I have no idea how Ministerial aides survived on working visits overseas during the pre-Internet and handphone days. I am now in Europe following the boss on an official trip and have come to realise just how dependent we are on technology.
Upon switching on my handphone after touching down in Heathrow early Saturday morning (local time), I received 13 SMSes, mostly about the tragic landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa. In no time, the boss was briefed and instructions were relayed back home through phone. In about three hours after we landed, we not only went through Immigration clearence, collected our luggage and checked-in to the hotel, some 30 minutes from the airport; my boss also posted a blog on the landslide.
The next day, still groggy from jet lag, I woke up to about eight unread SMSes (I usually put my phone on silent if I go to bed in a different time-zone from home). This time, it's about the bus accident near Tangkak, which claimed 10 lives. Besides a blog posting, the boss also conveyed instructions back home, besides being briefed by Ministry officials.
In between these, I also did some fire-fighting on work-related matters, all using my trusty but highly irritable Nokia E61i. Of course, these are all on top of following developments back home, sometimes piggy-backing on free wifi, whenever I can find one.
Today, colleagues in Putrajaya asked to pass to boss some super-urgent documents for his immediate endorsement. Couldn't have been possible without access to the Internet and a printer.
When you think about it, in the past, aides probably had to wait beside a fax machine to keep track of news back home. Or they would have to learn the Morse code or something.
But then again, being incommunicado with home, they probably had more time to visit the English countryside or tour the city ruins in Rome.
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6 comments:
"your colleagues" should have stopped sms/email you...
LEAVE CKH ALONE!!!
hehe...
by the way, you blog more when you are away..
Bro, get a new phone. If you like Nokias, get the E71.
If Blackberry, the Bold would be perfect.
Enjoy the trip!
bet half your bag is filled with wires and cables to charge all the paraphenalia. and adapter plugs.
these days, when i get into a new place, the first thing i look for, and test, are power points.
Eh Carol, you're just like me.
KH, Rome has excellent internet facilities. I never had any trouble when I was there. Can update blog somemore.... :)
my bags not filled with wires. didnt even bring laptop. got biz centre or even can surf net thru tv. its amazing when you juxtapose the old country against modern technology.
take my room in florence. the hotel is as old as it comes, probably it has the same ambience which gave inspirations to the likes of leornados and michaleangelos. but room access is via a chip-based key, not even magnetic strip cards. and while u surf the net using tv, u can admire the paintings on the wall, u know the half naked men and women from probably the time of juclius ceaser or something.
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