Testing Some Things...

Trying out some new things with the blog! New look and new techniques for spreading the word. I have big plans for some great posts that will hopefully be posted later tonight.

The Help


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Followers...anyone? Bueller?

No followers yet and no one seems to be viewing my blog...ever. What to do...

All Hail...The Queen?

I will often refer to people I work with at the resort, names changed of course, to protect the innocent or more often than not, the guilty. I've already mentioned The King, one of my bosses. Now for The Queen. His wife. The cruelest, most selfish, awful person I know and unfortunately have to work with. It may sound dramatic, but after years of dealing with her antics I cannot think of her as a rational person. I'm sure I will share many stories about her in the future, describing her hateful actions. She behaves like a tyrannical queen.


This time of year, springtime, just might be the worst for her. She calls it, "transition time". Those of us who don't get to work full time all year start returning, and the office can get a little crowded. She feels threatened and territorial and chooses to act very immaturely towards those of us just trying to do our jobs. She slams doors, gives the silent treatment, and throws crying tantrums before leaving work to go home and pout. Does this sound like appropriate behavior for a 49 year old woman? I've included pictures and a poem to describe her. Again, perhaps it appears dramatic, but it helps those of us who must endure her keep our own sanity, even while hers is long gone...

THE WOMAN WITH THE SERPENT'S TONGUE

She is not old, she is not young,
The Woman with the Serpent's Tongue,
The haggard cheek, the hungering eye,
The poisoned words that wildly fly,
The famished face, the fevered hand, —
Who slights the worthiest in the land,
Sneers at the just, contemns the brave,
And blackens goodness in its grave.

In truthful numbers be she sung,
The Woman with the Serpent's Tongue;
Concerning whom, Fame hints at things
Told but in shrugs and whisperings:
Ambitious from her natal hour,
And scheming all her life for power;
With little left of seemly pride;
With venomed fangs she cannot hide;
Who half makes love to you to-day,
To-morrow gives her guest away.
Burnt up within by that strange soul
Woman with the serpent's tongue

She cannot slake, or yet control:
Malignant-lipp'd, unkind, unsweet;
Past all example indiscreet;
Hectic, and always overstrung, —
The Woman with the Serpent's Tongue.

To think that such as she can mar

Names that among the noblest are!

That hands like hers can touch the springs

That move who knows what men and things?

That on her will their fates have hung! —

The Woman with the Serpent's Tongue.

By William Watson


Images from The Emperor's New Groove. Check it out.

My next read...

Sounds like this might be a good read, as well as a new perspective on being..."The Help". Looking forward to it...

For the King

Henceforth my boss will be known as, the King. More to follow. I have more than one boss, but this particular one truly acts like royalty. And when we have meetings, or he has meetings, everyone involved is dumber as a result. He makes me dumber. This one's for you, King!

Herding Cats

I'd like to offer some advice for anyone who might ever use a dock cart in a marina, at any time. For those of you who use them and don't return them to an area designated, "CART RETURN", just think about the people who have to round them up. I'd like to suggest an illustrative simile; locating and returning dock carts is like...herding cats. Ever tried it? CART RETURN.

Basically, as soon as you find a couple of carts and return them, three more are gone and the torturous cycle continues. The problem could be prevented very easily if each person would return the dock cart they used to the proper place,the CART RETURN. I'm sure grocery stores have the same problem with grocery carts. I feel for those kids, wrangling the carts in from flower beds and far corners of parking lots. I empathize with them. The property for which I search for dock carts on is massive and contains many different areas, several cart returns, and numerous nooks and crannys where carts are often hidden out of customer selfishness. CART RETURN.

Why are people so lazy that they can't walk the cart to the nearest return area? At the resort where I work we've even posted signs asking people not to leave carts on the dock in the winter due to wind that might blow carts in the water. Often I find carts sitting DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF those signs. So, either these people are blind, or they just don't care. They have decided that "the help" is responsible for anything and everything, and that there is no need for common courtesy, or even common sense. They think they are above everything. For these reasons I struggle to not dislike rich people simply for their money.

The problem in stereotyping the rich is that many rich people, in fact, the majority of "rich" people, have earned the money they possess by working hard, and they treat "the help" like gold. Only a sour minority of wealthy people have simply happened upon good fortune and choose to abuse it to the fullest.

Ultimately what irks me with dock carts is the laziness. Laziness is increasing rapidly in America, while simultaneously, Americans seem to think customer service standards are rapidly plummeting. Truthfully? Perhaps customer service skills in America have tapered off due to the laziness factor invading our culture. Or due in part to the way those in the customer service or hospitality industry are treated on a daily basis. Inappropriate customer behavior and customer laziness occur in my workplace every day. Though, so does employee laziness.

Forget killing someone with kindness to get what you want; Customers today will scream, yell, cry, bribe, badger, bypass, or even sue someone to get what they want and what they believe they deserve, all under the premise that they have the right to "customer service", or based on the myth that "the customer is always right." Shouldn't there be an etiquette for customers as well? Isn't it unfair for those who are kind and polite and rule-abiding that the "squeaky wheel gets the oil"?

I fully support providing the best customer service possible. That's my job. I get joy from helping people and making them happy. Some customers don't want to ever be happy no matter what we do for them. And they will make fools of themselves, and us, in the process. So be it. I won't bow down to the laziness and irrational customer behavior. We are all people, and we should all be treated with the same respect.

So next time you use a dock cart, or a grocery cart, or receive a service, think about herding cats. Think about the person herding the cats. Don't be lazy. Do one good deed for the day. Return your cart, or do something equally courteous, and you will make someone's day. Treat each person with respect, and remember the golden rule: that's what EVERY issue comes down to. CART RETURN.

Back to the stranger...

So after I encountered this stranger and he asked me for directions I didn't see him again. I was hitting the part of the trail that enters the woods, so I was concerned he'd jump out at me. Luckily my ipod had died so I had no choice but to listen to all the noises around me.

Back to the outfit. Who goes for a nice jog in a flannel shirt, camo pants, and hiking boots? Someone who doesn't have any other clothes. Someone such as the character in, "Into the Wild" who wanders through life. If this stranger was of the "Into the Wild" breed I suppose I shouldn't have been scared. But something about his posture and stance seemed threatening to me, and plus the dog didn't like him-- a bad sign.

I guess there are probably lots of these people who travel to the islands to explore and continue their wandering. In the back of my mind was the possibility that he was a serial killer, but most likely this is due to my obsession with 48 Hours, Dateline, 20/20, etc..

Generally it is easy to spot strangers aka tourists. Tourists don't really travel alone. Locals might. We just aren't used to seeing odd characters running solo on a trail in flannel, camo, and hiking boots. Lesson learned. I can't always expect to have the trail to myself, even on this island.