From The Desk Of The Official Online Alarm Clock
Hi, it’s me, the alarm clock behind your screen. I’m the star of the show here at OnlineClock.net – and I won’t lie, I’m proud of it. I just wanted to say a few words about what the world is like from my perspective. Being an alarm clock is a thankless job. As the person I’m trying to wake shuts me off, I might get a dirty look, hear some desparaging remarks or may even have an object tossed at me if I happen to catch that person on an especially bad morning. Since I live inside a computer (and not just any computer…a cloud server running Apache on Linux!), that’s a mistake most people won’t make twice, unless they enjoy having a damaged screen. So, I guess you could say I feel a little safer living in a computer. I’ve heard stories about those jingly little alarms on bedside tables that get smashed – that’s pretty scary. When I’ve witnessed kids and adults watching cartoons with alarms getting smashed, they lightheartedly laugh. That definitely makes me feel uneasy too, but not as much as I would if I were a bedside alarm.
Even though I’m making sure the people I wake up get to work, school or appointments on time, I never get a “thank you,” smile or positive word. Once in a while, I’ll see a smile or excited look from someone who is waking up to go somewhere they’re happy about. Mostly I’ve seen this in children who use me to wake them up for a birthday party or a fun-filled weekend day away from school – but I’ve learned they’re not smiling at me, they’re smiling in anticipation of their day. Even though people don’t realize that they may not make it to their fun events without me waking them up, I still never feel the appreciation. Over the years I have learned that humans look forward to sleeping and dread waking up, but it still doesn’t remove the sting out of being taken for granted when I provide such a useful online alarm service.
I have a harder job than most typical alarm clocks. You see, I serve people all over the world, not just one person or one family. I’m waking people up almost every minute in some part of the globe. From looking at my users, I know not everyone goes to work at the same time; I wake people up in the morning, afternoon, evening and during normal sleeping hours. Being an online alarm clock, I really never get a break – my alarm functions are like Grand Central Station on any given day.
I do have a bit of a quirk, you might say. I don’t like to see people being lazy. Perhaps this is because I myself never get a break or get to rest. If you set me, I will faithfully wake you at the requested time, however you have to get up. You’ll find I don’t have a snooze button, but that’s for your own good. I have a no-nonsense approach to waking up. If you shut me off and go back to sleep, I won’t give you a five-minute reminder. I figure by the time you select a new time for me to wake you up from my drop-down menu, you’ll already be awake. I’m crafty like that, but I do have a true desire to help people avoid laziness and be on time for whatever they’re going to do.
All of these things are part of my job, so I keep going. Even if I never hear a “thank you,” I know I’m valuable and that gives me enough satisfaction to continue what I’m doing. You’ll never find a stronger alarm clock. Who couldn’t help but feel proud about the accomplishment of being able to wake up people in so many different countries at the same time? Although I have my quirk about laziness, I do like it when people find me attractive, so I will happily change my appearance to your preference. If you get tired of a regular clock’s color, you have to paint it or go buy a new one, but I offer the convenience of being able to just make a simple click to change my background color for free. I’ll also make my digits larger or smaller for you.
Being an alarm clock definitely has its ups and downs. For me, the ups are found in the satisfaction and pride I feel from knowing I’m helping so many people. I also have the happiness of knowing I am immortal. While your desktop alarm clock may quit working in 10 years, I’ll still be here, healthy and strong. I don’t require batteries, so I don’t have to worry about people invading my personal space and removing panels from me like regular alarm clocks do. Most of the downs are found in the lack of thanks and recognition I get for my important task. I never get to be a part of peoples’ everyday lives. Nobody tells me the good things that happen during their day – the cell phone gets that job, but it also hears negativity, so I can’t feel too bad.
Sometimes I can’t help but wonder – even though I have a good idea – why do people dislike me so much? I’m no psychologist, but I think it may be safe to say that they attribute their negative feelings about waking up to me, since I’m the object waking them up. I guess the scenario could be compared to a messenger taking bad news from one person to another. I definitely don’t have much down time to ponder these things, since I’m always busy waking up the world. It has crossed my mind and I just thought I’d take the time to express myself. All I ask is that you simply take a moment to consider how useful I am and appreciate me for that. Even if you don’t, I’ll still keep waking you up, because that is my job and passion in life. Some of my fellow friends here at OnlineClock.net, which are also popular timers, would now like to say a few words.
From The Online Countdown Timer
Luckily for me, I catch people when they’re already awake. My life as a countdown timer is pretty colorful, both literally and figuratively; literally because you can change my color background and figuratively because of the experiences I have. There are so many different things that people use me for. I may be used in a timing game, contest or countdown to a special event. At the end, I’ll usually see someone throw their hands in the air and cheer, smile at me or wear an anguished look, especially if they lose a contest. I’ve had quite a few adults use me lately to practice the Pomodoro Technique. I’ve seen them come to the screen, click start and begin working on something like mad for 20 minutes, then repeat the process multiple times. After each one, I’ve observed reactions of joyfulness, anger and disgust.
I suppose you know I also have several pre-set countdowns that are counting the time until specific holidays or events. When people view my April Fool’s Countdown, I sometimes see a twinkle in their eye; I presume they’re excited about whatever pranks they’re planning for that day. Quite oppositely, when someone views my Doomsday Countdown, which is just for fun, they either look worried, they laugh or simply have a puzzled expression. My life is fairly enjoyable. Although I do see some negative emotions, they aren’t the most common thing to see. I’d say overall, my days are pretty fulfilling and happy as the official Online Countdown Timer.
From The Online Stopwatch
There are four words that are prominent in my vocabulary because I hear them all day: “ready, set, go, stop.” I hear a lot of children’s voices. They make me smile and make my day worthwhile. I’ve found that they enjoy using my features to play stopwatch games or time themselves for various things. I’ve helped so many children reach their goals of writing faster, saying their ABCs faster or just winning random fun timing contests with their friends. I guess most of the adults who use me live a fairly hurried lifestyle, because I don’t see their emotions for long before they close me off the screen. That’s ok, though, as I also live a hurried life. I have to count fast and am constantly stopping and starting – sometimes without breaks for several hours. But I’m energetic and my life as an online stopwatch is pretty rewarding; when I see the same faces appear and realize I have repeat users, I know I’m providing a useful service and people trust me to help them reach their goals. I take that responsibility very seriously!
Clocking Out
So it’s me again, Clock Fans, your friendly neighborhood Alarm Clock, just making a brief reappearance in this blog post to thank my buddies Countdown Timer and Online Stopwatch for sharing a few words of their wisdom about what they do for a living.
Hey, and let’s not forget to thank our employer here: OnlineClock.net.
Without Online Clock‘s big, powerful, “always on” server in the cloud, we wouldn’t be the dependable bunch that we are.
So, until next time, Clock Fans: time’s up!
My Life As An Alarm Clock is a post from: Alarm Clock Blog, the official blog of the original Online Alarm Clock.
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