16 October 2006

TECHNOLOGY

4 in the morning
This happened a few minutes ago.

We are having a guest, we do not know him that well. He is my brother -in-law's friend. (sister's husband's friend)
4 in the morning and I am up, checking my mail, just after replying to Ruth's comment. Went inside to have some coffee. My sister is in the kitchen cooking, this is the month of Ramzan.

The guest is sleeping in the hall fully covered in white sheet. I am pouring my black coffee out of the flask, my sister keeps 24 hours supply for me.

I did not want to wake up the guest by switching the light on. There was just enough light coming from the kitchen as I poured coffee. I am very fond of pouring coffee on the table, I keep doing it all the time. I am half blind. I could see the outlines of my steel mug. And the coffee was going into the mug this time.

This is the situation
4 in the morning, Its dark and I am pouring coffee, my sister in the kitchen, the guest sleeping fully covered in a white sheet looking like a dead body.

Suddenly the guest shouts 'yes good morning' the tone was not pleasant

I was startled, half the coffee went to the table, I did not reply
but my sister rushed out of the kitchen

She replied to him in a pleasant tone ' good morning brother can I get you something ? Tea or coffee ?

Still lying on the bed, fully covered, he yells.

' are you a fool ? waking me up in the middle of the night, do you know what time it is ?'

I could see my sister's face turn red with anger, She was in a state of shock, she was holding a large spoon in her hand, frying something smelling good.

I knew what was happening as I was standing closer to the guest pouring my coffee. I saw a faint glow under the sheet the guest was covering. He muttered something and went back to sleep without looking at us.

I told my sister in sign language that he was talking on the phone.
I did not hear any ring tone. Perhaps it was in silent or vibrator mode.

He told us later when he woke up that his wife had called him. He was not aware of my sister's confusion








31 comments:

Kathy Trejo said...

wow 4 is early to start your day! well, for me anyway. The guest had no reason to be upset. my husband has a cell phone and that light comes on when you get a message without a ring tone or if you accidently hit one of the keys. the other night i was enjoying the silence in my home, i was up late reading and all of a sudden a vibrating noise startled me and after a few seconds i realized it was Richards cell phone.

rauf said...

No Kathy, he later told my sister that his wife called him, I should have made it clear.

rauf said...

I'll add that Kathy, When I read the entire post now, I realised that I did not make it clear that he received a call, I posted it immediately after having my coffee, I was laughing.

Anonymous said...

haha..how funny..but so sorry at ur sis..

Anonymous said...

Rauf, these days blue tooth is getting even more popular. So people fix a small device on to the ears and there's no phone in hand..and most times they look straight at you and continue talking..many a times I've thought that they were talking to me and respond to them with a "What??"..and they wud shake their head vigorously telling me that they r not talking to me but over the phone..:(..

rauf said...

I have been in funnier situations Gangadhar.
I was sitting in a colourlab looking and counting my prints, a guy sitting next to me was peeping in. He said softly I can't come on saturday, then he raised his voice still looking at my pictures
'I said I can't come on saturday'
I was puzzled. I was about to tell him that I don't remember having invited him. He guessed by my expression and said I am sorry I am talking to my mom. Then he yelled ' not to you mom, I am talking to some other guy.
then he said 'Terrific pictures' and walked off.

Anonymous said...

lolzzzz
enjoyed dda convo,rauf..

Anonymous said...

Too funny Rauf!
I agree with what Anu said since I have had the same experience. :)

Hope you are doing great.

Anonymous said...

I think psychologically it's disturbing to hear one side of conversations when people are on cell phones. You want to hear the rest of it.

This sounds like something out of Laurel and Hardy. Can't you see them doing this skit? Person in room thinks other person is talking to him, so a second conversation takes place.

rauf said...

Hiyaa Annie, Sorry late, been thinking and thinking, for the next post on the environment. Very badly needed some sleep.

Aiyoo Annie Moin has one, told him that he looks like an alien. He says he has to wear it inside his helmet.

Kathick called me and said one of his friends is eager to meet me, I sed fine please bring him. Karthik came with his friend.
I opened the door, Karthik removed his shoes and came in to my room but his friend remained outside. I went back to see why he did not come inside, I found him talking to the door. Actually he was very angry with the door. I thought Karthik brought him to go to rudhran my psychiatrist friend. Then he started gently rubbing the door and talking. Aiyoo Ramchandarjee !! this seems to be a serious case. I did not see the hands free chord running inside his shirt It was dark outside.

rauf said...

Thanks Gangadhar.

rauf said...

I really can't blame others e2dees, I keep talking to myself all the time, ask Annie how mad I am. My friends and people at home are pretty used to my talking to the walls. Nobody even looks at me. 5 years ago had i done the same while walking outside, cops would have taken me to the mental hospital for evaluation. Now I can walk talking to myself loud or singing on the road and no one will
look at me. It happened day before when i was coming back from Padappai about 40 KMs from madras. Took a bus from Tambaram One guy sitting on the side seat was talking to himself, I couldn't find any device. He was talking to himself pretty loud and no one was looking at him. Now it is taken as normal behaviour.

rauf said...

Yes Ruth, I saw a man on a local train begging on the phone. Perhaps his wife was screaming at him for having forgotten to buy some thing, He was going through the contents of his bag and telling his wife yes yes I bought that narrating long list of things. And he was begging and promising that as soon as he gets off the train he'd buy appalam, ( something like a large potato chip, its fried and eaten with rice) Suddenly looked up and was embarassed to see every one looking at him.

