WARNING: This post is not much about writing. I felt the need to vent a little online. I don’t do it very often.

Most of the time I am very calm and don’t let minor things upset, but every now and then something gets up my nose.

Briefly.

Then I try to let it slide; life’s too short to let a minor irritation get the better of me.

For many years now I’ve had a watch which had a stopwatch facility. Whenever I am writing, or doing research linked to my writing, I have used this facility. At the end of each day I record on a chart how many hours I’ve spent on my writing that day, as well as how many blog posts I’ve written and a word count for the day. These figures are kept as a tally on this chart so I can see if I’m reaching my writing goals. It’s a way of keeping me accountable to myself. Works for me.

Just over two years ago I bought a new watch. The old one had seen many years of faithful, reliable service, save for an occasional new battery. The jewellery shop I usually go to no longer stocked the watch, and batteries were no longer available. Time for an upgrade after many years, I thought. The new watch was good, albeit a little bulky/clunky in appearance, but I coped.

A few weeks ago the battery failed. Suddenly – right in mid-sentence. So I went to have it replaced – not a problem.  It was a few weeks out of warranty, but that wasn’t what upset me. A few days later the rubber/plastic strap threatened to break at any moment. Oh no. Having just spent money on a battery, I wasn’t keen to fork out more for a strap. It would have almost been cheaper to have bought a new watch. So I did.

The old watch is still very functional; I just can’t wear it, so it sits on my writing desk still performing nicely in timing my writing patterns. I am determined to get my money’s worth out of that battery.

The throw away society mentality really gets up my nose. Built in obsolescence has always pushed my button.

And I won’t even start on about having to replace a perfectly good – but very old – mobile phone this last week. SIGH.

Good writing.