After relying on Palm and Palm Pilot PDA’s to organize my calendar for the past 14 years, I was forced to walk away from a deeply entrenched habit. Why? Because my most recent Palm finally gave up on me, and since I hadn’t been able to back it up this entire year, there was no point in holding onto what is now considered obsolete technology.

I received my first Palm PDA during my medical residency training, and was instructed to enter my patient clinic schedule on it, as well as anything hospital-related. My obsessive-compulsive need to be on top of my schedule all the time fell in love with the technology, so I continued to use the Palm after I completed my residency training.

I would regularly HotSync with my computer, safely backing up the data on the Palm. However, my Mac stopped supporting the sync software due to 2015 Mac operating system upgrades, and since my Windows 7 laptop didn’t support the Palm OS, I was pretty much screwed this year. I kept dreading dropping the Palm or somehow damaging it. What happened, though, was so weird. I had the Palm with me, and at one point when I had it on a tabletop, it beeped, turned on, then off. After that, I discovered that ALL of my data, my entire calendar as well as notes, were deleted. Thanks Mercury retrograde! I then spent about two hours on Google Calendar, trying to remember everything which was on my calendar. Not fun!

Over the years I have become completely accustomed to using the handwriting tablet on the Palm, and have considered the Palm a sort of security blanket. I loved not having to rely on an internet connection to access my schedule, and I loved having my calendar separate from my phone, especially since my phone has a horrible time holding a charge. Unfortunately, I have been forced to abandon my trusted Palm, and must now get used to using Google Calendar, then accessing it either on my Android, or on a tablet which I reluctantly purchased for the sole purpose of holding my schedule.

I am also ready to stop being teased about carrying a Palm around! For those of you who have engaged in the teasing, I just want you to know that I am updating my life with the tablet and Google Calendar. I know, it’s about time! But guess what? Palms are considered the predecessors to Smart Phones, so have a little respect for the technology! 🙂