The Ordinary Times

A Scientific Study, Day 9.

Well, daily updates haven’t happened, but there hasn’t been much to say, really. My life’s been upside-down for a few days, so the lack of a phone in my pocket has gone unnoticed. I cleaned, organized and re-arranged my room, and now I have a neat little table to put it on and a pad and a pen for note-taking. I really want it to have a classic-phone ring like my old Sony phone did so I can hear it when I’m out of the room.

It’s funny that people assume that by not carrying the phone with me, I’m inaccessible. I check messages and return calls! It wasn’t too long ago that we had answering machines waiting for us at home. It really feels like I’m swimming against the current, but what if that current is taking everyone down the drain?

There is the distinct possibility that I’m an asshole. That I just don’t want to be bothered, and I only want to communicate with others on my terms. That I am insensitive to others’ needs.

But isn’t that a modern construction, demanding to have someone instantly accessible?

A friend was just telling me about a Milan Kundera novel called Slowness, which contends (second-hand paraphrased, of course) that when we are living rapidly, we are running from our past, and when we live slowly, we are contemplating it. Are we running from something? Shame? Change? Either way, I ‘d like to take more time to make dinner.