Epic Fail

If I thought writing the first three chapters of my dissertation kicked my butt I was wrong, wrong, and wrong.  So today I conducted my first interview for my dissertation research.  Last night I purchased a digital recorder.  While I was in the store I asked the clerk if they had any recorders that used tape versus this digital thing.  The clerk laughed and said digital was the new thing and they had stopped carrying tape recorders.  Reluctantly I made the purchase and had my 13 year old son to give me a crash course on how to use it.  So when my first participate came to my office this morning I was like "YES!"  I was excited and eager to get started.  I went through all the steps that my son had shown me and for a brief moment I felt emotional. There is something about watching your "idea" finally come to life.  I wasn't nervous, but I was on edge hoping that everything would go right, because of the deadline that I am on, it had too. 

Well after catching up we got started, and I must admit, the interview went well.  I would glance at the recorder frequently to ensure that it was working, which it was.  Once we finished, I turned the recorder off smiling like a kid on Christmas Day.  I was excited because I had successfully made it through my first interview (pumps fist in the air).  Well after my participant left I decided to listen to the interview and can you say epic fail?!  (Insert crying emoji face here).  Like what the hell?  I frantically clicked every damn button and there was no interview.  All that was on the recorder was my son mumbling doing a test check from the night before.  "Noooooooo!" I screamed, as  I almost slung it across the room until I remembered this digital crap box had cost me more than 70 bucks.  So instead of throwing it I shoved it back inside of the boxing and threw it in the shopping bag and marched out of my office mad as hell. Yes, I really was an angry black woman in that moment!  I probably had stem coming out of my head and had grown a pair of horns. While driving to the store to return this modern piece of garbage, I took a moment to call my participant.  He laughed, "Let me guess...it didn't record."  All I could do was laugh with him as I replied no.  Moral of this dissertation research story...have more than one recorder and it's okay to be old fashion.  Tomorrow I'll be in search of an "old fashion" recorder, you know, the one that uses a tape and I dare the sales clerk to laugh at me this time.