After quite a deliberation, I purchased a new toaster last Tuesday. The decision was brought about because I was currently in the market for a new toaster as an old one had served me fro 12 years and finally decided to break down. So I logged onto one of those popular online retailers which sell nearly everything and made my purchase. From the doors of the online retailer’s store, I step towards my newly bought…
And just like that, it happened again yesterday. I rolled my trash bin to the curb at 7:58, which is later than my usual time of 7:30, and by noon, three different neighbors had inquired about my ‘new schedule.’ Mrs. Berkowitz from across the street actually asked if everything was “okay at home” dropping to a theatrical whisper for the word “okay,” as if my slightly delayed garbage routine might suggest some troubling personal issue.…
Last Thursday I decided to shoot my nephew a text inquiring if I could borrow his ladder over the weekend. As of today, Tuesday, there’s still no response. While I do recall getting a “Delivered” sign, I don’t remember noticing a “Read” notification – which didn’t bother me much until this very moment. My peace of mind has been shattered because of the difference between these two in a way that’s maddening. Back in 2005…
Just a medium coffee for me, nothing fancy. But somehow on the way to collecting my drink, I heard “Horace” on Monday, “Morris” on Tuesday, and “Boris” by Friday. For some reason, I also spoke my name out at the counter and in what seemed like a mere half-minute, I became a different person. But now, I face the conundrum of what has happened to me. Only Horace has been my name for the past…
Last Friday, after enduring a series of meetings that felt like they should have been conducted over a video call, along with colleagues who talked excessively with no regard to competence, I settled into my armchair to relish what should have been a mindless activity: staring idly at the television. I had assumed I would simply be able to sit back and relax, but within two hours, I found myself scrolling through content choices, having…
The most bizarre moment of vulnerability happens when you’re infront of an ATM. After inserting your card, typing in your PIN, and selecting your preferred action; it is now time to wait on a busy public sidewalk with absolutely no privacy as the machine making clicking and whirring sounds, presumably straining to prepare your cash for withdrawal. It is in the waiting period where everything goes wrong, not for the ATM itself, but for you…
This seed was planted by my niece. During our monthly family dinner which, I confess, has become more of a ritual than a pleasure beyond the obligatory jabs about my lonesome bachelor life and my ‘underwhelming’ career progress – my niece, after staring at the untouched vegetable medley for quite a while, suddenly lifted her gaze and said, “Uncle Horace, you have been cribbing about technology for so long. Why don’t you try a digital…
I never intended to live in the future. One futuristic device after the other, step by step, pushed me to the point of arguing with inanimate objects before my morning coffee. Waking up and putting on a black all-leather ‘living inside the future’ outfit was an astonishing stretch. A great many people term them as ‘smart’ homes and that directly conveys some degree of intellect on the part of the digital devices within the homes.…
A unique form of torment reserved exclusively for the early hours of the day. Where you are confined, side by side, with a gentleman whose favorite meal appears to be a garlic and onion sandwich and a teen who’s prerequisite to intimacy is the width of her shoulders. Or maybe a few centimeters past that. And you can feel and anticipate it with every push from the rough crowd into the subway: the more pleasant…
Not long ago, purchasing food and drinks was a very simple activity. You would place your items on the counter, engage in minimal conversation with the cashier, or at least acknowledge each other, and carry on. This method operated perfectly for centuries. However, some brilliant individual—most likely someone who’s never experienced the need to frantically grab a roll of toilet paper—came up with the groundbreaking concept of decreasing human interaction in that flawless process. I…