I show it off to anyone who'll listen. "Look, it can store 50 phone numbers!" I exclaim. "One day I'll be able to set my video to record using one of these!"
I'd long been a fan of watches, but this one really was something. The year was 1992, and I, in the midst of my formidable inner circle of mildly interested schoolfriends and bemused but encouraging aunties, was proudly at the forefront of wearable technology. The phrase wasn't around at the time (npi) of course, but if Casio and I had teamed forces back then, well, who knows where we'd both be now?
But I digress (when don't I?).
Fast-forward to 2015, and (occasionally to even my own amazement) I haven't bought a smartwatch. I've got a smartphone, a tablet and half a laptop (it's really hubby's but he graciously refers to it as "ours"), but these days I enjoy a watch that simply, elegantly, tells me the time. Just because something can do more doesn't mean that it should.
That said, it certainly shouldn't do less. I recently saw the film "Mr Turner", and was impressed with the set and the costumes. I liked the cast. I smiled at the dialogue. But the fundamental component, the central tenet to any good performance (for me at least), was missing. There was no narrative! Plot, storyline, sequence-of-interconnected-events - call it what you will; it was nowhere to be seen.
So this got me thinking: implant yourself in the right environment with the right clothing, and you'll be accepted. Befriend some great people, and you'll be well on your way to a good life. Speak with authenticity and eloquence, and you shall delight those around you. But if your life has no compelling story, no tale it strains to tell, then the rest is just credits.
I think the key lies in the "interconnected" part of the phrase I used above: rather than living from event to event and drawing often thin connections after the fact (what did we do during the week / in between holidays etc.?), the stories of our lives are so much richer when we handcraft those connections for ourselves. Or in other words, when we write our narratives in real time. One doesn't need to have a week in Spain booked to attend Spanish classes, for example - why not study the language for its own sake, and see where that learning takes you? Too old to be a tennis pro? Perhaps, but who's to say you won't enjoy it when you pick up the racquet? Not worth talking to the new person at work as you wouldn't possibly be friends? Really? Are you sure?
So poise your pen, dear reader. (Or your stylus.) I've checked my watch, and it's time to start writing.
Fast-forward to 2015, and (occasionally to even my own amazement) I haven't bought a smartwatch. I've got a smartphone, a tablet and half a laptop (it's really hubby's but he graciously refers to it as "ours"), but these days I enjoy a watch that simply, elegantly, tells me the time. Just because something can do more doesn't mean that it should.
That said, it certainly shouldn't do less. I recently saw the film "Mr Turner", and was impressed with the set and the costumes. I liked the cast. I smiled at the dialogue. But the fundamental component, the central tenet to any good performance (for me at least), was missing. There was no narrative! Plot, storyline, sequence-of-interconnected-events - call it what you will; it was nowhere to be seen.
So this got me thinking: implant yourself in the right environment with the right clothing, and you'll be accepted. Befriend some great people, and you'll be well on your way to a good life. Speak with authenticity and eloquence, and you shall delight those around you. But if your life has no compelling story, no tale it strains to tell, then the rest is just credits.
I think the key lies in the "interconnected" part of the phrase I used above: rather than living from event to event and drawing often thin connections after the fact (what did we do during the week / in between holidays etc.?), the stories of our lives are so much richer when we handcraft those connections for ourselves. Or in other words, when we write our narratives in real time. One doesn't need to have a week in Spain booked to attend Spanish classes, for example - why not study the language for its own sake, and see where that learning takes you? Too old to be a tennis pro? Perhaps, but who's to say you won't enjoy it when you pick up the racquet? Not worth talking to the new person at work as you wouldn't possibly be friends? Really? Are you sure?
So poise your pen, dear reader. (Or your stylus.) I've checked my watch, and it's time to start writing.
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