1 Month without a mobile phone

It all started 2 months ago. I read an article on The Age Melbourne Magazine about a guy who survives a week without a single penny. So there my journey begins, trying to find some social experiment to try. So I followed that guy, trying to spend $0 for a week, but failed miserably. So after a month of finding something to try, on the eve of 10th of August 2007, right after Mika warned me not to go to the loft, I lost my phone.

I treat this misfortune as an opportunity to do my social experiment – 1 month without a mobile phone. Now the hardest thing is that this incident took place right before kafe art. This compounds my problem, due to the necessity nature of a cell phone in event planning. First week without a phone, combined with kafe art makes my life an absolute hell. Luckily I’ve backed up most of my contacts online (Thank you google) so I was still able to make contact to a lot of people.

Now, the second week is OK, nothing is going on. I’m starting to get used to not having a mobile phone. After all, I did go through an era where not everyone have mobile phone and still managed to survive. In this second week I learn to communicate via email and responding them as soon as I read them. There were time where there is multiple email messages, but once again thanks to google, it organizes them into conversation that is so simple to read. The third week… I’m 100% used to it. I realized that a mobile phone is not a necessity; it’s just another luxury item. One of my workmate got his first mobile phone 2 months ago after 27 years without one. So it’s not really a necessity. The world around us makes us think it’s a necessity, but it’s nothing more than an overrated luxury.

Fourth week, the final week, another observation is that people can’t take other people’s word. People always try to call to confirm appointment, and if they can’t contact you, they leave you. I must say my only bad experience was with watching Ratatouile, I promised that I’d come and watch movie, but I was running late due to serving nature’s call, but I did my best and came 5 minute late, but I was ditched. I remember back in SMP, we would wait for the other party to show up before watching a movie because we have confidence in the other party’s word. Has the world now become such dependent on mobile phone, that even if the other party already said that they are coming, the words have no values unless they can contact you?

Now my analysis for the matter is that we don’t really need a mobile phone if only we can trust someone’s words. When you said you’ll be there, please be there. Don’t change plans in the last minute if the reason for changing it is not satisfactory. I realized that it is hard for some of you to contact me and I do apologize, but it’s all for the sake of experiment. I also apologize for coming in late when I already promise to be there on time. Just to inform you I now have a mobile phone and keeping the same number.