My iPhone

I finally bought an iPhone. It's a 16 GB black iPhone 4S bought entirely from the money I have been saving since quite some time now. Years actually.

As a kid crazy after mobile phones since class 5, I had always wondered having the best phone in the world. Seeing phones evolve from those black and white Nokias with monophonic ringtones to those with VGA cameras and Bluetooth, I was always in search for the one phone I would buy when I 'grow up'. Then came the iPhone. I faintly remember checking out this mysterious black thing on the Apple website. Seeing the videos and trying one out after a few months, I knew it was the one.

Soon, I forwarded the proposal to my parents. The answer was a mixed bag of you're-too-young-for-something-so-expensive, thirty-thousand-bucks-on-a-phone-is-nonsense and laughter. I tried for a couple of years when the iPhone 3G launched but their response was still "too expensive for a phone at your age". Which made some sense too for an average Indian teenager. That's when I decided that I will save for it.

I soon realized that the price this thing came for was not an easy goal. Yearly clay piggybanks were not enough.  Creating a blockbuster website and selling Google Ads wasn't realistic either. I had to smartly spend my time and energy.

I did get quite a few chances to take a shortcut to my dream phone too. I was a finalist in a contest on national TV where 2/5 would get a new iPhone. There was another quiz show last year where the prizes were good enough that I could sell them on eBay and get the required cut. But after failing all such opportunities, I realized that this had to be done the difficult way. Save each penny.

So around 2009, by the time the iPhone 3GS was out, I decided to actually start saving till I can. I also worked  a great deal with my elder sibling who had just started working. A good share of extra pocket money from her. And I must say, I do have one of the best sisters in the world who gave me a small cut of her salary every month which I (almost) always fully saved.

What also helped once I came in college was when I found out that I could do small internships or help around with some website work and get paid for it. A fair share (~25%) of my iPhone came from money I actually earned while learning cool stuff.

Then as I was close to my goal, another huge expense came. My Mumbai trip. It was unfunded and the it turned out that six weeks of completely living on your own is not too cheap. The amount was large enough for me to tap into my savings. That's when my parents got around to the idea that I have some serious amount of personal cash stacked up. I had waited long enough for it and another six months of saving were totally worth my Mumbai trip.

Meanwhile, after returning, my parents offered me some pretty hard to resist Android phones. Luckily for me, the goal of buying the best phone, iPhone, stood in its place because even after 4+ years, there was not a better phone. Yes, this is arguable and some may say that I am biased, but this what I believe. I declined my parents' offer and they were impressed enough of me that they later offered me more than 2/3rd of the amount of an iPhone. Which I again declined. I had waited and saved for years now and why not wait a few more months to claim 100% of the iPhone to be mine.

Then, on 3rd January 2012, a few days after my 31st December goal, there it was. I got a few days late because I did not get it from India and there were some supply-chain issues in the country I got it from. My dad got it for me but settled for no pocket money for a long time now. I had to have an unboxing ceremony with pictures and all:

There were moments of frustration when you save for something for so long and see new models every year pass by. There are also times when I thought that "it's just a phone" but I have to say, it's totally worth it. I am so proud of myself to have not settled for some Android phone or a second-hand iPhone or last year's model. I am also so happy to have ticked off a major goal on my list.

The iPhone is doing great and like an ideal smartphone, making my life easier in every way I always pictured it to. 

That's actually the best part.

Psst- This post also explains recent "Congrats" messages on my Facebook Timeline from my school friends. Thanks guys for being so encouraging.

Aging Woes

My laptop is dying. I can sense it.

I use an almost 4 year old HP Pavillion dv2519. Something tells me it's not going to be around for long.

Some keyboard keys are gone. Scratches fill the lid with a pattern of their own. Paint is chipping from everywhere. It overheats and shuts down from time to time. DVDs don't work anymore. Webcam now works only half the time. Two USB ports have given up. Today, I saw the replaced screen also flickering from the bottom. After surviving two drops and transplants of RAM, screen, battery and hinges, it has gone through a lot. Thus, my worries.

But this is not the best time to die for my laptop. I can't afford a new one with certain big expenditures planned. Also, there are newer processors, OS refreshes and super-fast ports coming up next summer.

Stay with me, HP, stay with me. At least for another six months.

What?

This semester has been the fastest. And the worst.

After three semesters, I guess I can now state that it's getting worse with each semester. I have started caring lesser too.

It's the first placement season at my institute and every other guy seems to be caring more about CGPAs and CVs. I have stopped giving a damn. Or have I?

I will do what I want to do. What I like to do. What I feel like doing. I refuse to turn into a machine.

End-sem exams are bringing it up again- What the hell do I really want? WHAT?

Don't get me wrong. Nothing happened at my college. It's still awesome. Most of the subjects are awesome too. Just don't appreciate the system and myself and this time.

I need a break. Just one more week to go.

Pssst- Will be at the starting line of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in 6 hours. Should be real fun.

Every 30 minutes

Did you know that around 70% of India lives on less than Rs. 20 per day? I didn't.

The average rate of suicide by farmers is one every 30 minutes.

45% of rural India's children are malnourished compared to around 25% in sub-Saharan Africa.

Most "important" government decisions like creating highly subsidized SEZs and considering airline bailouts (of the tune of Rs.6-7k crore) are for the top 1% of the population. They may affect the remaining 30% of us to some degree but what about the rest 70%? A single crore can save lives of lots of uneducated villagers.

Not the best time to be an Indian.

An eye-opening interview:

I love and hate Critical Reading lectures at the same time.

Hitched

Sister got hitched last week! It was a big fat Indian wedding and we had a ton of fun. It's amazing how much work goes into these things and how they finish in a jiffy.

But it was all worth it in the end. Returning back to college was a huge pain.

Some pictures ensue.

From wearing kurtas to suiting up, I wore some new clothes:

There was a mehandi ceremony in which a surprisingly large number of people from my family danced.

All cousins stayed up after the mehendi and sangeet ceremony to prepare a dance for the engagement the next day. Two of my cousins made us rehearse till 7 am. 

Imagine around 20 children in all shapes and sizes in a large hall. There were complaining neighbors, tickling sisters, flying pillows. Also there was a LOT of laughing for those who were witnessing us rehearse.

Speaking of the dance, it went fairly okay after just 6-7 hours of practice, considering the fact that most of us thought that dancing meant moving your limbs wherever and however you can till the song is loud.

Some pictures of the dance:

I did not realize how punjabi weddings include so much of lifting people. I lifted at least thrice during different ceremonies.

This guy was all what-the-hell first and then lifted me later:

I am behind my cousins here, lending my muscle power discreetly to lift my sister:

There was also a shoe-hiding game in which we won after around 15 people climbed on the groom's sister:

The Canadian girl in the background is going all WTF.

Photographers also click awkward and cliched poses of the bride and groom. I liked a particular one:

And to end, there was a nice picture of me with my cousins in our best clothes:

Steve Jobs

Death's a bitch. He called it "the single best invention of Life." I am not mature enough to understand this.

Like millions of others, he inspired me. He made me want to be a creator. To create something that disappears into people's lives.

Read this somewhere on Twitter:

If you want to honor Steve, don't mourn. Do your best work every day. Live your life to the fullest. Never settle. His spirit lives on.

I want to honor him.
Picture from here.

Reaction

Is there something wrong with me if I laughed more at this video than at the last 4 episodes of How I Met Your Mother combined? Probably not.

Still can't stop chuckling.