Professionalism
I saw something the other day1 that I never expected to see: somebody parallel-parking a tractor-trailer truck (aka "18-wheeler" or "big rig"). Not just any truck, mind you, but one of those extra-long moving vans! (How on earth he managed to find that many empty parking spaces in a row, in downtown Oakland, on a weekday, I'll never know...)
What made it really impressive was how quick and simple he made it look. He just pulled up in front of the space, angled in, straightened out, and voila! There he was. If you've ever towed any kind of trailer, you know that backing up with them is a lot harder than you think. This guy made it look easy. That is the mark of a true professional.
(He did have a guy standing at the end of the parking space to help him, but as far as I could tell all he needed the guy for was to make sure he didn't back up into the car behind him (depth perception doesn't work at that distance). I didn't see any signals being made while he was maneuvering into the parking space.)
Anyway, in this holiday season, I move that we all give thanks for all the true professionals in our lives. You may occasionally think "I paid all that money for THAT?" when they make something look quick and easy, but trying to do it yourself will rapidly convince you that it's worth the money to hire a pro. I know I'm never upgrading a motherboard myself again...
1 Okay, it was a few months ago, but I've been busy...2
2 Okay, it was several months ago, but I've been really busy...3
3 You're not buying this, are you?
What made it really impressive was how quick and simple he made it look. He just pulled up in front of the space, angled in, straightened out, and voila! There he was. If you've ever towed any kind of trailer, you know that backing up with them is a lot harder than you think. This guy made it look easy. That is the mark of a true professional.
(He did have a guy standing at the end of the parking space to help him, but as far as I could tell all he needed the guy for was to make sure he didn't back up into the car behind him (depth perception doesn't work at that distance). I didn't see any signals being made while he was maneuvering into the parking space.)
Anyway, in this holiday season, I move that we all give thanks for all the true professionals in our lives. You may occasionally think "I paid all that money for THAT?" when they make something look quick and easy, but trying to do it yourself will rapidly convince you that it's worth the money to hire a pro. I know I'm never upgrading a motherboard myself again...
1 Okay, it was a few months ago, but I've been busy...2
2 Okay, it was several months ago, but I've been really busy...3
3 You're not buying this, are you?