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WASTE OF TIME

 WASTE OF TIME

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

13/V/2024

 

These days with all the time to oneself, one can indulge in one's hobbies at any time of the day or night. You are your own boss.

A big ‘time waster’ called the ‘social media’ of which I use very few platforms have been put on ‘silent mode’. No unnecessary ‘Tring-Tring’ gives so much more time to do things creative in that time wasted scrolling aimlessly.

By the way, I heard WhatsApp is planning to withdraw its services from India. I wish them the best and pray it happens tomorrow. Many WhatsApp universities will shut down though. There will definitely be peace on earth. Another thing which needs to be shut down is the ‘Noise’ channels, which I have done personally for myself. No news is good news.

Be that as it may. I must confess that I watch a few videos on YouTube before going to bed. They say, one should avoid the mobile two hours before going to bed. For me, I avoid it all day, so it doesn’t matter. Believe you me, it works as a tranquilizer for me. No matter what I watch, I find myself dozing off in ten minutes.

IPL doesn’t interest me anymore. Except for Dhoni and Kohli, I do not know who all play for which teams. My Mom in Law’s favourite team is Rajasthan Royals. They wear too much ‘pink’ for my liking.

My phone generally stays silent as one hardly receives calls these days. Having left most of the ‘toxic groups’, one is so much at peace. No provoking messages, no rotten thoughts to mull over.

I have also warned my close friends, who love politics and hate certain political leaders or the parties they belong to, to stop forwarding me such nonsense. As a Gentleman, I shall give three warnings. On the fourth ‘violation’ they shall be blocked. Banter, humour and original writings are welcome. But I refuse to indulge with WhatsApp Uncles & Aunties and their noxious feeds.

My time is my time and is more precious than anything else. I may sit and do nothing but that is how I decided to spend that time which is far better than time spent on the idiot box or the mobile.

By the way, I post a lot of stuff on social media regularly. Very few care to read and fewer respond.

These days I do find my phone ringing when I least expect it. Especially, when it is plugged to the charger and I visit my throne. Mostly, these are calls from people who want me to change my service provider by offering better plans. Or, people who are desperate to offer me loans at zero interest rate. My foot!

Credit card offers come off and on. Sir, you get free lounge access, movie ticket is subsidised, you earn points. O Bhai! I hardly travel, or watch movies, you might subsidise my ticket but won’t subsidise the popcorn bucket you nincompoops. Stop wasting my time, I have better things to do.

We also get calls from numbers which claim to be from FEDEX. Even Mumbai High court gives you a call to get in touch with Mumbai Police for violation of something. Besides, in the last six months the moment you receive a courier, a call comes to clear consignments stuck in ‘Customs’ in which something unauthorised has been detected. Fraud is the way of life these days. I block them straight away.

Then there is another irritating agency which wants you to sell your car through them offering the best price. I tell them I have 10 cars to sell, from BMWs, Mercs to Rolls Royce to Audis etc. Sir, I shall connect you to the boss, who fixes an appointment to inspect the cars. They are then sent on a wild goose chase to a state which is more than 1500 kms away and at an address which never existed. Never forward any documents to them online. Then block that number. Period!

The blocked list in my mobile is longer than the ones I interact with, so that in future when such calls or SMSs are received, they all go to the spam folder to leave me in peace.

Time flies, they say. However, time wasted on nonsensical things, on things that boil your blood or disturb your peace is not acceptable to me any more.

Many of you will not have the time to even read what I wrote but will definitely put a thumbs up on social media, I know. You would have wasted that millisecond. Agree or disagree? I wonder!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS

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