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Friday, December 01, 2006 : Irony

What is irony? This overly-used, much cliche word has been uttered out of most people's mouths just as much as water has flowed into our mouths. Problem with the word "irony" is that we rarely know what it really means. Instead, we use it when things happen... things that we can hardly find words to explain. Or maybe we use it when funny things happen. Like, you buy a top/handphone/shoes and your friend happens to have gotten the exact same one. Same colour. Same material. Same model. Whatever.

So what's with this "irony" business?

Well, I have this "old" handphone. A Nokia 6600. Throughout the two years I have been using it, it has died down on me a few times. But I've never given up on the fella. Thus, I've still been keeping this "soap bar phone" with me. However, about a month plus back, it completely died down on me. Again. I know what the problem is. It is always ALWAYS the same problem - overload of memory, causing it to "hang". Handphones pretty much work like computers, I assume. And when a problem like this happens, the best thing to do is to reformat it.

And so I went to a Nokia shop yesterday, asking the guy how much it would cost to fix this 6600 of mine. The conversation went pretty much like this:

Guy from Nokia (GFN): (After looking at my handphone) This is an old phone. Are you sure you want to have it fixed?

Me: Yes... I've been using it for quite some time and I actually like it.

GFN: It wouldn't be worth fixing it. To reformat it I would charge you RM60.

I was already cursing by then. Sixty bucks to fix MY 6600? No way! In any case, I dropped by at Dr. Mobile Clinic to check with them. They decided that to reformat MY 6600 would cost me RM80.

NO WAY WAS I GOING TO PAY EITHER RM80 OR EVEN RM60 FOR MY 6600!

And so today I went to the Digital Mall in Section 14, hoping that somebody would understand my plea (and my empty, "broken" pocket) and would charge me a minimal amount to reformat MY 6600. I stopped at this shop and the guy took a good look at my phone. He inserted his SIM card into the phone and started his "diagnosis". After much pressing, poking and peering, he shoved the phone to me.

I took a good look at it and saw it being formatted. (Gone were all my files and data)

And right after it was formatted, MY 6600 was fine, up and running again.

I looked up to the guy and asked him, "So how much are you going to charge me?"

He smiled and told me, "Nothing. Just give me back my SIM card."

And that was how I got my 6600 fixed for free.

And that is also what I would call irony. Had I fixed it in the Nokia shop or at the Dr Mobile Clinic, I would've been charged three to six days' worth of meals.

In any case, welcome back 6600.

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