Oddly enough, I still get a little frisson of pleasure when my PDA starts blinking to tell me an email has arrived. Not sure why this is so – I don’t get particularly excited when I sit down in front of my computer and open Outlook. I suppose it’s the air of mystery on the phone – since I don’t see the message until I open my email app, I can fool myself into thinking that perhaps it’ll be a note from a friend, an invitation to a party or a travel tip about some upcoming destination.
Granted, this is seldom the case. My emails consist more generally of bill notices, exhortations to buy something online and the occasional attempt to defraud me. And I’m well-aware of this state of affairs – but I still found the following subject line particularly depressing:
30% Off Isotoner Slippers Ending Soon
Not really sure why this even registered with me other than as something to delete. Maybe the underlying thought that there’s a database out there somewhere that thinks I fit the Isotoner Slippers demographic – which I assume is something along the lines of “50-something divorcée who owns multiple cats and collects Precious Moments figurines”? Whatever the case, it really took the bloom off of my new email notifications…
UPDATE: Just received the following from the same source:
30% Off totes Bubble Umbrella
Sigh…
It's a Complete Outrage 