You Awesome People of Christmas

Posted on December 26, 2011 by venagozar

I was going to call this the Christmas Angel Post, but there is a group with the blog name Your Christmas Angels, founded in 2007. Good people, helping those in need during the Christmas season. We had any number of Christmas Angels this year locally. The news was full of them. Wonderful people reaching out to people who are going through rough times. People for whom buying a Christmas present for their Child is a financial struggle.

When I was younger things were pretty tough. Christmas presents usually consisted of clothes for the second half of the school year. It is wonderful to see people trying to have a better Christmas for their children by taking advantage of the layaway programs some stores offered this year. Often making those payments for Christmas ends up meaning mean not paying for something else equally important.

I want to say thank all the people who paid off layaways for children this year, and previous years too! If this includes you, you set an example for most of us to follow. Usually at this point some posts run off into how this giving should go on all year around. I know I am guilty of this line of thought in previous posts. This year though I prefer to bask in the moment of being grateful there are so many caring people living around us. They cared enough to help their neighbors put on Christmas for their children.

I saw the Pope was beating the drum of stopping commercialized Christmas, saying it is time to get back into the real meaning of Christmas. On some levels I can agree with this though really I can not. I wonder if the Pope ever steps back and looks at the Vatican’s financial reasons for the season, or about giving out instead of taking. I have never observed money being given away at Church services.

Christmas means something else altogether for those wonderful people who helped others this Christmas, and to those who received the help. I would rather concentrate on these people. I think modern Christianity has done enough to take religion out of religion. The Vatican is not in a position to be telling the world how it should be done. We have a lot of good people out there who did a lot of good for their neighbors this year. In the process these generous folks gave away (shared) their own good circumstance without anyone telling them how it should be done. These folks did a great job of sharing!

When I think of EcoHeart, a better example can not be found than these Christmas Angels. For a few days this Christmas, families everywhere, this years Christmas Angels were making it possible for those less fortunate to have a little extra money in their pocket the morning after Christmas. More often than not that extra money is household, food, or medicine money redirected to buying Christmas presents.

A little bit of doing good goes a long way. I am grateful to all of you who really see the reason for the season. I really hope you are one of them. Whether it was dropping some dollars into the Salvation Army Bucket, giving money to a Homeless Person, or helping someone in another meaningful way, people like you are my reason for the Christmas Season!

Whether this is something you do as part of your day, or you are motivated by the Christmas Season, I hope each and every one of your coming days are filled with bountiful returns. Looking beyond the formal religious significance of Christmas, people helping people makes the world a better place is a great aspect of Christmas! A better place is what I hope the world becomes.

I am going to end this post now, before I find myself heading off on some tangent which I know I am quite capable of doing. Let me say it again, this time for everyone who does not have a public platform to speak off of: Thank you Christmas Angels for bringing so much happiness into so many peoples lives this Christmas! I am honored to know you as neighbors, and hopefully friends. Your generosity and caring means more to the people you helped this year, and will live in their memory longer than any sermon heard in Church on Christmas morning.

Racism Exists Day to Day

Posted on December 17, 2011 by venagozar

A news story from New Mexico is unfortunately indicative of how far we are collectively from being human and treating those around us as the human we pretend to be. A racist remark was made. The practically forced apology that followed apologized only for the remark. No heartfelt attempt to apologize or acknowledge the person who the remark was apparently about was publicly made.

The remark spurring this post was uttered in Sante Fe, New Mexico, in the state capitol building during a committee meeting. The remark was unleashed in the middle of a ‘heated exchange’. The remark was racist and demeaning. It took two days for an apology to be arrive, and then in the form of a letter. The letter may be considered a veiled attempt to not apologize. Part of the apology reads, “I respect all elected officials and again I would say I am sorry…” The apology per my reading of it is for the verbiage used, not for the attitude and feelings behind it, nor for the unidentified person it was directed at.

In my opinion this person has held this belief for some time. If they never join in interaction with another with respect to race, the offending comment would never have been thought, let alone verbalized. Remarks of this type are normally kept under lock and key by people holding this belief. These types comments are not meant for general public consumption by the person holding them.

