I recently decided to get rid of my microwave. I'd been toying with the idea for a while, but got more serious about it once my youngest child turned 10. I was worried about them using the stove top to heat things up, you see. I know accidents can happen at any time and I just wanted them to have a bit more maturity under their belts before they took on the large household appliances.
So I'd been reading a bit about the dangers of those little micro waves heating up our food, and although I want to believe they're super dangerous, the World Health Organization says it's all a-ok to use microwaves. I tend to be a bit more skeptical of these things in my advancing age, and don't necessarily believe something like that is true just because I'm told it is. One website even called people like me "a member of the tinfoil hat brigade". Jerks. Anyway when all was said and done, I'd sent the microwave off to live out its life with someone else.
The problem with getting rid of my handy little appliance, was that I was used to it. There had been a microwave in my home ever since I was 7 years old. What a convenience! The first full day without it I realized how habitually ingrained it was for me to take a leftover out of the fridge and throw it in the microwave. That day I found myself wanting a bagel. Now. My chat with myself in my head went something like this:
"Oh shit I keep the bagels in the freezer. Yeah that one in the basement that freezes things really, really solid. Ummmm ok now how can I make this bagel less of a block of ice so I can cut it in half and put it in the toaster? No. Waiting is NOT an option. I want it NOW. I wish Siri could have made it for me. I would have given her the instructions five fucking minutes ago so I would've already had it. That's how fast I want it. Instantaneously. Ok, put it in the oven to thaw? Too long. On top of the toaster? Won't defrost right through. I know! I'll run it under hot water until I can pry a knife in there to cut it. Oh wow. Who knew frozen bread would get so soggy under running water?"
Yeah that happened. Luckily I was home alone at the time so there was no one to see my crazy chain of events. And so it has gone with almost everything I pull out to eat/heat up/cook. It's no longer an automatic motion, I actually have to think if the new best way to do it. There's a bit of a learning curve but I'm enjoying the new challenge. I wonder of micro waves (the actual waves, not the cooking machines) can travel through walls? Maybe I should go talk to my neighbour about the dangers of her appliances....
