having too good a time at 90s night! (Is there such a thing though?) Would you guys be able to look for it and let me know if you do or don't find it? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!
Jen Pham
Sent from my pretend iPhone!  

The most grueling two days later...(I swear it was worse than waiting for a boy to text you!)

Hi Jennifer,
I just looked through our Lost and Found and unfortunately we don't have your flower.
Best,
Jessie 

I began the mourning process. Because it was summer, I didn't really need a jean jacket during the day. But the nights were the hardest. I posted a picture of my last night on Instagram and Facebook with my flower. Letting the world know of its fate.

But a couple of good things transpired from my loss. I re-learned the true meaning of friendship. First, when Mario went back to look for my flower. (you guys, picture a drunken grown ass Mexican, scouring a dance hall full of nostalgic millennials for my flower... I can only hope to one day be able to repay the favor!). Then again, a few weeks later, I traveled down to Charleston, SC to help my best friend get married. And on her wedding day, her mom, cousin, and her surprised me with a new flower!!! A new flower that they handmade! Some pieces were even from Taylor's wedding dress! Yes, they cut up her dress to make me a new flower! If that ain't friendship, I don't know what is! Juuuust kidding! They used scraps leftover from alterations. It was lovely and I felt so ridiculous and ridiculously loved!

Before I debut my new flower, here is a blog nod to my old flower.

Thank you flower for allowing me to walk through the years we had together with grace, style, confidence and lots of compliments! R freaking I P. You will be missed and never forgotten.

Oh and yes, I'm gonna try and start blogging again. You are totes welcome.