Wires, modems & indicators: A saturday morning well spent

I have never been very comfortable around gadgets...I mean I use them all the time but I have been never been one of those people who would rush in whenever there was a electrical problem and say," move aside..move aside...let me have a look at it!!"It has always been my younger brother's role...whether it is replacing the fuse at home or repairing the odd electrical gadgets...good that he finally has become an Engineer but still ironic given that I ended up working for a "technology" firm.

I had to arrange for a new cable and internet connection in my apartment since I just moved into my own apartment in Singapore. So, there I was, at the nearest Star Hub shop, pissed after having a disastrous dinner experiment with a plate of Biriyani at a nearby Hawker's corner, to get my new connection. The shop guy took a long time to clear up all the paper-work (with me standing there like the patient buddha smiling at him...being an Indian helps in unexpected ways at unexpected moments) and finally gave me a choice....do I want a technician sent to my house to install the goodies or would I prefer installing the goodies myself? I stared at him for a moment and then said, "I will do it myself". On my way back, I was wondering, why would I say that!!! Was it the prospect of saving s$32 in installation charges or the prospect of a long saturday with no real plans or just the (cheap) thrill of playing with 300 dollars worth of gadgets. Whatever!!!

So, I woke up on Sat'day morn...no prospect of jogging (raining like hell with a sky infested with clouds)....bad start!!...and then I noticed the two green bags with the goodies from Star Hub....suddenly I was back in business...I opened the packets to take a look at the inventory of the goodies available…took a fleeting look at the thick User manual so kindly provided by the service provider (they probably intended it to scare me into calling a technician) and then just started assembling the goodies together…..yeah, ok, it took me two hours but when I finally switched on the Tv and could see the so familiar face of Al Pacino on HBO…the sheer thrill of having done something new, something which was even probably a fear till then made the day…a Saturday morning well spent…