Masters of Multitasking

Multitasking is the ability to do several actions at once. This feat requires focus, or perhaps getting so accustomed to things that the body somewhat does it instinctively. I can barely multitask myself: I get easily distracted or get too focused on one task that I completely forget about the other thing that I was doing. That's why I usually want to finish something first, so that the momentum that I'm riding on won't screech to a grinding stop.

This morning as I rode a jeep to Quezon Avenue, I was struck by the skill of the jeep driver. He was so adept on the things he was doing. I tried to figure out the things he needed to do to fulfill his role, and this was the non-exhaustive list I came up:

1. He needed to drive. Getting somewhere safely is a feat itself.
2. He has to be alert for passengers who wanted to ride.
3. He has to listen for people paying, or 
4. He needed to listen to people wanting to alight his jeep.
5. He needed to compute for change, and
6. He has to stop over to get some change, if he didn't have any.
7. He needed to know how many people were in his jeep at all times, so that
8. He needed to tell where his passengers could sit, especially when the vehicle is almost full.
9. He had to keep his cool, especially to irate passengers who don't know where the unloading area is.
10. He has to entertain to talkative passengers, or else look like a snob.

And I'm sure the list goes on.

I was just struck by my realization. It was like I realized one reason why jeep drivers are one of the many neglected and taken for granted people in our society, while they are one of the backbones which makes the lives of commuters possible. Jeep drivers, like other workers who people in the higher classes call as lower ones, do the mundane tasks most of us cannot even imagine.

So the next time you ride a jeep, just be patient. We don't own the world, but we share it with other people, including them.