The Relaxed Leader Speaks

Ah!  How on earth could I have let time slip by me?  I haven't posted for a couple weeks now, so I better come out with a topic that I'm so very passionate about.  To be honest, it wasn't until I moved to the city about 4 years ago, that I found these issues to weigh on my mind.  I have made a few wise cracks about it randomly, but never came out in public with some of these issues I feel passionate about.

Are you at the edge of your seat yet?  Do I have your full attention?  To put it frankly, I cannot stand city drivers.  Sorry.  Actually, no...no I'm not.  Don't get me wrong, I date a car buff.  He has done some crazy things while driving.  If you know him, I am sure you have seen him try to pull at least one of his "tricks."  Most of these tricks I had the "pleasure" of experiencing in the passanger seat.  I have compiled a list of things for each reader to consider.  If you are one of the city drivers I vent about, I'm sorry that I'm not sorry about bringing these things to your attention.  If you are not, I am betting that you agree with some of the consitancies that drive you(literally) crazy.

1.         Who you are:  The late mergers.  Yeah...you know what I'm talking about.  Here you are driving down the 6 laned interstate.  All of a sudden, traffic slows.  Something is going on.  It is 7pm.  5 o'clock traffic should be clear by now.  Ah ha!  Locals are merging into two lanes.  What does this mean?  No Mr. Heavyfoot, it does not mean that all of these cars pretty much parted the Red Sea for you.  Unfortunately for you, there is no VIP services offered for ROAD CONSTRUCTION.
            Who I am:  The bumper sticker.  Oh...you want to skip ahead 40 cars and merge in front of me?  I had no idea.  However, I do have great car insurance coverage and I am hoping that you do too, because you will have to mow me over like the annoying water grass in spring.  Also, if we have the chance to get to know each other, the first question I will ask you is the name of your Kindergarten teacher.  The one who lacked instruction of waiting your turn in line. 

2.          Who you are: The bumber sticker.  Ah!  You only have an hour left to get to work and you are a whole block away.  Why is traffic moving so slow?  Thought: maybe if you get really really close to the car in front of you, they will be able to move faster.  Dang.  It doens't work.  In fact it's doing the opposite.  Who is this lunatic on the road only going 7 over the speed limit? 
             Who I am: The tease.  Oh, I briefly understand that you want to get a closer look of my car.  Alright....close enough.  Alright...your time is up.  Are you mad?  I'm not sorry.  Just you wait.  Hellooooooo semi to the right.  Semi driver, look at my bumper in the left lane.  Now let me check yours(slow down).  Now that I passed the bumper sticker to semi, I will go ahead and let the semi get one more look at my bumper.  We meet again, bumper sticker.  Shoot...I didn't realize I was going 7 over...(slow down)my limit is 2 under.  JUST KIDDING!  See ya, sucker!

3.           Who you are: The tease.  Out on the interstate.  Psht...the cars are only going the speed limit.  You need to be in the far left lane to get past them all(speed up to 75).  Like, oh my goodness, your BFF from freshman year is calling you.  You have to answer and give her your full attention(slow down to 5 below- still in the left lane). Whoops!  She had the wrong number(speed up to 75).  Wow...is that Backstreet Boys on the radio again?  Turn that up!!!(slow down to 5 below - still in the left lane).  Nope...pure disappointment.  It was One Direction(speed up to 75).  Woah, woah, woah...where did this car come from in front of you?  Better question: Why are they only driving 73?(merge to right lane)
           Who I am: The relaxed leader.  Headed home for the weekend!  Setting the cruise at 75.  Here we go.  Welp, the crazy in the left passing lane can't make up their mind, so I will be courtious and make it for them.  Pull to the right...pull back to the left.  Decrease cruise speed to 73.  There we go...the car is where it should be.  The right lane. 



There ya go Kansas City.  To solve every single traffic problem, follow the relaxed leader with no direct road rage necessary.  The small town, relaxed, and experienced driver, in the big city knows best.  Right?

*Endnote*
This post is dedicated to my little sister, Sydney, who recently got her driving permit. 

Daily Dose of Full

I want to take some time to share one of my mornings with you. The morning that I am talking about happened a couple weeks ago, but I still think about it often and really feel like sharing the joy I felt. At this time(before the big girl job), I spent a lot of time over at a families house, helping them around the house and also helping the mom with her workload when I could. On this one particular morning, she asked that I run to Einsteins to get some bagels for the kids. The second request was that I go to the grocery store and use a coupon that she had found.