People holding beliefs of this kind allow them to simmer under the surface. This belief is a tainted lens of the ego which defines ones world by race. They view interaction not through the eyes of one human being looking at another, but through a value set which should hold no importance.

These beliefs are uttered by their holders only at ‘appropriate times’. Appropriate times being when demeaning racist comments will only be heard by others who are accepting and agreeable to this errant thinking and belief. In this instance, one’s true belief was unintentionally unleashed in a moment of anger.

I would hope any public official and educator would conquer this churlish and petty belief before embarking on a public life path. There is no good outcome ( as has been made obvious) for an individual to hold this type of belief, and resulting behavior to fester, and become the primary measure of another.

A Representative represents. The People being represented, the majority of them, never imagined these beliefs were present in their representative. They never imagined they would hear of a disparaging, racist, demeaning remark uttered by their Representative.

An Educator educates. An Educator also imparts in addition to the curriculum, their private attitudes and beliefs which are transmitted via micro signals to students in their charge. Personal beliefs can not be masked or hidden over a period of time. What was passed on to hundreds of students daily along with the official lesson plan? Does a belief that some people are less than others belong in public office or education?

It is too much to believe in the moment, the uttering party is ashamed of their action, and they would own up to it. It is a slap across the face of all New Mexicans, especially those being represented, should be offended this rhetoric ever took place.

Martin Luther King, who lost his life attempting to halt these acts of hate and hurt was forgotten in this debacle. Caesar Chavez in a different arena, fought daily for basic human dignity and respect for all peoples, and he too has been ignored.

Whether we agree or disagree with someone, whether they are a member of our race, a minority race, or mixed race, we must set race aside. One’s race has no place in a difference of opinion or other form of interaction between people. If you read any of my posts about growing EcoHeart, you may understand why this is an important issue. Our world needs us focused on our future, yet too often we behave on like petulant, self centered children acting in the moment.

An argument or disagreement is a difference of opinion. A disagreement should remain focused on the area or item of dispute, and not be allowed to drift into umbrage or lashing out. If there is fact involved then an argument is no longer an argument, but ones refusal to accept fact.

No reasonable argument or disagreement has anything to do with the color of a persons skin, ethnicity, culture, or world view. We each have right to hold our own beliefs. We do not have the right to belittle others. It is imperative for the well being of all of us our beliefs are not tainted by hate. It is time for this hating minority to become Human, and treat other Humans with the respect and dignity they deserve.

Copied Trinkets, Faked People

Posted on July 6, 2011 by venagozar

Some out of town folks were here visiting for a few days and wanted to see some of the sites Albuquerque has to offer. I took them around to see the most popular sites as as their time was limited to a few days. They saw scenery, buildings, etc, ate at a few of the most well known places, and generally did what tourists do when on the road.

The visit went well except for souvenirs collecting. What out of town trip is complete until those spare few inches in the suitcase are filled with something to remind of where you went on vacation? Souvenirs these days are not what they used to be. In the old days you bought a pine box, or some trinket and all was good. Times have changed since then.

Today’s souvenir consumers seem to be pickier. Or at least my family was. From what I observed they are indicative of today’s tourist. What they want today is not what the tourist of ten years ago wanted, but most of the shops seem to have not noticed tourist taste in souvenirs has changed.

As recently as five years ago it was okay to fill store shelves with items made elsewhere. The most important role a souvenir played was the memories it would invoke when gazed upon back home. This week at least even the less discriminating tourist had little interest in an item representing Albuquerque, or New Mexico which were made hundreds or thousands of miles away.

I stood outside of stores filled with people wanting to take something home from their trip. Maybe they already had the everywhere trinkets with only the name changed at home and they wanted something unique to the area. Most of the people I observed, with exception of children and toy souvenirs, left empty handed. Except for those few upscale shoppers who made their purchases in the hand made jewelry and pottery shops representing local artisans.

