Categories: uncategorized
Date: 11 February 2006 22:12:08
For those of you who've been reading this blog from the beginning, way back in '03, you will recall a roundabout underpass under which I pass as I walk to work. In my four month absence, it appears that some clever mirrors were insalled at the ends of each underpass as part of the 'safer-sity' initiative. The idea is that the mirrors allow you to see around the corners before you enter any underpass to help you decide if it's safe to enter the short tunnel. The reality is that I now get to admire my reflection a couple of times as I rush to work feeling hot and bothered and late.
On my first day back, having got over the shock of seeing myself where I least expected to, I briefly considered my post-baby figure as I passed the first mirror and determined that perhaps I needed to work on my stomach a little more... however, as I passed the second mirror I reckoned I didn't look too bad (and a female colleague at work confirmed that by an encouraging comment when she saw I was back). On my way home, the first mirror indicated that I'd perhaps not eaten enough during the day at work... and the second showed that I was perhaps a bit drunk - the refection was certainly a bit wobbly. And then I remembered the 'funny' mirrors that entertained me and my brother as children at the seaside and changed our proportions depending on where we stood.
Although 8 foot sheets of polished metal are certainly 'safe' as 'mirrors', those wise men involved in the 'safer-sity' initiative really ought to have thought about how things will look in a few years when vandals have dented the mirrors: we'll all be looking at scarily distorted men and women walking through wobbly tunnels. How's that going to make is feel? Safe... or simply paranoid about our figure?!