Uncommon Kindness

As the year is coming to an end, I want to tell you a story of an unusual act of kindness. I like to think of myself as a kind person; as are most of the people that I know; and on occasion I will go out of my way for someone, even if it means my own inconvenience; but I recently experienced an act of kindness that went far beyond that of what's common and as I was astounded by this person's generosity of spirit, I feel compelled to tell this story.

I have been working for my employer for approximately 12 years and although they've never paid me what I deserve, they have been very flexible with my schedule and they've even allowed me to work from home for the past 2 1/2 years; so I suppose you can say that I am sacrificing my pay for their adaptability. People often ask me why I don't get a different job and the truth of the matter is that I WANT TO BE A WRITER and until I can find a job as a paid writer, it doesn't make much sense for me to take something on that is just going to be another " JOB." Additionally, the hours that I would be available to work away from home would be limited, so it would have to be a very well paying JOB and in this economy such a position is hard to find.

Now, like I said a couple of posts ago, I've been sparing you the current woe is me of my life as I am acutely aware that my present situation is not unusual; but as it is pertinent to this story; I'm going to share:
In August all of the employees at my company were advised that business had not been going well; and therefore, we were all going to have to take a pay cut. I can't disclose the percentage of the cut; but suffice it to say that it meant hardship for my family.
In September Luis was told that he and all of the other managers at his hotel were going to have to take 8 days off without pay by December 31st.
And in October I was told that I needed to reduce my hours from 40 to 32 per week, as the company was having cash flow problems. The person who broke the news to me said "We're making reservations; we're just not collecting enough money for them." Now as the person who collects the money, this statement certainly left me to wonder "If I'm the person who collects the money, how can we afford for me to work any less?" I asked a question to this affect but regardless of the logic the company had decided that all 3 women in the accounting department were going to cut their hours and a number of other people were laid off. Ok, now I'm sure that some of you are thinking, "If the company claims to be having a problem collecting money, why aren't they firing Paige, if she's the one who collects the money?" And the answer my friends is simple; I am the Queen of COLLECTIONS! Not to toot my own horn, but I am EXTREMELY good at what I do and my employers know it; BUT, one person cannot be expected to collect money from 65,000 hotels worldwide, single handedly and that is exactly what they have been having me do. I should have a staff of at least 4 people; but instead it's just me and considering that it's just me; I've made them A LOT of money; just not ALL of their money.

The news of my new schedule immediately sent me into panic mode. My poor husband had already been working 2 jobs to try to earn some extra money, but between August and November our pay had decreased significantly and the money that he made at the pharmacy couldn't make up for all that was being lost. Much to his credit Luis remained positive and reassured me that we'd be OK; so I've been doing my best to refrain from acting like a nervous wreck.
My present deal with my company is that 3 days a week I work from home and 1 day a week I go into the office. I was in the office on December 17 and I was talking to my friend, (who for the sake of this blog I will refer to as DM;) and I told him that I got the distinct feeling that no matter how much money the company made they would never give my hours back nor restore my previous pay rate; and it saddens me to say that DM agreed. DM has been on my side for years. In fact he is probably the only person at my company who realizes how hard I work and what my contribution to the company has been. I shared my fear with him, he said "Well, I'll tell ya; after they cut your hours, I was thinking of going to the other guys and suggesting that we all take a little more of a pay cut so that you wouldn't have to lose a day. I realized that none of them were going to be willing to do it, so I thought that I would let them cut my pay enough to get your day back; but then I realized that if I let them do so, they'd never give my money back. So then I thought I would go to them and ask how much it cost to pay you for a day and offer to write them a check each pay period so that you could get your day back; and then after you, if I could, I would do this person and that person." And I don't think that I have to tell you that I almost cried. I think my jaw must have dropped to my desk because I couldn't believe how selfless DM was and what I was hearing. I thanked him profusely for even considering such an act, and assured him that I could never let him do so. We talked about how ridiculous it was that he recognized my value to the company while its owners did not and how his compassion surpassed theirs. And although his offer will never come to fruition, it is the fact that he even considered it that is extraordinary to me.

So often through the history of this blog, I have told you that I am all about the GREATER GOOD and THIS is a shining example of a man who in so many ways was exemplifying the greater good. He wanted the greater good for my family, and for our company and he was willing to try and contribute towards the greater good at his own expense. UNCOMMONLY KIND, is all that I can say.

We certainly don't all have the means to take on the financial burden of someone else, but we ALL can make a difference in someones life in one way or another. Whether it is to give a friend 5 extra minutes of your time when you really don't have it; or by volunteering, or extending a friendly greeting to a stranger ~ just because; we can all be facilitators of the greater good.
As we approach this new year, 2010; I hope that life continues to get better for all of you, in every way. May you all experience good health, both physically and emotionally, may you grow rich emotionally, spiritually, creatively and financially and may you put your dreams in motion and make them your reality.

As always I thank you for taking the time to take this journey with me. I thank you for your support and your encouragement, your laughter and your tears.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

If I were Queen of the World...

OK, OK, so It's been quite a while since I've blogged - and it's not that I haven't had things to blog about; but for various reasons I haven't - blogged that is. So now the pressure is on. I'm back, and of course I feel like I really have to wow, ya - so here's a little insight into me. First of all; I SO appreciate the people who have contacted me asking "Where's the blog?" and I mean no ones writing me saying "I need a blog and it better be good. I need a blog and it better wow me;" Nope, it's just the pressure I put on myself, because I am Queen of Worrying, I am Queen of High expectations, I am the Queen of Over thinking. Stop nodding your heads close friends - I know my quirks, believe me I do.
So I figured, since I'm putting the pressure on for a WOW kinda blog; I'd better come out guns blazing . (IS that the right expression?) And how better to do it then; If I were Queen of the World - tall order, but here goes...

