Asking for a Raise

There's been quite a few changes going on recently where I work. The company likes to shuffle around their management team from store to store, using the specific skill sets each of us have, to address whatever issues are going on in that store. When the problem is resolved, a good manager can expect to train their replacement and be transferred on to the next opportunity. Keeps things fresh. I started working at a store in San Francisco, was transferred down to a store in Fremont about a month into my training, and in about 10 days will be transferring back to the San Francisco store to complete training to manage my own store! I've only been with the company for 6 months! The upper management for my company proposed the move to me, and told me the reason was that they wanted to get their most talented Assistant Manager into the busiest store in the company to fast track my training. Whoa! I'd think they were blowing smoke up my ass if they hadn't been totally saying the same things to me throughout my entire employment.
So, hearing this praise, I jumped at the opportunity and requested to be compensated a bit better for all that I was doing for them! I didn't word it like that, but instead in a way that illustrated I knew how valuable I was to them and I felt I had a LOT to continue to offer to their philosophy as well. It was wordy, and pretty, and most importantly, effective! I was immediately responded to with resounding agreement and hey, I got my raise! Never in my life had I felt comfortable enough in my abilities to request something like that, especially while still so new with the company! I guess confidence really does go a long, long way. Life is full of new lessons, every day, for sure.

How do you make a 23 year old child grow up?

The job that I hold sometimes requires me to act in a managerial way that closely resembles babysitting. There is nothing I despise more than this. To me, there is a certain level of maturity and work ethic that one should have if they want to continue to be employed..in ANY profession. It's mentally and physically exhausting to have to have to keep one eye on whatever the kids that work for you are fucking off at at the moment, and one eye on your own work. I'm tired of it!

So, rather than let this behavior go on and on and let these people think acting like a spoiled child is perfectly acceptable, I decided to put a stop to it. Pointing out someone's faults when it comes to work, and intentionally putting myself in a position of conflict is NOT something I'm very good at, but I'm working on it. The reason I chose to write about this was so I could reflect a bit more on how I chose to handle this specific situation.

For the first time in my work life, I took a mental step back from what was going on and viewed it from a different angle. Taking a page from the conflict training I attended about a month ago, I forced my brain to put aside the annoyance that was surrounding my view of this specific person, and address her as a person instead of a problem.

On some level I know that corporate trainings are meant to mold the masses that attend them into nicely behaving profit makers. I didn't totally buy in to all they were teaching, for that very reason. BUT, the mental tools offered to ease my own stress when dealing with managing people were TOTALLY useful. Which honestly was a very welcome surprise!

A new level of confidence was acquired during that interaction...and life goes on for the better for the both of us!

Try something new, every day!

I've decided to take a new turn. To get off the beaten path. Turn away from the fast track. To touch, see, smell, taste, and do things I've never experienced before. And I've decided to document it. One new thing a day, to experience and reflect on, for the next 365 days. Or maybe longer :) For now I think a difinitive goal will serve as a motivator.

That's it! Try something new, every day, and take the time out to talk about it.

I'm expecting that this modest goal, with loose restrictions, will allow my eyes to open wider than they ever have before. I think we, as a people, are so blinded by the mundane everyday responsibilities and patterns of behavior that we literally miss out on the amazing things/people/foods/events we could be easily be participating in!

So, we'll see how it goes.

I want to thank all of the amazingly creative people I've met over the past year for contributing to this new inspiration. <3

Cheers to day 1!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Eternal Cake" - Berkeley

random thoughtlets

We've had a member of the education department shadowing us for the past few days. Her work primarily involves speaking with groups of kids and showing the happier side of what an animal shelter can do. Our work involves educating the public too, but often it comes in unhappier climes. Her reactions to some of the things we had to tell people about their animals and the legalities of running a shelter were pretty interesting. I remember starting out and being amazed/shocked at the same things. Have I grown callous? No, I still feel the same emotion at having to tell someone that we have to put their aggressive pet down if they have no other option than leaving it with us. I feel helpless. I am the one typing in the euthanasia request and processing the payment and doing the interview to ultimately come to that decision with the owner. My heart aches that we cannot help every being that walks through our doors by keeping them alive. The sad part is that not every being is happy and healthy living in the world their "masters" have created for them. A world of fear, anxiety, and aggression towards other animals and people. Nobody deserves to live that way and sadly most often cannot be re-conditioned to trust and love. At this I feel intense anger at the incompetent part of the pet-owning public. "Why does my dog eat his own stool and spin in circles chasing his tail?" Because you leave him locked in the backyard half the time and the other half crated in the garage. "Why can't you train my dog-aggressive pet to be part of society again?" Because thanks to you and your years of neglect and lack of socialization, your dog has reverted back to its animal hunting days, and everything that moves is now its prey. "Well, all he really needs is a good family with a huge farm" If only every person that walked through the door owned a farm instead of a breed restrictive condo that they can barely afford. Oh, by the way, would you like to make a donation.....

its not all what it seems

I've been thinking about a lot of things. Things I have known but have been forced to push to the back of my mind....
To set the mood...take a look at these peaceful flowers I found outside of Barrett's work....a pleasing little buffer planted for people in their cars driving by to not have to stare at the giant parking lot.



Don't get me wrong, I like flowers....but I understand urban planning.

Now how bout some other things that act as live advertisements for the "American dream" lifestyle. Distractions.
Alcohol ads. Living the "good life". Partying. Getting away from anything having any responsibility attached to it. Getting Laid. Objectifying people. Letting us know that all our hard work in dead end jobs deserves another cold brain numbing pacifying bottle. Fuck, its natural..even the animals love beer.





Or...how about diamonds. One of the most destructive status symbols. The mining for diamonds looks like this.


Is this something we really need? Can you even imagine how much heavy machinery and explosives were used here. How much oil it took to power those machines. How dangerous it is to the workers. How many indigenous animals were driven from their homes. All in the name of having people stare at you..boosting your ego because you think you are better than them. Hurting theirs and contributing to the mindset that we are not equal, those with the biggest pieces of flashy jewelry win.
If I were ever given a diamond, I'd take it as an insult.

What about making everything "disposable" and "ready-made"? We cannot be bothered to wash something and use it again. And who's got the time to actually cook a meal? We are constantly being told that in the name of sanitary hygienic life that we must only use something once, then simply throw it away...out of sight, out of mind. Forget about the landfills poisoning water tables, air, wildlife..

Many of the disposable products are non-recyclable, non-renewable, cheap to produce, and ultimately do not break down for hundreds or thousands of years. Some of the worst offenders:


and let's not forget about everything we can recycle..but don't. it's not that hard, just put it into the bin NEXT TO the bin you throw everything else in.

Why do we think its OK to throw anything away at all? Where do we think it all goes?Why do we as a society think somebody else will take care of it. Why are we so above it all...