I listened to the Important Business Man complain about the hardships of his Important Job to the furiously busy café owner, as I waited for my toasted cheese and tomato sandwich (wholegrain, no salt and pepper).
It would be very convenient if I could just text or email my order ahead, on the way to work, and then pick up my order – bypassing the Important Moaning Business People. Easy, time-saving and efficient. And removing yet another human interaction from my life.
Pros and cons of non-human transactions:
- Online banking – hooray. No more wasted time in bank queues, wondering whether the same person designed the carpet AND the uniforms.
- Ticket machines at train stations – hooray x2 now that our local station has a machine that takes cards. For readers living outside of New South Wales, yes – this is 2010, and yes – quite a few machines here will only take cash.
- Mass Christmas ” oh haven’t we had a busy year” emails – boo. It’s great to hear what you and the brood have been up to, but I really really miss handwritten letters. And it’s not hard to pick up the phone/ mobile/ Skype handset thingy…
- Sending virtual gifts – boo. Please don’t throw a smoked ham at me or grow me a virtual herb garden on Facebook. Why not buy some fresh cinnamon donuts to share for afternoon tea?
Our local shops include 4 cafes*. At my favourite one, the staff know my name, talk to my kids, give us free treats. It’s lovely and peronal and would not happen if I pre-ordered by mobile phone.
*We are a very up-and-coming neighbourhood. Refer to the original post on Stuff White People Like about coffee. And for bonus SWPL points, I am an Asian Girl and my kids have two last names!
Brought to you by the Interweb – Donuts in art
I know donuts are ‘treat food’ (in kid-speak), but they are also a recurring theme in contemporary art. Look at these artistic rings of fried dough.
A life less digital 