Habituated? - Part 2

Once again,I intended to write about something else but I chose to postpone it for later. The topic of this post is something very easy to describe. Here goes.

When someone goes out anywhere, it's supposedly a good practice to not ask them where they are going. Well, friends and family mostly let us know what they're up to usually, so it becomes redundant to ask anyway. Everyone is assumed to have a cellphone by default. Conversely, when a colleague says "I'll help you tomorrow with this ... / Do you need any more help today? I'll be leaving now ...", it's definitely very courteous of them to care to say that kind of a bye. On the other hand, when colleagues become buddies, the "Hi s" and "Byes" become more informal and habitual.

Until a month back, I didn't have to use a security access badge. Currently, I need my badge to get out of & get back in through almost every door in my building. Things weren't remarkably different in my old building either. The structures are identical except that I didn't need a badge there. To go to the restroom from my desk, I had to open and close 5 doors each time. Since I have done this activity at least a three hundred times now :) , I know exactly what the count is. Anyway, I found it amusing to notice the difference between office suites in Bridge Parkway & the ones I have seen in India. There are fewer glass doors here (more security?). When I am in a hurry, I use both my hands and feet to push these doors open. A lot of people let me in / out with an "after you", again another addition to the list of pleasant courtesies. Getting back on track, a small incident happened recently - my badge stopped working just before I opened the door that leads to my desk. In a moment's frenzy, I forgot that I could go out the other way and knock on the glass door to catch the guard's attention at the front desk and get a temporary badge. I just followed someone who used their badge to open the door (which is excusable as I am a "good" girl). This episode made me appreciate the access control design within the building. Someone has obviously thought about these things ... if both the doors needed badges to be opened, someone could get stranded in the worst case scenario (assuming they left their cellphone on their desk. I do that a lot, I would hate to forget my phone in the restroom or flush it accidentally!! Scary and gross! :-| )

There's a solution to the aforementioned scenario still. I got to know about it yesterday. I was at work until 11 pm last night and some of us had to stay in the telephony lab for several hours. After 8 pm, the guard who took over the shift checked on us once every hour. For the layman, it could be mildly annoying / distracting but very often there's a reason behind everything, it's always good to remember that.

I got a new badge recently, with a new photo. :) The old one was truly horrible. One of those cases where a change can happen only if the original is stolen / lost / deactivated. I know this could have been a postscript but trust me it's worth interjecting because I'm still not at the end of this post. Over a period of time, I do manage to collect a lot of material serendipitously I guess ..., I'll get started again.

There's a guard named David in my old building, a nice person in his fifties or sixties, one of the jolliest guards I have ever seen. We became friends and saying numerous "Hi s" to each other never became boring. I used to close the doors very politely initially, he was the one who motivated me to care lesser. :) But I thought about their lives later and I realized that I would probably not enjoy sitting in one place (even with a laptop and Internet connection) if the door would be opened and closed noisily every ten minutes, such a "headache" inducing thing. Apart from David, there are other guards who I know pretty well now. One of them was a "Good morning" guy (I forgot his name :) ) and the other one (Armando) has a very sweet way of saying "Goodnight, see you tomorrow". I'd positively feel happy about going home regardless of what my state of affairs were, thanks to that friendly greeting. Now I have just one badge and no "Good Morning / Good Night" buddies, no issues either way ...

Yes, this is the last paragraph. I am really winding up. After all this storytelling, only one question needs to be answered. What makes an action a habit? Not everything is necessary, the "Bye" becomes optional at times. Caring is also optional. My opening statement about not asking someone where they are going makes sense too. Like some wise soul said, there is a time and place for everything. There are ways to dismiss people too. "When will you leave?" is not a very nice question sometimes.It depends. In my opinion the best answer is "NOW" if someone wants us to leave and a return question "Any reason for asking this question?" if someone is trying to hold us back for no valid reason. With the course of time, many of us learn to understand changes that happen in our lives. Somewhere down the road, even a little whisper / frown / unexpected remark / hasty comment / unsolicited word of gossip could have / could make a world of difference. Worrying too much can make someone paranoid or excessively cynical but "proceeding with caution", is always better to avoid potentially troubled waters ahead. I am compelled to be subtle here, but I am fortunate enough to have a few readers who know me well enough to as much as gauge the flutter of an eyelid & pull me out of my prolonged pensive musings at times, I'd always close in the hope that those blessed few will find some value in my posts.

P.S. I stared at my screen for nearly an hour and decided that I won't abandon this post. It feels good to be writing again. When I unload my mind of all the routine junk and try brewing some fresh, good things do happen. "Inner peace ..." Please watch Kung Fu Panda 2 :D Adios!