Waiving the White Flag

As you may remember, the month of November was NANOWRIMO … aka National Novel Writing Month.  I decided to participate this year.  I was super energized and excited to begin my novel.  With my wide open schedule, I thought I would have plenty of time to knock out a 50,000 word novel.  Hell, I might even finish early I thought!  I was so wrong.

The couple days of NaNo started out alright.  I wrote the requisite 1,700 words each of the first three days.  I was on a total roll and things were flowing pretty nicely.  It was all downhill from there.

The first weekend in November I found myself driving down to Orange County for the weekend.  This was a pre-arranged trip, but I figured I would find the time to write during the day while friends were at work, or on the 8-hour car trip (each way), or at night.  Well, I didn’t.  My schedule was so crammed with seeing people that I barely had a moment to breathe let alone write 1,700 words a day!  And on top of it, when I sat down to write, nothing flowed from my finger tips as it had been the first few days. 

I found myself contemplating a story change despite repeated encouraging emails to not change the topic once you already committed a couple thousand words … it would just make it that much harder.  I decided to stick with the story, and tried to do some brainstorming since I could not find my writing voice.  I came up with a couple of good ideas and was energized to start writing again as soon as my trip was over.

Enter the new job.  I started my new job on Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011.  Already a few days behind in writing, this added “task” in my schedule threw a huge wrench into things.  My once wide open, free schedule was now … well … booked!  I found myself waking up at 5 to make it to the gym by 6 and home by 7 so I could leave for work by 8.  I worked until 6 or 7 at night and headed back to the gym for round 2.  By the time I got home around 9 I was beat.  It took all my energy just to brush my teeth before I crashed!  Needless to say, no writing got done that week, but I was hopefully that the weekend would give me at least 16 hours of writing solitude.

Wrong again.  The weekend was crammed with all of the stuff I could not get done during the week … phone calls, paying bills, trips to the post office, going to the bank, grocery shopping.  Plus I wanted to have a little fun too, it was the weekend after all! 

Thus, I found myself halfway through November with only about 5,000 words written.  (Note: for the mathematically challenged, you should have about 25,000 words halfway through November … I had 1/5 of that amount.)  I succumbed to my busy schedule, made the decision that for now my desire to write a novel must take a back seat to my new job and my continuation of my developing fitness.  It was a hard decision to make, but something had to be sacrificed for my sanity. 

I still want to write a novel.  I have for a long time, and I will forever want to until I actually complete it, but this year it just did not happen.  NaNoWriMo definitely opened my eyes to the novel writing process though.  It taught me just how difficult it is to write, even when I love doing it.  It is still a challenge.  So when you look at all those books on your bookshelf, know that a ridiculous amount of work went into each one. 

Sometimes, waiving the white flag of surrender takes gumption.

Be Thankful

Thanksgiving is a time for feasting and football, family and fun.  But it is also a time to reflect on what we have and to appreciate the people in our lives.  I have a lot to be thankful for this year.  I have met people who have changed my life.  I have deepened my relationships with my family and friends.  I have been provided with the necessities of life (shelter, water, food, heat).  I have continued my education.  I have been fortunate enough to find a job in these difficult times. 

In addition to keeping a blog, I keep a personal journal (handwritten and only for my eyes).  On occasion I go back and read my entries.  This year has been filled with ups and downs. 

On the negative side: I was really sick.  I lost a loved one.  I was for most of the year unemployed.  I moved away from my closest friends and back into my childhood home.  It was a trying time.

But there were good things too:  I got to spend more time with my family.  I got to reconnect with friends in the bay area.  I got to travel.  I got to spend time on myself and my own health.  I got to do volunteer work. 

You have to take the good with the bad, the happy with the sad.  Sometimes it seems like the bad times will last forever, believe me I have been there, and I have the journal entries to prove it! 

Being thankful takes gumption.

Motivation Monday: Aim High

It seems as though on most of my trips this past October I have found a little inspiration.  My trip to Massachusetts was no exception.  As I walked around the cute little town of Williamstown, I delighted in the fall foliage and classic New England style buildings (as you know if you read the posting on 10/29/11 entitled Fall Foliage).

