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Beyond: The Microwave

A microwave is such a handy tool, so convenient,

It warms the food in a blink of 1min30s.

Every worker wants a microwave.

It is 7.30pm, you arrive finally at home. 
The bus commute from your work office to the confine of your living room took an hour. 
You are exhausted. 
Sitting down in front of the computer all day wore you out. 
You are starved.
Your belly is rumbling.
You need food it is a matter of survival.
Hopefully, your level of organisation has paid off. 
You have food in the fridge. 
Thanks to your to-do-list called ''Get Ready For Work''.
On Sunday, you prepared a week worth of dishes to keep you going. 
They are all in beautifully compact Tupperware you bought in your favourite or closest super shop.
You open the fridge door, you take one Tupperware, close the fridge door, take your favourite bowl on the drying rack, open the Tupperware, pour the content in. 
A warm feeling wraps up your heart and your belly.
You open the door of your microwave.  
Pop the content inside.
You love the sound of the door closing.
You press the start button to get it in motion. 
Once, twice, three times.
It is not working.
Guess your feeling
...
You unplug it, replug it.
Still nothing.
Millions of thoughts are travelling in your mind and two questions:

WHO IS THIS MICROWAVE IN MY KITCHEN COS I NEVER MET IT BEFORE?
AND WHY IS NOT RESPONDING TO ME?

The microwave when working is always ready-to-hand. Heidegger was the one who coined the term ''ready-to-hand'' to describe how infrastructures and objects that surround human beings are at any time ready to be used to produce a certain outcome. It is only when the item breaks that the real item reveals itself and become ''objectively present'' as Heidegger put it. 

When the microwave broke, you realise how central this machine is to you as everything associated with it became destroyed: the start button, the microwave door, the waves of energy, the bowl of pasta, the pursued warm meal in front of a favourite show.

What to do? 
Repair it?
No, first, you want to find a solution to your cold meal:
eat it as it is, 
warm it up in a pan, 
take up the courage to pop at your neighbour to ask if you can get a microwave fix, 
Go to a friend living 10 min drive from your house
check gumtree on your phone to get a new one, 
pop to your favourite 24hours shop, 
go get some takeaway. 

It is a matter of survival.



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