The sales total for my visiting family of five, after visiting seven souvenir stores was one boys plastic shark tooth (or maybe girls too) necklace for a total price of perhaps four dollars. Nothing else had caught their eye. When you travel and stop at tourist attractions, the trinkets all start to run together only the name of where they are from changes.

As I sat and listened to the murmur of voices, I heard people speaking with accents from all over Europe, not to mention visitors from closer to home who could not afford a trip abroad. These people in general had very nice cameras hanging from their necks, so they obviously had money to spend in their wallets. They were not however, apparently going to buy anything not locally made.

I understand how Tourists feel. I thought to myself, I would rather buy a crudely painted rock with a picture of the local mountains, or the city itself for a few dollars than buy something cutesy that says “Made far away from here” on the bottom. I believe those tourists I saw felt that if they were going to spend their money they wanted the bottom of whatever they purchased to have a local address. Who can blame them?

As I was watching I noticed a couple who sounded as if they were from Denmark. The couple was wandering the plaza taking pictures, and entering shops. Their clothes were plain though expensive. They had a flair to dress in what could pass for local clothing if one did not pay to much attention. When they tired of the plaza, they jumped into an American made luxury car and drove off into the proverbial sunset – empty handed.

As I thought about them, it dawned on me they are the people we know. People we know who look and act a part. They seem to be authentic as to who they are, until one looks closely. Upon a closer gaze the real person starts to appear. Some people dress in the right clothes, say the right things, and act the right way. They look the real deal, until you look close.

Looking closely at people like these people were the differences start to show. Same as the souvenirs the shops were selling that try so hard to be local. As long as you do not look close as to where it was made or imported from, it looks perfect. Same as the souvenirs on the shop shelves getting dusted every day, these types of people are lonely, and collecting dust. They make a connection all goes well at first, and then are deserted after someone gets close enough to see who they really are.

Maybe some people would fare better if they let the world see who they really were flaws and all. How much better to be a rough local product than a close imitation from somewhere else?

Job, Pay Check, Satisfaction

Posted on May 17, 2011 by venagozar

AJ asked in this post, Taking Pride in Your Work, by asking this question: “I live in Canada and therefore haven’t gone through major disparity. I do see validity in what you’re saying; my question however is: What if money is the ONLY thing you get from your job? or What if you had a job where you were well over qualified for but allowed you to snowboard and the pay was terrible? In the situation I have I would obviously love not to work at all, however I have to. I am referring to both questions here. I work at a gas station. Although I don’t define my self by my job I still am there and it is a constant reminder of the part of my life I hate. Is there any advice you could give to a person that already finds it hard to take pride in many things to find some in my employment? Thnx AJ”

I like this question! “What if money is the ONLY thing you get from your job?” I once worked in a Hotel Laundry for a Ski Resort area myself, so I can relate to this type of job. Let’s pretend money is the only thing you get from your job. Everyone should be asking themselves, “…is money enough?” Is money all I want to define my job by?

In many cases money is all there is, like my job in the laundry room. No one outside of my boss, and one coworker ever saw me at work. No one else cared what my name was, where I was from, or what I did in life besides hotel laundry. All the Hotel cared about was clean sheets and towels. In my particular situation I also needed to work to support my winter skiing and summer fishing. Money was all there was in this job, and not a lot of money either.

After not too much time went by, money was not enough, so I took on to two different jobs that satisfied my needs better. At the time, I did not realize the advantage some jobs have over other jobs. Your job AJ is one of those jobs that have a huge advantage over the laundry job I had.

AJ’s job at a Gas Station opens up a world of possibilities the average working person does not have. You have access to Customers, lots of Customers. Premium Customers from out of town who are potential employers.

The number of Gas Station Customers who see you each day is probably one of the largest customer bases outside the mountain you snowboard on. Your Customers generally drive newer, more expensive vehicles, and they can afford to leave home for a weekend of skiing. Some of your Customers own their own business, and others are well placed in business. Do you see where this is leading?

When I am out an about in public, shopping or whatever, I pay attention to the people who help me. Whenever someone stands out from the crowd, I make it a point to let them know I appreciate the extra effort they take for me, a customer they may never see again. Whether it is their dress, attitude, knowledge, or professionalism, I let them know I think they are special and stand above from their peers.

