Sometimes people accuse me of wasting my time. And, frankly, I have no idea what they mean. I think I invest my time very wisely.
Harai Rocks, I wrote on a piece of tie-dye paper I made in one of my free periods today. Then I handed it to my colleague.
“Here`s a present,” I told him. I give him so many hand-made presents (I have so many free periods) that he barely even looked up.
“Thankyou,” he said when he eventually did. Then he looked a bit confused.
“Do you know what it means?” I asked him, realising from his expression that he didn`t.
“Yes.”
“Which bit?”
“Harai. That`s my name.”
“Uhuh. What about the other bit?”
“Yes.” And then he made a hand gesture to indicate being smashed over the head with a rock. “Hard thing. Throw at me,” he said a little sadly.
I laughed for the first time.
“You think I want to throw rocks at you?”
“Yes,” he said.
I laughed for the second time.
“Just a minute,” he said, and then got his computerised dictionary out and looked it up. “I shake?” he asked me, showing me the entry.
I laughed for the third time.
“No.”
He looked perturbed, and scanned the dictionary again.
“I swing from side to side?” he said in complete earnestness.
I laughed for the fourth time.
“It means you`re cool, Harai. Rock n roll.”
There was a silence.
“You have heard of Rock n roll, right?” This - after all - is the man who thought Hey Jude was “the cleaning music”.
“Mmm,” he said unconvincingly. “Michael Jackson?”
And I laughed for the fifth time.
Three minutes that piece of paper took me to make; five belly laughs I got out of it. So for anyone who accuses me of wasting my time, there`s the proof that it`s nonsense. Three minutes exchanged for five laughs.
By anybody`s standards, I think that`s a very wise investment.