2008 to 2009

Time to reset the calendar. To adjust to a new set of numbers when we write out the date.

Fortunately, we don't actually write out the date on documents much these days. The bank fills out deposit slips for us - we must not be doing them properly or maybe the bank is trying to show us that they really are "full service".  We pay our bills online and the dates are set up way in advance. When we create a document, we can select "date" and MS Word will automatically fill that in for us. If we forget what day it is we can just click on the handy clock/calendar on the right hand corner of our computer screen.

I wonder if anyone has studied how long it takes an individual to reset their mental awareness of the numerical year. I know it takes six months to adjust to a new job, does it take half that time to adjust to a new year?

And how much longer will calendars be relevant? My daughter wears a watch with numbers on it not to tell time - it is purely decoration. She looks at her cell phone if she wants to know the time - no need to figure out that complicated system of the big hand and the little hand.

What will become of calendars? Will they be replaced by a series of mental reminder tags implanted into various devices? The toothbrush will remind us to go to the dentist, the hairbrush will beep when we are scheduled for a haircut, the fridge will prompt us to replace the milk, and we will get e-mail reminders when anything else is required. Or maybe Twitter will become the text based calendar tool in 2009.

Who knows what new shortcuts will be born in 2009? Or is it 2008?