Something is Rotten in the New Generation

Has anyone else noticed something amiss with the coming generations? No? Then you might be part of the problem (no offence). This isn't a new problem. I wrote a post about how humanity was doomed, and other posts commenting on parents who shouldn't have been parents and how ridiculous we as people generally are.

But as my job as a front desk representative continues, I'm starting to realize that the rotten core not only runs deeper than I thought, but starts much younger as well. Now, this isn't meant to be a diatribe on the "good old days" of taking a strap to your kids when they misbehaved. Nor is it a "woe is the world" tale of how we are all going to hell.

You know what though? There's something WRONG with the way we as a generation are growing up. I not only work days at the hotels I'm in right now, but also nights. I get to see and hear the FILTH and disrespect spewed out by young adults who are part of one of the most highly educated generations yet. I've watched drunk girls in stilettos and what might as well be duct tape, hike up their skirts and try to piss outside and then bad mouth the security guards who tell them to stop. I've seen guy after guy coming running into a hotel with security guards and police not far behind him, because he picked a fit with a staff member or another guest. I've heard adults asking other adults to please put out their cigarettes outside in the communal hot tub because there were children around, and heard the smokers cry "FUCK YOU."

In my own experience, I've watched my mother beg for more time, for compassion for what happened to us, for AID from my fathers brother, and watched her be turned away. Kids bash on doors they don't even know to accuse people of breaking the things THEY leave laying around in other peoples driveways (if that had been me as a kid leaving something in a driveway that got broken, my dad would have had my proverbial hide).

Guests come up to the desk and yell and scream and vent all over us from everything from rooms not facing a particular direction, to being angry at us because we can't have a security guard on every floor to stop the noise of people going into their rooms for the night, or the noise of snowplows outside that kind of HAVE to do their job, otherwise we'd be yelled at for not plowing out our parking lots.

Don't get me wrong, I've had some hilarious experiences with guests who were angry enough to bite my head off. Usually because the only thing to do after a horrible experience with someone really, is to laugh (of course only once they're well out of ear shot and whatever problem they DID have, rational or not, has been addressed). But story after story from security guard, desk agent and various other staff.....just depress me.

It's no wonder that people HATE us young adults (19-25 lets say for arguments). We're belligerent, drunk, defiant, rude, disrespectful, crass, loud, obnoxious and sometimes downright nasty. We talk back, fuck the world and destroy whatever we think we can get away with destroying. Don't get me wrong, I know some WONDERFUL human beings in this age category. Beautiful people with caring hearts, respect, dignity and a drive to succeed in life not only for themselves but to help others. I try to be one of those good people. But when someone much older than me, looks at me or treats me with disdain? It's not hard to understand why. It's funny how the numbers of us that are terrible, make so many of us decent ones seem terrible too.

I think when I first realized this, I was 15, heading into an apartment building when I caught sight of an older woman heading towards the side door. Chatting with my friend at the time, I leaned against the door to hold it open. It was a warm day, and I wasn't in a rush. But the old woman, started to run for the door, her face contorted into a sort of pleading dismay, as though she was waiting for me to just step inside and shut the door in her face. In her hurry, she fell and cut her shin and hand. I helped her up to her apartment, and the woman taking care of her - after she heard the story - looked at me like it was MY fault this had happened. I realize it wasn't MY fault...but I knew my age had played a factor.

This is what we've become in the eyes of so many. Spoiled young adults who know nothing about being on our own with so little respect that they act as though we're incapable of kind or thoughtful gestures.

I can't tell anymore if this is something wrong just with our generation, or if it's a problem with the world itself. All I know, is that the good ones of us, will eventually get tired of being treated with a lack of respect, generated in others because of the bad ones of us. In turn, we'll stop giving the respect that the adults claim they aren't getting from ANY of us.

It's not the dog eat dog world out there anymore. It's the humans who are the new problem.

Triumphant if not Damaged Return

Wow. I forgot this blog existed to be honest. Blasphemy, I know. I create a place that I mean to try and get my thoughts down, and then abandon...well....really myself for over 6 months. In all fairness though, I have a legitimate excuse.

7 days after my last post (which would make it September 8th), at 9:30 in the morning, my dad attacked first my mother and then myself with a 2 foot long socket wrench, hitting us both twice over the head. Through a scuffle that resulted in two broken cell phones, a lot of screaming and more details that I will bore you with, I managed to get the wrench from him, get my mom and I out of the house, and then call 9-1-1 to get us to a hospital. Mom needed 15 stitches and a night of observation, I got released with 7 and got to go back to the house of horror with my aunt, who drove up from Toronto to be with us.

