Vaat is Mobaile Numbarr?

Two weeks back, I went and bought myself a new handphone. Now anyone who knows me even remotely, has heard of my history with handphones. I've been through 8 phones in the last 5 years, and not because I was upgrading to new models. I lost 3, spoilt 3, and simply moved on from the rest 2. I've been through 5 different brands of phones and there was a point of time I had chargers for all 5 brands but only one phone.

The analogy I usually like to draw is that for me phones have been like boyfriends. I adored the first one I had. (The Phone, not boyfriend, silly!) It was a Nokia. A big bulky thing but with very nifty features. Top of the line then and it could possibly even compete with some of the models in the market today. I carried it around faithfully for a whole 1.5 yrs before I left it carelessly in the back of a taxi. I remember the feeling then. I missed my phone but did not mind moving onto a new one. You see, I had not had any experience with other phones, I thought I could get a better one, I had not been sure of what features I had wanted and 1.5 years is a long time.

Eager to move on and explore what was out there, I switched brands and bought a Slim Samsung fliptop phone. It was nothing like my previous phone. Big Mistake. All show, no substance, the phone was difficult to use, too retarded and did not have so many of the features I had gotten used to with my big-bulky-and-dependable-Nokia. (Notice the pattern) But given that I already had sunk costs, I stuck on with it. Until one day, 10 months later, I got onto a bus with a laptop in one hand, bus pass in the other and the phone to my ear. A minute into the ride the bus driver braked and I faced the dilemma of saving myself or saving my Samsung. I chose me (obviously) and eventually got off the bus with a broken Samsung phone. I had no regrets. Good riddance to bad rubbish I said. The only thing I thought about wistfully was all the money I had spent on the Samsung and all the money I would have to spend on the next one.

I don't quite remember how and why I picked my next phone. A Sony Erricson. What I do remember was falling in love with it within a day. It was everything my dear Nokia had been and not been. Features were awesome, easy to handle, sleek and it looked good enough too. Most of all, my closest friends approved of the choice. I paraded it around proudly for a whole month before tragedy stuck again. Someone stole my phone. I tried very hard to get it back. Filed a police report, fought with security guards, looked at surveillance cameras. Nothing helped. I was left broken-hearted. It had been only a month, not even enough time to get even slightly bored. For a whole 2 weeks I refused to get another phone and I gave the dirtiest looks to anyone who suggested I do. I had decided I did not need any more phones in my life, since eventually I ended up losing all of them. Of course, eventually I came back to my senses and bought a phone for the sake of practicality.

My next phone was the rebound phone. I bought the simplest and cheapest Nokia phone available at the Starhub outlet.(I pretty much told that to the guy at the counter in those many words). It was nothing spectacular. It served the purpose. It was practical. You see, I did not care about phones anymore. So after a year of step-motherly treatment, I uncaringly passed it on to a friend (who eventually left it in a taxi) when the time came to renew my contract (coz you get a new phone with a renewed contract).

I bought a slightly more fancy phone this time. Only slightly. I guess I was starting to recover. A Siemens phone that could play MP3s. I don't have much memories of that phone, fond or otherwise. The only reason I remember it was because of the way it was stolen- As part of a full on burglary in which my laptop was also stolen. I did not feel much grief at losing the siemens simply because I was too busy grieving for the lost laptop.

Around that time my dad (who was visiting Singapore) generously offered to buy me a replacement. I decided to go back in time and buy the same Sony erricson phone I had lost. I was overjoyed initially- Now that I had my Sony erricson phone, I could go back to thinking the stolen-phone episode was all a bad nightmare.It would be like old times. But it wasn't to be. Somehow it just felt different. The excitement was tired, the joy short lived. Something was different and it was different with me, in me. I felt disappointed. I guess the phone (in its infinte virtual wisdom) also guessed it. In 6 months, one by one functions of the phone started failing. First some buttons stopped responding, then the screen lost it's light. 'Liquid Damage' the service center said. I did not spare even a moment before moving onto the next phone. I guess I was beyond the point of grief and emotional attachment. 2 other phones followed after that- A motorola and a really snazzy Nokia. One still used as a spare phone, the other sort of spoiled. Both hand-me-downs. And both not cared for as much.

So why do I compare phones to boyfriends? (if you haven't already figured it) Simply because you could replace 'phone' with 'boyfriend', 'money' with 'time-and-effort' in this post and it would make as much sense (or nonsense). I started with liking this vague idea of having a phone (any phone really) and moved onto knowing exactly what I wanted from a phone and why I wanted it. Quite like the idea of Boyfriends...innit?

So, now I am onto my latest one. It's a Nokia. And I have a feeling it might be the one (Finally!). Red Snazzy panels, awesome speakers and an amazing capacity for mp3s. Everything I want in a phone. I think.

Oh, I can feel the butterflies in my stomach waking up and starting to feebly flutter...it's been a long sleep!

Currently Reading: Traveller Tales- India
Currently Listening: Life is beautiful- SixxA.M., Dance with me- Nouvelle Vague, I remember- Damien Rice

PS- So the new phone has a new Dhinchak ringtone too as of today. And I keep waiting for people to call so I can hear it ring. (There is some wierd uncanny pleasure in hearing 'Mein Talli...' as a ringtone that I don't get while just playing it as a song. Something about the unexpectedness of it.) But no one has called yet and I'm still waiting....