DON’T COVER IT
At some
point women learned the error of their plastic slip cover ways. I don’t think
anyone would invest in the slip cover industry today, but that old “slip cover”
instinct is still alive, at least for Mrs. Cranky.
Every new
electronic device today comes with a thin film of plastic to protect that device from
being scratched before it is sold. Mrs.
Cranky insists on not removing this plastic film in order to continue the
scratch protection.
This drives
me crazy. In a short period of time this
invisible film becomes very visible. Air
bubbles develop which makes the film more distracting than any scratch could
possibly be. The edges of the film
start to peel and just scream, “Rip me off!”
“Can I just rip that crap off, it is
driving me crazy?”
“No, it protects the cover from ugly
scratches.”
“But the protective cover that guards
against ugly scratches is ugly!”
“It is scratch free underneath, leave
it alone.”
We are
caught in an OCD hell. That bubbled film
is like flaking skin after a sun burn.
It is just screams to me, “Tear me the frig off!” Mrs. C’s OCD sees only the pristine plastic
under the film and it screams to her, “Don’t touch me!”
I lose this
battle every time. Once the film is off
there is no turning back and when the underneath subsequently gets that
inevitable scratch I would never hear the end of it. I am forced to endure the ugly bubbled-up,
starting-to-peel protective film on every DVD and CD player, every cable box
and every electronic control panel in the house.
Maybe
someday, the protective film will go the way of plastic slip covers. I would like to see manufacturers sell their
products with built in scratches instead of that ugly protective film. Hell they could even advertise it:
“Our new control panel comes already
scratched for your convenience so there is no need for ugly bubbled up
protective film!”
I’d buy it,
and I look forward to that day. In the
meantime I will just have to buck up and fight off that film tearing urge.
Maybe if I
can fight the tearing urge, this summer I can leave that sunburned dead
skin unpeeled. Mrs. Cranky hates
that. I know it will drive her up the
wall.
“Will you just rip that ugly dead
skin off!”
“What, and let that new skin underneath get
scratched? I don’t think so.”
“Jerk!”
Ummm, Joe....you need to introduce her to the magic of "screen savers". They're available aftermarket for just a few bucks for a package of 2. And if your darlin' iPhone/iPad/Android, screen saver should get scratched or otherwise yucky, it can be removed and a new one put in place in seconds. Whoa! :)
ReplyDeleteS
I once knew a family that had a living room that no one was allowed to enter! I thought it was hilarious, but the kids were dead-serious: That room was reserved for adults...
ReplyDeletePearl
Pearl- we had some former 'best friends' who had such a place for ONLY special occasions. By the time we 'broke up' with them many years later they had used that room just once when the family room was being painted.
DeleteThey also had a second dining room for similar reasons. Same story.
laughing. :)
ReplyDeletei've been guilty of leaving the plastic pieces on things like cell phones - until they eventually drive me crazy. and speaking of protecting cell phones, the cover you have to BUY to protect your smart phone needs to be easier to adhere without air bubbles and spaces you end up having to squeeze, pinprick out! ugh!
I rip off that thin film of plastic. They I rip off my cuticles.
ReplyDeletethen
DeleteI can understand the inclination, however, as son as the protective covering is visible it should, in my humble opinion come off!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!!
DeleteI'm with you. I hate the plastic. Knocking wood furiously... I took the plastic off my iPhone & refused to put the screen protector. I have an old iPhone 4 and so far so good...
ReplyDeleteFYI... I try to comment on EVERYTHING sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't... glad today's went through. Have a good one! :)
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of covering electronics and things that cannot be wiped LOL. I am with Mrs C. here.
ReplyDeleteCan't be wiped?? I clean my stuff on a regular basis with LCD screen cleaner or a smidge of windex. Not wet, just barely damp so it dries immediately.
DeleteHere's what you need to do. The next time she's not looking take the plastic cover off everything. Everything. What's she going to do but make your life miserable for a few days or weeks.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
That is not going to happen...dang do I look that stupid?
DeleteI'm snickering at the comments as much as the post. It would drive me nuts to see, smudgy, peeling, scratched plastic on everything like that. The curled up edges collect dust and pet hair. It's far less durable than what it's "protecting." Sorry Mrs. Cranky... you're usually right in these little debates. ;)
ReplyDeleteI seem to do all the "unwrapping" around here, so there's never an issue about leaving on that protective layer. I've never understood the idea of covering up the living room furniture. Sure it'll keep it looking nice, but who cares? It'll still be out of style and crappy looking in twenty years anyway.
ReplyDeleteIf I buy it said plastic is gone before it enters our house. If she buys it, her abridged version of Mrs Cranky's rules apply. It works for us.
ReplyDeleteHeh, heh. I think getting a nasty, scruffy sunburn would be worth it just so you could turn the tables on Mrs. C.
ReplyDeleteMy new laptop came with the plastic cover. Left it on for a couple of weeks just to preserve the newness. The moment the cover was off a heavy object fell off a shelf and scratched the cover. (fortunately didn't crack the screen). My laptop is easily identifiable now.
I'm with Mrs. Cranky on this one: I have many things with protective plastic on them. I also have lots of price tags dangling from things.
ReplyDeleteYou're right; they jut need to come with that fine patina of age.
ReplyDeleteOff with the head...I mean, the plastic!
ReplyDeleteThose appliances need that plastic ripped off FAST, like a Band-Aid, so the area underneath can be allowed to breathe.
ReplyDeleteHa, fortunately for me, the kids destroy things cover and all here.
ReplyDeleteI can remember my grandparents have a formal living room with covers on all the furniture. I always thought what is the point if no one is allowed to ever sit on them.
Some are obsessed by the "covering up"
ReplyDeleteI just understand people who carry on with the plastic cover on the car seats. "How can you sit on plastic?" I ask them. They say "just hold on for some more time, we are getting new covers"
I like your thinking but I'm pretty sure you won't be able to leave that sunburned peeling skin alone.
ReplyDeleteMy digital camera, when it was new, had such a perfect film over the screen, I didn't realise it was there, until a corner lifted when the camera was almost a year old.
I would hate sitting on a plastic covered couch. my mum used to make slip covers, but in fabric to suit the seasons, so the covers were changed and washed a couple of times a year.
I share your aversion to the ugly plastic scratch covering on everything electronic these days! It drives MY OCD nuts when people leave it on...
ReplyDeleteI rip off that plastic as soon as I get the thing home. I totally agree with Joe on this one!
ReplyDelete