Uncommon Courtesy

What happened to common courtesy?
I work in the food service/retail industry and it's always so surprising to me how entitled and rude people can. If the line is a little too long, I need them to repeat something more than once, or there is even a touch of foam on their no foam latte people go through the roof. They are rude and insensitive to the people who are still learning and treat them like their stupid. There is a lot to learn working in this industry and it's hard to keep up at first. But why is that a legitimate reason to talk down to someone and treat them like they aren't your peer?
Also, between the last two stores in which I have worked, I have become very familiar with no-call-no-shows. What is that? Or quitting with no notice. I just don't understand. It makes sure you won't get a favorable referral from your manager, hurts people who have come to be your friend, and makes you non-rehirable with the company on which you bailed.
There are nice, respectful customers, too. They are the ones for which I stay in this industry. The ones who become your friends, who ask about your life and are actually interested, and who don't care that the drink they wanted iced was accidentally made hot. If there were more people like them in a the world, it would be a better place.

Mystery of Mysteries

I have a question for all my fellow women: Why does being small automatically make something adorable? A woman just brought the tiniest puppy into my store and every female I work with almost literally died for sheer, squealing joy. I think the only thing that saved the puppies owner from being incredibly freaked out was that she, too, was female and had just purchased the puppy. Her joy was on par with ours.
And puppies aren't the only thing that are adorable. Obviously, there's babies, kittens, and other baby animals. But what about dollhouse furniture? There is nothing so cute as a tiny sofa with an minuscule end table and lamp smaller than my pinky finger. Or how about when you open a Barbie fridge and see all the tiny food? The other day I was shopping with a friend and we were both surprised to discover that even mini bagels are adorable.
Personally, I think it feeds the maternal side of every woman. We see small things and they are automatically connected to babies or small children. Our internal clocks tick faster and we melt into girlish joy. Because, let's be real, this is a female thing. I've seen a guy be fascinated by the handiwork that went into a tiny piano that actually works, but I've never seen him squeal about it being cute.

But, for real...

I don't know about you guys, but I am really tired of this whole "Disney is giving us unrealistic expectations for my body and love life" and "Barbie sets an unrealistic body image for young girls" stuff. Guys...it's not real. Barbie also has underwear printed directly on her body and no one gets upset about the unrealistic expectations she sets for having to do laundry. I think we should be more concerned about how we apparently aren't teaching our children to distinguish between reality and fantasy. No one is upset that Tim Burton's characters all have super pointy cheek bones and really sharp angles. Talk about unrealistic...
Joking aside I think that, instead of getting up in arms about how these dolls and cartoons are teaching our impressionable children the wrong things, we should be maintaining an open dialogue with them about their bodies. Just because they've made the princesses skinny doesn't mean that's what we're supposed to think she has the "ideal" body. It's just how the animator imagined her. And, seriously, all the Disney princes are super ripped and way more charming than humanly possible, but you don't see guys getting upset about their unrealistic body image.

Even if the princesses start having more realistic bodies, hair, and skin
that won't change the fact that it's what's on the inside that really makes a person beautiful. I've known so many beautiful women and handsome men who became ugly in my mind as I've gotten to know their personality and very plain people who became incredibly gorgeous the more I got to know their hearts. The cover of the book may make you want to pick it up, but it's not what makes you keep reading.

Greek and Roman gods

I have recently been playing Injustice: God's Among Us on my phone. A lot. It's really fun! I get to be a superhero or villain who fights and is awesome. Then I noticed that Marvel has a similar game, so I got it, too. Then I realized: Marvel and DC are kind of like the Greek and Roman gods: the names change and so do some details, but they are astonishingly similar character. For example:

• Iron Man vs. Batman: both billionaire, playboy philanthropists for their day jobs, but really they are amazing heroes who use awesome gadgets they invented to beat down the baddies and save the day. 
• Thor vs. Wonder Woman: Now, hear me out. Thor is the Norse god of thunder who is totally a fish out of water, doesn't quite understand the mortal world, but really wants to do the right thing and is maybe a little proud. (Who wouldn't be, have you seen his hair?) And he has battle armor that is totally not up to date fashion-wise (though very awesome). Wonder Woman is an Amazon who can be a fish out of water, doesn't always understand the mortal world (especially men...sheesh...), but really wants to do the right thing. Also, her wardrobe (though strangely Americana for an Amazonian princess) is also a little behind the times. And they both fly (granted, Thor uses his hammer for that), are super strong, and can take a major beating.
• Captain America vs. Superman: Both boyscouts. Both decked in major Americana. They both have a moral code that drives their co-heroes a little crazy sometimes. Both super strong. Granted: Superman is an alien and Captain America is a science project. But...still.
• Hawkeye vs. the Green Arrow: They both have an aim that would make Legolas and Katniss jealous. Need I say more?
• Quicksilver vs. The Flash: Yes, Quicksilver is usually a villain. But...supersupersupersuper inhuman speed. Just saying.
• Banshee vs. Black Canary: Vocal chords of doom. Just saying.