He was arrested and taken to a mental hospital for observation for 6 weeks, and now he's serving a 9 month sentence for two counts of assault causing bodily harm, a lesser sentence than the police at the scene wanted, but in Canada if you've got a clean criminal record, you get a wrist slap for bludgeoning your family. Go figure. He'll be out end of June. So that's about 9 months total. Anyway, turns out he did it because he had not only BANKRUPTED us, but had wracked up almost 1 million in debt including a second mortgage against the house.

So for the last 6 months, my mom and I have tried to keep shit together while the bank breathed down our necks and we struggled to try and find the money to even just live day to day paying bills, buying food and gas. Dealing with constant car problems. We survived the winter, to all of our surprise. We may finally have an offer on our house, which would be a godsend.

It's been stressful. I had to take a year off of school and find work up here. It sucks.

We're doing ok though. I mean, it's terrible, and I still have nightmares, but we're surviving. I'M surviving. Despite all of my beliefs that I wouldn't, or that maybe it would have been better if I hadn't, I'm surviving.

And so here I am. I return. Triumphant, alive, if not a little damaged.

Ha ha.

Summer Daze

Gahhhhh, I hate hot weather. It's so bloody humid up here, no rain, none of the thunder storms they keep promising. Everyday just uncompromising smoggy mugginess.

BAH!

I can't believe it's September. The summer really disappeared on me. I feel almost in shock.

Paired with a bad case of not feeling like writing about anything or talking much to people, it's made me quite boring.

My apologies. Maybe school will kick start things again.

Go Ahead...Make My Day

I don't know about you, but I always thought it was total bull when I was younger and was told that, "No matter how rude someone is, smile and be pleasant and maybe you'll make their day." My response in my head was usually, "Yeah right." I was trapped in the fundamental attribution error, meaning that when someone responded negatively to me, instead of assuming they'd had a bad day, I usually just chalked it up to that person being a total ass-hat.

As I started working in customer service, that feeling occasionally strengthened itself. Grouchy people only served to make me grouchy, and with retail being a fairly thankless job to begin with, it didn't endear me to the career field.

But the more time that went on, the more I saw that smiling, and being friendly...DID have an impact on people. Not always. Sometimes people left even crabbier than they walked in. But those few people, who left a little happier than they arrived, it became worth it.

So today, when I had to call my internet providers' customer service I had a pleasant surprise. We all know what it's like calling customer service for a phone/internet company. 20 minutes on hold, terrible muzzak, representatives that struggle to communicate, and usually a difficulty in getting the resolution you seek.

Today, at 8:30 am, there was no waiting, no holding, no transfering. The service rep was polite, she was friendly, funny, excellent at communicating, and had my problem solved in less than 5 minutes. She laughed when she misheard information, made sure I had all the information I needed if another problem arose, used my name and was positive and confident throughout the entire conversation.

Honestly? She started off my whole day on an awesome note. So thanks customer rep. Being friendly and positive, really does pay off. :)

Trapped in 4/4 Time

My life seems to follow a rather similar pattern each year, strong in the first, weak on the second, medium half way through, and weak at the end. Although I prefer it to a 3/4 time of Strong-Weak-Weak, the pattern is getting repetitive.

Consciously trying to break the pattern doesn't seem to work, tried that, because it's a fail if one can't get it to work.

So I've decided to allow life to break the cycle for me....by trapping myself in by another set of 4.

*shakes fist impotently at the heavens* NOT feeling trapped would be nice for a change. But I think that's just the problem with my brain. I'm not paranoid, I don't think people are out to get me. I just feel...smothered easily I suppose.

I guess it's why relationships freak me out. I feel like it's a loss of control over my own life. Didn't help that some of my exes were extremely overbearing and made the words "trapped in a box for all eternity" a gross understatement. It's rather a conundrum. To be afraid of emotional attachment and yet tired of casual flings. I need a vacation. With a sexy man wench. Who'll spend the entire time rubbing my feet and fetching my drinks. That seems like a nice compromise.

On a brighter note, I did help someone's vengeance plan by suggestion utilizing the wrath of bullet ants. While that may sound strange, death by ants that shriek and jump down on you from trees to sting you....would be kind of hilarious to watch from a distance. By distance meaning behind 10 feet of solid steel reinforced concrete. Through a window made of 10 layers of bullet proof glass. With roving death squads of exterminators guarding the perimeter. 10 miles away from the site of said death. Watching through a telescope. With the jet on standby.

These are really creepy ants.