During my walks I encountered this beautiful stone stairway with columns flanking the entrance.  On the column to the left of the stairway was a quotation:

“Climb High, Climb Far, Your Goal the Sky, Your Aim the Stars.”

I thought this statement was perfect for the college campus, as it provides continued encouragement to students who probably walk past it every single day.  Although most of us do not have the pleasure of walking by this gorgeous and inspirational column everyday, or even most days, maybe a picture reminder with suffice. 

If you are able to say this to yourself, once a day, once a week, or maybe even just once a month, it might help just a little bit to keep you on track toward your goals.

Aiming high takes gumption!

Catch More Flies

Most people, including myself have heard the saying “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar” and while I am not sure the saying is correct when actually dealing with flies, the point is easily understood – a sweet disposition and positive attitude will get you farther than a sour disposition or negative attitude.  I have found this to be 100% true.

On my recent trip to Miami I found myself in a good mood (I think it was the sun) and I was smiling a lot.  I said “hi” to people first, I ask people how their day was going, I held doors for people, I made an extra effort to say “please” “thank you” and “you’re welcome.”  I did not complain about things and I pretty much had a relaxed go with the flow attitude.  This definitely played in my favor. 

First, it started at SFO where I volunteered to take a later flight.  I put on a big smile and told the lady at the desk I was interested in abandoning my seat but would like some information on the alternative flights.  I asked about departure and arrival times and about a million other questions.  When I was through I thanked her profusely for looking everything up for me and told her I would be happy to switch flights.  When it came time to arrange my new flight, she made the extra effort to get me a good seat on the plane (the exact seat I had on my original flight – the most coveted window seat!)

When I got to the Hyatt Regency in Miami, the room I had requested (a King) was not available.  I was kind of disappointed, but did not complain or throw a fit or anything else.  I simply said ok, and asked what was available.  The agent said there was only a room with 2 doubles or I could be upgraded to a suite.  I did not want to pay extra for the suite, so I smiled and told her I would take the room with 2 doubles.  She apologized for the inconvenience.  I told her it was no big deal (I really did not need a King bed anyway … I barely move when I sleep!).  She told me she wanted to give me something to apologize for the inconvenience and offered me a couple of drink vouchers.  I declined the offer telling her I was not planning on drinking because I was a bit under the weather.  She then insisted that I take a voucher for brunch at the hotel restaurant, which I gladly accepted. 

I ate dinner at the hotel restaurant both nights I was in Miami, mostly because I was too tired to do anything else, and being a female alone, I did not feel all that safe venturing out into the city at night.  Both nights I had exceptional service and both nights I ended up getting a dessert comped.  The first night I spent over 2 hours in the restaurant.  I ate slow, but that did not account for the entire time.  After I finished my fajitas I decided to order dessert (a warm chocolate chip cookie with ice cream).  It took absolutely forever for the dessert to come, but I did not complain … I really had nothing else to do, so I just sat in the restaurant working on some materials for an upcoming interview.  When the dessert finally came I smiled at the waiter and thanked him for bringing it.  He apologized profusely for it taking so long and refused to add it to my bill. 

The next night, I ordered the paella with chicken and shrimp.  As I mixed up the dish I noticed that a few of the shrimp were not properly cleaned.  I picked out these pieces and set them aside.  The waiter came by and asked if I did not like the shrimp and offered to have the chef make me something else.  I told him that I loved the shrimp, but that the pieces I picked out were not cleaned all the way and I did not want to eat them.  He immediately took them back to the kitchen.  He came back to the table and offered me a glass of sangria or another drink, but I told him that was unnecessary.  I ordered dessert again that night, and again the waiter took it off my bill.  I tipped him very well (as I had done with the waiter the night before) and thanked him for the dessert. 

The next morning, I found myself back at the restaurant to redeem the voucher I had been given for brunch.  My waiter from the night before was on shift again.  He made sure to seat me in his section at a table with a view.  He gave me excellent service (my glass was not empty once) and he even made pleasant conversation with me about what to see and do in the city.  Being pleasant the night before had paid dividends both that night and now the next morning. 