These people are usually not highly paid professionals who make six figures listening to my chest wheeze because I have a cold. These Folks are workers at convenience stores, grocery store, and the gas station. These folks could be the same as their co-workers, they could be dress to minimum company standards, maintain a minimum of interaction with their customers, and do the absolute minimum they need to get by. They could choose be average among their peer work group, but are not.

Instead they choose to do their best. Whether their reasons for doing their best are intrinsic, or extrinsic, I can not tell by watching them. Rarely do they say why they are top performers when I tell them I notice the great work they are doing. Unless they reflect their answer back on me, so only they know the real reasons. They might know something I did not know when I was their age, and something that may not have occurred to you either.

I generally tell those outstanding people I come across, that if I were a business person, I would try to hire them away from their present job for more money than they make now. And I mean it! One person who goes above and beyond in a small organization or even a medium sized organization can make a huge difference to how successful the company may be.

Not many of those outstanding people are still working for low pay a few months later. Most have been hired away and work places better suited to their talents with a much larger paycheck – or at least the ones I have run into.

Back to the first part of AJ’s two part question. If AJ chooses to do the minimum, which if any of his customers are going to see anyone other than an extension of a cash register when they fuel up their vehicles? If money is enough, there is no need to do more.

However, AJ has unnoticed skills and more ability than the Gas Station job requires. If I were AJ, I would be looking for ways to make myself stand out from my peer group in front of my customer base. I would look for ways to advertise my other higher level skills.

Eventually one of your Customers, or possibly even the Gas Station owner is going to recognize AJ may be a good fit for their company, or a friends company. AJ may be mentioned to a business friend in conversation. Someone saying there is a pretty sharp individual working at the Station who is looking for more is not out of the realm of possibility.

AJ should look consider looking beyond another job in town. If all the jobs are low paying, think bigger. Be open to the possibility of being one of those people who drive into the area for a weekend skiing? What if AJ makes the effort, is noticed, offered a position, and hired away by a weekend skier, and now has a serious job in the city? If AJ really wants more, it can be done, and a Gas Station’s Customer Base is a great place to start!

Working for a Living

Posted on May 14, 2011 by venagozar

I remember my first real job. I was a bag boy – as we were called, someone who bagged groceries at a grocery store. The ‘Work’ concept was a mystery to me even though I started working for money when I was nine years old, and I had recently quit a job that paid twice as much because I disliked what I was doing.

It was so formal. I had trouble with the clocking in and clocking out. We had to clock in and out within two minutes of our appointed time. If we missed we were docked some amount of time from our pay. I did not know it then, but the system was set up, so someone always had their time card docked. No matter how people tried, not everyone could clock in within the allotted minutes.

Breaks were another matter completely. The time I was allowed to go to break was always random. Some days break was after the first hour of work, other days it was four hours after starting. This to was a hard system to adjust to. If you went to work hungry, you might be starving by the time your break rolled around. If you ate before going to work, you may not be hungry until a few hours after your break was a dim memory. That too was a planned system to frustrate employee’s.

There are various roadblocks associated in many of the jobs each of us do every day. Some frustrations are intentional. Management makes life difficult so no one becomes too settled in their job. Management in some jobs prefers a high employee turnover, for varied reasons. In other situations, like when I worked an assembly line, or in my case a dis-assembly line, lunch was dictated by the work flow. The line stopped, the line started.

At lower pay levels, many jobs are worse than they have to be. The company may give time based raises or other enticing benefits to long term employees. Then they set up the way work is done to ensure most people are frustrated and have left before they can become a long term employee. This way a business can claim to be friendly to the employee. When in truth, they operate using barrier tactics that other less polished companies do not use. These types of businesses polish up the exterior a little more to make working their look worthwhile.

There is also the problem of too many people available to do the job. If an employer knows they can lose and retrain half their workforce every few months, some companies choose to do just that. Working conditions are barely tolerable, and become worse as time goes on. The law of supply and demand. There is too much supply (workers) and too little demand (jobs).

