I bought the perfect fashionable tote bag  that is absolute magic. It can hold my workout gear, computer, all my other daily needs AND it’s stylish so it doesn’t ruin the outfit. But one day, I carried a water bottle in this fabulous tote and it came open and flooded my iPhone.

Since water damage voids the iPhone warranty AND there are water sensors in the phone so no way to lie to the Genius Bar kids, I marched straight home to try the rice cure – putting it in a sealed bag of rice overnight.

The next morning it came on for a moment, but quickly faded to black. I searched the Internet for a cure and discovered I’d already made a big mistake by trying to turn it on. When it’s wet, turning it on will fry the elements inside. Also, silica gel was recommended as more absorbent than rice. Silica gel is the stuff that comes in those little packets that are in the package when you buy electronics. Fortunately, Michaels in Queens has the stuff, although none of the employees will know what you’re talking about.

Optimal drying time is three days. This meant three days without my iPhone. Shudder. And since I no longer have a blackberry also, it meant that I was completely CUT. OFF.

Withdrawal was brutal. I kept forgetting that my iPhone was in its grave and I found myself reaching for it constantly, like to:

• Use Foursquare to check into Equinox so I could get my Earndit points!
• Use Foursquare to check into C-Town so I could remain mayor.
• Check the weather.
• Send my sister a text to let her know that the new recipe I tried sucked.
• Use Google to figure out whether Acne was a French brand, and if so, use my sizing app to figure out what size a 46 was.
• Use my calculator to determine the price of an item after it was discounted 25% (I know, I should be able to do it in my head, but you try figuring out $265 – 25% quickly!)
• Send a text to a friend to tell him he won’t be seeing my boobs at the beach anymore since I got a new bathing suit that fits.
• Send dressing room pics to my fashion council.
• Check the time to see if I had enough time to go to Dylan’s candy store before it closed.
• Send a text to a friend quoting, “You didn’t have to cut me off…” because he loves the song too.
• Use Evernote to view the photo for a book I wanted to pick up.
• Use the Notes app to collect all these thoughts of things I tried to do but couldn’t.

So did the silica gel work? Yes! The phone resurrected. But, unfortunately, the death took its toll. Some features no longer work.

• The camera, which I use it constantly.
• WiFi which has a lot of surprising implications. Google Maps, Yelp and any other app that requires global positioning is no longer accurate. I mean BLOCKS off in some cases. Also I can’t FaceTime or sync wirelessly.
• The sound drops out randomly.

So, if this happens to you, I DO suggest using the silica gel. And, I DO suggest leaving it turned off for three days to let it dry out.

Now I begin the long march toward iPhone 5. Can I limp along with this disabled phone? We’ll see…