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Essay

Shake it up

By Tony Laszlo


揺さぶりをかけろ

筆者が10代の終わりに出合った、とある本。 読者に奇行を勧めるような内容なのだが、その本から筆者は一つの真実を学んだという。 日常生活がどれだけ平凡であっても、自分自身を奮い立たせるための工夫はいくらでもできるものだ、ということを。

When I was about 18 or so, I came across an odd book that was full of the most bizarre activity suggestions I'd ever seen. For example, the following: "Walk to a river carrying a cup. Scoop up some water. Go 10 meters upstream. Dump the water back into the river. Return to the first spot, 10 meters downstream. Scoop up more water and repeat the procedure."

Another passage in the book directed the reader to chop up yarn into various lengths, and to go about offering these strands to family, friends and even strangers. "Record who preferred the longer pieces and who the shorter," the author advised.

The book contained many other exercises, all of which were similarly off-the-wall. I never tried any of them, nor do I particularly recommend that anyone actually does. Least of all the one about the yarn — nowadays, it seems that a person may end up on a suspected terrorist list for less erratic behavior.

Yet the book is one that I still remember and always will, probably because it impressed upon me one simple truth: No matter how mundane everyday life becomes, there is always something that you can do to shake things up for yourself.

For example, if you commute on foot or by bicycle and are bored with the same old scenery, you might make note of the varieties of trees that lie upon the route. Or, if you are not feeling quite that ambitious, just count them. This will at least help you pass the time for a day or two. And, if while gazing at the trees you happen to become interested in what is in, on or around them, you might even come away with a better awareness of local nature. Or perhaps be driven to write a poem. Nothing to sneeze at, either way

Incidentally, I am speaking from first-hand experience here; this is something I actually did some years ago. Just now, as I write these lines, I have begun another of these personal life experiments. This one, though, is both drastic and permanent.

I've decided to completely rearrange the keys on my computer's keyboard. The new system, named Dvorak after the man who created it about 70 years ago, puts the letters most commonly used in English within easy reach of "home position," i.e., the place where you rest your fingers when "touch-typing." So, the "k" on an ordinary computer is now a "t" for me. The "j," located to the immediate left of that key, is my "h." And "d" is now an "e." That means that when I type the word "the" — as I have 46 times so far in this article — I just tap my fingers right where they are instead of moving them here and there as before.

Is relearning how to type worth the trouble? As my fingers will move less overall, even when using Japanese, typing should become less stressful on my wrists. And when my body acclimates, I should also be a much faster typist. But if nothing else, Dvorak has allowed me to part company with a routine that has been with me for decades. For that, I feel energized already.



Shukan ST: June 22, 2007

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