Bonding with a Machine
I was at a friend’s party and this girl who was there spoke to me and we soon found out we lived near each other. That’s when she offered me a lift home in her car. Of course I jumped at the chance since public transport after 9PM was a little iffy.
As we got in the car my new friend pulled out her GPS ‘Navigator’ and turned it on, touching the screen to input my address. I sat back and relaxed; I had had a long day.
The navigator guided us through the lanes on to the highway where we sped off. That’s when I started to admire the little gadget that was placed on her windshield via a mount. Firstly, the voice was very calm and soothing, contrary to my navigator’s bossy and impatient voice.
Instead, this male voice kept reminding my new friend of the fact that she was over the speed limit, but in such a polite tone. The graphics were quite cool too, but I commented on the voice, because when you travel long hours in your car alone, you need a friendly companion, even if that is your navigator. You really don’t need a navigator that’s going to get on your nerves and test your patience.
“Really, your navigator’s voice is so much better than mine”, I complimented. She laughed, thanking me. I continued to marvel at the difference between her ‘John’ and my ‘Jane’.
Every fifteen minutes or so, I would find myself repeating a similar statement about John’s voice. “I think I have to buy this navigator” I told her, asking what brand it was. It was a Mio. Never heard of it, but would I just buy it for the dude’s mannerisms and calm way of leading you to your destination as opposed to my cranky Jane navigator?
“I’m definitely going to buy this Mio, the navigator’s voice is just so soothing and polite” I told her, wondering if they made TomTom’s sound so pleasing to the ear. It really was time to ditch cranky old Jane and replace her with a modern, funky new kid on the block. Only there are so many to choose from…which one….I thought.
She laughed. “It’s so funny,” she began to explain her giggling fit. “You seem to have really bonded with my machine”.
Well, perhaps I had. It really couldn’t be helped.
That was kinda cute, actually
My dad’s navigator is a Jane, too, I suppose. It’s always very entertainig to see and hear my dad and occassionally mom, too, converse with her:
Jane: “Now, turn left after two kilometers.”
Dad: “You think so?”
Jane: “Now, turn left.”
Dad: “Ti raaji shway, taw neltefet. (Just be patient, I will turn.)”
Mom: “Wish you’d listen to me as attentively like you do to her.”
Dad: “I’m turning left now!”
Mom: “Now we turned. What’s next?”
Jane: “Now, turn left after one kilometer.”
Dad: “What? Left again?”
MushuThaLohari
November 19, 2008 at 8:12 pm
That’s hillarious Mushu! Thank you for sharing
Unique Muslimah
November 19, 2008 at 8:16 pm
funny
Could I ask where are you? in which country or city..
martyrdomseeker
November 19, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Thanks Marty! I’m sorrry, I’m not supposed to reveal the whereabouts of my existence
Glad you found it amusing.
Unique Muslimah
November 19, 2008 at 8:21 pm
My GPS speaks with a British accent which I think is kinda cool (for us Canadians)
'liya
November 20, 2008 at 1:40 am
I hated my TomTom. It was too confusing using the roads because they made the streets so tiny and you could barely concentrate on where you were going when you had to look at the screen. I personally love the Nuvi. Much better technology and interface =) The Mio i never heard of, however!
Jannah
November 20, 2008 at 4:25 am
I have heard about those gadgets. My one friend’s mother gets jealous when her husband uses the “Jane” version – she gets upset because he will listen to that woman, but not to her.
Solace
November 20, 2008 at 10:19 am
i miss this invention in Egypt
( specially since i moed to cairo. u know they disapeled this function in the iphone when it was released in egypt a couple of weeks ago, and the gps in it depends on gsm not satelites 
(((((
askandarani
November 20, 2008 at 12:24 pm
MushuThaLohari: what language is that? haha.
nice post. funny story helps uplift my mood sometimes. thx. =]
-The Muslim Kid-
The Muslim Kid
November 20, 2008 at 12:44 pm
hahahahahahaha! funny! hmm……….they DO have quite soothing voices!
imtheonlyme
November 20, 2008 at 5:45 pm
LOL, Unique’s in lurrrrvvvveee! Ha ha ha!
falakk
November 20, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Unique: Hehe, you are most welcome
The Muslim Kid: It’s Arabic. A messed up Libyan dialect, to be precise (:
MushuThaLohari
November 21, 2008 at 2:45 pm
LOL. My dad tried using a navigater once- he had no idea onto how and i did (even though i can’t drive).
outcastrebelchic
November 21, 2008 at 8:47 pm
A friend and I were joking that there should be an impatient Punjabi navigator. “Where are you going now, yaaaaaaaaar?!?”
musicalchef
November 22, 2008 at 1:39 am
LOL!
my RE teacher who is called Jane, her Jane tells her the long routes, and she ends up getting lost, poor thing. we laughed soo bad when she first told us in lesson!
thank for sharing unique!
[[[ x Smiley x ]]]
November 22, 2008 at 9:18 pm
My parentshave a navigator ,I think tehy make yuo dumb lol
th voice isteribly annoying ‘English accent’
Smiley Amal !
November 23, 2008 at 4:38 pm
A fetish with ‘John’s’ voice eh!
Garmin is superior quality – though the voice may not satisfy the unique taste of “unique muslimah”!
Abul Layth
November 28, 2008 at 6:20 am
LOL! Your descriptions of Jane remind me of that movie, You’ve got mail, and her kicking her navigator while driving….. don’t think you’d resort to physical abuse, of course, but they are pretty annoying when they’re annoying. Lol.
btw, I nominated you for the Butterfly Award
S&S
souvenirsandscars
December 3, 2008 at 10:23 am
Salam, I have been a silent reader until now! Just thought to let you know that, you have been “awarded” with “I Love Your Blog” award =)
rovingsoul
December 11, 2008 at 5:42 am
And the Butterfly Award for The Coolest Blog goes tooooo…
*drumroll*
Unique!
Pass on the love, sunshine. It’s all yours.
Love, Falak
falakk
December 11, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Salam,
I have been a silent reader (until now that is). Just thought to let you know that you have been awarded the “I Love Your Blog” award =)
Thanks for such an inspirational writings!
rovingsoul
December 12, 2008 at 1:17 am
No roaming with theses machines…
My friend’s got one with zidane’s voice and football vocabulary
Kapêka
December 19, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Salaam. Keep up the good work– I love the stuff you have in here.
zydah
January 6, 2009 at 3:28 am