Life was getting tough for him. It wasn't the same. He was having a hard time at work. He wasn't the number one salesman that he once was. The sales had gone down. The expectations were high like always. The profits low. There were rumors of people being laid off. He always thought he was safe. But now, he wasn't sure.
He had been working with the company for the last three years. His efforts had taken the company places. He had grown with the company. The company had grown with him. And today when he need the company, the very same company was thinking of firing him. He didn't know what to do. He was devastated.
EMIs, home loans, sister's marriage, his marriage - so many responsibilities he had on his shoulders. So many people depended on him. He was upset. His mind kept playing the what next? what if? game.
She was sitting across his cubicle and watching him. He was biting his nails. She knew something was wrong. He bit his nails only when his really upset about something he can't take his mind off. She slowly walked up to him. As he sees her coming to him, he stops biting his nails and tries to fake a smile. His heart skipped a beat, he loved her secretly; but never had the guts to confess his love for her.
She pulls out a chair and sits next to him and places her hand on his shoulder. What's wrong?, she asks? Nothing, he said. Okay listen, whatever it is, I hate to see you like this. I know this is a tough time, but I remember I am with you through this. You don't have to go through this alone. I want you to be fine, she said. I want you to be mine is all he heard. He smiled. He felt all his burdens lighten. She was there with him and for him. What else did he need? She smiled. Oh how lovely she looks when she smiles, he thought to himself. Oh how lovely he looks when he smiles, she thought to herself!
After the hurricane came a rainbow, he was able to tide over the bad situation at work. He wasn't fired. In fact he made a real good progress. After all he had the love of his life with him. Was there anything that could hold him back. Yesterday was their first wedding anniversary. She asked him he remembered that day? He said of course I do! How can I forget the day that changed my life! She burst out into peals of laughter. What? he asked. She continued giggling. When she regained her composure, she asked him do you remember what was the last thing I said you that day? "Of course yes I do, you told me that you want to be mine!" "No!!, she said. I said that I want you to be fine, though my heart ached to tell you I want you to be mine. But I wasn't sure about your feelings; so I decided I would replace mine with fine!" "So you were playing games with me eh?, he asked irritated. No, I didn't want you to make fun of my feelings. I know I took a risk. But it was worth it, wasn't it?, she asked. Hell yeah, it was worth it!, he replied and smiled.
This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda
This episode dates long, long back it time. The era where not having an email account was as bad as not knowing what 'twerking' is today! And if you don't know what twerking means, please don't Google! No please don't! I don't want you to end up gawking like the Will Smiths' did at the MTV VMA 2013!
Anyway! I think I should cut the but and jiggle straight to the point! So this was at a time when my best friend moved to the States and I had no way to get in touch with her except via emails. A technically challenged unfortunate techie like me, didn't know what emails and emailing meant! I used to send love letters to a friend in the UK via the snail mail telling her how I missed her (in ink, and not in blood, in case there are some weirdos reading this) So creating an email account was a sort of coming of age milestone for me. I walked into the cyber cafe for the first time ever with an experienced, you know - the been there done that friend!
So once we were in the cyber cafe, the first thing she asked me was - which email service provider do you wish to create an account with? The "?" look on my face explained her clearly how well versed I was with technology! To save me the shame, she went on list the names starting with Hotmail. I was like, "What? Hotmail? You mean Hot MALE? Eeeyou! That sounds so horny! Imagine! Jincy's got a hotmail! It was way too bold me for! No!" I said. She then asked, Gmail? I was like (?) Eh? What mail? Geemail? Is that the modern way to refer to the third gender? The frown on my face signaled my friend that Gmail wasn't gonna work with me. She then mouthed 'Yahoo....' And before she could complete it, my heart and mind and body and soul went "YAHOOOO!?!? YAHOOOO!!" a la Raj Kapoor in that song! Phew! And finally, I managed to pick the one!
Then came the task of creating a username. The late bloomer that I was, something as simple jincy@yahoo.com was definitely not in store for me! Thousands of other Jincys had already beaten me in the username race! writetojincy, mailjincy, talktojincy etc seemed like as bad as the cheesy pickup lines like I'm new in town. Could you give me directions to your apartment? Usernames like cool_dudette, class_topper, university_ranker, beauty_queen (not that I am any of these) etc were too, too overly narcissist for a modest humble bumblebee like me! Pondering hours over a decent username, I finally managed to settle on jincy_cu@yahoo.co.in It wasn't as creative as I wanted it to be, but it sounded short, sweet, decent and whatever else I felt a username should sound like! My friend heaved a huge sigh of relief! Little did she know that her troubles were far from over! Poor thing!
Now chose a Password! She said. I didn't have to say anything. The lost gaze on my face said it all. Did I tell you I suck at technology? Well, now you know! She went on to explain what a password meant and what it was supposed to do and what it should be like and blah blah! I smiled ear-to-ear! I understood every word of what she was trying to convey to me! A devout religious that I think I am, I would be a sinner if I didn't thank Almighty for showering His abundant graces on me for I finally will be getting an email ID! I thought I should acknowledge Him in the best possible way that I can! What better way than dedicate a password to Him Almighty, na? I decided that my password would be my favorite Bible verse. Sounds intelligently holy! Right? Yeah! But try typing Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Try typing that in a password field where all you can see is dots and try re-entering it again to confirm the password! I suck! I know! Kidding you not, but that was the password I chose for myself! Thankfully I couldn't re-confirm the password 'coz I didn't have a clue as to what key I punched in and so by some grace, that password obviously didn't work! From Rom 8:28, I moved to another favorite - Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Did that work? NO! Finally I had to settle for something more short and sweet and easy to remember and most importantly easy to re-type and boom! It worked! I had an email ID! Finally!
I felt I had scaled the Mount Everest of Technology by owning an Email ID! Though I started with Yahoomail, I finally learnt to shed my inhibitions and slowly moved to Hotmail and then the Gmail, but Yahoomail still remains closest to my heart. I don't know why though!
So that is how I got my first email ID created! Was getting yours as bizarre as mine? I don't think so! :)
This post is not a part of any contest or any promotional or any other blah blah! This post is here 'coz I love write more than any other thing! And trust me, every bit of this story is true! This is what happens to you when you happen to have OCD!
