It's not that I wasn't even startled by it -- I was, but since I already know this particular drill, I simply got up, got my startled self out of the way of traffic (I fell toward the middle of the road rather than the sidewalk), and collapsed on the front lawn of a house. My bike just got hit by a car. For the third time since moving to Toronto, eight years ago.

A bearded hipster coming up the road slowed down on his bike and said, "Are you okay?" I thought I was. I said I was. I added, "The car didn't even stop," and the hipster nodded his head sadly, knowingly, "No, it didn't," and rode off. I was a little miffed by not being offered any more help but I figured the hipster was late for work, and it's not like this is an unusual thing in Toronto -- this being a bike hit-and-run. And it's not bike-exclusive. Recently, a colleague wrote about almost being hit by a school bus while crossing the street. She lived.

Lots of people get to work on foot or via bicycle. In fact, the majority of Torontonians are cyclists (PDF). This is possibly because the city has some serious planning challenges, and gridlocks and construction are a part of everyday commute for those who drive. And we all want to get to work on time, sure. But what we have here are not racetracks, but rather roads and sidewalks. No one is more entitled than another -- we share, and sharing means caring, right?

Although if people don't really give a damn, well, there really is no reason for not reverting to some medieval tactics and applying an eye-for-an-eye justice. Despite being so casual about it as it happened, riding away from the scene of my accident, I was suddenly gripped by an intense daydream about a nice, convenient hand grenade. And not because I noticed that my handle bars became so twisted they looked as if they were trying to escape the bike. No. You see, I have a baby seat attached to the back of my bike with a giant orange warning sticker on the back of it. Thankfully, it was empty at the time.

For some facts, check out the recent scary biking accident stats.

Jowita

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The other day, when visiting a hospital, I saw an interesting notice on the wall of the Starbucks. It said to talk to the staff about the possibility of becoming a barista for a day for 15 minutes. The program seemed to be directed at the health personnel -- on the poster cartoon doctors and nurses smiled manically (perhaps from too much coffee, as free coffee was how they got "paid"). There was a gallery, too, with photographs of those 15-minute baristas. Everyone looked like they were having a fun time.

What a great idea, I thought, to let people try on other people's jobs. It's probably less feasible for the baristas to try on 15-minute surgeries, but I loved the idea that educated, specialized medical workers got a chance to experience what it's like to work in the deceptively simple customer service industry. I'm sure many had their "How hard is it to make my Grande-sugar-free-non-fat-lactose-free-double-shot-decaf-no-foam-extra-hot-Cinnamon-White-Chocolate-Mocha-with-light-whip-and-extra-syrup" questions answered by taking on the barista challenge.

I admit it, there were a few times when I acted like a jerk toward customer service reps -- despite the fact that I've done some of that work myself! I'd let my own frustrations and bad mood take over when standing in many impatient line-ups. I'd get especially irritated when I'd see customer service reps ignoring their customers. I'm so quick to forget how tiring and monotone those jobs can be too. I forget how I'd done the same thing, during crazy-busy days of dealing with rude customers -- how I pretended that people weren't standing in the line-up because it was either that or my head was going to explode. I forget how sometimes people talked down to me and how they felt entitled to way too much, tip-free.

So I think that the barista initiative will get everyone appreciate everyone else's business and help the medical staff understand that making coffee may not be as easy as it seems. True, baristas don't save lives per se, but I'm sure they've saved many wavering, headachy mornings of those who do.

Jowita

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If you're struggling to climb the ladder at work, new studies show that you may need to put yourself on a pedestal. Sure, the character of Narcissus from Greek mythology may have perished because he fell in love with his own image, but research suggests that modern-day narcissists are actually getting ahead in the workforce. According to a Toronto Star article, it's not that narcissists necessarily have better ideas -- they just give winning sales pitches. And, it turns out that companies are more likely to jump on board a narcissist's well-sold idea.

In related news, a recent article in The Globe and Mail advises that we all applaud our narcissistic bosses because many of them get the job done right. Citing Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs as examples, the article proposes that narcissists are ambitious innovators who will likely rise to the top and bring the company up with them.

Being a fairly modest person, I have to admit that I'm not quite sold on this whole narcissism thing. Frankly, I find people who think too highly of themselves kind of annoying, and I'm not really convinced that we modest folk can’t take care of business just as well as our arrogant counterparts. But maybe there's something to be said of compromise. While being arrogant can be a turn off, being too modest can leave you unnoticed at work. So, if you're like me and don't want to trade in your humility for conceit, just turn your confidence up a notch. When you have an idea or proposal, don't self efface or apologize. Pitch it with poise and see where it lands. Your special brand of modest confidence might just impress the pants off of your boss and narcissistic co-workers alike.

Veronica

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