Why did the chicken cross the road?
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I’ve been contemplating getting a new phone ever since the smartphone fight began before snowballing into a full-fledged battle. I’ve seen it all—right from the first version of the Android, to the launch of the iPhone 4, to the dip in Nokia sales thanks to the wide acceptance of the android against its OS, to the current version of the Android 2.3 and maybe, more. It’s too much of a task to remember all of it. Although, it really fascinates me how technology changes with every sunrise, it also perplexes me with the choices that I have. A plethora of options to choose from and my own money to spend; what more could one ask for? Right? Wrong!
I feel lost. Honestly. I have discussed getting a smartphone with quite a few people, and I have received diverse opinions. I used to own a very beautiful phone, MY Nokia 7210 supernova and I maintained that I didn’t really have to pick a smartphone. Yet. Until one fine day, my phone fell into a puddle of water and I neglected it. I did dry it under a fan, I couldn’t dry it using the hair dryer—a quick fix, which I’m sure the Indians must have invented—because I don’t own a hair dryer. (Yes, I’m a girl and I don’t own a hair dryer.) My phone worked just fine for a month after its swim in the puddle and then, whoosh, it died. To add logs to the fire, my phone stopped working just when a personal crisis was looming over my head.
Thanks to the smartphone war, and the personal crisis, and a little bit of indecision; okay A LOT of indecision, I have been living without a phone for 2 weeks now. I swear I am, and I’m not making this up. I still do not have a phone, and a friend who is leaving for the UK is tired of trying to call me to meet me before leaving. (I found that out from Facebook.) So, basically I am unreachable to anyone, and I have a BIG decision to make. Apart from the one that now compels me to CHOOSE a smartphone, I mean.
I thought about it for 2 weeks, in my head. I did not consult anyone and finally decided on getting myself an iPod Touch 4 and a BlackBerry Curve. Do you see the beauty of the decision? I don’t have to CHOOSE between the two warring giants—Apple and RIM—I can have a piece of both, I thought. Smart? Oh no, not so smart! So, that’s what I DECIDED to do, and I happily walked into Croma this evening determined to carry out my decision. I told the salesman I wanted the iPod Touch 4 and a “WHITE” BB Curve. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I don’t know which, he did not have a white BB. But I was insistent, I wanted a white one. So, I asked him to go and check if he could order one for me. Meanwhile, my sister came to me, very excited, and told me, “Come, I’ll show you pure awesomeness.” And it had to be pure awesomeness, my sister has a FABULOUS choice, so I tagged along. She took me to the Apple counter (hell yes, my dear sister, that is pure awesomeness) and we explored the Mac, the MacBook Pro, the iPad, and the MacBook Air together. My old, deep, and cherished desire of getting the iPhone 4 came back to me. That was the smartphone I had always wanted, and I THINK I still do. I simply walked out of the store.
Do you see my problem here? I can’t DECIDE. It’s not that I can’t stick to it, I just can’t DECIDE. And it’s not about the phone. It’s also about my personal crisis. It’s because I didn’t DECIDE what I wanted that I am in this situation right now. I always wondered, “Is it necessary to pick a side?” and I always told myself, “Not necessary.” I don’t believe in black and white. I do believe in greys. However, my present situation has forced me to reconsider. I think I’m scared to pick a side. I am scared to choose. Honestly, it lessens my self-respect, if I have any, that is. Why can I not decide? I tell my friends that I am fine with everything existing in my space, because I don’t see why one should choose what stays and what doesn’t, when nature allows it to exist. I stand corrected today, thanks to the decision of buying a phone!
One has to pick a side. One has to pick a religion. One has to pick a friend over another. One has to pick a device. One has to pick a company to work for. One has to choose a way to be. It doesn’t matter what you choose, you’re going to die in the end anyway.
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Because if the chicken stands in the middle of the road, for the fear of picking a side, it will get run over by a truck!
– Sameen
amarllyis 