So how do you go from 15 tickets in a support queue to 125? How do you get a phone that never stops ringing, where you have 5 incoming calls all at once, and when one ends another one comes in again? It's called e-mail. E-mail failure that is. Or as I call it E-mail madness.
So like a very important server, the one that authenticates the users and stores the mail, goes down. Suddenly it's armegeddon, and all the e-mail addicts are raging like they haven't had their fix. As if a temporary issue with e-mail was the end of the world. I don't think these people would be ready to face a serious problem like a terrorist attack or a major earth quake. They'd stumble through the ruins of their home, walk right past the bodies of their family members, and pick up the phone to complain that their e-mail wasn't working.
And wouldn't you guess 99% of the calls are from Ontario. After their little power outage that took out the entire east coast, you'd think they'd have learned to control their digital addiction. But alas, they're lost souls.
I know, I've been addicted to my digital distractions, but I've learned to deal. I remember when Hotmail went down, do you remember that? I bet Microsoft got a billion and one calls from people complaining. At the time I was one of the complainers, now I'm on the other side of the fence.
Now yeah, maybe I'm coming off a bit harsh here. Not everyone calling is trying to tear me a new asshole, some of them are understanding. Some of them realize that in the real world, there's such a thing as system errors. Some of them know that problems do happen. Some of them realize that it's not the end of the world. I like those kind of people. They have the ability to think, to reason, to empathise. Why can't the world have more of those kind of people?
For the rest of them, the ones who can't live or breath without checking their e-mail every two minutes (which is probably what overloaded the system to begin with, anything less than every 5 minutes is just plain stupid, I check mine every 15) I'd recommend a simple solution: Go outside and roll in the snow. Realize that it could be a lot worse. If tomorrow Vancouver had an earthquake that took out the entire city, and Toronto got bombed by terrorists, destroying the data centre and all the internet lines - well I'd hope you'd be more worried about other things than if your e-mail was working.
Sometimes I think we need a reality check. It's fucking e-mail people. If the oxygen supply of the Earth suddenly becomes unavailable, I think we'll have something to worry about, but a short delay in e-mail services is not the end of the world. It comes down to our society; which is pretty fucked up to begin with, which has become so rushed and busy that we've lost track of what's really important. I may not be the most spiritual person out there, but I'd say that realizing that you're life is more than this chaotic rush of meaningless angst is a good first step. Om Namo Narayanaya.
Speaking of spirituality, don't forget this is also Christmas. Depending on what you believe, Christmas should be about the birth of a saviour to all mankind, or about the spirit of giving. Yes, giving, not receiving. How we've forgotten both of these in this rushed, over-commercialized season of gluttony, self indugance, and overwealming stress.
It's time we remember the real meaning of being alive. To live life to the fullest, and stop worring about every little thing. You might be dead tomorrow, why get frustrated about something that in the big picture, means absolutely nothing. Go outside, breath in a wide breath of fresh air (or if you're in an overly poluted place where the air isn't so fresh, maybe just smoke a joint instead), close your eyes, and look into yourself. When you see your reflection in the mirror of your mind, ask yourself: Is that really what you want to be?
Is it?