Tuesday, February 10
Technology and loved ones...
My good friend Gavin left for Melbourne this evening to pursue his Bachelors. In spite of my bad back...an old injury aggravated from a football game on Sunday...I was at the airport to send him off.
Gavin's entire family...which went down to his extended family was there to send him off...his gf and family were present too...for awhile i felt a pang of enviousness when i saw how close knit the entourage was...tears were shed freely when Gavin was about to leave...i was too impressed with the family setup to miss Gavin...but 5 hours into his flight...i do feel a tinge of sadness that he's left...
Which brings me to wonder...why do humans cry when a loved one leaves for a distant destination for an extended period of time...be it work or studies...but nary a holiday? Ive not seen anyone cry buckets when a family member leaves for a one-week trip to Timbuctoo...but mention a one-year furtherin of education and u get the whole Singapore media with clickin cameras and busy papparazzi...
I could understand ppl's angle...the whole 'missing him and not knowin how he is' part...yes im a human too...if my pet poodle left for Pluto i would miss him like no tomorrow...but with the advent of technology these days...and indeed the rapid ascension of electronic communication...your loved one is just one click, dial and a punch of a button away from a conversation...and did i mention how cheap it is to talk to John Smith half the world away?
One's argument is that no matter how integrated technology is into our lives...it can never replace the mere physical presence of that special someone...the laughter in Live! Surround Sound...the warmth of that touch...and just the general electricity one generates from being there...but i disagree...
The whole idea of email...cheap IDD phone rates...pictures from digicams, voice-communication and the likes is to simplify one's mode of communication...when i wana chill along the coast i call up Joyce for a live weather report from Marine Parade...when i crave some chocolates from Rome i press 5 on my speed dial to Julie for some good ol' aphrodisiac...if i miss my sexy crushee Edina livin it up in London i go on MSN...double click on her name and say 'HI'...need the latest update on American news? Who needs CNN when i have AOL and my whole Battle.net friends residin in San Francisco...Heck...if i need the latest Mango or Zara Spring/Summer collection i could probably get Lavina to send me the latest collection direct from Spain..
Yes i see detractors pointin out my flawed argument...but i must highlight one important issue which all 'We were cryin 10 hours ago coz John Smith left' fail to notice...upon reachin home the family awaits patiently for a phone call from John Smith...then logs on conveniently to have a conversation that has msgs received almost instantaneously...which precedes the quirky photographs John Smith has taken from his new dorm/apartment/workplace/environment...
So i ask myself...apart from literally having sex with John Smith...what else can the family not do and share? Has technology not progessed leaps and bounds over these 20 years to accomodate the feelings of lonely hearts and worried families? Why...may i ask...is there the need for the most solemn of moments...the emptyin of Kleenex paper towels...and the sore red-eyed look? Is there...given the dangerous climate these days...a possibility that he/she wouldnt come home in one piece? God punishes those who do bad...and good things befall those who do good...so unless John Smith had left for Munich to exchange the WMD-Bush-was-all-paranoid-about with some leftist Commies...rest assured...John Smith will return at your doorstep..in one piece...still loving you...and missing you...with gifts from his land...
Thank god for technology...now isnt that the best news anyone can hear?
Take care Gavin...God bless you...your family and friends miss you...
My good friend Gavin left for Melbourne this evening to pursue his Bachelors. In spite of my bad back...an old injury aggravated from a football game on Sunday...I was at the airport to send him off.
Gavin's entire family...which went down to his extended family was there to send him off...his gf and family were present too...for awhile i felt a pang of enviousness when i saw how close knit the entourage was...tears were shed freely when Gavin was about to leave...i was too impressed with the family setup to miss Gavin...but 5 hours into his flight...i do feel a tinge of sadness that he's left...
Which brings me to wonder...why do humans cry when a loved one leaves for a distant destination for an extended period of time...be it work or studies...but nary a holiday? Ive not seen anyone cry buckets when a family member leaves for a one-week trip to Timbuctoo...but mention a one-year furtherin of education and u get the whole Singapore media with clickin cameras and busy papparazzi...
I could understand ppl's angle...the whole 'missing him and not knowin how he is' part...yes im a human too...if my pet poodle left for Pluto i would miss him like no tomorrow...but with the advent of technology these days...and indeed the rapid ascension of electronic communication...your loved one is just one click, dial and a punch of a button away from a conversation...and did i mention how cheap it is to talk to John Smith half the world away?
One's argument is that no matter how integrated technology is into our lives...it can never replace the mere physical presence of that special someone...the laughter in Live! Surround Sound...the warmth of that touch...and just the general electricity one generates from being there...but i disagree...
The whole idea of email...cheap IDD phone rates...pictures from digicams, voice-communication and the likes is to simplify one's mode of communication...when i wana chill along the coast i call up Joyce for a live weather report from Marine Parade...when i crave some chocolates from Rome i press 5 on my speed dial to Julie for some good ol' aphrodisiac...if i miss my sexy crushee Edina livin it up in London i go on MSN...double click on her name and say 'HI'...need the latest update on American news? Who needs CNN when i have AOL and my whole Battle.net friends residin in San Francisco...Heck...if i need the latest Mango or Zara Spring/Summer collection i could probably get Lavina to send me the latest collection direct from Spain..
Yes i see detractors pointin out my flawed argument...but i must highlight one important issue which all 'We were cryin 10 hours ago coz John Smith left' fail to notice...upon reachin home the family awaits patiently for a phone call from John Smith...then logs on conveniently to have a conversation that has msgs received almost instantaneously...which precedes the quirky photographs John Smith has taken from his new dorm/apartment/workplace/environment...
So i ask myself...apart from literally having sex with John Smith...what else can the family not do and share? Has technology not progessed leaps and bounds over these 20 years to accomodate the feelings of lonely hearts and worried families? Why...may i ask...is there the need for the most solemn of moments...the emptyin of Kleenex paper towels...and the sore red-eyed look? Is there...given the dangerous climate these days...a possibility that he/she wouldnt come home in one piece? God punishes those who do bad...and good things befall those who do good...so unless John Smith had left for Munich to exchange the WMD-Bush-was-all-paranoid-about with some leftist Commies...rest assured...John Smith will return at your doorstep..in one piece...still loving you...and missing you...with gifts from his land...
Thank god for technology...now isnt that the best news anyone can hear?
Take care Gavin...God bless you...your family and friends miss you...
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