He sat there,
spinning around in a
swivel chair,
frustrated by it all.
His laptop was on the
smooth oak counter in front of him.
The system update was
progressing rather slowly…
- - - 25% complete -
- -
He began to explore
the Web while waiting,
quickly becoming
entangled.
He signed into Facebook
to take a look
at the girls who
habitually post pictures –
not believing in
their beauty until receiving at least 15 likes,
their confidence depending on the comments.
their confidence depending on the comments.
He scrolled down
through the plagiarized quotes,
the list of borrowed
song lyrics – copied & pasted.
What’s the point?
To pretend that you
have it figured out more than most?
To make people think
on the other side of their screens,
“Hey, yes! By God,
that’s it! He’s found it!”
The meaning of life
in a post.
- - - 50% complete -
- -
He signed out, began perusing through the links,
looking for his
calling,
the dream,
the scheme,
the means
in which he would
make all of his money.
How about a
firefighter?
Or what about a psychologist?
He began to lose
himself in the lists
somebody else had
devised for him.
He took a personality
test so someone else could tell him.
INFJ, it said.
“Oh, that was easy.
Wait… what does that
even mean?”
- - - 75% complete -
- -
& the search continues…
He gave up, put his
headphones on,
put his head in
his hands in defeat.
Next thing, he woke
up,
not quite sure how
long he’d seemingly been asleep.
He looked up to find
that the laptop was off,
the update
undoubtedly complete.
His reflection was looking
back at him in the now black & empty screen.
They stared at each
other for a while, analyzing, smiling.
His grandmother
opened up the door, startling them.
He paused the song in
his head.
“There you are,” she
said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Why, yes, here I am.
I guess I’ve been
here all along.”
- - - 1∞% - - -
This reminds me of my last laptop - I had time to read whole books (nearly) while waiting for it to warm up, let alone install any updates.
ReplyDeleteA funny, witty read.
It's better to read a book while waiting instead of some of the crap on the Internet. Thanks for the read & the comment, Marina.
DeleteYou can have a tendency to wander into some pretty weird places.>KB
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Sometimes we wander the wrong way. Thanks for stopping by.
Deletehaha...yeah...once you start klicking on links, it can just take you everywhere and you sometimes end up far from where you started out...smiles... the last bit with granny is charming... physically in the room after the mental ride...that has something soothing
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Claudia. Always nice to hear from you.
Deleteha, this made me smile, so filled with contemporary truth. i keep hoping that once we catch up to technology, we will see a shift back the other way, back to ourselves.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I hope for the same. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI really liked this journey. Sometimes those updates do seem to take a while, and one really doesn't (for some reason) want to walk away while it is happening. Ya, the stuff on Facebook sometimes...so true, what's the point? So many seem out to 'educate' their followers, to tell them what to believe. And ha, INFJ....I think that's what I am. Smiles. I like the ending with the reflection looking back. After a while, it does seem we become 'one' with our screens!
ReplyDeleteFrom one INFJ to another, thank you!
Deleteits a quick trip down that slippery slope...and hte next thing you know its been hours...and there are def some things that will get its hooks in you and not let go as well...all the while life goes on around us...us oblivious....
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you saw the deeper metaphor here, Brian. You usually do. Thanks for the input, as always.
DeleteHa! "Yes, I guess I've been here all along.." and yet not so, as you presumed correctly...someday, we will look back on this thing, the internet, and wonder how it all went so awry. Peace, Jason
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you're right. Thanks for the comment, Jason.
DeleteCool piece Alex. I really enjoyed the way you've described the thought-journey in this. Sometimes we search in all the wrong places, and for too long. I'm an INFJ too :)
ReplyDeleteSearching in all the wrong places, yes, you hit it on the head. Thanks for stopping by, fellow INFJ :)
DeleteI like the turn in the ending ~ Sometimes after all the wandering and checking all the cool updates, it all goes back to us ~ Nice one Alex ~
ReplyDeleteThanks for the read, Grace.
Delete:) a great capture !
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ayala!
DeleteIt's the possibility of instantaneous answers to trivial questions, which happen to be passing through my head, that snag me. Nice write, Alex - well captured.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Rowan.
DeleteWonderfully clever, amusing....and rings true w. the reader. Ha! ~jackie~
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words, Jackie.
DeleteHaven't we all been here...waiting...
ReplyDeleteStill waiting..
As long as we don't wait too long. Thanks for reading!
DeleteI felt like he would find the "meaning of life" while waiting. But at least his grandmother found him. Enjoyed this. Very clever.
ReplyDeleteWe can't really find the "meaning of life," but we can surely lose ourselves in the process. The meaning of life is to give life meaning. Thanks for the comment, Myrna.
Delete