As I set out, I decided it would be more efficient if I went to Einsteins first. As embarrassing as this sounds, I have never ordered at Einsteins before. This would be my first time. I really didn't think that the system would be that hard. I walked into the store and no one was in line. I walked right up to the pay center to place the order. Before I was helped, I noticed an older man coming in behind me. He had placed his order at the beginning part of the counter. I skipped that step, I had realized. He came on up to where I was standing. As he approached, so did the Einstein employee behind the counter. She asked that I go back and place my order at the beginning of the line. The man standing behind me kindly said to the woman "there is no need for that. She can go ahead and place her order before me...I can wait." I apologized to both and went ahead and placed my order. After I was through I told the employee that she can go ahead and help him first though. He asked that it not happen that way and to complete my order first. As she went back to get my bagel order I struck up some small talk with the man that was behind me. I would guess him to be in his mid 70s. Within this short conversation I had learned that he had been coming to Einsteins for just a cup of coffee and a bagel every morning since his wife had passed away 3 years prior. We made some more small talk and then it came time for me to pay for my bagels. The total came to be a little over ten dollars. As I pulled out my wallet with the cash the mother had given me, the man place his hand on my hand and asked the cashier to go ahead and ring his up on my order and that he would pay. I told the man that he didn't have to do something like that. I told him that I really did appreciate the gesture. He told the employee to put it on his card. As he handed her his card he said to me, "just take that ten dollars and put it for someone elses' dinner or shopping sometime." He smiled and said, "it will make their day."

So of course I teared up and told him thank you. I asked him if he would like company in eating his bagel and he said that normally he would love the company, but that he needed to get on back home to feed his cat. We said our goodyes as we parted, never exchanging names or anything. All I know is that he drives a new, white, Acadia.

Thinking that my day couldn't be off to a better start, I began my way to the grocery store. When I got there I parked about right in the middle of the parking lot. About 40 yards away from where I parked was a man that I would guess his late 50s. He had a huge smile on his face and he was singing loud enough so that I could hear him. He was singing "You are my sunshine". Smiling from ear to ear I got out of the car. As I turned towards the store he yelled to me from across the parking lot. He said "Hey, that is a Special Olympics T-Shirt." Sure enough I had on my Volunteer T-Shirt with the Special Olympics Logo on the back. I turned to him and walked over to him to continue our conversation. This is how the conversation continued:

Me: "Yeah, it is. I volunteer with the Special Olympics every once in a while."
Man: "That is so neat. I love to swim there and I always do really good and sometimes even get a gold medal. Do you know Angie?"
Me: "No I am not sure that I know Angie."
Man: "That's okay. What is your name?"
Me: "I'm Samantha. What is yours?"
Man: "My name is Robert. I have a German name. It is so nice to meet you Samantha. I will tell Angie that I met you."

I smiled and told him that it was nice to meet him as well and started on inside to shop. About halfway through the doors I realized that I had forgotten the coupon that the mother had given me. I turned back to the car. As I made my way there, I passed Robert again. He stopped me with an astonished look on his face. He said: "Oh no! You don't like the store." I said, "Oh I like your store just fine. I forgot my coupon in the car, but I will be back to shop." "Phew" he said, "when people like our store and it is nice and clean, they buy things. When they buy things that means that I get to get money." I smiled again, with more tears in my eyes, and said "well I am just going to grab my coupon and go on inside to shop so that you are taken care of." He smiled and went back to putting the carts together.

As I was shopping, you couldn't get the smile off of my face. I am sure that I looked like I had something up my sleeve the whole time I was in the store. I wanted to tell the whole world what had just happened to me in a matter of an hour. I wanted to fall to my knees in excitement and joy as a witness to something so beautiful. A witness to love, grace, and service.

Giving a balance of hearts that are full. The fullness of hearts that are able to be passed down from person to person. Whether that fullness comes from physically doing something for someone else or from saying the right words/giving your smile at just the right time to someone else. The fullness gives them the comfort to continue the chain of love, grace, and service.

