I don’t want to pay more for water
In the middle of the night, after binging on episodes of Mind Hunter, I realised there was no water in the house. I located my wallet, went downstairs to Daily Needs, and paid Dh10 for two giant bottles of drinking water, five litres each, and lugged them up (in the elevator, of course). I could have ordered.
Home delivery for any small thing is the whole point of Dubai. But it was late, and I didn’t want to waste time waiting for a delivery person when I could give the blood circulation in my limbs a boost.
It had not occurred to me that cheaper water is available. Earlier in the day at Carrefour, I saw the same five litre bottles for Dh3! Why have we been getting ripped off for so long? Might have saved Dh500 a year, some INR10K — the cost of a tan Safiana leather bag at DaMilano at the IGI airport in Delhi, or the school fees for a kid’s entire year, or the cost of a visa for some nearby country.
I mourned to myself for the pennies — fine, fils — one allows to get away like this. I want to read an engagingly-written economic theory about incomprehensible human behaviour. Why do I do what I do? Maybe Richard Thaler has the answers and I should familiarise myself with what he has to say. Why do I pay two bucks more for every bottle of water? Is ‘cost of convenience’ just a glammed-up term for laziness? And there’s no antidote for laziness?
**** My iPhone hasn’t been behaving too well this past year. Already got its speakers cleaned when I couldn’t hear on the other end. And yesterday I paid Dh100 to get the battery replaced. The sense of satisfaction was immense! Quick fixes are wonderful to make you feel like an achiever. That I had avoided the trap of blowing up Dh2k on a new phone was a source of
But would I feel embarrassed to ask for the money back? Awkward yes, embarrassed no
endless smugness the entire evening. If not avoided, at least deferred enough to get better mileage out of the amount paid for the now working fine phone. When I got my phone (no one says ‘handset’ anymore, right?) back after six quite blissful hours of not checking WhatsApp messages, one text I received was from a friend in a different time zone who had sent a string of photographs. I apologised for the late reply, said my phone was getting repaired. I was happy to hear my otherwise spendthrift of a friend commiserating. She smashed the screen of her phone and has been using it like that. “Too much of a hole in the pocket getting a new one. Besides, the screen looks kind of cool now.” It’s fascinating, the things we reconcile ourselves to.
**** Someone I split cabs with was asking me how I deal with people who borrow money and never return it. She said she feels embarrassed to ask for the amount lest the person not talk to her again. This annoyed me. Why are we like this? Is this an Indian thing, to go out and grab some humiliation that has no business belonging to us? How do I deal with it? I never lend money. Well … unless I feel awful for the person or and unless it’s my tightest circle.
But would I feel embarrassed to ask for the money back? Awkward yes, embarrassed no. I would nudge away any shred of embarrassment that was rising in me. Even if it’s an amount that buys me not more than four water bottles. Or a phone battery. If the other person isn’t feeling embarrassed to not return it, why should you not broach the topic? What’s with internalising awkwardness? So unnecessary. The last time I lent someone Dh100, I asked for it the next week. Just smile and say: “Hey xx, do you think you can return that amount this week? I need it.” Usually does the trick. And you feel better for your self respect not being trampled on. —nivriti@khaleejtimes.com