When I was checking out of my hotel in Miami, I made the effort to thank the front desk agents for the service at the hotel.  I complimented the restaurant and how they had handled my stay.  He was glad to hear that I had a pleasant time and asked if there was anything else they could do for me.  I told him I was going to be waiting around in the hotel for a bit and wondered if there was any way to get internet access.  He immediately provided me with a code for free access.  Then an hour or so later he walked up to me in the lobby and wanted to make sure that the code had worked and that I had everything I needed.

I understand that a hotel is supposed to be hospitable, and that some hotels are better than others, but I also believe that the customer’s disposition plays a huge part in how people act and react.  Had I been rude about my flight being full or oversold or ungrateful for the amount of time the airline agent spent answering my questions I probably would not have gotten a good seat on the next flight.  If I had thrown a fit about the room I likely would have gotten a bad room with no view and may not have received a voucher.  If I complained about the wait for dessert, I likely would have paid for it and only received an apology.  If I had sent back my food, it probably would have come back with spit in it and I doubt I would have received a comped dessert or such great service the following morning.  If I had not thanked the hotel for their efforts I doubt they would have given me free internet access.   

Sometimes it is very difficult to keep a cool head and a pleasant disposition, especially when things do not go as planned or the way you want, but if you can be nice about issues and try to stay positive, it will certainly pay off.

Staying positive and cheery in less than desirable situations takes gumption!

Fanciful Friday: Candy Thank Yous

Back at the beginning of the summer I was babysitting for a family I have known for years.  I not only babysit for this family, but I have done Christmas wrapping for them, run errands, worked on the wife’s business, and done a variety of other tasks that fit into the “jack of all trades” category. 

I was asked to help out on another project.  The wife does a lot of work for the school district, specifically a lot of fundraising.  Her team raised a couple MILLION dollars for the school district and she wanted to thank them for their hard work.  She came up with this idea to have cocktail glasses filled with candy as a thank you gift.  She suggested using jelly beans and creating a margarita, pink champagne, and daiquiri using various colors.  It was my job to execute this idea.

First I went to Diddum and bought the glasses – plastic margarita glasses as small as I could find.  Then I had to find the jelly beans.  I went to a couple place and could not find the right colors.  Finally I went to Powell Street Candy where I found all the jelly beans I wanted in all the right colors.  I bought a couple pounds of cotton candy (pink), cherry (red), lime (green), and coconut (white).  I filled a third of the cups with green, a third of the cups with red and a third of the cups with pink.  On the green sups I added white to the top to make them look like margaritas.  The red cups got a sprinkling of pink to make them look like daiquiris.  The pink cups got a few white beans to represent the bubbles in the pink champagne. 

After filling the cups, I carefully wrapped each one with saran wrap over the top to prevent the beans from falling out.  I then tied a matching ribbon around the base of the glass to keep the saran wrap in place.

Now that the cups were done, there was something missing.  Every good drink needs a good swizzle stick.  While I was at the candy store I had seen these sticks of liquid candy (like honey sticks that you can get at the fair).  I bought several in green apple (green), cherry (red) and honey (a champagne color).  I cut a tiny slit in the top of the saran wrap and inserted the candy straws into the cups.

After assembly was done we added stickers to the bottom that said thank you and the presents were good to go.  From what I heard they were quite a hit!

 Creating something from someone else's idea takes gumption!

Motivation Monday: Heart Leads Head

I am a big reader, and recently I have been reading James Patterson’s Alex Cross Series.  I have read his Women’s Murder Club Series, and I find both easy and enjoyable to read and certainly recommend them. 

I am about 5 or 6 books into the Alex Cross series, and in the last 2 books or so, the main character Alex Cross repeats a mantra that he has “Heart Leads Head.”  I found this to be quite interesting, and have had a chance to mull it over a bit.  

I consider myself an analytical thinker.  I collect excessive information, organize the information in a variety of ways and then compare and contrast as long as possible before typically coming to a decision, and yet a good 9 times out of 10, that decision is what my heart told me to do in the first place.  I have also noticed that the few times that I have let me head lead, it has lead me a bit astray. 

While my work must be driven by my analytical mind and the research is necessary to an evidenced outcome, the same is not the case with my personal life.  I know I have millions, if not billions more decisions to make in my life, and I think it is time for me to implement Heart Leads Head, at least for a little while.  Who knows, maybe it will be the worst things ever and I will have to revert back to making research driven decisions, but maybe, just maybe it will make me happier to do what I want to do instead of what I think I should do.

