Thursday, August 31, 2006

Did I miss the train?

Geek Speak (at a q for billing during a sale)
G1: This Q is so long because they have closed two counters.
G2: It might have crashed
G1: That could be because they have not tested package properly
G2: Talking of not bad testing have you tried this feature on this phone? It doesn't work properly
G1: Oh it works fine on my phone. You need bluetooth for it to work.
By then G3 is interested and jumps right in.
G3: Yes I have the same phone. G1 and me use it all the time. Let me explain.
And then then three happily chattered on about the intricacies of bluetooth technology with terms like MMS, MP3, speed and cost factor thrown in. While I stood there with a mobile phone that did nothing but call and send text messages. The only extra feature it had was that it doubled up as a torch when needed. So I stood there wondering about my position in the gadget freaks' world nursing the sore spot which was turning blue where a tooth previously existed.
In the same Q there were two little girls who very excitedly talked about their new aquisitions, a complete Barbie kitchen set (pink mind you) and a delicately proportioned doll whose name now I have forgotten, in a bright purple dress. What shocked me was the price tag, together they cost 1200/- Not the kids but the dolls. I don't remember ever owning anything that expensive even when I was 20 let alone when I was 8. Nor do I remember knowing anyone who owned a Barbie doll let alone a complete kitchen set.
Suddenly I was in a hurry to finish paying and go home to my "drab" world.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Abhipraya, pardon me for being anonymous, but this is one confession for which I want to remain anonymous. I had a Barbie doll, which I got after I cried and bawled and drove my folks up the wall. They aren't the kind that allow themselves to be driven up walls, so you can imagine how I bawled to make them give in. I liked that doll more for the little frocks I would make for it.
Oh man, this is one confession too many. But as long as I am anonymous, I might as well spill all.
:)

Abhipraya said...

Dear Anonymous,

I understand the need for staying anonymous. I have a confession too. I too had asked for the barbie doll and did my best to drive them up the wall. But somehow my parents stood the ground. Any tips you wanna share?

Pavithra Sankaran said...

While we are on confessions, I might as well join the wagon. I never got a Barbie... somehow I was intimidated by both the doll and few people I knew who had one. But I did get a doll that came in a cheap plastic wrapping with bright pink edges and was clearly a street version of the Big B, and she was called Bobby. She cost a grand 35 rupees as I recall, because I even kept the wrapper for many years!
I think I asked for a doll of that kind simply out of peer pressure...everyone had some doll like her. But I don't recall having done much after that, except that once we (all the girls in our apartment building) got her married to another Bobby who we dressed in ill-fitting pants! What I do recall with much more clarity was the food various moms supplied for the "wedding feast"...! But that's another story altogether.