Tuesday, 25 November 2003

Personal

Back to school

[Watch]

My surprise experience of the week was when I realised I could no longer tell the time. (OK, taking part in a party by MSN at 1am on Sunday morning, complete with drinks, music and dancing was a little more surprising but if you don't mind I'll leave that story for another time.)

I'd started wearing a watch again. It was actually a freebie from my web hosting company, but it'd have been a waste to ignore it so I wrapped it round my wrist on Saturday morning.

By Saturday evening I'd forgotten about the strange weight was at the end of my arm, but sometime on Sunday I remembered it was there once more and actually had a purpose.

But for the past two days I've had the same experience. I've glanced at it around about two o'clock, and had to consciously think about what it was telling me. At first glance, the watch seemed to be lying. "It can't be that early," I thought. Only then would I remember that the little hand has already made one revolution during the day and was busy starting its lap of honour: it was two hours into the second half of the day. (My playschool teachers would be proud.)

I blame twenty-four hour digital displays, my trusted timepieces for the past decade. On station platforms, on my computer, my phone, my iPod.

If I could go back I would. If I could find a purely mechanical, analogue watch - one that ticks - I'd wear it all the time. There's something reassuring about that sound late at night, a sound you can only hear when you hug the pillow tight and your wrist comes close to your ear.

But for now I'm stuck with the digital pulse of time, and that's a pulse that feels unnatural to wear on my wrist.

Posted by pab at 22:18