I turned 37 a few days back. The birthday came and went by without making a noise. I did not tell anyone it was my birthday and stayed at office late (because there was some work to be done).
I don't really celebrate my birthday. It's just like any other day. But a birthday does have some significance because a lot of things in life are measured by your age. You plan to do certain things by a certain age, measure your achievements and compare yourself with others your age. But how do you celebrate your 37th birthday? I don't know.
My wife asked me what I'd like for my birthday. I thought about it and asked her - "What do you give a 37 year old man on his birthday?" I never got an answer or a birthday present.
But 37 is a strange number, rather I would say an "average" number. I thought about it a lot, about why this is such an insignificant number or age. It is not a rounded-off figure like 35 or 40. I had no plans to be at a certain stage in my career by 37. I've never heard some say - "He is so successful at 37" or "When I am 37 I want to be so and so" or "look, there goes a 37 year old man/woman".
You are also expected to "behave your age". I mentioned to a friend a couple of days before my birthday that I should start behaving my age. he laughed his arse off. If you know me well enough, you would too. After one more beer, I laughed my arse off too. How does a 37 year old man behave? I have a vague idea how a person in mid-30's behaves. but 37 is neither mid-thirties nor is it late thirties but in between. Do I belong to the mid-thirties demographics or the late thirties? It is very confusing. It is strange and it feels very "average".
So 37 is your average strangely confusing age. But I do have a plan for 40! It's called mid-life crisis. I can't wait to be 40!!!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
More Cell phone rant (last one, I promise)
I think we have gone too far with our obsession with cell phones (I also think I am going too far with my cell phone rants). I saw a program on the television recently where they were testing cell phones. A lot of channels and companies test cell phones in many strange ways, but this one was put to the ultimate test. They were firing live ammunition rounds at the various cell phones with a high powered rifle! I stayed on the channel and watched the entire show. I wanted to know what the conclusion was and why were they destroying all these (some very expensive) cell phones. They concluded that one of the Nokia phones had minimal damage and I think the Blackberry incurred the maximum. The presenter ended the show with ‘Will this research help the business user to make a choice between the Blackberry and the Nokia so and so model?” I don’t get it! Every cell phone was destroyed. I am not counting on a cell phone to save me from an assassination attempt even if the cell phone was made bullet proof. And no, I will never take this data, or research into consideration while buying a cell phone.
I am just amazed at the fact that TV channels have an hour long recurring weekly program dedicated to cell phone instruments (Cell guru, to name one). They find something to talk about every week? Amazing! The current cell phone I use is my 4th cell phone. I bought my first cell phone in Philadelphia in 2002, which I shared with my wife – which means she used it most of the time. When I was made Director with Capgemini/Sogeti my boss insisted I carry a company cell phone. It was a business need. I moved to India in 2005 and needed to get a cell phone, since I was moving to a new city where I did not know anyone. So I set out on my quest to buy one. The conversation between the cell phone salesman and me went something like this:
Me: Hi. I’d like to buy a cell phone.
Salesman: For what?
Me: To talk to people.
Salesman: Yes, but what else do you want.
Me: A charger….
Salesman: NO NO NO NO NO Sir!! Camera, Video, FM, MP3 ….(and a whole lot of stuff I had no idea about)
Me: No thanks, I have a very good camera and an iPod. Just a cell phone please, to make and receive calls and store some numbers.
Salesman: Arrey sir, that is not important. I have phone with 3 mega pixel Camera and Video and……
Me: No! I want a plain phone. How about that Nokia 1080 for RS 1500 (I had done my research)?
Salesman: NO NO NO NO NO SIR!! that is for servant. You cannot buy that phone!
We argued for 20 minutes, but he refused to sell me the phone. I had to send my driver back to the shop to buy it for me. I used it for two years without feeling the need for a “better” phone.
