As you know by now, I live in New York City and lately my schedule has been packed – running around the Big Apple from lunch to business meetings to launch parties and drinks with friends. Sometimes on these super busy days I find myself with a chunk of downtime and one of my favorite places to spend it is at The New York Public Library, Bryant Park.
Often I pick a cosy spot and read, attack my to-do list, or just wander the magnificent building, but occasionally I will log into a computer. Being able to use a proper keyboard and high speed Internet for free is a real treat. I will answer emails and work for 45 minutes – the allotted time for a NYC resident on the public computers. Recently I was working and the strangest thing happened, I was sitting typing away while listening to Pandora and a man came to stand next to me. After a few seconds of staring at me he began speaking:
Him: Excuse me Miss, why are you typing like a ninja?
Me: [pull earbud out] Excuse me?
Him: WHY are you typing like a ninja?
Me: Um, I am not sure….
Him: The keyboard not going to eat you. You do not need to type that fast. Take time when you type.
Me: [blank stare, and then a slight nod]
Him: Don’t type so fast!
Me: Well it is going to sign me off in three minutes and I want to make sure I can finish my message [look down, two minutes left]
Him: Well, type slower [he walks away]
Some time has passed since this incident and every time I think of it I am still quite puzzled. As soon as this encounter happened I jotted this down the conversation verbatim to write about at another time. Looking back at it now it still does not make any sense and then I thought, maybe I do type fast? So I did some research: “Generally, a typing speed of 40 WPM (Words Per Minute) is considered an average typing speed.” As that seemed slow to me, I decided to take advantage of some free online tests to track my WPM speed. Here are two of my results:
If 40 is average and 100 is high speed than my 70 WPM is good, but I would not go nearly as far as to say ninja speed. Oh, well, people are funny and I got a good laugh (and story) out of it!
A Little Perspective
Food & The City: The Frying Pan
An Afternoon in Central Park
People Can Be So Mean
Lindsey says
That’s hilarious. I wish I could have witnessed this exchange. lol
Caroline says
Funny story!
Haha, my best friend’s a really fast typer and she always likes to say, “it’s my only marketable skill!” Haha!
Mira says
Now I want to test my typing speed. You were very polite. I would have told him: Mind your own business!!” Lol
xx Mira
http://www.glamdevils.com
The white cabbage says
ciao,
I didn’t know all that ….about WPM , it is very interesting …I think i’m going to test my speed …. I suppose is my range is 25….. typing is not my cup of tea .
ave
P. says
That is pretty ninja! LOL. I haven’t tested my WPM in a while. Now I’m curious.
xo,
Ana Paula
{Visit me at Mommyhood, PhD}
Real College Student of Atlanta says
soooo impressive!! I think mine is 65 or something — blogging definitely teaches you to type quickly and accurately 🙂
Head to Toe Chic says
hahaha!! My boss asked me once if I was typing or just smacking my keyboard because it was so fast. So funny he said you’re a ninja!
xo,
Angela
Rachel says
I type really fast, too- all my coworkers and employers tell me! But they see it as a good thing, not a bad thing haha!
the florkens says
Ha! Every time I see anyone doing anything at a brisk pace from here on out, I going to ask them why they are doing it like a ninja.
“Why are you flossing like a ninja?” “Why are you sweeping like a ninja?” “Why are you jogging like a ninja?”
This is going to be fun!
-Kate
http://www.theflorkens.com
Marley says
hahahh Love that question! Why do you type like a ninja!
Lexi says
I love that you checked your typing speed after this crazy interaction! And I too am a crazy-fast typer, but a girl’s got things to do and places to be!
xx lexi @ glitter, inc.
Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird says
What the heck!? Maybe he should stop being sneaky like a ninja?
Running In Platforms says
Such a great story! I would have been impressed if I had seen someone typing so quickly!
RUNNINGINPLATFORMS
The Marcy Stop says
That’s hilarious. Only in NYC…
xL
Win a new Deux Lux handbag!
Teresa says
hahaha that’s great!
Pop Champagne says
haha maybe he’s one of those guys that only type with his index finger and has to look down at the keys after each letter!
Michael says
Girl, don’t deny your ninja skills!! I should check my speed. There are times I type faster depending on what I’m doing.
Kate @ Another Clean Slate says
Too funny! I type like a ninja too but my fingers are never positioned like you learn back in high school. Whatever works!
Rebecca Price says
haha I’m always gonna think of typing fast as ‘ninja typing now’
😉