The Contingency Plan

Last night's book club was really enjoyable. We met at our usual location and even though we had a smaller group of six, we were far more animated than our last meeting. Last month we were plain tired.

And for the first time I felt like I contributed in an intelligent and witty way. I think it's because I didn't really care how I looked or who I was impressing and relaxed more. I wasn't conscious of my actions. Past meetings have always been spiced with secret dramas. I like it a lot better now.

A thing I find interesting is that nearly everyone there is a lawyer. I like listening to their discussions and seeing how they interact with each other. I would never assume all lawyers are like these, but our group does seems to attract a certain type of person, perhaps because they're all connected through common friends. I don't think I fit the mould but it's not something I'm concerned about.

Anyhow, the people there are so different to my colleagues and many of my friends who are largely creative extroverts. It's the way they use language. Their words are precise and greater effort is taken into their selection. They have a million and one hobbies aside from working at successful companies and being in a book club, from art to acting, yoga and massage, to life-saving and languages. They listen very carefully to what you say. They dress more conservatively. They take time with things like eating, walking, selecting books and talking.

Since joining the book club I've noticed I'm impatient. I read a book to greedily inhale its plot and characters. I have to make a concerted effort to slow down and take in its finer points. When I was younger I'd speed read sections where authors had taken great pains to detail sceneries and environments and would be eager to know what would happen next. The result would be I could digest great books in mere days, but I've noticed when people ask me what I like about a novel, I find it challenging to answer their question. People often tell me I have great characters and stories to write a book on, but I simply don't think I have the patience (ironically three published friends have based characters on me. I haven't read any of them yet, not sure if I want to).

Anyhow, perhaps my fast moving mind is why I suit the work that I do. I've often given two minutes on the phone with a journalist, a couple of days to create a cut-through campaign for a tought client, and 30 mins to write a media release. We all work on multiple large accounts so time management is an absolute necessity.

I recently had presentation training and my trainer thought I had a very personable style, focused content and gauging enthusiam but said I rushed things. Apparently everyone in the company does. It takes discipline to speak slowly.

And I don't think this will change until I finish up here at work (five weeks to go!). Perhaps it's then I'll take some time out to breath and take up a slower pace. I don't know whether I'll enjoy it, but I guess that's to be decided.