Oh, What a Day, What a Day!

It wasn’t but a day or two ago that I was whinging about technology and how, though troublesome it may be, I still loved it, for all it could do and offer us in making life easier (in some ways)… Well,  on this day, we’re getting closer to the technological polar extreme of ‘like’ at the moment - and it is none too pleasant.

This time - it’s serious.

This time - it’s the printer.

Okay, here’s the deal - I’m going to spill the beans because I know my partner does not get ‘here’ very often and therefore, I can write freely about such things. This is my ‘sad’ story of the day:

As I’ve mentioned before, I am creative - I am a man of many talents (I sing, I sew, I draw, I paint, I play the piano, I write poetry, etc, etc, ad nauseam) and even though I do not, at present, making my living by means of my creativity, creative still, I am.

For my partner’s birthday this year, as in previous years, I have created a card and written a ‘greeting’. Not only have I written a greeting for this year's card, but because this is a ‘significant’ birthday, in addition,  I decided to create an acrostic as well and have it mounted - well - framed.

I also purchased a gift card online to be used on his kindle - and this too, must be printed out.

Now, the card took some time to put together, and the gift card required time as well - though not as much. But the acrostic! The acrostic took much more time due to its length and the fact that, in writing an acrostic one’s creativity is circumscribed by the first letter of each line (if you’re not sure what I’m talking about ‘Google’ acrostic).

I should let it be know as well,  that these things did not take place in the course of one day only - oh, no - but rather, over a number of days - ending with today, the 1st of May.

Oh, and what a day it has been! Who knew that the 1st day of May could be so very fraught with tension!?

I had not used my printer for some time - and by ‘some time’, I mean a couple of weeks, perhaps - so I was not aware of any problems that might exist. I’ve used the printer quite a lot over the 7 or more years that I have owned it and - it has always been very, very faithful, or so I thought - until today. 

Today, it betrayed me in no uncertain terms - as if it had heard all the cursing I’d hurled in its direction when the paper jammed, felt all the sharp blows I’d delivered to its cover when it would not close, seen the desperation in my eyes when it would not print as I’d commanded it to - and suddenly had decided to retaliate on this, the birthday of my beloved, making a mockery of everything I tried to have it do.

Oh!

The agony!

I’m telling you, I was not at all pleased with this state of affairs; the birthday is tomorrow and the damn printer will not behave.

Of course, then again, what did I expect from a piece of machinery that was designed to become obsolete a couple of years ago!? Well, I expected it to do its job! 

Why must these machines be made to wear out, I ask you? Because that is what I’m thinking now - the ‘life’ of the printer has come to an end - bad timing, to be sure, but an end none the less.

I suppose I shouldn’t complain - the printer is at the very least, 6 years old and, truth be told, has printed a great deal. Really, my only complaint is that it’s happening now - when I need it most! 

That and the fact that I expect ‘machinery’ of any kind to last longer than it does. How did we become the ‘disposable society’? How and when, is the question, really? 

I don’t’ know - and I don’t expect an answer any time soon.

What I do expect is that, tomorrow, there will be one very disappointed person in the household, as a result of all of this - and it probably won’t be the birthday boy...

I'd sign this in ink - but...