Wednesday, May 26, 2004

instant gratification

i read a little anecdote in readers' digest some time ago, one of those fillers at the end of each article.

it was about a parent who went to a brownies' meeting (note to malaysians: brownies = tunas puteri) and brought with him a camera to snap pictures of his daughter's pack. after arranging the girls and clicking the shutter, one of the girls ran excitedly to him, grabbed the camera and looked at the back.

alas, the poor girl's smile quickly faded into disappointment, as the camera was an "old" model and not digital.

that story really got to me, because i'm also guilty of grabbing my friends' cameras once a picture is taken, just to make sure i look presentable in the photograph. talk about vain!

talk about instant gratification! that was one thing from the story that hit me too. the little girl was so tuned to getting the instant high that to realise the camera was a traditional film-and-shutter model made her, well, deflated.

just like the rest of us. we're just so used to getting that instant satisfaction from almost everything, that the very notion of having to work for something long term seems almost unacceptable. appalling, even.

it's reflected by the obsession we have today over slimming pills, drugs, lottery tickets (remember those sold by the "uncle" at shop corridors?), extra strong espresso, instant soup. even polaroids are coming back in fashion. not to mention the attitude of students who come into lectures for the sole reason of copying notes, not even willing to perhaps work out the blanks and examples provided.

we're all so addicted to that instant gratification. no more waiting for results.

i'm not saying that i do not crave that kick i get immediately after eating a bar a chocolate, and i've already admitted to being the first behind the cameraman after every shot. but i do miss that one-day period of waiting for the pictures to get developed, and the satisfaction of tucking into a meal i had worked hard to prepare.

there's not much of a point, really, in this entry. just random pickings from my ever-swirling pool of thoughts. i think i need a pensieve.

lishun at 10:01 PM

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