A parallel universe in Walnut Creek?

Those of you that follow my blog have heard me bitch about our new intern who clearly has no work ethics or drive to prove his value. Back in the days when I was an intern, I worked my ass off for almost no pay. All for the valuable recommendation and the ability to include, "Advertising Account Manager" on my resume.

Friends of mine and I have spent many times discussing and analyzing Generation I (not I as in me but i as in internet because they do not know any other way of life than a life with the internet). http://tinyurl.com/4eqj85

Generation I is the generation that has recently entered the work force or will soon enter the work force.

This group is very me-centric. They spend much of their time on the social networking sites and texting their friends in a language only they understand. They also grew up being coddled by their parents and when the going gets rough, they got used to mommy bailing them out.

So now that they've entered the workforce, they still expect to be able to act the way they've acted all their lives. They weren't taught about the importance of working your way to the top, performing grunt work, saying "yes" when you don't want to, and all the other unpleasant aspects of being an employee at the bottom of the barrel.

Instead they block their calendars for their lunchtime yoga sessions, complain to their higher-ups about workload, and feel it is well in their right to spend time during the workday editing their Facebook profile. (okay, so I do that too, but I wouldn't have dared do so if this were my very first job!)

This is a pretty interesting article about Gen I,
http://nymag.com/news/features/27341/

So what's my point? I do tend to ramble.

This morning I had to return my rental car and pick up my newly repaired Jeep - I can't recall if I blogged about it but someone backed into me while I was parked. Luckily, I happened to be dining on a patio right in front of my car!

Anyhoo, I had to go to Enterprise Rent-a-Car then Cook's Collision, both in Walnut Creek. The experience was quite strange. I'm still scratching my head wondering if it really occurred.

I walk into Enterprise, where I'm greeted by two young men dressed in suits and two young women dressed very sharply in business attire. They all had big smiles on their face and the second I walked in, one of the gals asked if I was returning or picking up? She proceeded to pull up my information. She made sure to ask me how I liked the car, and if I had any problems. She was so efficient, I was done in a couple of minutes. Immediately, the other gal stepped forward to give me a ride to Cook's Collision, even though it is only a block away. As I left with the other gal, one of the men yelled out, "have a great 4th of July". I looked back to say, "you too" and he had a huge beaming smile on his face. Almost freaky! Customer service is clearly a priority here.

When I got to Enterprise, it was almost the exact same experience. The two gals working there practically ran to the front when I walked in. The rest of the experience was pretty much identical to the experience at Enterprise. I was in and out.

Every single person I encountered this morning, I'd classify as being part of Generation I. So why were they so different from our lazy, careless intern? I am really wondering if I walked into a parallel universe.

A tribute to the Freak

I just finished reading the S.I. article on the Giants' phenom pitcher, Tim Lincecum. Fascinating stuff even though I know nothing about the biomechanics of pitching.

http://tinyurl.com/6yp6l7

A very different massage

I went for a massage today. I know what you are thinking, "lucky bitch, must be nice to skedaddle mid-day for some pampering."

we-ll I must say this massage was probably more stressful than relaxing. It was a massage prescribed to me by a medical practitioner for fertility reasons to stimulate my system to act more "normal" ie: fertile.

I had no idea what to expect. Unlike typical massages, I didn't have to get naked. Like typical massages, the room was dark. Unlike typical massages, I lay face up. Unlike typical massages, I was an active participant.

The first "exercise" my "masseuse" had me do is breathe in a totally unnatural way, through the stomach. I could not grasp how to do it until she told me to pretend I'm trying to blow up a helium balloon that is in my stomach. I finally got a hang of it.

Then, she proceeded to put pressure on each of my organs: the right kidney, left kidney, heart, liver, stomach and reproductive organs. With each organ, as she put pressure, there was a different way for me to breathe, a different color light to focus on, a different emotion to focus on releasing, and a different emotion to focus on bringing into the organ. For example, when she put pressure on my heart, I had to focus on red lights and during the exhale I had to vocally utter, "vuhhhhhhhh". I can't remember the different emotions but they were things like, focusing on releasing anxiety and impatience while focusing on obtaining kindness and generosity.

A year ago, I would have thought this was wavy gravy, hokey b.s. But I guess some might say I'm getting desperate!

She then put massaged with funny movements paying further attention to each of the organs, probably more similar to a typical massage but given the pressure was on vital organ parts, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

The end of the massage was very nice, she massaged my neck and head, much like a normal massage.

I guess I'm sold cause I have an appointment for another next week!

Friday Bullets...

... brought to you on Thursday, how 'about that! I sure as heck won't be writing tomorrow. : )

This has been a LONG week, so ready for the weekend. Do I say that every week?

Seriously, my boss left for vacation, the network has been down about 50% this week, our 19 year old intern "worked" (if you can call it that) for 2 hours today then announced he had to take off for a doctor's appointment. Rolling my eyes, revealing my advanced age and saying, "Kids these days...."

Luckily it's 4th of July weekend and I'm ready for fun.

Tomorrow I'm meeting a pal to watch the famous Danville Parade - I have lived here for 8 years and have never seen it. Supposedly 40 to 50k people come out!

