Last week I helped Simon take his microwave to his new apartment. My new roommate Caroline is coming in a week, and she’s bringing a replacement. That leaves a gap of a little over a week in which I do not have access to a microwave oven.
This is not a problem, really. Everything I used the microwave for I can just as easily do in the real oven, and it usually comes out tastier too. It’s amazingly slow, though, and the transition has caused me to reflect a little on the role of technology in my life. I think the last time I was without a microwave for this long I was staying in hotels on an international vacation. Excluding hotels, the last time was probably at Camp Shohola, when I was 13 years old (and all our food was made for us at the dining hall). I don’t think I’ve ever been simultaneously in the position of having to prepare food for myself and not having a microwave oven.
It’s not a problem, but every new experience is worth noting.