On 25 Aug 98, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I keep forgetting that I am a professional, and they are not. But
> checking up on all the little things without making a pest of oneself to
> ordinary folks is an art...
Mm... reminds me of the sign hanging at my mechanic's garage (and I
imagine in countless others'):
SERVICE FEES
Normal --
$40/hour
With customer giving advice --
$45/hour
With customer "helping" --
$50/hr
(The scale used to be $10/$15/$20 and has since been scratched out and
updated a few times, indicating just how long ol' Elford has had this sign
posted :)
> How do you deal with competency issues? Or do these things qualify
> as basic competency issues? Most of the normal folks just seem to go with
> the first thing that pops into their heads, and don't enjoy explaining
> their thoughts as my close friends do. I don't think of myself as
> exceptionally bright, but I tend to evaluate a few options before I do
> things.
Interesting... my sweety and I were just chatting about such matters
yesterday. No slouch in the brains department herself, Daphne
nonetheless seems to find me the (ahem, blush, etc) "brightest, most
creative man" she's ever known... well, she's somewhat biased I suppose :)
But, genius though I know I'm not, I have discerned in my forty-two years
that I do seem more intellectually curious and tenacious than the average
schmoe. Daphne notes that the mass of people seem to reach a state of
mental complacency fairly early in adult life -- "I know what I know, don't
bother me with new ideas"; I think there's something to this.
Basically, my mental processes are driven by two strong impulses: (a) a
fundamental need to know how things work, and (b) a default tendency to
try and fix 'em when they don't. This latter habit used to be tinged with a
certain intellectual arrogance when I was a younger lad, but I've mellowed
with the years -- I'll quietly offer help when it's sought, but clam up
otherwise.
I also have a motto: "There's always a way". I say this, audibly or
inwardly, at least ten times a day. It applies to programming dilemmas,
personal worries, financial imperatives, home-repair crises... there's always
a way, if you simply sit back and analyze a situation long enough.
I guess I'm a person who has always craved novelty and intellectual
stimulation, from my earliest years, and that implulse shows no signs of
diminishing. I just wear it a little more gracefully than I once did.
-----------
Brent Eades, Almonte, Ontario
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Town of Almonte site: http://www.almonte.com/
Business site: http://www.federalweb.com
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