I used to work in downtown Salt Lake City. I used to ride Trax every morning and evening. It was nice. No worries about traffic, you won't miss that cop that is always hiding somewhere. But invariably, I would always be the one who had an adventure or two on the ride home.
First, there was the time I was really tired and boarded the train. I sat down and will sometimes doze off. Usually I wake up a stop or two before my stop and all is good. When I woke this time, I had been completely asleep and had not realized that while sleeping, I managed to completely rest my head on the business man that was sitting next to me. My head was completely resting on his shoulder. I straightened up and as I realized what had happened, I apologized to my fellow commuter. His response, "you seemed so tired, I didn't want to wake you."
Then there was the drunkand homeless man that was walking through the Trax station, passed several commuters, walked up to me and gave me a huge hug. I honestly didn't know what to say or do and out of the corner of my eye, I could see the men there turn and start coming over to protect me. The guy finished giving me a hug and just walked off. Sadly, he smelled quite bad and it transferred to me. The whole trip home made me sick because of the smell. I had to shower before the smell went away.
I remember a drunk native american that came up to me and talked to me while I was waiting for the train. He just talked and talked about the bars in SLC, despite me saying I don't drink and know nothing about bars. When the train came, he shook my hand and walked away.
There are also the random men who have asked if I was married and proceeded to cheesily hit on me despite me telling them that I am (I am not).
The most memorable would be the man that got on the train and proceeded to fall to the floor of the train. Everyone looked up when that happened. He looked like he was on something. He of course sat near me and started trying to have a conversation. I told him I was trying to sleep and pretended to fall asleep. My seat was right by the exit (stairwell) and he went around to the stairwell and started to say,"boo!" every few minutes to wake me up. He got bored because I wasn't reacting and went away. The gentleman next to me asked what stop I was exiting at and I told him. He said that if the guy got off at the same stop, he would escort me to my car.
So despite being the 'chosen one' on Trax, I never felt worried. I knew there were always people looking out for others. And if they didn't, I am pretty good at making some noise.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
New Year's Thoughts
New Year, new effort to chronicle the goings and comings of my life.
At the start of the year, I reflected on the things that happened that were significant during the last year:
1. My dad having a quadruple bypass
2. Getting laid off from an extremely stable job
3. Cops deciding that I need loads and loads of tickets
4. Not being able to register my car because of an over-vigilant mechanic who failed me on inspection, getting 2 tickets and almost getting my car impounded, but talking the cops out of it
5. Things getting tense in the house I lived in and having to find a new place to live
6. A rock flying up and chipping my windshield and several minutes later cracking my windshield
7. Getting hit, head on by a driver driving too fast in the snow and having $3600 of repairs to my car
I am sure there is more, but that is all I remember right now. Yes, to me it is a significant list and when thinking on it, I decided that 2010 HAS to be a better! A good friend of mine helped me alter my perception of the intense year I had.
1. My dad is in fantastic health and because of his great health, didn't have a heart attack and cause more damage. He recovered remarkably quickly from his surgery and is doing great!
2. Although I did get laid off from my job, it has been a good thing. Within a week of being laid off, I found a great job with great people doing something that pushes and challenges me more than I was ever challenged at my last job
3. Yeah, the whole getting tickets really is my fault, so I have no one to blame but myself
4. Again, my own fault. I could have taken it somewhere else and had it re-checked sooner than I did (it passed the second time it was checked)
5. This, too is a great thing. I moved with one of the roommates I lived with and things are fantastic! We found a beautiful place to live and the move was pretty easy
6. Life happens
7. The good news is that I wasn't hurt and the other driver wasn't hurt. My car was repaired through his insurance and I am now driving it
Really, when I think of all the good things that have happened this last year, they really make me realize that this last year wasn't so bad. In addition to the items listed above, I travelled domestically quite a bit, saw some fantastic concerts, had new adventures, made new friends, got to spend a lot of time with my sister and her family while they were here for 3 months, grew up quite a bit, learned what it is to be employed and unemployed in a crazy economy, and many other lessons that will make 2010 a dang great year!
