Editorial

Security

Politics

World

Letters

Sports

Obituaries

Archives

by Lionel Wijesiri

Of course, you might say, everyone is in a hurry. So why not us? Think rationally! Why are we in such a hurry to get to work? Are we supposed to work a whole lot better than the people who do not rush? My boss says he does not want to rush to work but yet he does so because he does not like to get rear-ended, dirty looks, or horns blown at him to get out of the way.

Common trend

And that's a different reason and makes sense. Speed, they say, is the major contributor to accidents. But we speed, risk traffic tickets, accidents, and injury (maybe, even death) just because we are in a hurry.

At work, we hurry through the day. No matter how much we have to do there is never enough time. We hurry through our 'to do' list to get to the next task, and then hurry through it as well. Work related stress increases chance of stroke, heart attack, and even death, but we do not have time to worry about that as we are in a hurry. And then, we are in a hurry to get to lunch.

We did not eat much breakfast because we had less time. We hurry though our packet of hastily prepared lunch so we can get back to work.

Whenever possible, we settle down to a bite of fast food because it is the most popular kind of eating out and it doesn't take as long.

We, the same people who were in a hurry to get to work in the morning are also in a hurry to get back home at night.

And I thought we liked work. But it seems we only like being in a hurry. Traffic is a nightmare with everyone rushing to get home. What do we have to do at home? Honestly not much.

We usually want to take time to cook dinner. If we cook, it is most likely some of the convenience foods that are at least partly prepared in advance.

These are better because we can fix them fast and get the food ready in a hurry.

We can no longer imagine life without a microwave to fix food in a hurry.

What if we are in too big of a hurry to cook and decide to eat out? If the wait is too long, we look for another place.

If the food doesn't arrive quickly, we mumble and complain because it is taking too long. Good service has come to be just as important as good food, and good service means immediate service for 'busy people' always in a hurry.

Of course, on way back home from office, if there are errands to do, we hurry to get them done so we can get back home in a hurry.

If we shop, we do it in a hurry and complain about waiting in lines. Some stores have express lines for people who are in a hurry and who do not buy much.

One even wonder why they have not introduced a 'Do-it-yourself checkout' (like in the USA) for the people who are in too much of a hurry to go through the express lines.

Zombies

We live life in the fast lane, always in a hurry. We use email and send instant messages.

We do not have time to answer the phone so we let the voice mail get it.

We have rush hours, express mail, instant rebates, overnight delivery, quick shops, and speedy service.

Why? Because we are in a hurry!

We live in an age where information flies at jet speed, and so do we.

In spite of all the time we save, we never seem to have enough.

And that's why I'm going to quit now. I have a deadline to meet and - you guessed it right - I'm in a hurry, too.

| News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security |
| Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries | Junior Observer |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager