Katie's Unhurried Thoughts

I had a pretty full schedule at work today so of course I overslept this morning. Consequently, I started the day scurrying around in a mad rush.

Now, many hours later, it occurs to me that during the course of an ordinary day, there are times when I hurry, and times when I do not. I will hurry to get out of the rain, or to catch an elevator. Sometimes I will hurry to get home just to turn on the TV and see some program that has my interest. Yesterday on my way to the store I noticed a lone, unoccupied parking spot, and I accelerated to it. So it is not at all uncommon for me to hurry while driving an automobile.

I have noticed that I will often quicken my stride in the direction of available food, especially Italian and Thai food. I will rush towards a hot slice of pepperoni pizza. When food is involved, my pace can be greatly influenced by my level of hunger. Also, my velocity will increase the closer I get to the food, when my sense of smell becomes involved. So when it comes to my speed and its relation to food, there are a number of factors. An equation on the subject could probably be devised, but not by me.

To be completely forthright, I have noticed that I will occasionally have reason to hurry when the food reaches the other end of the digestive cycle. These moments of hurrying often come at the end of long meetings, or when I have been particularly caught-up in something I am doing. During these unfortunate episodes I will suddenly realize that I am in desperate need of a restroom visit, which then necessitates hurrying. Every once in a while these realizations have come almost too late, and a mad dash is required. I do not like to be seen sprinting into a public restroom. It is not terribly becoming; a panicking woman scampering into a restroom. Still, there have been a few times when I have been that woman.

On rare occasions I have been accused of hurrying even when I am not. At work last week I wrote and very nearly submitted an article for publication. The text contained three or four misspellings, and in one sentence I had dismissed the verb altogether. My assistant caught my barrage of errors and accused me of rushing the short manuscript. The truth was; I had not rushed. I had been distracted that day, which led to my carelessness. But in our society, errors due to haste are seen as more tolerable than are errors due to a bit of negligence. So it should come as no surprise that one week later I am yet to correct my assistant’s assessment of my gaffes. But then, is there really any hurry?