What You’re Worth

I got my first job when I was 16 years old, working the fry station at Chick Fil-A.  After a week of grease burns and sore fingers, I was put on the front register.  One week after that, I got moved to drive-thru, which I often ran alone.  Within a month I received a raise, which wasn’t much to talk about.  At barely over minimum wage, I wasn’t exactly overflowing my bank account every two weeks.

I’m 33 now, with very brief period of unemployment between Chick Fil-A and now, thanks to moves, a kid, college, and unexpected life events.  During those years, I’ve seen a lot and learned a lot.  My three years working at Shoe Carnival was where I learned the most about customer service and employee relations.  My time at Health 1st was where I learned to be a leader.  But wherever I’ve worked, regardless of the business type, there were always three very distinct types of people around me.

The first is one I unfortunately see a lot; the employee who comes to work simply for the paycheck.  They may make $15 an hour, but they put in an effort that isn’t even deserving of minimum wage.  More often than not, you can find them taking a smoke break, texting friends, or wandering around instead of doing their job.  If it’s not getting half-assed, it’s not getting done at all.  These are people who take no pride in their job, regardless of how important or trivial it may be.  This attitude and work ethic succeeds in getting you absolutely nowhere.

The second type is also very common; the employee who earns their paycheck to the penny.  They’re reliable, efficient, and get the job done.  They aren’t habitually late, absent, or away from their assigned area.  Most employers I’ve had fit into this category, and about half of the employees I’ve worked closely with do as well.  It’s a good place to be, especially when working in a team environment where the success of one determines the success of all.  I feel confident knowing that the people I work with are putting in a solid day before clocking out and heading home.

If you fit into this category yourself, that’s fine, but simply striving to earn your paycheck can cause issues.  If you’re entering into a company, making $12 an hour, and all you do is put in $12 an hour’s worth of effort, how can you expect to ever advance?  If you feel that you’re underpaid, which is common in retail and fast food establishments, does that mean your effort decreases because you feel undervalued?  Not looking past the paycheck towards bigger and better things is a huge hindrance.  Even if you don’t see yourself with your current company for the long haul, extra effort can go a long way into giving you a glowing reference when you finally get a new job.

The final type is one I strive to be and hope to become more consistently; the employee who works towards the salary desired, not the salary earned.  This is the person who goes in and does a million dollar job nearly every day.  People are fond of saying that you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have.  Why not also work for the job you want?  A suit and tie alone isn’t going to move someone up the ladder; they must have the work history and drive to back it up.

Right now, I am lucky enough to be in a place where I can work towards a salary I want, not the one I have.  When I started work here in late August, I was making $13 an hour.  It was barely enough money to get me by week to week, but I busted my tail and am now making considerably more than that, having moved from temp status to full-time employee in record time (average times are generally a year or longer).  Now that I’m getting paid more, I have noticed that I’ve automatically pushed myself to work even harder.

I’m by no means the hardest working person in the building, but I never leave this place wondering if I did enough, regretting not finishing certain things, or feeling as if I slacked off.  My counterpart here is the same way; the two of us are forever busy and never standing still.  Whatever the position, whatever the goal, it makes so much sense to suck it up and give it your all.  I can choose to be annoyed by my workload or I can choose to enjoy it and tackle it with passion.

It shouldn’t matter if you’re in a job that you consider a career or if you’re in one that is simply a pit stop along the road to your dreams.  A little bit more effort goes a long way.  The obvious benefits to your employment aside, it does wonders for your self-esteem and self-worth.  Is anyone really proud of themselves for trolling Facebook all day on company time?  Bragging about getting paid to do nothing sounds foolish.  It IS foolish.  There is room for fun in every job, but it doesn’t have to come at the expense of your quality of work.  It’s all about deciding what kind of person you want to be.  A ten buck an hour guy your whole life, or someone worth twice their weight in gold?

Lazy Tales

I’m a big fan of the WWE and am one of many who is incredibly thrilled to see The Rock back in action.  That being said, I am incredibly let down with the choices the writers have made in order to lay the ground work for The Rock’s triumphant return.  Before you dismiss this as just another article about a fake sport, please hear me out.  The mistakes being made not only apply to the WWE storylines, but to much of the entertainment mediums out there that we all enjoy.  The mistake with the WWE is simply the most current to me, as well as the most relevant, so it will better serve me in my argument.

CM Punk is the current WWE Champion and has been for more than a year.  He is our resident villain and many people, myself included, are ready for him to be silenced and taken out of the spotlight for a little while.  Ryback has been our hero of sorts, a newcomer who is after the title and wishes to silence Punk.  Our hero has been given chance after chance to do so, only to be stopped by suspected accomplices of our villain.  Title shot is presented, Ryback is inches from a victory, and his victory is stolen away from him.  The logic behind it is that Punk is meant to face The Rock, so losing the title to someone else doesn’t exactly support that storyline and must not happen.

