I scream for iPhone

I recently lost my Palm Treo PDA phone. The problem was all my contacts are in MS Outlook and therefore I just sync my phone and have everything I need at my finger tips. Loosing the phone created a tremendous stress in terms of not having contacts on my phone. The other stress was dealing with AT&T in terms of getting a new phone.

The main difference between store personnel in AT&T and Apple is the way they approach customer service.

AT&T Store Personnel

After waiting for 10 minutes, they approach me and ask me if I am being helped. When I say no, they looked at me strangely with the thought "You need help you should ask us". When I did ask them their response was "Cannot do it. Sorry"

Apple Store Personnel

"Do you want some help". I said not and was just browsing the iPhone. The lady then came back and explained to me in detail all the features. She then told me if I wanted she could also show me the demo online.

Thank God someone understands Customer Service.

And yes I love my iPhone.

Now I am sure the rest of the Blackberry's, Nokia, Palm will understand phone can be made fun and functional at the same time. The others that are coming with Apple type touch screen, what were you doing all these years giving us those lousy phones.

How to attract Females

This weekend I had the opportunity to catch up a diverse group of friends for lunch at Saravanaa Bhavan in New York City. Since it was a nice day we proceeded to the Boat House at Central Park to laze over alcohol. The conversation somehow drifted to dating and how to make a single guy more attractive, or in lay man's terms become a chick magnet.

This is list we came up with:

a. A child - preferably not yours. This shows paternal instinct. Make sure the kid calls you "Uncle" and not "Papa"
b. A dog - same reason as A but shows you can take care of a living being full time not part time. Guys avoid poodle type animals.
c. Mac Air - The artist/non mainstream career comes out with mac
d. iPhone - You like the finer things in life and this along with the Mac Air book shows you are not a bum
e. Books in your open bag - Should be of intellectual variety. Maxim/Playboy are magazines and not books and they show signs of desperation. No paper backs otherwise all points c and d come undone rapidly.
f. Shades - Not the RayBan (If you do not own a plane you should not be allowed to wear those) and not the $5 pair you bought at 7-11. Get yourself a decent shade that shows your eyes but yet protects you from sun. If you are indoors casual have then on the table or hanging from your shirts. Never put them on top/behind your head/or dangling from a cord.

Pulling this off take a bit of planning.

Accessories:

Bag: Now take all these in smart messenger type bag which looks a bit of a worn and beat up look (need to show you are well travelled). Briefcases are for the wall street types and Backpacks are for adolescents.

Watch: Nothing made of gold or too much blink blink. Used car salesman look is not a great way to attract girls.

Clothes: Make sure to wear a something that is trendy and casual. There is fine line between that and being dressed for church. No cuff links !!! Shirt should be sightly crumbled and not tucked. Loafers are the best.

Place:

Brunch Places
Coffee Shops

If you find yourself in the suburbs it is then OK to go Starbucks. But if you are in a city and you go to Starbuck all I can do is shrug my shoulders.

Now I am not saying this will work or I have tried it. OK have tried it and it failed miserably. But go ahead give it a shot. What have you to loose other than $5000 at the minimum.

PS: I do not own a Mac book or an iPhone. I use a backpack. I have an iPOD. I tend to wear loafers/jeans/jacket when I got out.

Statue of Liberty

This story takes place around 4 years back. At that time your's truly was employed by THE MAN (or WOMEN) and therefore had the opportunity to partake in such office gatherings like birthday parties (Yuck !!!), lunches (Sign !!!) and the obligatory going away drinking sessions (Yipee !!!).

As with any corporation we had our share of newbies that migrated from small town to the Big Apple with only hope in the heart and dreams in their head. I took it upon myself to shatter such hopes and dreams and reminded them that they were but cubicle slaves and that their opinion mattered to no one.

Such a girl landed in our company and managed to get to get an apartment in the city, which I am sure she was sharing with 10 other girls. Every day we had to hear how she woke up to the view of the Statue of Liberty and how that alone made it worthwhile for her to commute all the way to Connecticut She also manged to entrall or bore us about new restaurants or night club that she went to, somehow she was always on the VIP guest list.

During I such inspirational speech, I interjected her and told her she is lucky enough in one year to see the full Statue of Liberty. Of course the group was confused with the comment.

I then proceeded to tell her that the following story which is a hidden gem and secret only to the New Yorkers.. The story is as follows:

When the Statue arrived on the shores of USA from France that there was a fight to which side the statue to face. The New Yorkers of course wanted it to face them while the rest of the country wanted the butt to face New York. Glover Cleveland, the US President at that time, came with a decision to put the Statue on a rotating base and it would rotate at the rate of 1 degree per day. The idea was that at the end of year both sides would get the front and back view of Lady Liberty.

She was a smart cookie, she challenged me saying that there are 365/366 days in a year and only 360 degrees in a circle. My response was, "Good question, the statue doesn't rotate during New Year, President's Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also during leap year the statue doesn't rotate during February 29th".

With the new found knowledge, she decided it is time to enlighten her fried who are born and bred New Yorkers about this story.

The following Monday she came charging into my office and told me, "You know you are as ass h---! I told that story at a party this weekend and was nearly laughed out of New York"

I listened to her outburst with a smirk on my face and nearly unfolded the "Mission Accomplished" banner in my office.

She was smart, came from the right school (read Ivy League) but not very good in history or research.

From that day on she never ever gave us updates to her daily life as a New Yorker. Some of us missed it, but to the rest she was another naive child you got a rude awakening to the corporate world