Atoke’s Monday Morning Banter: Two More Seconds, Please!

I lost my sunglasses last week, and in the full glare of this summer, I didn’t want to have to endure all that light in my eyes. So I said to Isoken, “Let’s go to TK Maxx! I need correct and affordable sunglasses. Plus, I want to see if they have any good deals for a coat for the winter.” It was my first mistake. Shopping is not my favourite thing in the world. The whole idea of checking from rack to rack in search of that perfect dress… just not my thing.

Mistake two: asking Isoken to follow me to a STORE. The girl literally loses all sense of time, ORIGINAL purpose and reason any time she enters a store.

After I picked my sunglasses (in all of ten minutes), dear Isoken decided to “buy a few tops”. 35 minutes later we were hauling 18 tops, 6 pairs of jeans and 4 dresses, heading towards the changing room. Not only did I have to sit through the excruciating process of watching her try on each item, she had this obsession with properly putting each item back on the appropriate hanger! Jesus, son of the blessed virgin! How did a quick trip become such a tedious chore? I said, “I hope after trying all these clothes, you plan to buy ALL. Because, you must not have wasted my time for nothing.” She corrected me, saying it wasn’t a waste of time but a meticulous task finding the perfect fit. “I am only being fastidious.” I grumbled that one man’s fastidious and meticulous is another man’s time waster.

Let’s look at the example of those people who stop to count their money at the ATMs. At the GTBank on Airport Road, it’s almost like there’s an unwritten memo that users of that machine must count their money after the machine spits it out. I remember when I complained about this, someone mentioned that in Nigeria, one could never be too careful. You need to meticulously count your money before you leave. It was immaterial that people were waiting, as long as you went through the motions of collecting your money.

Upon deciding to write about the issue of ‘meticulous people’, I thought about the different circumstances when people take their sweet time in executing things – stretching the consumption of one plate of rice over a duration of 30 minutes; stopping to chat with attendants at a drive by; remembering to ask cashier at the bank how he’s dealing with his athlete’s foot; carefully designating boxes for packing when you have a little over an hour before your flight; spending 90 minutes applying make up in the morning before work.

Some people might call these people time wasters, others might say they’re just people who pay attention to detail. However, it’s interesting to see how one strikes a balance. In some cases, it’s a matter of how much interest a person has in the subject matter. Let’s talk about the people who like to chew every grain of rice while you’re on a quick lunch break at Yellow Chilli. To those people, it is the ‘proper’ way to eat. Why are you rushing your food when you’re not in Command Secondary School, Rukuba Barracks? Meanwhile, the person you’re having lunch with is just sitting, playing Bejewelled and waiting for you to finish up.

According to my friend, some people are skilled in the art of stretching time. They make a song and dance about every activity – parking the car, preparing coffee, arranging clean underwear, buying tomato at Ojuwoye market – everything and anything you can think of!

Lord have mercy! At least one good thing came of my trip to TK Maxx (Okay, two good things… because my sunglasses are beautiful!). I know NOT to go shopping ever again with Miss I. Meticulous. 🙂 What do you guys think?

Have a fantastic, beautiful, sunshine-filled week ahead. Don’t forget to tell us what category you fall under: ‘meticulous’ or ‘straight to the point’. Hey, remember to share some of your most interesting time-stretching experiences with us.

Peace, love & carrots.
Toodles!

Photo Credit: Dreamstime | Monkey Business Images