were you there, or was it just an empty shell?

what's wrong with people nowadays? did you read the news about twitter ceo's wife twitting whilst she is in labour? it's great publicity for her hubby's company, which translates into more shopping money for mama and more posh designer-wear for little baby, but twitting whilst in a very significant and dramatic phase of your life? to each his own, but perhaps you should be concentrating on pushing and breathing? i can just imagine the comical scenario in my mind.


hubby: deary, your water just broke!! ok, walk calmly to the car and i will be right there, once i grab your overnight bag.

wifey: arggggghhhhhhhh.....wait wait, let me just finish typing this update on twitter.

................................................

in the car....

wifey: argggghhhhhhhhh....the pain is 10 minutes apart now.

hubby: breathe, baby, breathe.

.....

.....

hubby: errr....i meant, breathe baby, with your nose. not type the word 'breathe breathe..' on your handphone!!

................................................

during labour...

doctor, exasperated: mrs williams! can you please concentrate on pushing instead of texting on your handphone!!! you don't have to tell the world that you are pushing!! just do it!!

wifey: wait wait, just let me get the few last words in.


ok, so i was exaggerating. she didn't tweet all the way whilst in labour, she did give up her updates when she was fully in labour; a loud empty gap between the last 'the heartbeat monitor soothes the silence of a room that will shortly be anything but silent' and the next 'changing the diaper' update.

still, twittering seems to have gained too much foothold in some people's life. infact, gadgetry on the whole seems to have taken over human interactions; the pure and undiffused sensations and emotions of talking, seeing, touching and simply being in the moment. i understand the excitement, the desire to share exhilarating news with those close and dear ones on a real-time basis, but for every such unique occasion, you only get to live through it once. graduation, prom nights, first dates, first kiss, important meeting, casual get-together, mouth watering piece of steak; shouldn't everyone be giving it their 110% attention and at the very end of the day, leave with a very distinct and beautiful memory of what once was.

i can just imagine someone twittering whilst they are making out.

twitter update 1: he's rubbing me the wrong way

twitter update 2: bingo!

twitter update 3: comeon baby!! yes! yes! yessssss!

twitter update 4: should i perhaps be chucking the phone at this point? nahhh, another 5 minutes, he won't notice.

twitter update 5: hmmmm....kind of hungry, should i get up to make a sandwich?


for all i know, there are already such updates out there. i see people playing with their phone all the time in posh romantic restaurants, some talking whilst others so distracted by whatever is so engaging on the phone. children whose head never look up from their nds for even a second, whilst the parents glance around the restaurant in an uncomfortable silence. used to be that talking on the phone whilst in the company of others is considered rude, now it's commonplace. your companion may even ask, 'aren't you going to answer that?' when you ignore that rude intrusion into your hot delicious dinner. what was once unacceptable is now considered strange when you don't conform.

i try not to let my kiddies play their gadgets when we dine together as a family. that's when we are suppose to talk about what happened in our day, according to those warm fuzzy almost-extinct family movies anyway. it's an alien concept to most nowadays. the other kids in the table, not mine, are all engrossed in their own games. everyone looks at me as if i were an evil stepmother, especially when the little one starts pouting and crying. kids. they will always try to push their limit and boundaries. i rather he sulk at the table and over time, get used to the rule, rather trap himself into a vacuum of cold emotionless invisible forceshield, where no human interaction can make a difference, no laughters can get in or out. these are moments that cannot be turned back and relived, those moments of chatting, laughing and sharing with the young ones when they are growing up. very soon, very very soon, they will not be chatty, they will not need you and least of all they will want to share their days with you. it doesn't help that the other family members do not share the same enthusiasm in drawing the line and shifts the pressure on me but i believe in what i believe, and i know what i want my children to turn out. to be warm and loving. to be able to feel human interaction. to be in the moment.