Things about that thingy

Living in the over-communicated society is not a pleasant thing. Lately, I've been really bothered with this BlackBerry thingy.. Not the phone, no. So don't treat this blog as a threat for the company who brought that berry to the community. This is about the community, frankly saying.

Everybody has it. I don't know, maybe 9 out of 10 has it. It would not be a big problem if the berry has no 'special' thing called 'BBM'. It is now a problem (oh why?!) just because people tends to rely on that service too much!

I had many "Sorry, I'm not a BlackBerry person" kind of situation. But these past 3 days were the days that I really really questioning the people, the community, and of course, questioning my self.

Situation #1: Oh don't worry, I know whether you're around or not.

Location: Meeting Room - Office

Mrs. T: Dear, you're gonna be really really busy for the next 3 months. The Sale is coming, and after The Sale, the next promo is our revamped spa line. It has 4 ranges, so, yeah, you're going to be very busy.

Me: On the other words, I am going to come to your cubicle more often to consult about this and that.

Mrs. T: Of course. I'll be waiting for that. But, oh, do you have BlackBerry?

Me: No, Ma'am.

Mrs. T: Oh. The thing is, you know, I'm not working here for 5 days straight. On and Off... So... uhm..

Me: Oh, I know. Let me just find out whether you're around or not. Not a big problem.

I could just go to level 4 and straight to your cubicle. If you're not there, I'll ask somebody. The probabilities are only 2: you're on or off.

Situation #2: Ungroup Me, I'm okay. There's no way you can contact me but through your so called 'group'

Location: Mall, just walked by.

Her: Oh my God, how are you?

Me: Hi! I'm fine! How are you? You're looking gorgeous. Did you lost some weight?

Her: (grin) Yeah. You too! (squeezing my arm)

Me: (giggle)

Her: Hey, we're planning to have our meet-up next week and have some break fast together. Did you know?

Me: Really? When?

Her: Yeah! Oh, I don't have your pin numbers.

Me: (very much aware of what she meant by that terminology of 'pin numbers') I don't use BlackBerry.

Her: Oh... why? We're all talking about this meet-up in the group.

Me:(silent)

Her: Oh, whatever. I'll let you know on Facebook as soon as we get the date. Make sure you come!

Yeah right, that group thing makes me even more alienated. Why don't you ask my number and text me?

Situation #3: Oh, it is not.

Location: Party at friend's cafe

Him: Hey, can I get your pin numbers?

Me: (I was pulling out my cellphone, trying to call a friend) ...

Him: (took a good look on my ordinary cellphone) Oh, it's not...

Me: Yeah, it is not. Oh, hello? (friend over the phone finally answered the phone)

No, even if I had that BB thing, that wouldn't make our relationship gets any better.



See what I've been concerned about? I feel intimidated, to be honest. Being different and 'judged' just because I'm not using that thing! I choose not to use that but the community is very annoying! I don't wanna be disturbed by 'ping', especially by someone from the office at inappropriate time. I know some of them got 'pinged' at 3 am saying, "meeting tomorrow at 4 pm." That is stupid.

I don't wanna be always caught in the act, holding and staring at my BlackBerry all the time when I suppose to have a real conversation with others. What kind of life is that? Plus, I have enough life in digital world. I still embrace my real life in the real world. So, when people asked me why didn't I use BlackBerry, I said, "I have a life. Real life."

Oh how I wish I could just worried about the black berries for my fruit salad.