Impatience is a virtue?

It took my laptop 18 seconds to boot up. Internet was on in like 7 seconds. And this page popped up after another 4 seconds.

That's a grand total of 29 seconds.

Under half a minute. That's not bad at all, one would think. Rather impressive, some would say.

But, NO.

Half a minute seemed like half a century to me. I was tapping my fingers on the empty space near the mouse pad, muttering "Damn you! slowpoke!" under my breath. At that exact moment, I realised that my patience levels had hit an all-time low. Comparable to Bush's approval ratings.  And that's not good at all.

We're an impatient bunch, aren't we? We want our computer to boot up instantly. Like, hey! presto! Some of us have gotten around this problem by never shutting down. Why shut down when there's "Sleep" mode?

It's not limited to computers. Our intolerance for the slightest delay applies across a range of gadgetery (I don't know if that's a word...if it's not, then it should be....it'll be useful....case in point). 

I was trying to call somebody the other day on my cell phone. The call wasn't going through (as it generally happens in these situations). Out came the choicest expletives I could think off. And I can think of a million of 'em. I was mighty pissed. However, upon regaining composure, I couldn't stop thinking about the diminishing levels of patience. And it's not just me. It's all of us.

This is the era of the 'impatient man'. Everything needs to happen instantly. Phataphat. NOW.

You want to see a live demonstration of this? Go to any roadside eatery and you'll find that everyone wants their idli/dosa/fried rice (as the case may be) IMMEDIATELY. Mr. Smart Alec double-parks bike in no-parking zone,  saunters in speaking on cell phone, asks for the fanciest thing on the menu and wants it 73 milliseconds later. Everytime I see one of these guys, there's this unstoppable urge in me to undertake some activity involving a huge stick and the chap's anus.

Why do they do this? Why do they have to be the pricks that they are? Don't people know that good things come to those who wait? (I tell you...advertising has produced some unbelievably memorable lines!)  Don't they know that the anticipation is always better than the fulfilment? Sure, no one wants to wait for like ages. But is a little patience too much to ask for?

Know the single biggest problem that young men around the world face today? Premature ejaculation. 

See what I'm speaking about? Holding back a little never hurt anyone. In fact, patience can solve all our problems. All you people who logged off after skimming through the first four lines, you're screwed. Those of you who stuck around, well done. You're patient. You could be jobless. But I think we'll call it patience.