Mental Meanderings

My Clocks All Tell The Wrong Time

Ok, so I had thought I'd keep this blog as close to writing topics as possible but I'm going to wander. There are a few topics I've been wanting to write and since I keep feeling like I'm running out of things to say in here I figured this would be a nice enough medium to get some of these written. For the most part I'll probably write them as monologues. Then I can use them as a base for something more if I choose to someday.

"Unless you have a vision and a mountain to climb the spirit will die."

*sighs* Ok, so this is why I keep putting off projects like this. lol I've got a great topic and I KNOW what I want to say but it's the execution I have trouble with. How do I start? You've probably noticed with my blog that I usually just jump right in and ramble off. *grins* So I'm doing the same here just to break the pressure of having a 'topic' to write about.

You see I have a whole bunch of clocks in my house. Two in the kitchen, two in the living room, and my bedside alarm. They all tell different times and none of them would be exactly correct because whenever one needs to be reset for whatever reason the time is based from one of the others.

My computer clock is probably the closest. It's set to internet time. For example the WDC clock says 57 minutes past the hour and so does my computer clock. So maybe it's the most accurate and perhaps it really is the actual time. Of course, it probably isn't because my house can't possibly be directly over the time line so it would be at least minutes different this far west of it. *grins*

I also have a small portable clock near my computer which is visable even if my monitor or the computer is turned off. It's exactly two minutes behind the computer clock. *frowns* I've no idea why it's two minutes slow, I remember setting it, I set it based off the computer's clock and I was sitting right here at the PC when I set it.

The wall clock in the kitchen is one of those wind up kind. It's analog. *frowns* Is that the word for clocks that aren't digital? *chuckles* All my other clocks are digital, I like digital clocks because the non-digital ones require me to spend a moment figuring out what time it says. I have an analog watch too, the hands point to the roman numeral edges and it takes me about two minutes to figure out what the time on it says. By then it's two minutes after that. But the clock in the kitchen is a little easier to read and because it's battery powered it runs slow and gets slower as the batteries begin to run out.

The other clock in there is on my microwave. Sometimes that clock isn't set at all. Usually when the powers been out for whatever reason it sits there flashing until next time I go to use it. The microwave won't work without it's clock set. I don't know why it insists on knowing the time since it can undoubtably count seconds regardless of which seconds they are. I know this for a fact because sometimes I don't bother to check the time when I set it. I just 11:11 'clock' and then it works perfectly. Sure, it's not actually 11:11 but I want my food and I can't be bothered checking what time it actually is. So at any given moment this clock could say anything at all. Occassionally I do bother to go back and set it to near enough the right time.

Then there is the clock in my bedroom. It's set to the computer clock as well but because I then go from the lounge to the bedroom and have to set it I usually set it a few minutes ahead. I figure by the time I've put the numbers in that time has passed. Sometimes it doesn't take me a minute to set but it'll always be at least a minute ahead. The trouble with this clock is it's a 12 hour with an AM/PM. Sometimes if it's 9PM I set it and then set the alarm to 7AM and the alarm doesn't go off in the morning. It's not until I've thrown the clock around alittle trying to figure out why the dumb thing won't work that I realise the times set PM not AM.

Finally there is my phone. My mobile goes whereever I go and it's exactly 1 minute fast according to my daughters school. I like this because I aim to get to school on time and if I'm there by 3PM according to my phone then I'm a minute early. The seconds are brilliant because it's almost exactly on the turn of the minute that the siren goes off at the school.

So there it is, the dilemma of time. No wonder I'm always running out of it. I wonder if there are any clocks in the world that could accurately tell time. We've had sun dials in the past, those were perhaps the most accurate but then what if the builder hadn't set it up right either. *ponders* Apparently there are some special watches that tell time perfectly. I've always wondered how they manage it. I mean time really is a subjective thing. There isn't an entirely accurate way to tell time. We use out watches and our clocks all set off each other. It's possible we've been losing time for years by setting our clocks wrong.

I wonder if we'd know if the world started spinning faster or moving slower. If our clocks are telling the wrong time then the change in the pattern of the sun, the time it takes to turn the earth, perhaps it would go unnoticed?

Why do we concern ourselves so much with time. Even the amount we have is uncertain. I've talked about wasting it in the past and it's almost as if we can measure it. We think of time passing, no moment lasting, all we have is now. IN a way this is the biggest lesson of time. Minutes, hours, even days don't really exist. All we have is this moment. This moment to make the most of what we can be sure we'll leave to the world. If this minute passes there might not be another.

Sometimes it makes me feel like planning for a future I mightn't have is another waste of time. But there is no point maxing out my credit to live it all in this moment because odds are there will be more moments. Yes it's possible this is my list but it's just as likely that I'll have a few more. I'm glad to appreciate that every moment is precious and to make what I most want in life my priorities.

Of course to use all my minutes most productively it would help to know exactly what minute it is. I wish my clocks were in agreement on the matter. *chuckles*