A day without Power!

It all started 4 days ago. I was on my way to my home through the Delhi Metro. As usual, it was jam packed. What was more annoying was the fact that I was being a sandwich between two people who had relatively more salt in their sweat. I could hardly breathe. But there was more to come. I got down at my destination. I was about to call my father, to pick me up from the station. My right hand went into my right pocket to find my mobile phone. And then I got the shock of my life. It wasn't there. 


It was then I realised what had happened. I then realised, that when they said "Beware of Pick-pocketers" in the train, they were serious. It was a new phone, which I had bought just two months back. It was of the Samsung Galaxy breed. I really loved that phone, but it was no more with me. The only solution I could think of, was to get a new phone. That seemed to be the only solution.


I got home, walking. I got my laptop and Vodafone 3G Dongle, and logged on to Flipkart.com. They had the best deals. And then ordered a Nokia Lumia. I wanted to try a Windows based phone rather than an android. Contacted the Vodafone customer care, blocked the sim, and asked for a duplicate. I have to say, when they say "Happy to Help!", they actually mean it.


But the thing was, Flipkart would take atleast a day to get that phone to me. I'll have to be without a phone for a day. I slept early that night, I had an important meeting the next day.


***


BRROOOOOMMMM!!! I woke up in a shock. I was scared by the irritable sound. My neighbor used that old scooter, which would make noise every single morning. I rubbed my eyes, had water, and then I actually woke up. I looked at the clock. 10 o'clock. I was even more scared to death. How could I forget it? I lost my phone, and so there was no alarm. What got me more scared was the fact that I had an important meeting that day. I had just 30 mins to get to the office. In a hurry, I changed my clothes, and somehow reached the office just in time for the meeting.  All I heard was my boss going mad over me for coming late to office. I went to my seat. Normally, in such situations I used to use my smartphone, and enjoy some good music from Saavn. I loved it, specifically due to the seamless streaming on Vodafone 3G. I missed that badly. Music was probably the only thing that could have cheered me up. Sadly, I didn't had that same thing.


The office peon, came to call me for the meeting. I was about to enter the meeting room, and I saw a board just outside it. "Switch off your mobile phones!", it said. My reflex came into action, and my hands went into my pockets to search for my mobile. And then I realised the fact of the day. It instantly reminded me of my phone. I felt like running away from that place. I was in no mood for a meeting. And thanks to the topic of the meeting. I had to explain my clients the benefits of 3G Mobile Internet. Ah, I was going to talk about something, which I missed so badly. 


I controlled myself. Tried to ignore my thoughts about my lost phone and concentrate on my presentation.


Me: Good Afternoon Gentlemen! Without wasting much time let's get straight to the point. 3G, has been a revolution in the mobile and communication technology. The successor of 2G, the 3G has higher standards for reliability and data transfer rates. It fulfills the International  Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications. So, you get....


Client: We don't want the technical specifications, cause we won't understand it. Could you explain about 3G in layman's language?


Me: Oh. Sure! (I was actually frustated on this. I mean I spent two whole days just preparing this presentation, and now it's of no use)


Me: Speaking in simple words, 3G has more capabilities than it's previous versions. Through the use of technology, we have been able to achieve high data transfer rates, wirelessly. One could achieve data transfer rates in megabytes per second. In other words, this could make one enjoy the mobile internet a lot more. One could possible watch stream online videos without any glitches, or one could play online multiplayer games with their friends from around the world. This would really make it possible to download apps directly to mobile. And surely, make everyone stay connected to the world, round the clock. All this, at reduced time and greater speed. This would mean, webpages would load faster on your smartphone without any problem. This is all 3G is about. Greater speed, and less time. Perfect for today's fast paced world. 


I had finished my part quite early. But obviously, how could a meeting end up so early? My boss and the client went on to discuss things for another two and a half hours.


Finally, the meeting was over! My head was bursting with pain. Anyone could have had that pain, listening to non-sense stuff for straight two and a half hour straight. This was usual for me after any meeting. And to get over this, all I had to do was to make a video call to my little niece. Listening to her talks, almost instantly charged and refreshed me. But sadly, today I wasn't that lucky. I was so missing my phone. I just wished for this to get over soon.


