rolled backwards in an office chair


sorabji.com: What have you done?: rolled backwards in an office chair
By
Jibber Jones on Saturday, July 29, 2000 - 06:03 pm:

    So yesterday I found a flyer for this furniture store that was going out of business. being unemployed and bored, I walked 2 miles to get there, and found a really awesome chair for $140. Blue, padded armrests, reclinable with a slight resistance that says "you can't lean back unless you mean it," excellent spinning and rolling. I offered $100, they refused and I said I couldn't pay more than $110. They accepted that, and I had exactly $112.38 on me, but that wouldn't cover tax. Using my bank card would have cast doubt on my previous claim of limited funds, so I left.

    This morning, no less bored and no more employed, I took some cash out there and got the chair, after a brief comparison with a grey one of the same model. I pushed it back most of the way home, of course getting some looks for being an unshaven kid in cargoes and a t pushing a chair across busy streets. One guy asks "is that my chair?" and I say "No. It's mine." and tell him where the store is. Another lady says "Hey, that looks like an ergonomic chair" and I reply "Yeah. It's comfy."

    So I'm a bad conversationalist, but that's not the point. After the last exchange, I realize that there's no sense of pushing a chair with wheels while standing up. I sit in the chair and push myself forwards. Anyone who's tried this will know that pushing backwards is a lot easier, and I switched pretty soon. Now I got quite a few looks. People waved from cars, a little kid was really excited and suggested I put an engine on it, and a girl had to restrain her dog from attacking the monstrosity rolling down the sidewalk. By the way, would a chair with wheels (tho not a wheelchair) be in the same category as a bike, i.e. would I have to ride it on the street? Anyways, there was this one very cute girl standing outside her house with a beer and a pizza who smiled at me the whole time I was passing by her house (the sidewalk has pretty high mu, so I wasn't going that fast). Then a garage sale filled with old people, and then a cherry tree with cherries all over the sidewalk that made me decide to switch back and roll it home instead of risking spilling out on a cherry pit.

    And I thought I wouldn't find any way to freak out the native berkeleyans.