Having mistaken the place and being horribly late, I hailed a cab to the seminar on Sunday morning.
The taxi driver's photo stared out at me from a license hanging on the backseat. His hair was ruffled, he wore his beard stringy like a hippie." Issued by the Taipei Department of Police " it said. The original peered over his shoulder at me as he asked 'where to' with an even greyer head of hair.
On the road I asked him about the music he was playing. "What is this?" I asked. "Classical music." He replied. "No, I meant what song?" " Something by either Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelsson, or Bach... " he generalized.
I commented on the enduring personality of classical music. He said "That's why it's classical music." Somehow or another in that short trip he got to say that he once was a teacher, and that he knew I Ching (The book of Changes, 易經). He used it as a simile for the strange lack of new classical music.
"For example, I know your personality for the three minutes you've been in this car." he commented out of the blue.
"Huh? Oh. So what is it?" I said, smiling and curious.
He paused, "You're the quiet type, without a lot of body language, you'll never be a leader but will make a good secretary. You can't make good speeches. You're much better off writing to express yourself."
"Right." I said, smiling demurely, straight backed and primly seated. "You're quite amazing."
He was wrong on 2 and a half counts: <1> I'm not exactly awful at acting, aka body language. <2>I'd make a horrible secretary. The job gives me headaches and I hate having to process other people's creativity. <3 1/2> I can make good speeches as long as I'm prepared.
What can you see in me in 3 minutes?
Way too little.
Comments (2)
Ah, identity.
I mean, this is basically an attempt to externally define your identity. People are often resentful of that, and I think that's entirely understandable in these circumstances. It goes a step further than mere unwanted advice.