The Best Online Deal Of My Life And The Story Of The Missing Pink Choker Set

A few years back, I had ordered a few tacky-looking jewelry sets from a leading eCommerce website (today, I wonder why I did). The deal was nothing unique. There was a pink choker set with large, dangling earrings, on display, and three other multicolored scoop shorts of weird designs. I was into my first job and enjoying the liberty of spending self-earned money to the fullest. Perhaps.

So, I had placed a COD order with a Rs 2000 plus something bill. And, I was excited. It was the first thing I was going to buy with my salary. And it felt great. I eagerly waited for the delivery date to arrive. However, the product never came. The tracking tool on the website said it ‘had already been shipped.’ So, I sent back an e-mail inquiring about my order. Luckily, their response was quick.

“Dear Miss Deka, we are extremely sorry for the inconvenience and delay caused. Your product will be delivered tomorrow at 4 pm by so-and-so person.”

The wait was on. The delivery boy came the next day with a big package. I handed him the cash and quickly rushed inside the office to open it. There were three packages. The pink choker was missing. And one of the other two sets was broken.

So, there was another e-mail inquiring about the missing product and the replacement of the broken set. The response was quick again. “Dear Miss Deka, we sincerely apologize the inconvenience caused. Could you specify the model numbers of the two products?” The model numbers were mailed. And there was another response. “Dear Miss Deka, we are sending the two products at the earliest.” I was overjoyed and almost felt like a VIP. So, this means that the broken set need not be returned.

Five days later, another person was in my office, this time with a smaller package. The replacement was there, but the pink choker was still missing. The eCommerce firm had sent me a different set instead. So, there was some more emailing and complaining. More “Dear Miss Deka, we are sending the two products at the earliest” responses followed. A month later, I had three pieces of a set that wasn’t even included in the deal. And the most interesting part was, the firm had not demanded their return as of yet.

However, I was at my wit’s end. How could they not deliver my pink choker – the one because of which I had chosen the deal in the first place?!? So, I decided to try a trick this time. I hunted for that extra set on their website, noted its model number, and e-mailed them that I had not received the set. To my amusement, the pink choker was delivered this time. Wonderful, wonderful feeling! So, I had spent Rs 2000 plus something for 8 pieces of jewelry, had not I? Double profit, it was!

Sometimes I feel bad that I never inquired anything about returning the extra sets. But then, even they didn’t, did they? So why bother? For me, this was the best online deal of my life. It’s funny how I have never worn the pink choker. And about the extra sets, well, they were given away as gifts. Oh come on, you don't have to take it otherwise, do you? :) :P

The Suicide Note of Kurt Cobain and the Life Lessons it Teaches Us

No matter how many times I go through the suicide note, a chill runs down my spine. And, suddenly I realize all over again how the prejudices of life cannot be drowned even by the best of riches and fame. No, glamour cannot be equal to felicity if we go by the life and words of Kurt Cobain. The sweetness of success lasts only until the point we want it to. Even if we are surrounded by a huge crowd of admirers, the uproar cannot pierce through our loneliness unless we allow it to.

Sometimes, even the most familiar of senses go numb, and the wakefulness dawns upon us that whatever we and our achievements are today, is soon going to become history. So, wasting time doing things we don’t want to do, or things that don’t excite us is simply unaffordable. We are so busy impressing others that we forget to live our own life. How pathetic is that? Yes, we have only one life. And, here are the lessons from Cobain’s suicide note you must remember if you want to live it happily:

Defy the mundane.

If a certain work is not instilling interest in your heart, you can never do it with perfection. Flaws will come up every time and suffocate you with guilt – of wrongdoing, of imperfection, and of failure.

We have always known Cobain as an extraordinary music persona, a songwriter, a performer. Nirvana goes synonymous with this name. We have seen his zeal on stage and felt the fire in his tone. But, was Cobain living in his own skin? Was he happy doing it? What made him cook up ‘Boddah’ in the first place?

Yes, when you can’t communicate your inner voice to the world out there, you tend to detach yourself from it. The roar of the crowd goes unheard. And the moment your work loses its charm in your eyes, it is nothing more than slogging. Do you want to keep on doing it? Would it not be wiser to break free?

Success cannot cure despondency.

There’s no solution to your low spirits other than yourself. The success achieved in your work is like a painkiller. Its action is temporary. And, eventually when the effect wears off, the pain comes back, and it is even more unbearable.

The best way to combat despair is to stop being stagnant. The more you are saturated with success of one kind, the more monotonous it will get. If you are an artist, try your hands in singing. If you are a writer, indulge in pottery. May be then, you will learn to appreciate your skills and your work.

Wear the hide like an elephant.

No one is immune to heartbreak. However, the more you are permeable to misery, the more it will grasp you. And it’s a bad, harsh world out there. You must prepare your bones for the inevitable onslaught. Unfortunately, Cobain had realized it very late.

Yes, be like the little child who cries his heart out for the sake of his broken toy in one moment, and cheers up the in the very next when a new one arrives. Stay miserable and the world is going to get on your nerves.

You can’t stay in everyone’s good books.

All throughout your life, you will meet some people who will love you and others who wouldn’t think twice before breaking your heart. It’s okay to have a few foes. It’s even okay to have no friends at all. Fair weather is not wanted as a replacement of quality.

Yes, this is what you become when you try to love one and all. Learn to create bridges and break meaningless ties. And yes, there’s no use trying to fix a broken mirror. Learn to let go.

Stop being charitable about trust.

Pin your faith on people with great caution. The more you are sure about them, the more the chances of you getting hurt. It’s good to be skeptical about a person’s good deeds and doubt his intentions, because you are just saving your little, brittle heart.

A good way is to hope for the best and stay prepared for the worst. A person’s true color shows up only in the darkest hour. And, if you want to witness this, untie the blindfold of trust covering your eyes. So, what are you waiting for? Snap out of the societal norms. Let the sunshine touch your inner self.

Laugh.

Love.

Live.