Filed under: Anecdotes
The other day, riding home from work, standing waiting for the light to change (or the intersection to clear), I saw a woman doing a number of things at the same time. Not only did she have a cell phone plastered to her ear/face, she was taking a hearty pull from her cigarette (mmmm, cancer). This lady was also watching the road, she may have been watching her kids too and I can imagine her also listening to the radio. What mostly stood out was that cell phone and the cigarette, they were the obvious clues as to how multi-tasked this woman was, as she was also simultaneously operating a large SUV—cell phone in one hand, cigarette in the other. Dude. At thirty-five miles an hour, in a neighborhood, can’t we at least get one hand on the steering wheel?
It seems lately I’m reminded of the multi-tasking responsibilities that exist in a bike shop. Business has picked up (albeit minimally) and other “administrative” duties are occurring. Lately it’s about checking in inventory, data entry, managing repairs, helping customers, and dealing with “upper management”. It can be a challenge at times, but like I’ve iterated here and elsewhere, I’m thankful people’s lives are not exactly at stake with my decisions and actions at the shop. Being a mechanic or a shop manager or whatever in a bike shop isn’t the same as being a doctor. Nobody’s bleeding femoral artery is dropped off needing life-saving cauterization. But hey, it’s only mid-April and there’s a whole summer ahead of us, right?
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she is obviously a very busy lady. you’re just not giving her enough credit. that level of multitasking is a highly sought after credential in corporate america (is there still such a thing?) and you may doing yourself a favor to follow in her footsteps. afterall, anything that doesn’t kill you only serves to make you stronger roght? or maybe it also kills all those that you come across in the process…
i love this country.
Comment by jimmy 04.15.09 @ 9:54 pmshe is obviously a very busy lady. you’re just not giving her enough credit. that level of multitasking is a highly sought after credential in corporate america (is there still such a thing?) and you may doing yourself a favor to follow in her footsteps. after all, anything that doesn’t kill you only serves to make you stronger right? or maybe it also kills all those that you come across in the process…
i love this country.
Comment by jimmy 04.15.09 @ 9:55 pmthe human brain doesn’t multi-task.
this is unfortunate for most mechanics who have to deal with multiple repairs/customer/whatevers simultaneously.
Comment by johnny gaijin 07.04.09 @ 2:30 amGreat video. Thanks.
Comment by presta 07.04.09 @ 7:20 amLeave a comment
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