STEAMING IT OFF
I WAS rather annoyed the other day when some dude commented — snidely at that — that I use my mobile phone too much!
He was so intent on telling me this that the flashing red lights, looking like daggers in my eyes, were not enough warning for him to back down.
Eish, some people are just too weird — especially when they think they are right or even have a right!
The not-so-interesting conversation went on a little something like this:
“Uena, you are always doing something with your cellphone pretending to be busy. Put that phone down!”
Eyes round with surprise and disbelief, I reply: “You just said it, my phone! So what is wrong with that?”
Then after a pause I remembered the word “pretending”.
That is when I gave him the look.
“And please explain what you mean by pretending,” I retort.
He responds: “Well, when you do not have your headphones bopping around, you are chatting on a call. Or, you are doing something, typing very fast on the keypad!”
“So? What in the world is wrong with that? Please tell me,” I fight back harder, sarcasm dripping from every word.
Instead of replying, this oke decides to throw a bigger bucket of slop all over me!
“Maybe you still don’t know much about your phone? And you are still trying to teach yourself how it works. But you have had it for a while”
I cut him off with a hand and take a deep breath.
If I was a cartoon character you would have seen the steam spouting out of my ears and a background choo-choo sound!
“Abuti, a cell phone is not only for making and receiving calls. There are those ones that have a variety of features. Besides that and texting, there is MMS too you know. And like you said, I ‘bop’ around with my headphones on, that is because I listen to music – stored on the phone or playing on some hip and happening radio station! I type fast on the phone keypad! Yes. Smsing is fun too. But you also have to realise that words and thoughts travel faster when you are chatting live on the net. And I am guessing you do get it that there are a whole lot more things that you can do with yours or even mine were I to loan it to you for a month! I am connected to a world I am enjoying as well as basically to avoid conversations I do not enjoy, such as this one. Have a great day!”
There is so much I wanted to tell that boy and I wish I could do it here, but then, since this is not the right place, he will not know how I feel or felt.
Yes, I “fiddle” with my mobile phone a lot and I love it!
It may not be a cool thing at times yes, because sometimes I annoy the people I am sitting with. But really, if I am walking alone, minding my own business, can’t I explore the awesome features on this piece of equipment — listen to music and dream, collect my thoughts and sometimes just pace out?
Back to the topic at hand — I gather that this oke is not the only one who thinks so.
So, for all of you others, who have the same opinion (more or less) and also do take time to read me and my fellow fiddlers I say: “Fiddling with our things has nothing to do with you!”
Some of the more daft complainants think we fiddle to show off! Well no!
Genuine fiddlers are explorers on a mission — we want to discover things.
And the truth is we always wish we had something that could do more, but we are still contented with what we have without even belittling others or raising our noses at other people.
The point is we are not showing off in any way, we are just playing with our toys and discovering new worlds.
We really do not care what you are doing unless you are interesting enough to inspire us to put the phone down and have a real conversation.
Dude… do yourself a favour, upgrade your personality or join the “fiddlers movement”.
Those are your only chances because you will get to meet loads of great people when you have a better personality!
When you join our battalion of fiddlers, you discover and explore new worlds and things, which may even improve your personality too.
To all my fellow fiddlers (I am talking the genuine ones not the fumblers) I say keep fiddling!!
Make sure you remember the basic guidelines which I will put below:
lPlay it safe: Do not fiddle in just any shady place; you never know what might be lurking around. Safety comes first. And do not just fiddle with anyone.
lDiscretion: Try not to fiddle in the company of others. It is rude. But if you really have to, do it discreetly, quietly and as fast as possible. No matter how boring the said company may be.
lBe polite: When fiddling your heart’s content, and someone interrupts you, do not snarl at them to get lost. If it is someone you cannot waste your precious fiddling time for, politely point this out (with a smile) and pause long enough to make sure s/he has understood your position (misunderstandings are a pain…). Well, obviously if it is a friend or someone worth it, stop your fiddling and have a dialogue using your mouth and not your fingers for a bit.
lDo not commit any crime: Do not steal or destroy someone else’s fiddle ooppps phone. Strive hard to keep your own or even get a better one. New models are released every now and again. And believe me, there is always something called a good second hand.
