Sue's notes to self

Is it just me or are things not like they used to be? Maybe I am just getting old…. ha ha!

It does seem to me that there are things designed to make life easier that are failing in their purposes. Take packing for example. Am I the only one who cannot peel open at the corner to get into the produce, and therefore the advised capability of being resealable is completely scuppered? What about labelling too? There is so much of it that you need a degree to understand it, if you have eyes that can see the extremely small print they use. It’s a bit awkward when you can’t read the cooking instructions and set the timer or temperature wrong. Fortunately I cook most food from fresh…. if I can get it out of the packaging that is.

I wonder too if the manufacturers really think that we will not notice when the size of our favourite chocolate bar gets smaller while the price goes up, and then they can make you BOGOF offers? Wagon wheels are a good example. When I was a child it would take all break to consume one. Now it takes about three bites (I imagine).

I have found some other things to be true now, that I always laughed at when younger. Policeman and doctors really are getting younger! They are supposed to be full of wisdom and know-how, but when they look young enough to be a grandson it’s hard to have immediate confidence.

Now, I have had a career (twice) in IT so I am not afraid of technology per se. But don’t they take things just a bit too far sometimes? Though I have one, a SMART watch that tells you your heart is beating a bit faster than you would like, and occasionally tells you to ‘breathe’, is a bit alarming at times. And as for Social Media, well, it isn’t is it, social I mean? More the opposite! I admit that I have forwarded the odd post to the other half, largely because that’s the only way I could get his attention.

When I was a child, (my, that sounds sad), there were only a few television channels, and we could usually find something worth watching. If not, there were always books. Nowadays we have, (yes even us), so many channels that we can’t find anything to watch. I have never enjoyed reality TV so that rather cuts down the options for a start. I remember the days of ‘Come Dancing’ , though I will admit I like a bit of ‘Strictly’. One helpful thing about today’s setup is that I can record the programme and then watch it later, while fast forwarding through the judging and the rest of the waffle. It’s also helpful to have it recorded when I have fallen asleep and missed the whodunnit of the whodunnit stories. Simon has seen numerous endings twice – in quiet (or not so quiet) frustration.

Which brings me to another thing. Actors are getting younger too! Some of my old favourites are past their best, though others have aged well. I guess the same can be said of all of us. There are bits drooping that shouldn’t, an increasing number of aches and pains, and the bags for prescriptions from the chemist are getting bigger. My brain used to say, ‘You can do that’, and my body would comply. Now, I am lucky if the two are even speaking to each other.

Things take longer to do, even with all the labour saving devices. Probably because the instructions are written in acronyms, Chinese, or suchlike. Cars start without a key and shout at you if you get within spitting distance of an obstacle. Am I alone in worrying more than ever that some deeply hidden fuse will blow, rendering the vehicle useless for travel, in the most inconvenient of places? Once upon a time I knew where the radiator was, and the oil cap, and the spare wheel (you don’t get them these days, at least not as standard).

Music isn’t music any more, it’s mostly speaking fast in some sort of rhyme, and often I have been unable to distinguish any tune. I never was much good at naming artists and their songs, but I couldn’t even begin to now, it’s mainly noise. And that’s another thing. Noises are getting louder and yet I can’t hear it when people are speaking to me. What’s that all about? Maybe I am getting old. These days I reckon that silence really is golden.

Or is it just me?