I don’t question the decision of the writers to make a feud between The Rock and Punk a priority above all else.  Dwayne Johnson has excelled at everything he does, and the fans are thrilled to have him back at home in the ring.  Punk has also done an excellent job at becoming the man you love to hate, or the man you just hate.  They are the perfect pair for a brutal throwdown.  While I enjoy Ryback, his character is too new and his in-ring and mic skills too unpolished to share the spotlight with The Rock.  His role must remain as a supporting character, at least for now.  The choice to have The Rock and Punk feud over the title is a smart one and I am behind it 100%.

My issue is with the road we have been driven down to get us to where we currently are.  Due to the Twitter bickering between The Rock and CM Punk, combined with the advertising the WWE has done on television and online, it has been made perfectly clear to the fans for months now that we are to expect these two men to go one on one.  What should have been a secret, and easily could have, was thrown out into the open for all to see.  We were indirectly told that there was no way in hell Punk would lose the title to Ryback, then given “tense” matches between the two where the title was on the line.  We were given yet another one on January 7th, with Ryback yet again inches away from a win only to have match interference cost him that win.  Again.

Suspense is a vital part of any good story, especially when you’re dealing with something intense and physical.  Would anyone be excited about a new horror flick if in the first five minutes, you were told who the killer was, who would defeat said killer, who the survivor(s) would be, and what would happen in the final climactic scene?  Even with films such as the Friday the 13th series where we know who the killer is, we still want to be shocked and surprised.  Take that surprise away and you’re left with a tired and stale story that is quite difficult to get excited about.

When you know with full certainty that a story will have a specific outcome, you fail to become excited about anything that hints at a different possibility.  When I immerse myself into a story, I want to go in with an open mind and with few expectations.  The WWE has failed me as it has taken what should be an unpredictable title run and destroyed it.  Due to their expectation that we’ll be too excited about The Rock’s return to care, they let loose with all the details and left nothing to our imaginations.  Just because The Rock can captivate a crowd and still make this title run worth watching does not mean than it’s acceptable to kill the suspense.

In order to have the largest audience and gain the most hype, the teams behind the entertainment are now revealing those would-be secrets far too soon and hoping after the fact that enough appeal still remains so that audiences will show up and pay money to get a full view of the story.  Television promos for next week’s episode will show you the climactic moment of that next hour in order to get you to tune in, despite the fact that it kills the shock value that the episode would have had.  Movie trailers show you the beginning, middle, and ending of their story simply because those clips will attract the most attention.  The focus has shifted off of telling an excellent tale and moved on to what can get the most attention at the quickest rate.

The hype that the WWE has put behind The Rock’s title run was definitely effective in getting attention and packing the stadium in Florida last night.  It was definitely effective in securing great ratings for that episode of Raw and selling merchandise on their website.  It makes sense businesswise, at least on the surface.  But is it worth doing in order to gain a few extra dollars now?  What would have happened if the WWE had kept quiet about the title run, allowing The Rock to make a dramatic surprise entrance on an episode of Raw to challenge Punk as opposed to having everything perfectly choreographed out in the open?  Isn’t it possible that the after effects could bring more benefits than the immediate ones?

The story should never be sacrificed or compromised in order to boost ratings or make a few extra dollars; I don’t care if it’s a best-selling novel or a reality competition television show that is in question.  Storytelling is an art and we are killing it slowly with our promotion techniques.  If we just let a story run its natural course rather than throw bits and pieces out into the open before their time, we can allow the art form to thrive and carry on as it should.  Hype can just as easily be created without giving away key plot points and details of final outcomes.  All it takes is a bit of effort, a small amount of creativity, and an eager audience.

As part of that audience, I can assure all creative teams out there that “eager” is an understatement.  We’re ready to be wowed.  We’re ready to be treated intelligently and being allowed to let our imaginations do the work.  We’re ready to gain back that feeling of shock and awe when the hard work that went into your project is presented properly and the audience is allowed that pure and raw reaction.  We’re ready to show you how much our interest is piqued when you hold back more than you tease us with.  We’re ready for a change and we’re ready now.