Passion vs. experience

I want to apologize by saying that I intended to write a little about why healthy foods are more expensive and weigh those thought processes. However, I have out that topic off due to this past weeks experiences. I have been following a couple of professional blogs. One in particular is that of a hiring manager. Recently he went through a long and extensive process of hiring a communications manager. He blogged throughout the whole process. This series stared with what to include on a resume and concluded as far as what to include on a follow up thank you note from an interview. I have diligently been following this process and taking important note of some strategy. With all of these thoughts that have gone through my mind, on top of myself going through interviews and making choices that will effect my future employment, I began to think even further about the awful process for recent grads. Here these grads go through four plus years of school looking forward to their next chapter. Here these graduates finally graduate with a fire in their hearts to go out and change the world. Here these grads go through the processes that the hiring manager I follow writes about. Here these grads get to feel like what they have done the last four years of school is going to finally pay off. Then comes the larger issues that no one can learn in the classroom. The feelings of defeat. The emotional roller coaster that most experienced adults and hiring managers will call normal. But is it normal? If it is normal, how is it fair? Thankfully, I have recently accepted a job that will hopefully turn into the career that, as a student, I looked forward to. However, this feeling of "phew" does not put my mind to rest of what myself and recent graduates have had to face. Even if you were one of those students who had one of those students who had a job lined up for right after graduation, you still went through the roller coaster of "normal". This "normal" deserves a class. This "normal" deserves a certificate of completion. I know this is not what is considered the real world to expect something like that, but I seriously think about these next questions a lot. 1. As a company or an organization (no matter how big or small), who is going to be the most valuable player in the game of development and growth? 2. Who is going to be the face of your company or organization? 3. What is the best asset for growth and development of both those employed, and the company itself...experience or passion? So what does this have to do with balance? Well of course there is the evident balance of the individual's thoughts and emotions through the process but there is also the question for employers and hiring managers of how they find their balance for future success of their company and organization. Again, because it is Friday, I understand both arguments, I recently accepted the job, and I just got back from seeing some of God's beautiful artwork in Colorado, my life is feeling pretty balanced. It is just this evil mind of mine that keeps turning. *Things to consider* - I do know that there are jobs that need experience and I am not saying that all that are experienced lack all passion. - I also know that no one knows better than a hiring manager in what type of person is needed for a job. I am not second guessing them. - I know that each experience is different. - I understand that hiring managers want someone that will not lose their passion easily. - These are a bunch of thoughts that may seem to step on the toes of many. That is not my point. I am not writing to dig deep into your foot.

Definition of Seesaw (n)

Here it is 1:05am, and I look to define my blog.  Oh the irony(as you will see with my definition).  So according to the Merriam Webster definition, a see saw is "an alternative up-and-down or backward-and-forward motion or movement; also : a contest or struggle in which now one side now the other has the lead."  I don't know about you, but when I was little and spent time at the park, about 75% of my time was spent on the seesaw or teeter totter, trying to balance it(with friends or by myself).  The other 25% was seeing if I could touch the leaves of the tree while swinging(but that is besides the point).  So, as hard as it may sound, get into my warped mind for a short bit and try to understand my mind map(Thank you Dr. J.). 

As you can already tell, I like parenthesis(because they balance my thoughts and sentence).  I also like to sort all of my Skittles out into pairs of the same color.  One for each side of my mouth.  I also sleep in the middle of the bed(so I don't fall off).

However, I often don't match my socks.  My chip to salsa ratio is 10:1.  Plus, I stay up until 1:30am because I can't sleep and then regret it when my alarm sounds in the morning.

So there are some aspects of my life that I search to find the perfect balance.  However, there are sometimes when I just want to be the one that jumps off of the seesaw quickly, laughing at the other(all meaning well of course).  Then there are times when I feel like just the opposite had happened and I am the one walking off with the bruised hiney. 

Now, to define my blog, I find it hard to find the balance of my definition as well.  So maybe those philosophy classes in school payed off.  The defintion of this blog is that there is no definition.  For to define would mean concrete.  Well what would be the fun in that?

Maybe guidelines of my blog would be the best way.  Here we go:

1.  I will post once a week(atleast).
2.  By the end of each week I will have a balanced seesaw.

Short and sweet, eh?  So, to those reading this, I want you to know that anything I post on upcoming blogs, I mean no harm.  I may bash the mushy facebook relationships, or I may post argument about something you disagree with, but know that I really am just doing this for fun, relaxation, and balance(duh!).  Now that all sounds negative...okkkkk....so I want you to know that I am going to also be posting funny pictures, inspirational quotes, and loving this life that God has so graciously given me.  Completely serious.

Because it is Thursday and I wrote one paragraph explaining how I am balanced and one paragraph explaining how I am not, the seesaw is balanced.  Phew!

Thought for next post:  Why are healthy foods the most expensive?