This experience which I am about to share with you, is probably one of the funniest situations in which I have found myself in a very long time.
I recently decided. to visit a very bigger more upscale gym, where I was offered a free workout to sort of get a feel of the place and to help me make my mind up as to if I would want to become a member. Let me start by saying, that I had an wonderfully pleasant team member show me around and this gym awesome. Three floors of workout options for everyone, sauna at the ready, personal trainers, classes, the works. You name it, this gym had it. I guess it is safe to say that I liked what I was being offered. After my guided tour, I worked out and was shown to the locker room where I could shower and freshen myself up. So, I take my bag out the locker to get my stuff to have a shower. Luckily, I had brought my own towel. Not that there was anything wrong with the towels which the gym provided, its just that they were just a little bigger than a hand towel and I couldn't see myself covering only my front and walking bare ass to the shower, so as I said luckily I had my own towel. As I took my stuff out and laughed in my head, at the thought of my bare butt walking to the shower, it dawned on me, how am I going to get my clothes off and stay covered at the same time. Hmmm. I quickly assessed my surroundings and noticed that no one, young or old had an issue with going Full Monty to walk to the shower. I must admit, as I assessed my surroundings I was little awe-struck, at the heightened level of comfort these women found in being completely naked in front of strangers. I, on the other hand, have never been in an environment such as this one and although a little taken back, I couldn't find myself completely focused on anyone or anything else other than my dilemma on how to stay covered and get to the shower.
I know what everyone reading this must be saying, why not just go home and shower right. Well I thought about it as I struggled to keep my towel around my waist, but in my classic fashion I had to prove to myself I can do this and wouldn't be defeated. After 10 minutes I finally got my tights off, I was still wearing my tank top, bra and panties. I thought about it long and hard and there was no way, unless I was Houdini, that I was getting my stuff off and keeping that towel around me in entirety. So, I decided to walk over to the shower with what I had left on, with the towel around my waist. My intention was to hang my stuff on a hook. Wrong, the shower stall had no hooks, except for the one outside the stall on which to hook your towel and I didn't want to display my panties and bra on a hook. So, I put the towel over the bra, on the hook outside and noticed that in the stall had a nut attached to a screw, which seemed to have enough surface area to balance my tank top and panties. Let me just say this was no small feat, it took me a good 2 minutes to get the stuff balanced and 2 minutes, focusing on balancing clothing on a screw in a shower stall, is a very long time. With that said it was time to shower. I turned the tap on, not noticing that the shower head was pointed directly at me, so when I turned the tap a gush of freezing cold water hit my body. I started gasping from shock and turned the tap more to reach warm water, but apparent I turned it too hard to the left and the water got too damn hot….smh. I turned the tap off and readjusted the shower head, turned the tap on and finally got the right temperature water and took my well deserved shower. On getting out of the shower I was able to get dressed without having to go Full Monty. One would think that that was it, what more could happen right. Well, on packing my bag to leave, I happened to hold my head up at the wrong time to see a woman remove her towel to put her foot up on the bench to lotion, she was facing me…..smh.
Now, just remember that although the environment I described is one typical of any gym locker room and is pretty normal for some of you, it was my first time in that environment and I was completely out of my element. So did I become a member?….. Yes I did. The gym was amazing, the environment is comfortable to work out and the locker room…..although it was a little shocking, next time I will be prepared now I know what to expect.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
I Wanna Get Fired!!!!
This has been a tough week for New York and the entire East Coast, so I must first acknowledge that I give thanks that myself, family and friends are all well and I must send my prayers out to those that have been affected by Hurricane Sandy.
I am in no way complete in voicing my opinion on our subway characters, but as I sat to write, a memory came back to me. The comedic aspect of the situation, left me no choice but to share with you.
It was about six years ago and I was working two jobs. Now, my night job was my main source of income but, we all know that if the opportunity presents itself to make extra cash, and you are able to do it…do it. The opportunity presented itself to me, in the form of a 9 to 5 as a Manager of a little buffet style restaurant. It was nice when I first started out, my duties were mainly management, nothing heavy so the money was suitable. Somewhere along the way, it was discovered that I was capable of managing the staff and also working alongside them. My, staff was great, very capable so I had no problem helping when need be. But as time went by, I realized that I was working more than my staff doing their duties and mine and that the 9 to 5 wasn't what it was cracked up to be. My workers weren't happy from before I got there, but, up until now I was the only one that took time to listen. So, I came up with the notion that seeing that I was a ‘Manager’ I could go to my boss. This man that hired me because of my experience in the hospitality industry, to ‘Manage’, so I saw fit to express, on my staff’s behalf, some of the things that bothered them. After all a disgruntled staff does not work productively.
The day in question, I went to my boss and sat down with him to discuss some of the things I saw that needed addressing, in order to increase sales through better customer service due to happier staff and some equipment that was needed in order to work proficiently. After I got through do you know what he said to me, and I quote,
“I didn't hire you to have an opinion, I hired you to get the job done”
So I replied and I quote,
“How am I to manage and not give an opinion, am I suppose to do as you say, even if it is not what I deem to be the right thing to do in order for me to get the best job done?”
And he said, again I quote,
“Yes, if you don’t like it you can always quit, but what I need done is that staff in line, and you will get it done the way I say to.”
People, I had a problem with this. One, I am all for rules and following them but, I am not for robotic job function, we all have an opinion that is what adds to the success of a business, the individual personalities which make up management and staff. So when we cannot voice an opinion, we are void of interest in the success of the business. Two, there was no way that my EGO at the time, was going to give him the satisfaction of me quitting. So I decided that I was going to get fired. For the record, not one of my finer moments, in decision making.
