What's in an email id?

I remember getting my first email id, two teenagers in a not so tiny cyber cafe on Light House Hill Rd in the Lobo Prabhu Apartments, I think it was called Cyber Delight and the rates for using the internet were hourly. Hotmail seemed like the one option, it was owned by Sabeer Bhatia then, anyway after trying for a bit we both ended up with some pretty good usernames for our email accounts. I desperately wanted an email id with both my first and last name but had to make do with just one of them and a combination of some other initials.

I’ve gone through many email accounts since then, some really obscure ones on rediffmail and indiatimes too! Today, despite having multiple email-id’s for various specific purposes, the usernames for most of them are something I have no contention with, except for a couple. Try as I may to retire that one email account, I have not been able to do it after starting the process about six months ago or maybe I’ve not tried enough. And then I think of the reason why I want to kill that email account, it’s not like it has some stupid name like cutegirl666! or is linked to some significant other who is no longer significant! Spam should be a good reason but then there is no surefire way to avoid it too.

Ever since I got my first gmail id on 6/28/04, it has trumped all and I receive *some* of my other personal email into my gmail account. Unfortunately, I do not have my very first email account today, due to the restriction that hotmail had in those days of logging in every 3 months, and it’s unfortunate because it had some important memories. Memories I know should be in the head although I think today most memories are on all kinds of servers around the world!

‘I have the helmet of God while in pursuit of fame and happiness all the while being slender and fair’