I think I missed the boat, but when did a cell phone become a lifestyle product, and how? Again, I fail to understand this phenomenon. One may argue that cars, watches etc., are also life style products. Why spend hundreds of thousands on a Rolex when a couple of thousand bucks on a Titan watch will serve the purpose? Why waste money on a BMW when a crappy Hyundai can also take you from point A to B? Well, Rolex and BMW are benchmarks in engineering performance and precision. A classic car, a great watch, or a hand crafted pen has character. They symbolize power, success, achievement and class. They are works of art. I have observed people with expensive, latest models of cell phones. Cell phones do not have character or class and have no bearing on the success of the person using it. My driver has better phone than mine. The technology inside does not change so the only way to make cell phones expensive enough for only the super rich to be able to afford is by making them in gold and covering them in diamonds. The high price tag is not for the technology, but for the metals and stones. Most people don’t even use most of the functionalities on their phones. When I think about the time I will be successful and rich, I think of the Rolex I want and the BMW I want to drive; not the cell phone I intend to buy to celebrate my success. Character is why people collect old cars, bikes, watches. I admire my friend’s1947 Triumph Twin which he restored to immaculate condition. I would be very worried if he were trying to do the same with a 1996 Motorola Startac.
I am just amazed at the fact that TV channels have an hour long recurring weekly program dedicated to cell phone instruments (Cell guru, to name one). They find something to talk about every week? Amazing! The current cell phone I use is my 4th cell phone. I bought my first cell phone in Philadelphia in 2002, which I shared with my wife – which means she used it most of the time. When I was made Director with Capgemini/Sogeti my boss insisted I carry a company cell phone. It was a business need. I moved to India in 2005 and needed to get a cell phone, since I was moving to a new city where I did not know anyone. So I set out on my quest to buy one. The conversation between the cell phone salesman and me went something like this:
Me: Hi. I’d like to buy a cell phone.
Salesman: For what?
Me: To talk to people.
Salesman: Yes, but what else do you want.
Me: A charger….
Salesman: NO NO NO NO NO Sir!! Camera, Video, FM, MP3 ….(and a whole lot of stuff I had no idea about)
Me: No thanks, I have a very good camera and an iPod. Just a cell phone please, to make and receive calls and store some numbers.
Salesman: Arrey sir, that is not important. I have phone with 3 mega pixel Camera and Video and……
Me: No! I want a plain phone. How about that Nokia 1080 for RS 1500 (I had done my research)?
Salesman: NO NO NO NO NO SIR!! that is for servant. You cannot buy that phone!
We argued for 20 minutes, but he refused to sell me the phone. I had to send my driver back to the shop to buy it for me. I used it for two years without feeling the need for a “better” phone.
I think I missed the boat, but when did a cell phone become a lifestyle product, and how? Again, I fail to understand this phenomenon. One may argue that cars, watches etc., are also life style products. Why spend hundreds of thousands on a Rolex when a couple of thousand bucks on a Titan watch will serve the purpose? Why waste money on a BMW when a crappy Hyundai can also take you from point A to B? Well, Rolex and BMW are benchmarks in engineering performance and precision. A classic car, a great watch, or a hand crafted pen has character. They symbolize power, success, achievement and class. They are works of art. I have observed people with expensive, latest models of cell phones. Cell phones do not have character or class and have no bearing on the success of the person using it. My driver has better phone than mine. The technology inside does not change so the only way to make cell phones expensive enough for only the super rich to be able to afford is by making them in gold and covering them in diamonds. The high price tag is not for the technology, but for the metals and stones. Most people don’t even use most of the functionalities on their phones. When I think about the time I will be successful and rich, I think of the Rolex I want and the BMW I want to drive; not the cell phone I intend to buy to celebrate my success. Character is why people collect old cars, bikes, watches. I admire my friend’s1947 Triumph Twin which he restored to immaculate condition. I would be very worried if he were trying to do the same with a 1996 Motorola Startac.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Cell phone rant
Maybe I am one of a kind, but I just do not understand our generation’s obsession with cell phones; and I am not talking about just the instrument, but also the amount of time people spend talking and messaging on it. I am convinced that some people do nothing else. Just the other day I was driving with my wife, headed into town for dinner. The lane was narrow and crowded and a girl on a scooter in front of me was swerving all over the place. She could not keep the bike steady because she was maneuvering it with one hand. As I overtook her, I looked over to she why she wasn’t using her right hand – no points for guessing- she was typing an SMS! Talk about multitasking. That must have been one important message that she was risking her life for. She was probably late in meeting her friends at Café Coffee Day.
