Level 1 - Reached my first lecture...boring...fell asleep as usual...when I got up at the end of the lecture, the professor was staring at me. Who cares? Then I went to the next class...the teacher who never bothered to ask anyone a question in the past kept on picking on me (just me) the entire period. Even other classes seemed different. Societies and clubs that advertise on the main street of LSE also decided to stop my way with 'Join us for a trip to...', 'Awesome party tonight...full of hot girls...', etc, etc. Even the Christian missionaries decided to stop me twice, not once, asking me to join their Bible awareness or I-love-Jesus programs. It was then I realized something wasn't normal that day. Just like everybody else in this world, I started thinking that the free money I found that day was probably cursed.
Level 2 - In the middle of another of my lecture, I realized that I had an assignment due in about an hour. I thought if I hurried, I could finish it in time and hence, decided to go to LSE's famous Garrick cafe and do my work...reached there...grabbed a table...took my papers out and started writing. But the deluge of phone calls I kept on getting made me feel that there was actually some 'dark force' trying to prevent me from completing my work. Smart as I was, I decided to leave my phone on the table rather than keep it in my pocket and take it back out every ten seconds.
Level 3 - A Chinese couple decided to take a share of my table with an excuse that there wasn't any free table around. They sat down and started talking to each other at the top of their voices. To make it worse, they kept on switching places for some reason. I was simply going crazy. Then they decided to leave silently. I took a deep breath and thought I would finally be able to make full utilization of my remaining time. But my happiness was broken when a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard hindered my work. I turned around to see two European women asking me to donate some money for the 'Dumb & Deaf Organization'. I checked my wallet but realized that I had no money on me, except the coin I found that morning. I gave it to them and they left. They didn't even say a word during that whole process. Then later, when it was class time, I cleared up the table and as usual, double checked if I had left anything and walked out. After 10-15 steps, I realized that there was something missing...my phone!
Level 4 - Obviously, my phone got stolen...those Chinese did a really smart job - grabbed my phone while I was looking out of the window and then they left without a sound. The worse part was I wouldn't be able to identify them if I saw them again...as I had never bothered to look at them in such detail. I rushed to one of the phone booths - called my phone...the phone was switched off. Then I called Maity using my last coin I had with the hope to make several more calls using his phone after meeting him. I thought if nothing else, I would be able to call my network with that. Thanks to the classes we had, I met him after two hours. And he didn't have the network's number. So, I decided to go back home after dinner and call the network then. The shitty dinner and the rain while coming back couldn't add much to my misery. After some problems with the stupid automated phone call, I was finally able to bar calls to/from my phone.
The Ultimate - For two weeks, I was thinking how stupid I was and how skilled those Chinese were that day. But things changed when my monthly bill arrived. I was supposed to pay 35 pounds monthly...the bill showed 125. I realized that the phone had been used for all of the three hours it had after it was stolen. Those bastards were using it to make international calls for the entire period. With some research, I came to realize something that surprised me even further. It wasn't the Chinese but the freaking 'Dumb & Deaf Organization' women who did it. The calls were made to Romania. The whole attempt to use the clipboard as a shield, blocking my view, not saying a word and leaving the place as soon as they were done all made sense then. The worst part - my super-smart mind had made me cancel my insurance policy just a month before it was stolen. Thought it wouldn't be a smart idea to spend 10 pounds a month just on the insurance.
They weren't satisfied with the 200 pounds phone...they had to take full advantage of it. And, now I have to take the full burden of it.
They have taken the 'cursed' coin...and since they have it now...I might as well curse it further.
But what if they don't any more? Should I still curse it?
That's weird, your post wasn't here when I posted mine but now, it's here. Must be because of the time thing.
ReplyDeleteSorry bout your whole situation there. I would have thought it was the coin as well. Good thing you gave it to those bastards who stole your phone. You sure you can't get the company to free you from those ridiculous charges?? Maybe you can tell them to look at your phone-use history as evidence that you would never phone to Romania of all places and that you have normally paid only 35 pounds. I mean, honestly, if this happened with a credit card, normally, you wouldn't have to pay what you didn't charge. Why not a cell phone?
Those thieves will get what's coming to them. And there's no harm in cursing it futher. I'll do some cursing for you too. =P
my network isn't planning on being lenient on me. poor me!
ReplyDeletethanks for some extra cursing...i am sure now that with the help of your 'black magic' that u had once used on me, those thieves will have nowhere to go.
we must have posted pretty much at the same time. i didn't see yours while posting mine either.
Goodwill? Never heard of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm telling you guys, these thieves were slick, they have all the markings of a LSP (Lansdowne School of Pickpockets and Thieves) graduate. I wrote a post about their exploits on this blog a long time ago. If these guys were responsible, your phone might as well be in Limpopo by now.
Really sorry to hear this...something similar happened to a girl I knew in college..bloody coffee bars, with trays and napkins and paraphernalia all over the table, are a pain.
ReplyDeleteCurse the coin by all means. Super-strength, if you must.