I’ve been killing myself trying to get the USB modem I bought from the phone man by the chai shop to work. I left the one I bought last year at home, so had to get another. Cheap enough, but getting them set up is a time-consuming process. They require authentication by the phone company, a process that requires zerox copies of your passport and visa and paperwork. So I bought a new modem several days ago. I asked the phone man, “Easy to set up?” “Yes, Madam, easy. Tomorrow it will work.” So I figured the authentication would be completed in 24 hours. I waited and then installed the thing — nothing. I tried reinstalling, configuring it as broadband, as wifi, etc. Nope. I waited another day, in case the phone company was lagging (last year, the 24 hour wait took three days). Yesterday I brought it back and the phone man immediately opened the modem, took out the SIM card, and called to have it authenticated. Haha! Oh, India. The phone man knew it’d have to be authenticated, but sent me off without getting the process rolling. I know how things work around here, though: I don’t need to make an official work call until Wednesday, so I gave myself 6 days to get it sorted out. No problem.