I see a group of friends sitting together and half of them are either talking on the cell phone or messaging someone. People using the phone while driving and riding is a common sight. The wife on the pillion lovingly holding the cell phone to the husband’s face (the helmet skillfully balanced on the petrol tank) at 60 km/hour never ceases to amaze me. People are on the cell phone everywhere; while shopping, restaurants, morning/evening walks on the beach, in the movie halls, public bathrooms, airports, trains, buses, elevators, banks/ATMs. Events like weddings, funerals and even interviews are not immune. I’ve yet to find a place where a cell phone is not used. If there is a signal, people will talk. I’ve had people come to my house, only to spend time in the balcony talking to someone else. Downright rude!
One of the most annoying ones is the airplane cell phone conversation. “I’ve boarded the plane and the flight is about to take off’ and “We just landed, and I’m waiting to get off the plane.” I hear that from at least four or five people every time I take a flight. In the midst of all the benign information that follows, what these rude cell phone users don’t say is, “There is a short, fat, homicidal looking man standing next to me. I can tell that he is getting ready to beat me senseless for talking loudly about nothing on my phone.” People, please: if there is nowhere for the rest of us to go, think about whether you really need to have that conversation.
Don’t even get me started on ring tones. I’ve heard the worst in the most unlikely of places. We were in a meeting with a very senior executive at my previous job who was telling us the repercussions of the extremely bad financial year. There was pin drop silence and suddenly we heard a loud “Oh baby, baby”. Someone’s cell phone rang. “Oh baby, baby” kept repeating while this person scrambled to pull out the phone from his pocket and turn it off. No points for guessing his nick name from that point on.
It is very interesting and funny to observe behavior when someone is in a place where there is no network. They’ll shake the phone, walk around holding the phone high in desperation as if they will die if they don’t get a network soon. They have an expression of total dejection or impending gloom till then. And the delight to have a signal, the joy to be back in the network – life is normal again. A network is as important as air, food and water – the Reliance advertisement tells us. It is now one of the four basic necessities to sustain life on this planet.
Cell phones aren’t the problem here. Don’t get me wrong. I rate the cell phone as one of the greatest inventions of mankind. I think mobile phones rank up there with the invention of the wheel and the internal combustion engine. As we all know too well, mobiles can be critical in keeping us safe and connected. It has made communication easy, cheap and mobile. The keyword here is communication. Technology and its myriad benefits are not the issue. People are. I suppose functionality and ease-of-use of these devices lead us to become lazy and to lose awareness of ourselves, others and our surroundings.
Gartner Group predicts that one billion mobile phones will be sold worldwide in the year 2009. The decibel level is rising and there is no stopping this growth.
Blatant cell use/misuse isn't limited to social venues, either. It's corrupting the most basic of business courtesies. I am a part of the senior management/leadership team and I can tell you that they don’t care. Phones are answered in meetings, during presentations, important one on one interaction with demonstrating absolute unprofessional behavior and utter disregard and disrespect to others. It is not only at my office, but everywhere.
People don’t care anymore to talk publicly about their personal and private issues on the cell phone. I have too much detail about too many people I don’t know. People are defining new rules and behavior for what’s personal and what’s private. I understand that technological change leads to social change, but there's always a lag. True, but manners aren’t improving with increased use. Technology and manners are compatible. We need to switch off our cell phones once in a while and be here, in the present. We should pay attention to the friends we are having coffee with. We should learn to enjoy the here and the now. We need to pay attention to the business meeting or presentation at hand. We need to stop the cell phones from ruling our lives! We need to behave!