A Bit Of Promotion

My husband can do more with the English language than I could ever dream of.  I often delete blogs of my own because he beats me to the punch and posts about the subject better than I ever could.  Find him here:  http://theearthtourist.com/

Reality television generally shows us backstabbing, drama, and people being generally awful.  Ben Starr defied that on Masterchef and is one of the sweetest and most genuine people to ever grace my TV screen.  His blog is here:  http://benstarr.com/blog/

Does the thought of an angry woodchuck intrigue you?  Please check out my favorite commenter and a person wildly more intelligent than me when it comes to politics and many other things.  His blog is here: http://angrywoodchucksblog.com/

Are you a fan of horror?  Isn’t everyone?  If you’re ever curious about whether or not a film is worth checking out or you just want to see what someone else thought of a movie, go here:  http://horrorbore.com/

I just recently began following this blog because the author left a couple of comments on my page.  Very glad I chose to give it a follow.  Check out Thomas for yourself and see what you think:  http://btkh03.wordpress.com/

And finally, some self promotion.  Kind of.  Follow me on Twitter here:  http://twitter.com/_cutepoison  I’m a bit vulgar at times, so be warned.

Let Us Pray

This morning, a Captain that used to work in my office returned for his promotion ceremony to the rank of Major.  I decided to attend as soon as I found out about the ceremony, as the Major was always very helpful when we worked together and always threw me extra projects because he knew I wanted the work.  The ceremony was very nice; short and sweet and heartfelt.  It also was opened and closed by a retired Staff Sergeant leading the group in a prayer.

I am a former Catholic who is now an Atheist.  There is no religion out there that satisfies me and my lifestyle.  I celebrate Christmas and Easter still, but as family holidays rather than holidays based around God.  The last time I prayed was when I was living in a shitty room for rent, working a dead-end job, and escaping an abusive relationship.  It was one prayer at the end of many unanswered prayers.  Countless times, I had turned to God only to receive a deaf ear.  Countless times, I reached out to the church community only to have them judge me and tell me how wrong I was rather than offer guidance and help.  As I educated myself further and looked into various areas of Christianity, I came to the conclusion that religion is a fairy tale.  In my opinion.

When I am in a room and everyone bows their head for prayer, I can’t help but feel incredibly awkward.  Out of respect, I don’t play on my cell phone, blow bubbles with my gum, or remain seated while everyone stands to bow their heads.  Outside of standing and staying quiet though, I don’t participate.  My head does not bow down, my hands do not clasp together, and I do not whisper an “amen” when the prayer concludes.  I simple stand, casting sideways glances around the room, until the prayer concludes and I can sit back down.

This definitely could be construed as me being rude to the people trying to pray.  I’ve had it said to me that I should “fake it” when caught in a group prayer, going through the motions and saying “amen” at the conclusion of the prayer.  I don’t see abstaining in the manner I chose to do as rude though.  On the contrary, I think I’m being quite polite.  I didn’t storm out of the room or sit in my chair playing Angry Birds while the rest of the group spoke to God.  I didn’t get offended that I was thrown into a prayer without my consent.  I didn’t feel like religion was being forced on me and I didn’t make a scene.  I was quiet and just ignored it all.

For me, the rudeness comes in when people demand that cashiers no longer wish them a Merry Christmas, when schools aren’t allowed to have fun making Easter baskets, and when fun holiday decorations become an offense instead of something fun and eye-catching.  Freedom of religion is our right, and we can’t have the freedom to our own if we don’t allow everyone else the freedom to theirs.  This is why I don’t understand why Christmas trees aren’t allowed in certain places; why not accommodate everyone instead of taking the joy out of everything?  Why must people take offense to things that aren’t put into place for the purpose of offending?  If it’s not causing injury and if it represents love, what is the harm?

I’m not saying it’s wrong to have an opinion of other religions or lack thereof.  I fault no one for thinking I’m a moron or that I’m hellbound for being an Atheist.  I don’t expect everyone to understand it.  What I do expect is for them to have as much respect for me as I have for them.  For them to confront me about my belief that there is no God is as rude as it would be for me to tarnish their prayers with words of my disbelief and preferences.  Yes, I’m uncomfortable with prayer, but why should my issue be everyone else’s problem?  What right is it of mine to take away from someone else’s experience just because I don’t like it?

I’m no saint, but I think this is one area where I shine a tiny bit.  If more people just put their personal issues aside for a little while and have a little bit of respect for others, perhaps it would lead to more tolerance all across the board.  Rather than snap at the cashier who wishes you Merry Christmas, telling her you’re Jewish, maybe just smile and say thanks with the understanding that she is being polite, not trying to insult you.  Remember that you have the right to abstain from activities that don’t mesh with your beliefs, but you can do so respectfully; unless a survey of religious beliefs was taken beforehand, no one is trying to call you out or make you feel like an outcast.  Maybe becoming tolerant of this and going back to a time where we could put up Christmas trees in public places without backlash from certain groups.  Maybe it will bring on a tolerance for other things; sexual orientation, disabilities, race, social class.  Hell, maybe it won’t do a damn thing, but at least at the end of the day it’ll leave you feeling like a good person because you had a chance to be an asshole and instead decided to act like a nice and normal human being.