Is it only me?

Lost in translation

in a QR Code nation.

Weird sensation

Increasing presence in my everyday life of a two-dimensional square made up of black and white pixel patterns which don’t mean a thing to me

Close examination

An enigmatic miniscule form—a graphic—filled with squiggly lines mostly black and white patches looking somewhat like mouse droppings or straighter lines similar to hen scratches or dots arranged in batches

Gradual revelation

Doing my best not to look confused, lost, or angry, especially in front of twenty-somethings, I repeatedly raise my iPhone 8Plus into the air beyond me as if I’m prepared to shoot an extra point from the free throw line. If my hand is steady and my cataract-ed eyes are having a “I Can See Clearly” day, I hover over the tiny image with my camera hoping whatever foreign land I am attempting to navigate will come into view.

Source of growing frustration

It’s ubiquitous-ness is undermining my understanding of the universe. Upsetting my consciousness and unconsciousness in a most undesirable manner.

An uprising that seems unfair.

I spew exasperation

Not enough that I must carry proof of vaccination and always wear a mask indoors in public, the pressure mounts to look like I know what to do when confronted by the QR Code.

Lost in translation

in a QR Code nation.

upload

download

off road

ala mode

attack of the

two-inch

two dimensional

too-damn-hard-to-see

square

I’m lost in translation

Suffering the QR code blues

Then sublimation

By now, even to a neophyte like me, the QR Code is instantly recognizable, resembling a coupon or a colorless version of the long-ago Green Stamp or a logo embroidered on the front of a baseball hat or one of those stickers on the bottom of a stemless wine glass you’ve just purchased that refuses to come off without a healthy dose of Goo Be Gone.

Eventual familiarization

Here, there, in the air.

Everywhere

If I approach with caution and don’t despair,

the QR code allows me to:

Peruse a menu, check out a venue

Pay with Venmo

Pull up a Podcast, savor a repast

Shop fast

Park a car, book five-star

Belly up to the bar

Finally, resignation

The code now a familiar sight

Makes me uptight

Trying to squint

And hover just right.

Might as well not fight.

Seems to be right

…and happening.

Even some elation...

I now know QR stands for Quick Response, which refers to the "instant access to the information hidden in the Code.”

With an air of nonchalance

to the quick response

I capitulate to all that the QR Code will generate

I am enjoying my technological Renaissance

No longer lost in translation

Time for immigration

Into the QR Code Nation

---

Today at the Big Kitchen we were confronted with a code, but they brought us menus on request- bh

How did we manage to navigate through decades without it? Another shining example of Man's failure to communicate one-on-one? JW

Good and timely observation! BR

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain~" Joanne Murdock

Suzy Bullock

I actually had to back out of a parking lot in Little Italy the other day because I couldn’t get the damn thing to connect with my phone and could see no other way to pay!

Great post! And the verses are hilarious!

Here's my added penny:

I'll tell you: I would rather not

Depend on any QR code!

They boggle my declining mind;

I'd love to leave them all behind!

But then I'm asking: who am I?

I can do nothing but comply

With all the rules of modern life

Set by the kids who are 25!

I feel frustration, even rage.

The good thing is: they too will age!😄

Olga

I just read this and HAD to write back. I laughed at your candor and share your frustrations with the whole QR thing.

The timing of this was uncanny because my cohorts in art school and I are "mounting" our first show, which must be virtual for time crunch issues, USING A QR CODE. We were completely adverse to it until we realized it's facility.

Thanks for making being of a certain age and it's limitations so relatable. My God did we feel stupid at bristling to it! SAM