I want to own a bar/restaurant someday. When I do, there will be a message at every table – We’ll gladly serve you, once you finish your phone call!
I see a group of friends sitting together and half of them are either talking on the cell phone or messaging someone. People using the phone while driving and riding is a common sight. The wife on the pillion lovingly holding the cell phone to the husband’s face (the helmet skillfully balanced on the petrol tank) at 60 km/hour never ceases to amaze me. People are on the cell phone everywhere; while shopping, restaurants, morning/evening walks on the beach, in the movie halls, public bathrooms, airports, trains, buses, elevators, banks/ATMs. Events like weddings, funerals and even interviews are not immune. I’ve yet to find a place where a cell phone is not used. If there is a signal, people will talk. I’ve had people come to my house, only to spend time in the balcony talking to someone else. Downright rude!
One of the most annoying ones is the airplane cell phone conversation. “I’ve boarded the plane and the flight is about to take off’ and “We just landed, and I’m waiting to get off the plane.” I hear that from at least four or five people every time I take a flight. In the midst of all the benign information that follows, what these rude cell phone users don’t say is, “There is a short, fat, homicidal looking man standing next to me. I can tell that he is getting ready to beat me senseless for talking loudly about nothing on my phone.” People, please: if there is nowhere for the rest of us to go, think about whether you really need to have that conversation.
Don’t even get me started on ring tones. I’ve heard the worst in the most unlikely of places. We were in a meeting with a very senior executive at my previous job who was telling us the repercussions of the extremely bad financial year. There was pin drop silence and suddenly we heard a loud “Oh baby, baby”. Someone’s cell phone rang. “Oh baby, baby” kept repeating while this person scrambled to pull out the phone from his pocket and turn it off. No points for guessing his nick name from that point on.
It is very interesting and funny to observe behavior when someone is in a place where there is no network. They’ll shake the phone, walk around holding the phone high in desperation as if they will die if they don’t get a network soon. They have an expression of total dejection or impending gloom till then. And the delight to have a signal, the joy to be back in the network – life is normal again. A network is as important as air, food and water – the Reliance advertisement tells us. It is now one of the four basic necessities to sustain life on this planet.
Cell phones aren’t the problem here. Don’t get me wrong. I rate the cell phone as one of the greatest inventions of mankind. I think mobile phones rank up there with the invention of the wheel and the internal combustion engine. As we all know too well, mobiles can be critical in keeping us safe and connected. It has made communication easy, cheap and mobile. The keyword here is communication. Technology and its myriad benefits are not the issue. People are. I suppose functionality and ease-of-use of these devices lead us to become lazy and to lose awareness of ourselves, others and our surroundings.
Gartner Group predicts that one billion mobile phones will be sold worldwide in the year 2009. The decibel level is rising and there is no stopping this growth.
Blatant cell use/misuse isn't limited to social venues, either. It's corrupting the most basic of business courtesies. I am a part of the senior management/leadership team and I can tell you that they don’t care. Phones are answered in meetings, during presentations, important one on one interaction with demonstrating absolute unprofessional behavior and utter disregard and disrespect to others. It is not only at my office, but everywhere.
People don’t care anymore to talk publicly about their personal and private issues on the cell phone. I have too much detail about too many people I don’t know. People are defining new rules and behavior for what’s personal and what’s private. I understand that technological change leads to social change, but there's always a lag. True, but manners aren’t improving with increased use. Technology and manners are compatible. We need to switch off our cell phones once in a while and be here, in the present. We should pay attention to the friends we are having coffee with. We should learn to enjoy the here and the now. We need to pay attention to the business meeting or presentation at hand. We need to stop the cell phones from ruling our lives! We need to behave!
I want to own a bar/restaurant someday. When I do, there will be a message at every table – We’ll gladly serve you, once you finish your phone call!
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