That old Campaign column about mobiles reprised. Because some people are just soooo curious! :)
8am
Realise I’ve forgotten my mobile. Awareness dawns with an unpleasant feeling of nakedness and exposure. It’s too far back home to go and get it. Decide to go ahead with the day without phone.
9am
Send email to clients and colleagues letting them know. Colleagues start ‘I’ve been trying to call you but…’ jokes.
9.45am
Realise that I don’t know the number of our Jordanian office. Or my account manager’s mobile number. Put off making call and do job by myself.
10.40am
Colleague manages (do not ask me how, it still baffles me) to bruise her coccyx. Is in agony, bent over desk in silly posture and laughing helplessly. Reach for phone to take picture. No phone. Damn.
11.00am
Borrow colleague’s phone to SMS wife and let her know not to call me on the mobile. Struggle without predictive text and unfamiliar handset/interface.
11.10am
Wife concerned about receiving strange messages from a mobile she doesn’t know.
11.15am
Client wants to know why I don’t care about their account any more. We last talked at 5pm the night before. No, he hasn’t read his email. Why didn’t I tell him by ‘phone? I just about manage a smile and a cheery word, despite my heart being black.
12.00pm
Have a meeting. Run into traffic, running late. No mobile. Damn.
12.30pm
Get to meeting 30 mins late. Meeting has left the building as he didn’t hear from me and assumed I’d forgotten. Given I have a head stuffed with kapok, this is understandable, if frustrating.
1.30
Get back to the office only to find everyone’s ordered lunch without me because I wasn’t answering my mobile. Manage not to strangle someone. I have, after all, been making a huge fuss about it all day. You’d think they’d know by now.
2.00
Get around to ordering my lunch from… Go looking for menu because their number’s on the mobile.
2.15
Find menu. Number’s changed since then.
2.45
Get sandwich from Emarat. I can’t describe this in print because they’d sue.
3.00
Feel ill.
4.00
Apparently my behaviour is unforgiveable. Nobody in the office is talking to me. Day is beginning to look up. Actually get some work done.
4.30
Journalist complains to client that I haven’t been answering his calls. Client highly amused. PR less so. Add journalist’s name to the list of those that are first to go come the revolution.
5.00
Last meeting of the day. Nothing unusual at all happens.
6.00
Get to car, meeting some pals after work. Open door. Mobile, which fell into footwell on way into work, falls out.
6.01
Kick car. Hurt foot.
8 comments:
u need to handcuff yourself to your phone. or use a wallet protector for your phone.
I managed to leave my mobile at a friend's house in UK in January. Rang him on Beloved Wife's phone from Gatwick. Clearly it was impossible to go back 100 miles to get the phone, so he'd FEDEX it to Sharjah.
According to the website the phone got as far as the UAE. It still hasn't arrived chez moi. After a month - A MONTH - without a phone I relented, got a new handset and replacement SIM card, and commenced the tiresome reconstruction of all my contacts.
Just found your blog! Added to blogroll. Still reading thru archives :p
Very strange. I would have thought anything lost in Dubai would not have been returned unless it was by a cab driver (which one often hears about in the news). Similar situation happened to me in AD - I almost knew I'd get the phone back and I did...
Cool!
mars - handcuffs sound like a good idea: pls tell me where they are available in Dubai.
i*maginate - would you prefer shiny metal ones or pink fuzzy ones? ;)
Ladies! Please!
I had a bloody good laugh reading that Alexander - thank you :-)
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