There are so many things to look at everyday. If you work a 9 to 5 on weekdays, your commute is probably fixed; a set series of events that take you from home to work.
If you follow this commute long enough, you can predict nearly every component of this journey, particularly with respect to time. Add to this a conscious measuring of your steps, and the prediction is complete. For instance, five minutes to walk from your house to the bus-stop, another ten to wait for the bus, half an hour in the bus, another half in the next bus, and a few, quick, short steps to the destination, work.
We love and need speed. It shifts you from point A to B, in the shortest possible time, bringing you miraculously closer to fulfilling that all important task. It pushes you and gives you control over your own life.
Speed is damned sweet. Don’t get me wrong, speed is important, but it is not all important, all the time.
I think quickly back to my experiences in the last three years, at pivotal moments in my life. I remember how I felt just before final exams in med school, in the wait before securing a spot during housejob, in the sweet pre-relationship “me” time, and in the hunt for fulfilling employment. I take my happiness pretty seriously. Summed it up in this tweet:
I felt the group anxiety, the pressure to complete the task at hand and move on to the next thing. My anxiety was different-was this next thing going to bring fulfilment? I remember asking classmates what they were going to do after exams and school. Most of them didn’t know, they just needed to move, and that’s fine too. Speed is damned sweet.
At this point, a confession is probably due. I’m sure you’re wondering what inspired this post. Asides the smaller, incremental events spaced over three years, I have had interesting experiences in the last few days.
Exhibit A: The Almighty Power of ISPs that Pause
If you’ve ever had to depend on internet for anything, you would agree that it is a demanding god to be worshiped. Step into my shoes and consider how you would feel if this happened right before an important online meeting:
Exhibit B: An Unplanned and Useful Usable Lagos stop
Yes, this was unplanned. My post work plan was a photo shoot meet up with friends, I was going to provide moral support and inspiration for a friend who was doing up his collection. He does amazing menswear, btw. Here’s my shamelessly proud advert moment, please check him out here.
Lagos traffic and power cuts took this away from him. The models couldn’t make the meet, and they lost invaluable daylight. The shoot was postponed. Just then my colleague, T, mentioned that he was attending Usable Lagos.
The interesting thing about Usable is that I’m nearly always otherwise engaged when it is scheduled. I even missed our product launch, as I was away at the time.
We arrived late and sweaty, but just in time to listen to Namnso Ukpanah talk about design systems and his Figma romance. Thanks to this tweet, I met someone from the twitter space, too!
It was an interesting experience, in all. (This sounds like the ending to a primary schooler’s essay on “My Holiday”. LOL)
Exhibit C: A Fraternal Pair of Rings
I was wedged between two people in a keke this morning. One of them was a young woman who spent the time staring at the road with a scowl set into her face, one hand clutching a tote, the other, a large polythene bag.
From the corner of my eye I spotted her ring. I’m not sure I can describe the moment perfectly, here and now, but this was a tweet of passion, and captured it pretty well:
I was hesitant, but asked for a picture, and she obliged. I’m proud to say that she left the keke slowly smiling, and wished me a beautiful day. :)
Exhibit C: The Device that Fails to Fail
While listening to my commute track this morning, between stops, my device abruptly restarted and failed to move past the booting page. It was a powerful reminder of the number of things speed and control cannot get for us. I wasn’t quite ready to think about the implications of this at the time.
I settled in at work a little early and sent out messages to family, close friends and colleagues- “The Phone EEz Not Working. Panic Not.” I didn’t think about the apps I couldn’t access via PC, and focused on reading. I stumbled upon this video, by Carl Honore, writer, speaker and proponent of the slow movement. Here, we have 19 minutes to ponder and understand, slowly.
By the time I made the decision to complete and publish this post, and over an hour after my device took speed and control away from me, my colleague appeared and worked some magic. It’s alive, once again. :)
Speed is damned sweet, but life has very many sweeter things. Reach out and taste that magic!
All of this is absolutely, positutely boring if I am unable to share it with people. Do you have an opinion on sinful speed? Or not? Would you like to share it with me? Drop a line below!
