Man Vs Machines.

13 Dec 2009 17 Comments

by rumasen77 in Consumerism

     Maybe the time cometh….as predicted by the late H.G. Wells. As time goes on, we are getting trapped into our own makings. Realisation of this dawned on me this year, when, mysteriously my home appliances started a rebellion against me. First, it was my microwave oven. This gadget would refuse to start, even while it showed the correct temperature and time setting. Initially, it would start and stop in fits and starts. When it did, I was filled with elation, and attributed it to my "touch". However, one day I could no longer claim that I was the "Chosen One" to possess the magical touch. Months later, when I had the time to call in a repair man, it turned out that the darned microwave machine is now the home to many cockroaches, and hence it’s laid-back attitude!

         The  Pest Control was called in, and with a vengeance, I rid my home of pestilesence. My microwave oven started humming happily, as so did I. But before I knew it, my hot water geyser gave way. The stone faced plumber came calling, and took out the coil ( that all important bit of machinery which is responsible for all the water heating work) and showed me the sorry state it had become, thanks to the unending supply of hard water we get in our area. Never one to let things remain as they are, I splurged on a new coil, which cost me a tidy sum, but I didn’t mind, for I needed that hot water in this season. No sooner had the coil sprung to work, the geyser tank gave way, and one day, as I was chatting on the phone, the geyser tank started letting out a virtual water fall. Panic ensued, plumbers were called in and they had nothing to offer. I had to get a new geyser. The present status: still pondering over WHICH brand of geyser to get. My guarantee card says that I have missed the guarantee period by one month, which is so typical.

            One morning, I decided to be the Good Samaritan and give my neighbour a lift to the nearby shopping mall, when, lo and behold, three fourths of the way, my car gear stopped working. It simply broke. Looking back, it was only by divine grace that I managed to coax my vintage car to the car parking of the mall. Shaken, but not stirred, I was able to leave my neighbour at the mall as promised. The car helpline was summoned, and, after what seemed ages, the car was back in action, leaving me exhausted and on edge.

            A few days later, I was travelling in the lift of  my apartment, and was amiably chatting with the iron-lady, who was my sole companion in the lift. Suddenly, the lift came to a halt, and the alarm bells in my mind started ringing. Fearing that there would be no one to detect us soon, I kept pressing on the alarm bell button, and made sure that the security guards were alerted.  After much drama, we were able to see daylight again, after a 25 minute ordeal in a stuck lift, which refused to accept the back-up generator power.

            Are the machines against me, I ask? My neighbour, a well wisher, insists it is the work of an unfavourable ‘Shani’ (Saturn) the planet which controls man, machine and metals, and your overall luck, according to Hindu astrology.

            I’m not finished yet. The latest episodes are: an unpredictable computer, and a cell phone which threatens to disintegrate very soon.

If this isn’t the work of mischievous stars, then what is it? Does anyone have an answer?

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