Sangita S said...

Wow that was funny :-) Ur sis is a patient woman rauf..By ur explanation of spoon in her hand I was sure I was expecnting something like she hit him..Or might be I wld have if someone wld have talked to me like that..Yeah I know rude it wld have been..his poor wife must be thinking abt him and then getting screamed at phew

rauf said...

Sangita, Airtel or Aircel guys caught a local Tamil hero and made a commercial based on this joke
...............

Everyone else in the room stops to listen.

MAN: "Hello"

WOMAN: "Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?"

MAN: "Yes"

WOMAN: "I am at the mall now and found this beautiful leather coat.
It's only $1,000. Is it OK if I buy it?"

MAN: "Sure, ..go ahead if you like it that much."

WOMAN: "I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the new 2006
models. I saw one I really liked"

MAN: "How much?"

WOMAN: "$90,000"

MAN: "OK, but for that price I want it with all the options."

WOMAN: "Great! Oh, and one more thing ... The house I wanted last year
is back on the market. They're asking $950,000"

MAN: "Well, then go ahead and give them an offer of $900,000. They will probably take it. If not, we can go the extra 50 thousand. If it's really a pretty good price."

WOMAN: "OK. I'll see you later! I love you so much!!"

MAN: "Bye! I love you, too."

The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him
in astonishment, mouths agape.....

He smiles and asks: "Anyone know who this phone belongs to?...."

Kathy Trejo said...

LOL!!! that was funny Rauf! :) seems like everyone, even kids have cell phones on them! i was in the store and this little girl around 4 i would guess in age.. all dressed in pretty pink and she had a cell phone in her hand and a ring tone was playing and she was talking on the phone...i had to get a closer look and then i realized it was a cell phone "toy" that had ring tones! LOL

Kathy Trejo said...

Anu said: blue tooth is getting even more popular" i never heard that expression before, im curious as to what it means!
so many people out there talking loud on thier cell phones in public...sometimes i wonder if anyone is really on the other end?

Anonymous said...

Reflet de l'instant magique fait d'émotions et d'éphémère. Nadine et Ricardo

rauf said...

There are cell phone pencil boxes for school kids Kathy.

I don't have any knowledge of any blue or red tooth either Kathy.
It is a small chordless device shaped like a snail shell clipped to the ear and you see a blue light blinking on it. High tech but makes one look very stupid. Its like carrying things a bit too far. Blue tooth is something more than that. Its some kind of a programme you install in your computer and you can operate your microwave at your house from your office through cell phone, or you can switch off your TV, something like that not sure, have to ask my nephew who has one such thing with his mobile

rauf said...

Merci, Nadine et Ricardo, mon amie Lorraine m'a aidé à traduire votre commentaire, vous pouvez cliqueter sur 'Lorraine' pour une tournée visuelle.

Anonymous said...

Rauf and Kathy, in simple terms what blue tooth tech does is connects two devices like computers,phones etc using a wireless connection.So when you have a blue tooth compatible phone, you truly have handsfree ..there's no wire connecting the earphones to the phone..so u wear that wierd looking thing that Rauf explained on your ears and it connects to your phone...

Anonymous said...

Kathy reminded me. Once I used my cell phone and pretended I was talking with someone because I was on a street, afraid of someone I thought was following me. I thought they would leave me alone if I was talking with someone. It worked. I was able to get to my car just fine and drive away.

krystyna said...

Hi Rauf!
It was really funny situation for you!
All the best to you!

rauf said...

Aiyoo i don't understand these gadgets Annie, I am worried about Moin, don know if it is harmful. white tooth is fine butoo blue tooth is not good I think.

rauf said...

That was very inteligent move Ruth.
My city of Chennai is very hot any day, dirty, chaotic, but this is the safest city in the world for some reason. Police is useless, its not because of them, I think people are pretty decent here. There are occasional cases of eve teasing.

rauf said...

Thank you Krystyna, This is the funnier side of Technology. I was afraid of sleeping in the same room with one of my friends, he used to talk loud in his sleep. Now I think it is taken as acceptable behaviour.

Kathy Trejo said...

LOL thank you Anu and Rauf! now i understand blue tooth. I've never been close to someone who has this "hands Free" blue blinking light type phone! I've seen from a distance in cars, but never saw the blue light.


Ruth made a great point! they come in handy for safty reasons! my daughter has one and I love that she can dial emergency number or me if the need arises.

rauf said...

You've never been close to someone who has this "hands Free" blue blinking light type Kathy ??
Good thinking, The guy may be an alien. Better to stay away.

Anonymous said...

How wonderful to have coffee ready 24hrs a day...you are indeed cherished ;)
I gave up on Blunt Knife, it's a real battle of patience and nerves to leave a comment,
but I can visit here, Thank The Lord!

rauf said...

Hi Lorraine, you can always post the comment as 'other' Type your name and your link in the box below. It works. There are many beta bloggers commenting here and in Blunt knife.

Anonymous said...

oh thats funny,,, reminds me of the time i saw a friend near the beach.i was sitting on a bench, enjoying hte sunrise and i saw this person talking loudly..and recognised a friend..she was just alughing, talking loud, having a good time, i looked for ehr cell phone and she didnt have any in her hand, there were no wires that i cud see..i was pretty ocnvinced for a long while that she had gone a bit crazy.

good thing u were there to explain to ur sister...:)))