Reading

Editor's note: the opening paragraph has little to do with the rest of the post.

There are many different types of reading.  I don't read many books.  I'm just not very good at it.  I tend to gravitate toward interpersonal interactions.  That's how i was made.  Get me to orate Shakespeare and i'll do more shaking than spearing (just ask anyone in Mrs. Dav's SPARK classes in high school...not a pretty picture).  I scored a 12 on the Reading Comprehension component on my ACT, which would translate to something like a 550 on the SAT.  (pause for lols). I mean, seriously, how could i enjoy something so much but be so terrible at it?  That's for me to deal with, sorry.  Good thing that the dignityof a human being inherent and not relative to his performance in an academic evaluation.

But like i've always said (mostly to help myself cope at not being good at books) reading consists of more than words on a page.

Y'all know Alison Zeik, right?  Well, if you don't, she's an outstanding young lady with an inquisitive mind who, on occasion, asks thoughtful questions and has a knack for saying the poignant.  The other day we were at a social gathering and talking about the future (the future, Conan? ...in the yeeaaaarrrr two thousaanndd...in the yeeearr two thou-saaaaaand) and how it (the future, not the year 2000) is yet to be determined.  So i says, "it's like what Natasha says, 'today is where your book begins. the rest is still unwritten.'"

(quick confession: i occasionally listen to girly pop music. In this case, specifically to "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. I like to think it's my way of valiantly supporting the other sex...i like to think that because it's more embarassing than saying that i like it...some songs are so flippin' catchy!)

Anyway, i said what i said, and Ali playfully replied, "maybe it is written but we're just not reading it." >*explosion*<

hey, now. there's an idea.

Yeah.  Come to think of it, you're absolutely right, Ms. Zeik.  Maybe what we're supposed to do is already written.    Maybe there's an author out there that has composed for us a beautiful story and we're just not reading it.  And not only are so many of us not reading it, but we refuse to open the book! Maybe we don't have time to read.  Maybe we're too busy reading another book.  Maybe we're afraid we won't like it.  Maybe we write it off because we don't read well.  Maybe we're jealous of someone else's book.  Maybe we dismiss it because we think reading is a crutch for people who don't have original thought.  Maybe we give up altogether.  Maybe...we're just wrong and we make excuses because reading is tough and we don't want to deal with the struggle.

In case you didn't get the metaphor:
- by "reading" i mean praying
- by "what is written" i mean God's will in our lives
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(break in the metaphor) I read a lot when i was a child. My parents taught me how.  They helped me sound out big words. They were patient with me, helped me understand the plot and answered all my questions even if the answers weren't what i wanted to hear (goodness were there questions. my family affectionately called me the "what if..." kid).

(reinstatement of the metaphor) If you're having trouble reading, read your favorite children's stories. Read your little heart full. Read with someone who knows how to read.  Read every day.

Read what is written.

Peace,
Daytona

Check Yoself

hello boys and girls (and all...you...others? out there)

straying a bit from the immediate theme of the bloggity blog blog, i have a story to tell.
a curious thing happened at l'hotel this past weekend. maybe i was bothered, sour and surly at the fact that i inconveniently had to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon (thus missing a grand portion of Festival), or maybe the cause was my insistence on promoting personal responsibility. Either way. here's a story for y'ens.

i have pet peeves. and i've been known to be a jerk sometimes. to be fair, yeah. i can be a jerk, but usually it is because i'm calling someone out. some of y'all might call it 'being real'. i call it...taking preventative measures.

(sidebar: uh oh.  i found out how to embed photos...this is bad news bears.)

back up

story time:

i'm behind the desk at work, doing what i do, when a visibly agitated lady storms up to the desk.


Lady: excuse me. there are about seven 6-year-olds in your pool and their parents are just sitting outside while the kids are just going nuts! They are jumping in the pool! They're splashing water all over the ground! It is ridiculous!

Me:  yes ma'am. i can see how this can be upsetting. have you spoken with the parents outside?

Lady in a crescendo-ed anger:  Like hell, i will! It isn't my job to tell these people that!

Me calmly:  Well, ma'am...it seems that you're having an issue with the parents and their children, not with me. I'll gladly speak with them, but for future reference i encourage you to speak with the source of the problem rather than avoiding it.

...to which she storms away.

i'm pretty sure i'll be getting written up for that. que sera sera.  but honestly, i've been at the hotel for nearly 2 years now and most issues i tend to diffuse are the result of a passive-type "it's my problem but i don't want to look it in the face and want someone else to fix it" attitude.
i'm sorry. i'm not okay with that.

 (getting all psychy here). we'll call her Sally

Sally's attitude encourages what we in the biz (i'm not technically in the biz) call learned helplessness. it reduces Sally's need for (and ability to activate) critical thinking skills.  with no problem solving exercise, Sally's brain goes into panic mode at the first sign of disorder.  when she's alone and conditioned to let someone else take care of her problems, Sally's brain sends signals to her heart, shuts down the already under-utilized reasoning functions and increases stress levels, potentially leading to bouts of hypertension.

Not only that, but Sally becomes a dangerously susceptible candidate for dependency, seeking everything she lacks in others.  Relinquishing her understanding of personal responsibility (owning this shit), her agitation and aggression to others could possibly increase based on their inability to fill her dependence.

it kinda reminds me of one of those directv commercials.

Just a thought.

Every effect has a cause...

Peace,
Daytona