The Friday Fives

1. Name a book you’ve never read and consider a guilty omission?

I have a degree in English and studied a mostly American literature curriculum – yet my guilty omission is I have never read John Steinbeck.

2. What is absolutely worth paying someone else to do?

Movers – hire a moving company to haul that stuff around. Trust me, this is money well spent.

3. What is something that is normalized in Europe yet is a completely unknown concept in the US?

I don’t know if it is all of Europe, but when I lived in Stuttgart, Germany – the traffic light went red > yellow > green and then green>yellow >red to let you know when the light was going to be green again. I always liked that. Also, at intersections, drivers were expected to turn their engines off instead of idling. But a lot of newer cars are doing that automatically now, even here in the States.

4. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no prep?

Coaching leaders on how to improve their call center employees efficiency and performance. i do this basically weekly as it is.

5. If you lived in a medieval village, what would your job be?

The town bard. I really have no other talents.

3 Replies to “The Friday Fives”

  1. 1. In my 20’s I decided to read all of James Joyce’s works. I got through one book, and then got stuck on page one of “Ulysses” and gave up.

    2. Cut my hair.

    3. Efficiently getting on and off planes. I swear Americans feel the need to bring all of their belongings on board a domestic flight, slowing the process of getting on/off a plane. Also Americans are pushy and impatient and have “me first” attitude that also slows the whole process down.

    4. How to make Bolognese sauce in 45 minutes. Yeah, Roy, I’m going over my allotted time.

    5. I’d be the village phrenologist. “Let me touch that noggin, and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
    ]

  2. 1) I’ve never read Moby Dick.

    2) Drywall. A good team can get done in a few hours that would take regular people days and probably do it better.

    3) Having healthcare. They see no issue in paying a bit more in taxes to ensure healthcare access for all.

    4) Management of the airway, from emergencies to the routine.

    5) Most likely healer, but possibly a member of the brute squad.

  3. 1) To Kill A Mocking Bird. TI was a required reading in a high school lit class, but I just faked it and watched the movie.

    2) Tile work. I have figured out a lot of home renovation stuff, but tile work is tedious and there’s a lot of exactness to it that I would screw up in a heartbeat.

    3) No tipping – in general, that is the rule. Only in above and beyond service is that acceptable, otherwise, it is strange and clearly shows one as a don’t-know-nuttin-but-Amerca ‘murican.

    4) Pretty much anything. I have participated in many slam deck events, where someone else makes up a presentation for however much time or length, and then it is up to the presenter to go in blind and make a cohesive presentation based on the unknown and many times random slides. I got very good at it.

    5) I assume, given historical precedence and being a white male, I would be the colonizer who takes over the village in the name of some king, god or some other stupid reason.

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