I put ‘Fire me’ into action. I started coming in late, with very lame excuses, like ‘I took a wrong turn….’, my boss, understood. I didn't get fired. Then I started going to lunch for an extra half hour some days, my boss understood, I put it back in on the weekend. I didn't get fired. I then left work some days, to check on the kitchen, which was a 15 minute drive away, and would go home. My boss, he minded but I didn't get fired, instead I had to take one of my staff with me sometimes. It was evident that I had to step it up, if ‘Fire me’ was going to work. Did I mention this was not one of the brightness decisions I have ever made, it probably was one of the dumbest things I ever did. I could have just quit, I did have another job, but EGO is very uncontrollable when you are young in life.
I digress, after all my minor efforts had failed, I decided to pretend to be hung over couple mornings, guess what, my boss got mad and I got mad we ended up in a screaming match of sorts. In the end we talked it over, I went home to sleep off my ‘hang over’…smh and I didn't get fired. So far, I had not really done anything to my boss, to whom I was trying to prove a point. Only thing I did, was to show how inefficient I was and irresponsible and I embarrassed myself with the ‘hang over’ bit. I drove home that day not embarrassed but feeling incapable of getting fired, I felt incompetent, EGO. I drove to work the next day and that’s when I saw my ego for what it was foolish. So I came to work looked around saw my boss quit and left. I was defeated I couldn't get fired and I felt extremely foolish for putting so much effort into such a frivolous, egotistical undertaking.
To take with you, one, never let anyone tell you that you don’t have an opinion and two, if the only reason you are going into an undertaking is to prove a point to someone, don’t. Chances are, it’s your EGO that has the point to prove and life has taught me that EGO is self destructive and self serving so, more likely than not you will embarrass yourself and I do mean will. SO I DIDN'T GET FIRED, I QUIT.
Feel free to comment and most definitely laugh. Life is Joy
I am in no way complete in voicing my opinion on our subway characters, but as I sat to write, a memory came back to me. The comedic aspect of the situation, left me no choice but to share with you.
It was about six years ago and I was working two jobs. Now, my night job was my main source of income but, we all know that if the opportunity presents itself to make extra cash, and you are able to do it…do it. The opportunity presented itself to me, in the form of a 9 to 5 as a Manager of a little buffet style restaurant. It was nice when I first started out, my duties were mainly management, nothing heavy so the money was suitable. Somewhere along the way, it was discovered that I was capable of managing the staff and also working alongside them. My, staff was great, very capable so I had no problem helping when need be. But as time went by, I realized that I was working more than my staff doing their duties and mine and that the 9 to 5 wasn't what it was cracked up to be. My workers weren't happy from before I got there, but, up until now I was the only one that took time to listen. So, I came up with the notion that seeing that I was a ‘Manager’ I could go to my boss. This man that hired me because of my experience in the hospitality industry, to ‘Manage’, so I saw fit to express, on my staff’s behalf, some of the things that bothered them. After all a disgruntled staff does not work productively.
The day in question, I went to my boss and sat down with him to discuss some of the things I saw that needed addressing, in order to increase sales through better customer service due to happier staff and some equipment that was needed in order to work proficiently. After I got through do you know what he said to me, and I quote,
“I didn't hire you to have an opinion, I hired you to get the job done”
So I replied and I quote,
“How am I to manage and not give an opinion, am I suppose to do as you say, even if it is not what I deem to be the right thing to do in order for me to get the best job done?”
And he said, again I quote,
“Yes, if you don’t like it you can always quit, but what I need done is that staff in line, and you will get it done the way I say to.”
People, I had a problem with this. One, I am all for rules and following them but, I am not for robotic job function, we all have an opinion that is what adds to the success of a business, the individual personalities which make up management and staff. So when we cannot voice an opinion, we are void of interest in the success of the business. Two, there was no way that my EGO at the time, was going to give him the satisfaction of me quitting. So I decided that I was going to get fired. For the record, not one of my finer moments, in decision making.
I put ‘Fire me’ into action. I started coming in late, with very lame excuses, like ‘I took a wrong turn….’, my boss, understood. I didn't get fired. Then I started going to lunch for an extra half hour some days, my boss understood, I put it back in on the weekend. I didn't get fired. I then left work some days, to check on the kitchen, which was a 15 minute drive away, and would go home. My boss, he minded but I didn't get fired, instead I had to take one of my staff with me sometimes. It was evident that I had to step it up, if ‘Fire me’ was going to work. Did I mention this was not one of the brightness decisions I have ever made, it probably was one of the dumbest things I ever did. I could have just quit, I did have another job, but EGO is very uncontrollable when you are young in life.
I digress, after all my minor efforts had failed, I decided to pretend to be hung over couple mornings, guess what, my boss got mad and I got mad we ended up in a screaming match of sorts. In the end we talked it over, I went home to sleep off my ‘hang over’…smh and I didn't get fired. So far, I had not really done anything to my boss, to whom I was trying to prove a point. Only thing I did, was to show how inefficient I was and irresponsible and I embarrassed myself with the ‘hang over’ bit. I drove home that day not embarrassed but feeling incapable of getting fired, I felt incompetent, EGO. I drove to work the next day and that’s when I saw my ego for what it was foolish. So I came to work looked around saw my boss quit and left. I was defeated I couldn't get fired and I felt extremely foolish for putting so much effort into such a frivolous, egotistical undertaking.
To take with you, one, never let anyone tell you that you don’t have an opinion and two, if the only reason you are going into an undertaking is to prove a point to someone, don’t. Chances are, it’s your EGO that has the point to prove and life has taught me that EGO is self destructive and self serving so, more likely than not you will embarrass yourself and I do mean will. SO I DIDN'T GET FIRED, I QUIT.
Feel free to comment and most definitely laugh. Life is Joy
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