Of iPad 2 and the electric shaver

Today’s world is a world of gadgets. At least 7 out of 10 people own a smartphone. I’m guilty of that too. I have not 1 but 2 phones (the other one given to me rather on an involuntary basis if you know what I mean). I would like to think I’m a gadget guy. I’m fascinated by gadgets in general. Was contemplating buying the iPad earlier on and now the iPad 2. Whenever I get trigger happy, the doubt of whether I’ll really be using it would always make me give it a rethink and eventually, a pass. In any case, I know I’m not maximising the capability of my current phone, the iPhone 3GS. I use the iPhone to make calls, send SMSes and play some games. The phone is full of games. Which almost all are for my daughters’ enjoyment. I do watch some videos and access my Facebook account, but that’s about it. They key point is I’m not maximising its potential.

Which brings me nicely to what I’m writing about tonight. In all my 37 years, as far as I can remember there’s only one thing I’ve bought (twice) which I really use and which I feel is a gift to mankind. Before you start speculating, this is a very personal gadget (if you could call it that) which I use almost on a daily basis. It’s not a laptop, or my car, or my bike or anything else. It’s my electric shaver.

You see, I’m generally a lazy person. A lazy person who knows when to become hardworking or “rajin”. It all depends on the circumstances for me. Where office work is concerned, you can’t afford to be lazy can you? Too much at stake for you to be lazy I believe. But I am by no means rajin when it comes to shaving. I think most of the people I know can testify to this fact. Not being a morning person, I just dread standing in front of the mirror every morning (well, almost every morning) shaving. To be honest, I tried shaving the night before but that didn’t work as well.

So one of the first things I bought when I got my Citibank credit card way back in 2000 was a Philips electric shaver. It cost me RM200+ I think, bought in KL Sogo. For some reason, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. No more getting up extra early everyday to shave. I can now shave while driving or almost any other time. Should I feel all scraggly before an appointment, I can shave then too. I know you may not be able to relate to all this. But let me tell you this, apart from riding, this is the other thing that liberates me.

After 8 wonderful years, I had to retire my poor Philips shaver. I bought a Panasonic shaver in 2008. A new improved model and washable as well. The shaver being washable is like opening a totally new dimension for me. Now the shaver is no longer full of hair and I feel cleaner after shaving (is that important information for the masses?). It being the miracle it is, having an electric shaver does have it pitfalls. Firstly, your skin can never be as smooth compared to shaving the conventional way with a razor and shaving cream. If you don’t mind having some “macho man” stubble (macho ke?) the electric shaver is the way to go.

The other pitfall is if you shave while driving like I do, you damn well be sure that your shaver is charged. It doesn’t come with an in-car charger like mobile phones. It has happened to me before. Leaving home for the office one day, I thought it would be a good idea to shave on the way (how many of you can say that?). Halfway through it, the shaver gradually slowed and finally died on me. So I was left looking like the Joker from the Batman movies with a half-shaven face. Well that’s not what the Joker really looks like but you get the idea. Went to the office and got a lot of sniggers and dirty looks from my colleagues. Which is not a good thing.

There you go. Despite what people say about the mobile phone being the greatest invention yet, I still stick to my guns and say that my electric shaver wins over the mobile phone hands down. Thank you Professor Alexandre Horowitz for inventing the electric shaver. I’d buy you dinner if you weren’t dead.