I must admit, I'm a facebook freak. I somehow wanted to check my facebook every hour or so. Not doing so, made me feel differently and un-easy. But the office's server had facebook blocked, but I used to enjoy that on my smartphone. It had been almost 6 hours, I had not logged into my account. This was highly un-usual for a person like me. Not able to check my facebook, was like denying Saina Nehwal from playing Badminton. I had no idea, what I was going to do. I was surely in no mood to work that day. I wanted to enjoy. The only way I used to enjoy at office, used to be internet. But sadly, all I had today was my office PC, where most of the fun sites were blocked. Then I got a life-saver. I remembered that IndiBlogger wasn't blocked on my office's server. I knew I could enjoy there on the forums and IndiTalk.


Instantly I logged in there. I replied at the forums. And then my focus shifted to IndiTalk. Usually, there is some or the other type of discussions going on over there. I thought, this might help me refresh my mind and I could do some work that day. But certainly, god wasn't with me that day. All they were discussing was about viral videos on YouTube. One after the other, all they were posting were links to the best videos on YouTube. Everyone was posting their reaction. While one was LOL-ing, so the other was ROFL-ing. This depressed me even more, and certainly didn't helped. 


But I'm a guy, who loves to take things positively. I knew the tea break was just 15 minutes away, and that surely would cheer me up. I went to the cafeteria, grabbed some snacks and coffee for myself and went on to sit with my friends. 


Me: So, what's the hot topic?
Person X: Hey, have you heard of Google Play? It was launched today.
Me: Oh, No. What is it actually?
Person X: Oh, It's a cool thing. You can manage all of your apps and games just through that place for your android phone. With the help of fast 3G you can download all of them directly to your phone and enjoy!
Me: Oh, that looks good. 


Person Y: Hey, wanna play Galcon on multiplayer mode? All of use, what say?
All: Sure! That would be so much fun.


All of them, every single of them, except for me were playing and enjoying their time. All I could do was to look at their faces. I just wanted to snatch a phone from someone and start playing. But I controlled myself, and tried not to show up me frustration. 


But somehow I was feeling better. I mean, the coffee played it's magic. Finally, after whole day or irritation and frustration, I finally was able to contribute something for my company.  


Soon, it was then time to leave the office. I usually used to walk by to the Metro Station with one of my friend. 


Friend: Hey, Did you checked out that latest viral cat video?
Me: Nah...
Friend: What? I posted that on my wall. Didn't you saw?
Me: Don't pretend as if you know nothing. 
Friend: What? What happened?
Me: You seriously don't know? I lost my phone.
Friend: Aah.. I see, I know how you might be feeling. Must have had a tough day for a guy like you.
Me: Yeah...
Friend: By the way, you know what? I got the latest season of "Prison Break"on my mobile. This is so......


I didn't paid much attention to what he said after this. This was the best option left for me, to control myself from breaking down. In the metro train, I was nothing but jealous and sad, you know, when you have a friend enjoying the latest episode of Ray William Johnson and Smosh on YouTube, and all you could do is look at him enjoying. I just now wanted to rush to my home and wanted the day to end.


I reached home, the first thing I did was to log on to all of my accounts using my Vodafone 3G dongle. This really bought some relief to me. I was finally in my senses. I then, as usual, went for a shower. It was then I realised how closely I was binded to mobile Internet. I realised, the world around me is so fun when I have the power (of 3G) within my hands. A single day without it, and all I earn is frustration. Starting since the morning, if only I had a mobile, I would have woken up on time and it would have been a great start to my day. Posting a nice good morning quote on facebook, greeting all tweeple a fresh start, would all have given the perfect start. Listening to good music on Saavn, watching video on YouTube... this has all become a part of me. And parting away from this is like separating Harry Potter from his wand. Such things, should never be seperated, cause if they are, they create a void, and disturbs the balance. This was an eye opener to me. To make me realise how close I am to the technology, and what happens to me, if I'm denied from it. As they say, you realise the importance of something only when it isn't with you. Before this, I had never thought about it, but all I wanted to say was...

Internet is fun on Vodafone!

I got out of shower, feeling much better. I had my dinner. Saw the flipkart shipping status. "Shipped', it said. I went to bed for a peaceful sleep.


Note: This is a work of fiction.


PS: This post is for "Internet is fun! contest" at Indiblogger.