100 Word Stories - Week 279 #2 - Shrink

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so we designed our application to use pictures.

Every action requires the user to click on a picture.

Want to open something? Click on the picture of the closed door.

Want to close something? Click on the picture of the open door.

Want to edit something? Click on the picture of grizzled editor from the Times.

It was a great application. It was adopted quickly by users. The test users said it was a very effective paradigm.

Then they said the application was too big, shrink it. So we used thumbnails.

100 Word Story Challenge #279 - Shrink

My weekly therapy sessions had not been going well.

The couch doctor seemed to concentrate on my problems but could not condense her thoughts to something I could understand.

"Listen Doc, we have a contract. I come here to drop off and decrease my problems. I leave feeling deflated, diminished, weakened. You aren't helping!"

She said "I understand. You feel constricted, smaller, wasted away".

"Doc, aren't you listening? I feel that way after I leave; shriveled, dwindled. Reduce your verbiage, narrow your focus. Help me!".

"I'm afraid I need to shorten our time today. See you next week".

Damn shrink.

(see http://thesaurus.com/browse/shrink)

100 Word Stories - Week 277 #1

I've promised to do one story a day this week - expect more

This week's theme is 'Radio'.

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I was listening to the radio this morning and heard an intriguing song.

The lyrics told the story of a man whose wife had turned her focus inward.

He started exploring and fell in love with someone else.

He left his wife.

His wife refocused on him and started stalking him.

This presented a conundrum for him - return to the renewed focus of his wife or stay with the focus of his new lover.

I never heard the outcome.

It was a country song and, in my mind, I kept hearing a tune about roadkill, so I turned it off.


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100 Word Stories - Week 276 #2

We have a new activity here at the nursing home, my new employer.
Joe has been retained to help reduce the recent increase in resident injuries.
His firm, Safety First, is considered the premier injury reduction firm in the area.
The class is called 'Falling, Gracefully', which teaches how to fall without injury, using many techniques taught to those studying judo.
The residents seem to enjoy the class but there does not seem to be a reduction in injuries.
One day they will find the correlation between my hire date, the rise in injuries and my joy in tripping people.

100 Word Story Challenge #276 - Falling

She purred "I love you".

Without thinking I replied "I adore you, I love you, I cherish you and I am slowly falling in love with you".

She laughed, "I don't think you are the type to 'fall in love'".
 
I thought a second.

"I think you are right - I don't fall in love but I have been in love and I am slowly becoming in love".

She asked "What's the difference between falling and becoming?"

"Falling happens quickly - becoming happens slowly".
 
A lightbulb appeared.

"Maybe it should be 'I am slowly realizing that I am in love with you'".