If I were Queen of the world, I would be paid a lot more money for the job I do; ( I mean, I'm Queen of Collections for crying out loud. I make my company A LOT of money and they DO NOT pay me what I'm worth.)
If I were Queen of the world, I'd be able to figure out what kind of job I can do, to make more money and still feel personally gratified. If anyone has any suggestions for me, I would LOVE to hear them; because unfortunately being Queen of Everything doesn't pay much - haha.
If I were Queen of the world, Saturn would be the only car company in business; although they would sell all kinds of cars. See what I'm getting at is; I HATE car salesmen. I think that it is TOTALLY unfair for them to try and get you to spend more money than you can afford to (because we've already established that I don't make enough money;) JUST so THEY can make more money. Why are car sales the only business left these days where we do business in this manner. I mean, OK back in the day, we used to haggle a little over the prices of houses, so this was how it worked. Seller marked the house up a little higher, buyer bid a little lower than the asking price; and ultimately they wound up somewhere in the middle. This doesn't happen with cars. You pull up, and the sharks approach your vehicle before you even get the engine off. You tell them what you want to spend; oh yah, they can do that, no problem - until you get to the table. Then they try to convince you to spend more than you can afford. So last week alone, I had one smarmy guy come up and say "so what have we been looking at?" Well, I don't know about him and what he'd been looking at; I know what my husband and I had been looking at and HE is certainly not a part of WE. He then continued his questioning, WE, WE, WE, and I kept correcting him. We CLEARLY told him that we were not buying a car that night as WE had just started looking. He said "you wouldn't take this car for $10,000" and I said "SURE I would, let's go" and he said "Have a good night." Ha! I won. Round one goes to the Queen; but you know I didn't have a clean get a way, because as we're walking to our vehicle, laughing about Smarmy, here comes "the manager." He tried to be suave and I found him slightly down to earth, so I engaged in a conversation, in which I told him that I thought Smarmy was a word that starts with P and rhymes with Rick; but I said the word. I won't bore you with all the details of this experience, but suffice it to say that after TOO much time at this dealership, we left, we did not buy a car, nor would we ever go back there. Why do they think they are so much smarter than us, just because they'd do whatever they can do to rip US off?
Ultimately we bought a Toyota, and it did involve a lot of haggling and negotiating; but at least we didn't feel like we'd been anally probed by the time we drove off in our new vehicle. Yet, nothing is perfect - right. I went to pick up my kids from my friend Kara and my husband waited for our new car. While I was driving I thought, "I hope he remembers to get our garage door opener," but of course he didn't have his cell with him - I mean Why would he? So when my husband arrived home, I asked "Did you remember to get the garage door opener out of our car?" To which he replied (ladies say it with me,) "NO." I told him that he would need to call the dealership first thing in the morning; and he did. A gentleman (yah right, a guy) who I will call RR said "no problem, we'll get the opener and it will be at the reception desk; pick it up anytime." So, on my way to work I stopped to get the opener and guess what? After waiting there for a half hour, I found out that they had given my opener to the wrong person. When I had walked up and asked for my opener the feeble older woman at the desk handed me one and I told her it wasn't mine, and believe it or not; she said "yes it is." I said "NO, I know what my garage door opener looks like. It's rectangular with a long bar. This is round with a button." Literally a half hour later they found out that someone had come in and picked it up, so yup, the wrong person took my garage door opener because apparently THEY don't know what their garage door opener looks like. SO, RR says "what can I do, can I fill your tank with gas?" I said "NO, I have a full tank AND I need a garage door opener." He told me to buy one and he'd reimburse me. So a few days later my husband bought one, we call the dealership to make sure RR is still there because it's 830 at night. He's still there. We drive over, pull up, shark comes to the car, I say I'm looking for RR to which he says "Oh, I think he left." I said "I don't think so, I just called and he was here, and oh, there he is sitting right there." I tried to get away from the shark but he asked my name and went in and told RR I was waiting for him. I went in and RR had a look of recognition in his beady little eyes, but he didn't know why. I waved my receipt at him, and said "garage door opener." He said "oh yah." I asked if anyone had brought my opener back, and he said "no." Then he asked if he could cut me a check tomorrow. I said "no." Then he got loud and told me that he had no accountant there to cut a check tonight. I asked what else we could do. He said he could mail it to me and I asked how long that would take. He said he'd mail it tomorrow; but of course I didn't believe him. I said I'd go ask my husband what he wanted to do; and as I turned to walk away I said "You know, this really isn't right. You guys gave my opener to the wrong person. You told me to bring you a receipt, I brought you a receipt, and now you want me to come back again to pick up a check?" RR got up in a huff and said "I'll go see if I can get you $25. If I had $25 in my pocket, I'd give it to you." Oh, my god. I saw RR drive off in a hummer the night I bought my car and he wanted me to believe HE didn't have $25. I'm sure he had just robbed someone else of $25 - of course he had it, slimy piece of crap. SO , a few seconds later he handed me $25. I guess RR didn't know he was dealing with the Queen of Arguing - no one can beat me - not even a slimy sales manager. Round two goes to the Queen...

If I were Queen of the world, I'd have time to scrapbook everyday, blog everyday, exercise every day (YES, I said exercise - now if your mouth just fell open; close it.) I'd spend quality time with my kids everyday, quality time with my husband everyday, and show my appreciation for all of my wonderful friends and family everyday. But, since I'm not Queen of the world, and I can't yet have all of these things; I'll just take this opportunity to thank ALL of my wonderful friends for all the love, support and encouragement that they give me. I am TRULY blessed to have such an amazing and diverse group of friends and I love you all very much!! Especially all of you who take The Bumpy Ride; not only on my blog but with me daily.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING