The tiny, cringing, mouse-like voice of progress
Something cool just happened.
A certain person I work with (whose gender I will not reveal), who never has their act together and whose incompetence has very often made my job harder, just came up to my desk to ask a question. I heard them talking to someone else in the hall as they walked in, and when they started talking to me, their shoulders and their voice went up by at least an octave – indicating to me that they knew they were about to annoy me, and were unconsciously trying to make themselves less likely to be glared at by speaking, acting and approaching me like a young child.
I know this because usually this person really does invoke my inner grouch. I'm sure they've noticed my irritation when I have to stay late YET AGAIN on a Friday night after everyone else has left, to fix something they have messed up. Figure it out! I want to yell. Everyone else does their jobs right. Why can't you?
So anyway, the thing that happened was that I heard their voice go up, and I felt myself getting ready to get annoyed, and suddenly – I didn't get annoyed. Instead I thought, "They really do need some help, and that makes them feel small." And for some reason today, instead of feeling like squashing them or flicking them away like an ant on the tablecloth, I felt ... friendly toward them. Like I wanted to help.
That's a first. Usually I have to talk myself through the ant-flickingness before I arrive at the friendliness.
Anyway. I can't concentrate today. I fell off my bike this morning while trying to simultaneously adjust my helmet, put a movie in the mailbox, and talk on the phone. I wasn't even riding – just standing there balancing. Or trying to. Aside from a bruised elbow neither I nor the bike was hurt, but the cheap plastic bell that came with the bike cracked and flew into pieces when it hit the ground. It's unrepairable – stupid design!
So I've been looking for something cool, beautiful and at the same time reasonably unobtrusive (i.e., unlikely to attract attention from thieves) to replace it with. It also has to sound good, of course. A few options: beehive, blue dots, Japanese, revolving (which I already have, but which kind of seems too big, at least compared to the old one).
There's also this one, with stars, but nobody seems to have it in stock. Maybe I'll paint the revolving one blue with stars! That would be the coolest, funnest, most beautiful option of all. But not unobtrusive.
A certain person I work with (whose gender I will not reveal), who never has their act together and whose incompetence has very often made my job harder, just came up to my desk to ask a question. I heard them talking to someone else in the hall as they walked in, and when they started talking to me, their shoulders and their voice went up by at least an octave – indicating to me that they knew they were about to annoy me, and were unconsciously trying to make themselves less likely to be glared at by speaking, acting and approaching me like a young child.
I know this because usually this person really does invoke my inner grouch. I'm sure they've noticed my irritation when I have to stay late YET AGAIN on a Friday night after everyone else has left, to fix something they have messed up. Figure it out! I want to yell. Everyone else does their jobs right. Why can't you?
So anyway, the thing that happened was that I heard their voice go up, and I felt myself getting ready to get annoyed, and suddenly – I didn't get annoyed. Instead I thought, "They really do need some help, and that makes them feel small." And for some reason today, instead of feeling like squashing them or flicking them away like an ant on the tablecloth, I felt ... friendly toward them. Like I wanted to help.
That's a first. Usually I have to talk myself through the ant-flickingness before I arrive at the friendliness.
Anyway. I can't concentrate today. I fell off my bike this morning while trying to simultaneously adjust my helmet, put a movie in the mailbox, and talk on the phone. I wasn't even riding – just standing there balancing. Or trying to. Aside from a bruised elbow neither I nor the bike was hurt, but the cheap plastic bell that came with the bike cracked and flew into pieces when it hit the ground. It's unrepairable – stupid design!
So I've been looking for something cool, beautiful and at the same time reasonably unobtrusive (i.e., unlikely to attract attention from thieves) to replace it with. It also has to sound good, of course. A few options: beehive, blue dots, Japanese, revolving (which I already have, but which kind of seems too big, at least compared to the old one).
There's also this one, with stars, but nobody seems to have it in stock. Maybe I'll paint the revolving one blue with stars! That would be the coolest, funnest, most beautiful option of all. But not unobtrusive.
2 Comments:
Falling off your bike sucks, even if you weren't hurt. It's embarrassing for one thing. And it shakes you up, too, cuz you keep thinking that you and/or the bike *could* have been hurt.
That's what I need for my vintage Schwinn...a bell! Glad you're okay.
(P.S. If you move to Davis, you'll discover: this is bike TOWN.) :)
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