Una Tortuga

In Larry Niven's engaging detective novella "ARM", the mystery revolves around a device that projects a field that nullifies inertia, allowing items within the field to move at incredible speeds. I really need one of those for my apartment.

How long does it take you to get out the door in the morning?

I'm pretty slow. I would say I move at turtle speed, but a couple of our swim coaches are from the Turtle family, and they are blazing fast, so I hesitate to use the comparison. But the fact is that it takes me nearly an hour from the time I wake up until I'm ready to leave my apartment. And that's on the days when I don't have anything extra on my morning agenda. That just seems...wrong.

[By the way, whenever there's an underscored hyperlink embedded in this blog, I would recommend that you click on it. It may help illustrate a concept I'm trying to communicate...or it may just be something amusing that relates to the topic in some way. My hope is that you'll get something out of them, whether it be education or entertainment. It's also my way of exploring relationships between topics; I can't just think of one turtle without thinking of others, too.]

I don't think I perform an unusual number of tasks each morning. Hey -- We all have to at least get a drink, use the bathroom, and throw on some clothing before we step outside, right? And I'm guessing that most people eat a little bit of breakfast, too. Though I'm not a coffee drinker myself, I have many friends who include a cuppa joe within their primary morning rituals.

The only complications in my rituals arise from the fact that I need to make a lunch, take my vitamins, bag my work clothes (since I'm wearing my gym outfit), and floss after breakfast. And because I am such a burly macho manly man, it does take a while to shave my overnight caveman beard. Sometimes I am also tempted to pick up my guitar and strum the opening bars to "Don't Fear the Reaper," just because every day starts better with a little BOC.

I suppose my biggest time sink is when I stop to look at email. Most people don't go to bed as early as I do, so I often receive correspondence long after I have retired. Sometimes, I feel obligated to reply before heading out the door. And since I refuse to use Gen-X shorthand (ie, LOL, IMHO, TTYL, etc.), I may take longer to do that than is strictly necessary. BYCSJR (Before you can say Jack Robinson), I find that I'm leaving later than I intended.

And guess what? Now I'm out of time for writing. I couldn't find the clip I was looking for to illustrate "late for work," so I'll leave you with another scene from the same movie. (I suppose you could consider it a suggestion on saving commuting time.) Enjoy the ride, and have a great day!