To buy or not to buy

That is the $600 question I am asking myself now. The iPhone comes out tomorrow. Even though I have no intentions of standing in the line to get one, I was planning on getting it for a while now. But I have second thoughts all of a sudden. I want it because I use my iPod quite a bit at work and with an iPhone I wouldn't have to carry my iPod any more. I hate to carry things around with me where ever I go. That's one of the reasons why I don't like SLR cameras and camcorders. As great as they are, they are excess baggage to carry. You want to be "loose" when you go sight seeing. That’s why I prefer sleek things that fit easily in my pocket. I don't know how women manage to carry around those bags where ever they go. I couldn't imagine doing it in a million years. Anyways, the only reason I don't want an iPhone is that I hate the data plan. Think of it. We are always on the net, at work and at home. As if that's not addictive enough, I will now have it where ever I go. Even at home, the only thing I use it for is to check email and orkut scraps. I think it's a total waste of money, however little it may be. I think I still have another week to decide cos I don't think I can get in the store any time soon.

I think all those people that are already queued up in the line are crazy. The iPhone goes on sale on Friday at 6pm and the line started on Monday! Can you believe it? It's a phone for heavens sake. Some people are willing to stand 4 days in a line to buy a cell phone. That’s crazy as crazy goes. I thought all those people who were queuing up for the Nintendo Wiis and Sony Playstations were crazy, but they are nothing compared to this. Even funnier is that there are people who are paying others to hold their place in the line. I think that’s hilarious.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the world, people are going berserk for tickets to the movie Sivaji. If you haven't heard of the movie Sivaji, you probably never heard of Rajnikanth, and I think you should take some time to know more about him. I can tell you only two things - that he is a movie actor from South India, and that, when it comes to having fan following, no one in the history of mankind beats this guy. At least, that's the impression I get. I think the adulation that the Beetles and Elvis Presley received in their prime put together doesn't come anywhere close to the adulation he gets. You get the picture. One of the biggest mysteries to me has been how on earth he became popular in Japan! I mean Japan, probably the most scientifically advanced country in the world. One of my friends recently explained that it's because Japanese believe a lot in super hero tales and when they see Rajnikanth, they feel like he is a super hero. It seems they simply love his histrionics. All I can say is, it's a good thing they haven't seen Telugu movie star Mr. Balakrishna or they would just go totally nuts cos when it comes to super hero stunts, he is better than Superman himself. What makes me wonder most about movie star fans in India is how they can have so much time. I mean time to do pujas before the movies, lay out posters, all that stuff. Do these people even work? If not, who is feeding them?

Anyway, back to the question. Who's more crazy - the guys waiting for iPhone or the guys performing pujas for a movie? Or am I being hypocritical? Cos I know I would have definitely watched Sivaji if it was in my town, and I am also planning on buying the iPhone. It's all very confusing. But I know one thing for sure. Even if I was starving for a week and had to stand in a line for a few days to get some food, I wouldn't do it.

I could stand in a line for 2 hours to get on a 2 minute roller coaster though, but that’s a different story altogether.