Nephilim88: Now I really have no idea what you're talking about.
Tabs on the top of the screen? That menu has literally never been like that, ever.
There may be something wrong with your copy at this point. If it comes from GOG or Steam, I'd suggest you to contact support. Otherwise, you've probably been had by some low-life scammer selling cheap key from God knows where.
EDIT If by 'that woman at the start of the game' you mean T-Bug, that is just a tutorial. You're given the option to do it just before your very first mission after you meet Jackie, and if you refuse that's it. It's just the game's way of making you familiar with its mechanics, nothing more.
When I first enter the screen to see my Journal Skills Inventory Map. All of those tabs are at the top of the screen. I was messing around in those tabs and pressed "ESC" to exit, but it then sent me to the screen where those same separate tabs are in the centre of the screen. I hovered over "Journal" and the drop down menu finally appeared. This is terrible UI design.
So everytime I want to access shards, I have to perform this idiotic process.
I bought the game here on GOG.
No, not T-Bug. The blond corpo women.