By the time I was twenty-five, I had worked at over twenty ‘real’ jobs trying to find a place where I fit in, and could be happy. Work to me was a revolving door. Quit one job in the morning, and start at a different job in the afternoon. Most of those jobs were the jobs described above. Poor pay, hard work, and little real prospects of any long term goals with one particular company.

There is a golden lining in working conditions like this. If you pay attention, you learn how to manage people in a manner they appreciate. You learn many different skill sets, of which most carry over from one job to the next. You see many different ways of doing the same thing, and with enough job hopping, you eventually start to look pretty sharp because you can and do suggest better ways of doing the same old thing.

Work if you are like me, contains a basic flaw. No matter what form the work takes, there is a drum beat in the background setting the rhythm of a work and life. The biggest secret to enjoying your work is to find creative ways to manage the drum beat.

You Too Can Be Employee of the Decade

Posted on March 17, 2011 by venagozar

I went into a fast food place as I had about twenty-five minutes of waiting to do before an appointment close by. I ordered a cup of coffee and something sweet to go with it. I paid, was given my order and I went to look for a place to sit down where the tables were.

There were a number of tables open, but the only one open for two people or less was cluttered from prior use. A young man mopping the floor noticed I was looking at the table for two, put his mop down, walked over the table and started cleaning it up. He smiled at me and said, “Your table will be ready shortly.”

With that said the young man took the trash to a trash can, found a towel, wiped down the table, and turned and said to me, “Sir, your table is ready for you.” I sat down and thanked him for cleaning up the table. The young man replied, “My pleasure sir, I hope everything is okay?” I said yes, everything was fine and the young man went back to mopping the floor.

Because I am curious about people, and I was surprised by the young man’s attentiveness to his work, and my table, I waited until he faced me, and asked him, “Have you been working here long?” The young man paused, and said, “I have been here at this store for six months now, and I have worked for this company for twelve years”, he proudly stated. “This is a very good company to work for. They like me and when I moved here, they found a store for me to work at so I could start working as soon as I moved here”, he finished.

I spoke with him for a few more minutes as it was slow, and he was doing busy work, being productive. It was obvious the young man was never going to be able to make the move into management and perhaps someday run his own store. It was also apparent that he had no desire for that to happen. The young man was the Dilbert Effect in reverse. He knew the level of his ability, and he was happy to remain doing what he was doing. As he told me in conversation, he was able to, “…have a good job and be productive.”

I left him alone, so he could continue his work when a family of four showed up with their tray, looking around deciding where they would sit. The young man put down his mop, walked over to a table and told the young family, “Here is your table, I have it all ready for you. Do you need a child seat? Do you need help with the baby, Maam?”

The young couple were taken aback by the young man’s willingness to help. This was a fast food place, where generally you can return to the counter seconds after getting your food, and you are not recognized by the person at the register. This kind of service is was something you find at a very expensive dinner house. I too was impressed and waited for the outcome.

The young man brought a baby seat for the couple, and offered to place their jackets in the booth across from them as it was slow and they could keep an eye on them. He finished helping the family, and went back to mopping.

I do not know how others feel that have come into contact with that dynamic young man. In my case he made me feel less than for lacking or not promoting those qualities in myself which he so easily displayed. He may have been challenged in the rocket science department, but he has a doctorate in how to stand out as an employee!

I can not imagine any manager, whether the manager of that store or any other business that serves the public, who would not watch this man in action for ten minutes, and find most of not all of his own employees coming up short in comparison. This young man would be a hard person to best in his area of expertise, and expert in his field he surely is.

Anyone can improve themselves by watching this young man for twenty minutes, and not pay a penny for the lessons. All anyone needs to notice is this young mans working strengths and skill. He is overflowing with positive attitude, wanting to do his best, caring for customers, and doing what he can to make sure customers he comes in contact with are repeat customers. He is the employee from which his peer were compared to, and I do not think he is even aware of his position!

Welcome, Ven a gozar!

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