Sunday, April 20, 2008

The Watch: Reactions


My "Remember you will die" watch is getting mixed reactions. About half of the people who read its message find it cool, the other half are horrified.
Some good reactions:
"Cool! Were'd you get it?"
"I want one!"
"Heh, that's clever."
And the bad ones:
"That's terrible!"
"That's mean!"
[rolls eyes] "ugh!"
[gives me the what's WRONG with you!? look]
Of course, the point if the thing isn't "Muahhaaa ha ha! You'll die! Die! Let that ruin your day!"
It's more like "Some day you'll die, so don't neglect your life. Have fun! Try new things."
It's already had a minor influence:
At the market:
Should I try that new brand/flavor of yogurt? (Remember, you will die.) I try the yogurt. (Actually I tried a bunch of new stuff instead of the usual. What fun!)
At home:
Should I watch television or do something creative? (Remember, you will die. ) I do something creative.
At work:
Should I work unpaid through lunch or go out with my friends? (Remember, you will die.) I go out with my friends.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! It is having a positive effect!

booda baby said...

It'll be great, when you don't even have to look at/think of your watch.

It must be entertaining, to get negative reactions. Maybe there's a watch that reads "I don't have enough time to explain things to you."

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Thanks, Stray g. Who knew something so blunt, perhaps morbid even, could bring good luck.

Hi BoocdaBaby,
The negative reactions surprised me at first. Were people I see every day really primed to believe I was some kind of death-obsessed weirdo? It's not like I'm wearing black 24/7 or stacking skulls at my desk. I'm usually in a pretty good mood too. Go figure.
I like your idea of the "I don't have time to explain things..." watch.