Then... Pete and I are heading out to catch the Giants annihilate the Dodgers and watch another stellar performance by Jonathan Sanchez. I hope I'm not jinxing them.

Saturday is a BBQ/Party at Ayelet's house. My girl goes ALL out, she truly is amazing. It's certain to be the party of the summer.

Sunday will be recovery day I'm guessing as well as bracing myself for what is certain to be another LONG week. Boss gets back on July 13.

Bored

That is an ugly, bad word for me. I hate to be bored. I am the type of person who prefers to be "on the move" -- places to be, people to see.

My boss left for vacation and our network has been down most of the day. Perfect timing, right? Apparently our intern (this is funny: my boss fired this guy a week ago, then hired someone else who quit after 2 days, so my boss groveled for ex-intern to return) is going to go fix the network later this afternoon. I am skeptical. This kid is an immature 19 year old. I am willing to bet he shows up and plays video games all day.

I should really be researching new technology or other useful work-related things that I can do on my home network without logging in... but I'm just not in the mood. I was so bored that I actually voted 25 times (!!!) for the All-Star Game. Then I drove to Blockbuster to pick up a couple of movies, which should help me kill a few hours.

Thank goodness this is a quiet week and my lack of activity should not result in lack of business.

The power of generosity

I need to blog about something that has really been bothering me. Something happened over the past week that I recognize is a pattern with me.

I am the type of person who is extremely trusting and willing to give almost anyone the benefit of the doubt. My mother was my strongest role-model and influence growing up. She taught me the power of generosity - this applies to material items as well as generosity in the spiritual, emotional sense. I look at it as a positive, back to basics approach to treating others as you want others to treat you. Like throwing coins in the karma fountain. Those who reciprocate and share in this philosophy are the ones to hold on to. Those who take advantage of your generosity are the ones to let go.

I'm noticing that at times, this personality trait of mine does me no good. The reality is there are people (probably the majority of this world) who take advantage of good-natured, generous souls. I have been burned many times and each time the experience affects me deeply. I find it really hard to comprehend that others aren't "like me". Sounds egotistical but I think I cherish this trait of mine and don't want to change. It bums me out that the more times I get burned, the more inclined I am to become more protective of myself and less generous.

I can only learn from my mistakes. As I advance in age, I find it easier to pinpoint those people quicker than in the past. Luckily the people who are closest to me share in this philosophy and I feel very fortunate to have them in my life.

Haters...

Sure enough we ran into the ugly, mean lady with her husband & dog again this morning. I completely ignored her but if looks could kill, I wouldn't be here to document the experience. If I have to see her every day, I may need to change our route.

THEN, as we're walking along the Iron Horse Trail minding our own business, a nasty man on a bicycle bellowed, "LEASH your dog, NOW!" He was so loud that I actually jumped. I yelled out, "Jackass!" which made me feel better but the whole experience just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Morning "walkies" with Lucy are my daily spiritual time. I cherish those moments like you would not believe. So when someone or something ruins this for me, I get really angry.

Happiness is enjoying time with great girlfriends

I am very fortunate to have a group of wonderful women in my life. I can't imagine life without them.

My girlfriends respect and genuinely care about each other. My girlfriends share a common perspective and love for life. My girlfriends do not judge or criticize each other. My girlfriends value humor and good conversation. That's not all! I could go on and on...

I went away with such a group of gals this past weekend. For me, hanging with my girlfriends is a healthy endeavor, almost therapeutic... not unlike doing a yoga session or going for a long walk. It's a chance to stretch my heart and mind with people who understand and share the value that girlfriends bring to one's life. I am free to be myself with these women.

We may not share the same opinions or perspectives on everything, but we accept each other's uniqueness. Often, our discussions give us the opportunity to learn about life lessons, topics or events that don't apply today but may apply someday.

I'm ready to plan our next getaway... Mexico? Half Moon Bay? No matter where we decide to go, there is no doubt we will have a great time.

Dog Days of Summer

What a day... it's the last day of the month and the last day of the quarter which has implications that only a salesperson can relate to.

It all started on morning walkie with Lucy.

I had a big goofy smile plastered on my face from the moment I woke up. After a relaxing, fun weekend with wonderful girlfriends, I was in great spirits.

Lucy and I set out on walkie. Lucy happily chased squirrels, and unearthed old tennis balls while I listened to my boys on KNBR, feeling good that the Giants managed to take 2 out of 3 games from the A's... not at all concerned that today is a Monday.

I should have known the moment I spotted this threesome down the trail. The gray haired skinny woman with a sour look on her face, her husband who meekly walked a step behind her and a small, tawny collie type dog who looked like it wanted nothing more than to get away from them.

As Lucy and I passed by, the collie dog excitedly pulled on the leash trying to jump toward Lucy. Meanwhile Lucy calmly walked past with zero interest in any of them. As I walked by, the lady said to me, "you need to put your dog on a leash. It IS the law after all" - I'm sure you can imagine the sneering voice. Any other day, I would have wanted to smack this lady but today nothing could ruin my great mood. So I pretended I didn't hear her.

Classic. Clearly she was mad /jealous 'cause her dog was so unruly ON the leash, while Lucy was so well-behaved OFF her leash.

Haters, I tell you. I can only feel sorry for people like this cause clearly she leads a miserable, unhappy life.