I did what?!

Okay, I know I’ve said this is in a previous post – I bought an iPhone.

Yes, I know! I bought an iPhone when I have been discouraging my colleagues!!! Oh god, what have I done? Why God, Why???!!!

Okay, now that I’ve got that out of the way, I’ll tell what happened.

I work in a client facing role and as in any client facing role, business etiquette and appearance matters a lot.

At office, I usually chill out in jeans and tops but whenever I have to meet with a client, which is quite often, and other teams, which is almost every day, I need to be careful of my appearance. It’s obvious that you need to dress the way you want to be addressed, so I usually try my best to be in business attire or at most business casuals.

I have to admit that it is very very important for you to appear professional, coordinate your stuff, minimal jewelry etc etc.

However, the only part that gained me snickers and weird looks were my phone. Although I love my phone, I love the specs, it wasn’t exactly helping me, in fact it was actually doing the opposite. I thought, why is it so weird for my customers and other people to see a non-Apple phone? It didn’t matter that I had eloquence, it didn’t matter that I got the work done, why was my phone a subject of discussion?

Yes, I have had many people make pointed comments on my “Taiwanese phone”. Dude, the “Taiwanese” company that made this phone is a top-notch computer manufacturer as well. Most companies do not offer the specs that this phone offers and at a good quality! This company knows what to make and how to make and you’re mocking it because it’s not an iPhone? What?!

I dismissed them for a while. I ignored all of it for a long while. But when I directly was suggested by a well-meaning family member, I realized I would have to buy one. Just to prove that I am a person you can talk business with. I mean, I can understand why designer shoes and custom-fit clothes are a mark of success but I didn’t really understand why a phone till I bought one.

It’s because this phone represents that you’re financially comfortable enough to spend on an overpriced thin camera to make it part of your personal style.

I mean, personally, I was of the opinion that time is the same whether you read from a normal watch or a Rolex. BUT. But, I admit that there are certain things that should be present in your wardrobe that makes you a credible professional.

That’s when I realized why my family kept saying “You don’t need many dresses but what you have should speak for you”.

So here’s what I did. I needed an iPhone just to shut people up, so I went and bought one. And I didn’t post it on social media that I did, just showed up to meetings and kept it on the table. People noticed my phone, noticed the way I dressed, then noticed the content I spoke, then said NOTHING for a first. It’s something hard to digest, for me, but it’s the truth and that’s how it happened.

Most times you need to ignore, but there are times when you need to react. So just do it. 🙂

Insurance for my Phone?

You know those times when you eat your own words?

Yeah, I had those last week.

My colleague was looking out to buy a new phone and he kept saying he wanted an iPhone. An iPhone in India, means you’re rich. It means you spent nearly 1,00,000 Indian Rupees for a phone.

Who pays a million bucks for a phone, dude?! I could use that money for the down payment of a car, or a flat, or a plot!!!!

The moment I heard him say that, I went on a spiel. Explaining with facts why the corporation that manufactures this phone is a perfect example of monopolistic blah blah where they want the people to attribute having their products as a status symbol and blah blah.

He was unshaken. He wanted to buy it. He said, “Doesn’t matter, it is what it is.”

He was in the shop looking at a particular model and I had accompanied him all the while explaining how he could buy 3 phones with that much money with double the specs.

The phone he was looking at cost 60K, had 1 or 2 GB RAM, a mediocre battery and of course an amazing rear camera. I kept telling him my own phone which I had bought a year ago cost 10K, had 3 GB RAM, had 4000+ mAh battery and 13 MP camera front AND rear!!! Dude! Whaaaaat!?

Alas, he was firm in his decision. He said he would buy the next week, I admitted defeat and said “Whatever dude. It’s your choice.”

Two days later, I went to the Apple Store and bought myself an iPhone (Read the story here).

And I found out that they asked me to pay 5000 for insurance on my phone. I was like what? Insurance? For my phone??? It might be a common concept for the western world but insurance for my phone was as foreign to me as the appropriateness of a crop top at a wake. Yep.

I asked, what does the insurance cover?

Will it cover damage to the glass? No, I have to pay a “nominal” fee for that.

Will it replace any broken parts? No, I have to pay a “nominal” fee for that.

I was like, so I pay 5000 bucks now for “Telephonic Technical Support” and “Repair & Replacement Guarantee” and still pay 2000+ bucks each time I actually walk in for a repair/replacement???? What!?

Is it so weird for me to think that phone insurance doesn’t even make sense? I don’t even know what to call this. I know that culture shock doesn’t fit here, but it feels like that.

Whatever…doesn’t matter, coz I got an iPhone for myself. Which was the exact opposite of what I professed, I know…but stuff happened.

Anywayyyyyyysssssss, have you ever seen something or heard something totally common in other countries/places but weird for you?

Here’s one other thing I found myself. Enjoy! 🙂

Steamed bananas: Okay, this sounds weird when I put it in English, even a bit gross. But people eat ripe bananas all over the world, right? In my hometown, we have this specialty where you steam ripe bananas and eat them. It’s better, sweeter and softer. I usually put sugar as well to get the caramelized taste.
Look at that sweet delicious breakfast/snack!
*Slurp slurp*