Puckering Time

Still in slight fever slash sore throat mode, I decided to accompany my sister for her hair fix yesterday. I didn’t mind my being sick because I have this belief that if I ignored the negative vibes that attempt to overthrow me, they’ll all go away without me knowing it. So I dressed up and headed to Going Straight Salon.

Upon arrival at the salon there were exactly five people having the same idea as to having their hair groomed. Since I had no business inside the establishment I decided to keep myself busy – and since my head was beginning to throb very badly – by reading the stacks of magazine specially intended for waiting companions of the store’s customers. The mags were all back issues dating way back in the year 2005 to 06, and ranged from an all men’s fitness guide to housekeeping stuff for moms. Of course, men’s and women’s magazines were also there alongside stuff for teens and gadget freaks. I started flipping the pages of a teens’ mag.

There was nothing much to contemplate, except for some really infuriating part that managed to worsen my headache. There was a question asked to celebrities, and it went like this: “Complete the sentence: I wouldn’t be able to live without (blank) because (blank blank blank).” I thought this was interesting, but the celebrities proved it otherwise. There was one who said that he can’t live without the gym named after a precious element because he likes toning his body. Yeah, right. Judging from his physical features he seemed to forget to shape up his head because it’s the only visible part of his uber muscular body that is not proportional. A girl said something like, she can’t survive a day without her iPod, and because she loves music so much that in fact, she went to buy not just one but three Nanos for her “vast collection of songs.” What’s the point, I thought, stamping my foot after having the statement read. An iPod Nano can store 4GB worth of music files (assuming she bought the four-gig variant) , and that’s roughly around 1,000 songs; if she bought three of the same item, that’s just 12GB, and only 3,000 worth of music. She could’ve just bought the 80GB variant which can store around 30K songs, but I guess the idea didn’t occur to her, being to busy sticking up the lanyard in her ears.

A lady celebrity said, “…I can’t live without my cell phone…” Her statement reeks of mediocrity; it seems to me that her N91 is the only thing that keeps her alive, like a life support system. I checked out the specs of the thing. Hmmm. Wi-Fi. 3G. 4GB hard drive. 2-megapixel camera. There was no mention of the basic necessities for everyday living. How she did it with her phone I have got no idea. Another buff guy went on like, “I can’t live without my Mac. It’s been with me since I got in the industry blah blah blah.” I, myself, depend heavily on my laptop especially when I’m doing school work (or doing something for my blog), but since my mom gestated without the iBook attached to my umbilical cord I guess I could live without it. I just don’t know about that guy. Well, Mac has a lot to offer for those who are tired of the conventional PC, but it just couldn’t do your laundry, much less to assist you in brushing your teeth.

At which point I closed the magazine and put it away from me. This generation (in which I and the rest of the global community of the youth belong to) has been summoned by the powers that be known as capitalism to tweak their minds and think that technology – and other stuff that equate life with money, convenience, and power – is necessary for us to live. It’s like saying that iPods, Sony Vaios, iMac G5s, and PS3s are needed in order for us to continue breathing. They’ve already became necessities. I’m not a technophobe – hell, I love technology – but I’m not so narrow-minded to allow myself be bludgeoned in the head by such ridiculous ideas and notions that gadgets, expensive gyms, and other costly thingamajigs can replace the functions of my pancreas, gall bladder, lungs, and most importantly my brain.

I have other things to prioritize, and it includes my headache.

Mike allegedly clacked away to post this on Friday, May 04, 2007 at 10:17 AM.