Broken spirit

Have you ever seen the super “kid tough” electronic equipment that Fisher-Price makes for children? They have CD players you can drop down a whole flight of stairs and they still will play Disney Tunes without skipping.. They have cameras you can toss across the room without cracking the lens. And they even make MP3 players that can endure being used as a hockey puck.

I sure wish they made similar durable items for adults….without the primary colors of course.

Right now, all of my important electronic devices seem to be broken in some significant way.

My cell phone – Who knew you weren’t supposed to put it in your back pocket and then drive with it there. Apparently my flabby butt exerted too much pressure or something on it, completely ruining the window portion of the phone. I can still make and receive phone calls, I just can’t see any of the numbers I type in, nor can I see the names in my address book. This means I can’t call half my friends since I don’t actually know their numbers; they’re just programmed into my phone.

My laptop keyboard – As I wrote about before, Max got a hold of my keyboard and picked off many of the keys. Although my friend’s husband was able to fix some of them, a few were unsalvageable, and the ones that were fixed, are on the verge of popping off again. Although I can still type, it is very uncomfortable, as I must make sure I don’t push some keys too hard and others I must apply extra pressure in just the right location or else no letter will appear.

My digital camera – Max broke my first one. Didn’t like that I had it sitting in his stroller (that he NEVER sits in) and threw it down directly on the concrete sidewalk. For Mother’s Day I purchased myself a new one….exact same camera. Friday I was at a park trying to balance Ella in one arm, Max in the other, a diaper bag and my digital camera. When I was able to put the kids down, the camera strap slid off my shoulder, causing the camera to hit the pavement. Immediately I cringed, knowing the fate of my last camera. And sure enough, when I tried to turn it on, the thing made a really strange grinding sound and the lens jammed.

I’ve been able to make due with the first two broken for quite some time, and now I must resort to my film 35mm camera (which I love except for the fact that I don’t get instant photos to publish online).

I think electronic companies make their items fragile on purpose. They must rely on people like me to keep up their profits.