It takes gumption to let your heart lead your head … but here goes nothing!

Over-Tipping

WARNING: This is a bit of a rant ...

I have always been a very generous tipper.  My parents are generous tippers and they raised me to be a generous person in all aspects of my life, including tipping.  I have also had a number of friends who worked in the service industries where tipping is customary (ie waitresses).  They have encouraged me to continue my practice of being a generous tipper by informing me of how low the servers’ wages are and how they often have to share their tips.  I have not had a problem being a generous tipper, that is until my recent travels.

I certainly understand the importance of tipping – it is to say thank you for great service.  The problem that I have with tipping is that instead of being a little something extra as a thank you to someone who went above and beyond, it has become expected.  As far as I am concerned, if you deserve the tip you will get one and it should never be “required” nor do I think it should be promoted by the individual or the company receiving the tip.

On my recent trips I have had to use shuttle services to and from the airport.  The shuttle service is relatively inexpensive (although that is really just in comparison to the ridiculous amount you would pay for a taxi).  However, in each of the shuttles I rode in there was a sign prominently displayed that basically said gratuity is not included in the price of the fare (aka you need to tip your driver).  This to me is a bit outrageous, especially since these companies CRAM people into their shuttles to ensure they are making the maximum amount.  And, in order to maximize the number of people in their shuttles they also pick people up early at their hotels hours before their flight so they can make the rounds to pick other up and then go to the airport.  In NY, I had a reservation for a 12:30 pickup and the guy called me at 11:30 to tell me he was at the hotel.  I told him I was very sorry, but he would have to come back … in what world does pickup at 12:30 mean pick up at 11:30?!  The drivers are not extra careful at driving, they are not extra careful with my luggage.  Sure, they put it in the car and take it out, but really how difficult is that, especially considering it is part of their job description.  Why should they expect a tip if they do not go above and beyond?

I have also noticed the trend in restaurants to add the gratuity automatically to the bill.  This used to be common with big parties (first it was 10 or more, then 8 or more, and now 6 more).  I kind of got this concept because people somehow always forget to add tax and tip when figuring out their portion of a large bill, but still they should not have to add the gratuity.  Plus, I have noticed, that whenever the gratuity is already included, the level of service typically declines.  This is really unacceptable as far as I am concerned.  AND, now, on top of adding gratuity in for certain bills, the restaurants are actually calculating gratuity for their patrons.  On one receipt I had recently it had a break down that looked like this:

For Good Service Tip 15%

For Great Service Tip 18%

For Exceptional Service Tip 20%

Each line was followed by the amount that corresponded to my bill.  I was seriously shocked to see this.  I guess you could look at it as nice that now you do not have to pull out your phone to use the calculator.  But I think that maybe they should add a few more lines to the breakdown like this:

For Terrible Service Complain to the Manager to be Comped for the Meal

For unsatisfactory Service Subtract 15% from bill; it will be taken from your Server’s Pay

For Mediocre Service Just Pay the Bill

I do not expect clients to tip me for legal services.  Doctors do not expect to be tipped for a proper diagnosis.  Accountants do not expect to be tipped for balancing the books.  Computer engineers do not expect to be tipped when they figure out the code building a website or program or whatever.  Architects do not expect a tip when the figure out the blue prints of a building to exact specifications.  Do you get where I am going here?

When I was in Massachusetts recently I had dinner at the table next to 2 women from Australia.  We started up a conversation and soon it came time to pay our bills.  They told me that in Australia tipping is not customary unless the service is absolutely over the top exceptional.  I think this is the way it should be.  Tips should be earned; there should be no sense of entitlement to tips.

So,  after tipping for years and years and years for everything from terrible service to exceptional service, I have had enough.  If you do your job, you get paid your hourly wage and perhaps a miniscule amount more in tip.  If you want to really earn some money, then put in the work and impress me.  I work hard for my money, so I am going to expect you to work hard for yours too!

Reducing tip amounts for mediocre service or not tipping at all for terrible service takes gumption!