I've Got Mail

FADE IN:

INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY

PETER and his son ZENO (20) are discussing with phone and pad in hands.

PETER

I've checked that when we

arrive in Sapporo next Monday,

it'll be snowing. I've decided

not to hire a car to drive to

Niseko.

Zeno nods.

PETER (Cont'd)

We've to fix our land transport,

the earlier, the better.

Zeno hits a few keys on his pad and Peter passes him a credit card. Seconds later, Peter gets mails.

PETER (Cont'd)

Good, our limousine bus

reservations from New Chitose

Airport to Niseko Northern

Resort Annupuri have been

confirmed.

INT. CAFE - DAY

Sitting at one end of a long table, LADY #1 and #2 (20s) talk to Peter.

LADY #1

We've been waiting patiently

for your reply regarding your

prospective appointment as a

Panelist in a case...

Peter is astonished.

PETER

Did I miss your mail? I check

my incoming mails from time

and time. My practice has

been to respond to them right

away!

LADY#1

I'll resend my mail then...

Peter checks his mails very seriously.

PETER

Oh My God, I've found it! Let me reply to you now!

Peter types.

PETER (Cont'd)

Done!

Peter looks relieved.

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - NIGHT

An On-line Dispute Resolution workshop. Except for the middle seat at the panel setting, panelists are seated on the left and on the right. A GENTLEMAN (40) talks to Peter who sits causally with the audience.

PETER

My pals working in international

institutions will be in town by

Wednesday. It'd be good if we

welcome them warmly...

The Gentleman nods. Peter immediately tries to find something from his phone.

PETER (Cont'd)

I couldn't find their email

addresses readily. I've not

written to them for years.

Having looked at the wall clock, Peter assumes the Moderator's seat.

INT. STUDY - NIGHT

Peter searches his mails in a computer, looking frustrated.

PETER (V.O.)

True... we used to talk over the

phone rather than writing to

each other.

Peter picks up a couple of USBs from a box.

PETERm(Cont'd) (V.O.)

I used to send X'mas greetings

to my friends. I recall I had a

mailing list.

Peter inserts the USBs into his computer ports one by one.

PETER (Cont'd)(V.O.)

Nothing...

Peter then picks out packets of name cards and examines them.

PETER (Cont'd)(V.O.)

These're new ones given to

me after my retirement. I left

the old ones in my old home.

The wall clock registers 1.00am.

PETER (Cont'd) (V.O.)

(Looking tired)

Should I ask another friend to

facilitate? No, that would be

indirect... I want to do it now -

It's still day time in Geneva.

Peter surfs the web. We see him browsing of "How to find someone's email address?"

PETER (Cont'd) (V.O.)

Too many general steps to

learn. Let me try my primitive

method.

MONTAGE OF PETER'S TRIAL AND ERROR METHOD

A/Peter composes a mail. He types a name and the organization's domain name. He fills in his message and sends it.

B/Peter then checks the mail inbox. Cuts and pastes the content and sends. We see: "Undelivered..."

C/Peter tries another name. Cuts and pastes the content and sends. We see: "Undelivered".

D/Peter tries a third name. Cuts and pastes the content and sends. Again we see: "Undelivered".

END MONTAGE

Pausing for a sigh. Peter tries the fourth name. Seeing no bounce back, he looks pleased.

The wall clock registers 2.00pm. He shuts down the computer. switches off the lights and leaves.

INT. SLEEPING ROOM - DAY

Peter wakes up. He reaches for his phone. We see his Mail App icon indicating: "1".

PETER (V.O.)

I've got mail.

Peter touches the Mail App icon and checks.

PETER (Cont'd) (V.O.)

Oh, it's from my Geneva

friend!

We see: "It's so nice to hear from you..." Peter smiles.

PETER (Cont'd) (V.O.)

She responds to my mail

right away!

INT. STUDY - DAY

Peter writes his blog post.

PETER (V.O.)

Is there an easier way to

find somebody's email

address?

Peter surfs the web, scrolling up and down and stopping at an "Email Finder" link.

PETER (Cont'd) (V.O.)

Just enter the name of

the professional and the

domain name of the email

address...Let me try if it

works.

Peter keys in a name and the domain name in a template table. He then presses the search icon. We see an email address appearing in less than a second.

PETER (Cont'd) (V.O.)

That's correct! So easy to

solve the problem. Let me

find another pal's email

address.

Peter repeats the earlier attempt and gets an email address.

PETER (Cont'd) (V.O.)

Oh, yes! That's his email

address.

Peter composes another mail, sends it and sees no bounce.

PETER (Cont'd) (V.O.)

Is the service free?

Peter tries another name. We see an instant message: "You've used up your free quotas".

FADE OUT. The End

#IveGotMail