At the start of the year, I reflected on the things that happened that were significant during the last year:
1. My dad having a quadruple bypass
2. Getting laid off from an extremely stable job
3. Cops deciding that I need loads and loads of tickets
4. Not being able to register my car because of an over-vigilant mechanic who failed me on inspection, getting 2 tickets and almost getting my car impounded, but talking the cops out of it
5. Things getting tense in the house I lived in and having to find a new place to live
6. A rock flying up and chipping my windshield and several minutes later cracking my windshield
7. Getting hit, head on by a driver driving too fast in the snow and having $3600 of repairs to my car
I am sure there is more, but that is all I remember right now. Yes, to me it is a significant list and when thinking on it, I decided that 2010 HAS to be a better! A good friend of mine helped me alter my perception of the intense year I had.
1. My dad is in fantastic health and because of his great health, didn't have a heart attack and cause more damage. He recovered remarkably quickly from his surgery and is doing great!
2. Although I did get laid off from my job, it has been a good thing. Within a week of being laid off, I found a great job with great people doing something that pushes and challenges me more than I was ever challenged at my last job
3. Yeah, the whole getting tickets really is my fault, so I have no one to blame but myself
4. Again, my own fault. I could have taken it somewhere else and had it re-checked sooner than I did (it passed the second time it was checked)
5. This, too is a great thing. I moved with one of the roommates I lived with and things are fantastic! We found a beautiful place to live and the move was pretty easy
6. Life happens
7. The good news is that I wasn't hurt and the other driver wasn't hurt. My car was repaired through his insurance and I am now driving it
Really, when I think of all the good things that have happened this last year, they really make me realize that this last year wasn't so bad. In addition to the items listed above, I travelled domestically quite a bit, saw some fantastic concerts, had new adventures, made new friends, got to spend a lot of time with my sister and her family while they were here for 3 months, grew up quite a bit, learned what it is to be employed and unemployed in a crazy economy, and many other lessons that will make 2010 a dang great year!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
My assistant and Martin Luther King, Jr.
You never know what an assistant will be like, especially when you don't pick them out yourself. There are different types of people that go for assistant type jobs. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying there is anything wrong with being an assistant. It is a pretty important job. Some people who go for this type of job do it because they know the CEO of the company and he/she hires the person for the assistant job because they want to help them out. Others take a job as an assistant so they can get in with a company that they want to move up in. My assistant falls into the first category--she is a friend of family of the CEO.
Please understand, I love my assistant, Matilda. She is sweet, cares about our clients, tries to do a great job on all her assignments but sometimes I wonder what she is thinking.
As today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and my office is closed, I asked Matilda to make a flier to send out to our clients. Later, the same day I asked her to prepare it, I went to Matilda's desk to see if she had finished the flier. She was just getting a graphic to add to the flier to complete it. In my mind I figured she would add a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. Instead, she had gone into clip art and typed, 'black people.' My jaw dropped and I felt like the civil rights movement went back in time.
I asked her why she was in clip art rather than getting a picture from the internet. Her response, 'I have seen two black people in my life. They all look the same to me. I thought I could just find one that looks like him.'
I about fainted. Yes, the state I currently live in is not very culturally diverse, I have never heard a comment like that. I grew up in a state that was pretty well mixed with different cultures and people and had many friends of various races and backgrounds. Hearing that comment made me feel as though we had moved back to a less tolerant day.
Matilda finally put a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the flier and after a discussion I thought I would never have to have with my assistant, the situation was resolved...but not without me being reminded that despite the years that have passed, ignorance towards others unfortunately still exists.
Please understand, I love my assistant, Matilda. She is sweet, cares about our clients, tries to do a great job on all her assignments but sometimes I wonder what she is thinking.
As today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and my office is closed, I asked Matilda to make a flier to send out to our clients. Later, the same day I asked her to prepare it, I went to Matilda's desk to see if she had finished the flier. She was just getting a graphic to add to the flier to complete it. In my mind I figured she would add a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. Instead, she had gone into clip art and typed, 'black people.' My jaw dropped and I felt like the civil rights movement went back in time.
I asked her why she was in clip art rather than getting a picture from the internet. Her response, 'I have seen two black people in my life. They all look the same to me. I thought I could just find one that looks like him.'
I about fainted. Yes, the state I currently live in is not very culturally diverse, I have never heard a comment like that. I grew up in a state that was pretty well mixed with different cultures and people and had many friends of various races and backgrounds. Hearing that comment made me feel as though we had moved back to a less tolerant day.
Matilda finally put a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the flier and after a discussion I thought I would never have to have with my assistant, the situation was resolved...but not without me being reminded that despite the years that have passed, ignorance towards others unfortunately still exists.
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