So, this has been my lighthearted thought of the week. I hope you enjoyed.

Photo sources:
Avengers
Justice League 

All Grown Up

I have been very jealous of children lately. The other day I was watching a little girl skip through the park singing to herself and chasing squirrels. It was the cutest thing ever. But it occurred to me that if I saw an adult doing the same thing, I would probably move myself to another part of the park because, clearly, this person is insane. And that makes me sad. Why does growing up have to mean leaving our imaginations and the sheer joy of being alive behind? Not to say that we should all run around singing and chasing squirrels, but why do we make fun of adults that are creative or enjoy playing pretend? Like people who cosplay (short of "costume play" for those who don't know)? Or those people who meet up in parks and dress up like knights and play with foam swords (LARPing? I think that's what it's called.)? Why is this looked down on? But, on the flip side, it's totally normal to paint yourself head-to-toe in a body paint and scream yourself hoarse cheering for you favorite sports team...
In my personal opinion, I think it's because life becomes so bleak when you become an adult. It's all bills, hard work, and falling into bed exhausted at the end of the day. Who has time to have fun? So, when we see someone who makes time to feel alive, we are jealous and a little bitter. So we all learn to call it childish and write them off to feel better about our own lives. But...I think that's sad. I think we should all find time to let our inner child out. Just for a moment to let the joy of being alive be all we worry about. I saw a great quote online years ago: "Maturity is knowing when it's okay to act like a child." And, if that's true, I hope that I am very mature.
Life is beautiful, and we're missing it.

Sunday Best

I had a thought yesterday morning as I was sitting in church and I looked around and saw all the different styles represented by the church body: why does the church traditionally put pressure on wearing "Sunday best?" My church is rather casual. Not sloppy, everyone looks presentable but jeans are a very common factor. My church is also in Eagle Rock which is a neighborhood of LA. I don't think I ever would have had these thoughts except that there are so many homeless people in LA. Part of our mission as the body of Christ is to reach the "least of these." But, I wonder, how can we do that when on Sundays as we gather and try to invite those people in we're always dressing as the "best of these?" I know, for myself, if I had only two shirts and one pair of pants I hadn't been able to clean for weeks I wouldn't want to enter into a community where everyone was in business dress. I would stick out like a very dirty, sore thumb!
Now, this isn't to be condemning of churches that do dress up and it's not to say that we shouldn't care about our appearance and go to church looking sloppy. But I do wonder, who are we trying to impress? Why do we need to trot out our best clothes and look perfectly groomed when we're trying to reach the people who can't afford a hairbrush and we're all just broken people anyway? We want to create a community that is open and welcoming to both the wealthy and the unshowered; the put together and the chronically depressed; the nuclear family and the harried single mother. How much stress would it relieve from that single mother if her kids could be in whatever they decided that day's fashion was and not children's business casual? How much more willing would she be to go and be welcomed into a church family that didn't judge on outward appearance?
By wearing our best, we create (consciously or not) a socioeconomic divide between the classes. I am not condemning a person's desire to wear cashmere or silk to church. If you have it, and you want to wear it to church, then go for it! I think church should be a beautiful patchwork of all the colors and classes that make up this broken mess we call humanity.

Here we go...

I have decided as a writing exercise to write one post about something that's on my mind every day. Today the thought is Hollywood and how we get mad at them for corrupting our minds and the minds of our children.

The upcoming debut of Fifty Shades of Grey is what's making me think about this. Personally, I think that movie is disgusting. I think it's ridiculous that people have been begging for a silver screen porn flick and I can't believe Hollywood was actually making it. But then it hit me: people have been begging for it. Hollywood isn't just full of artists and actors, it's full of business people. If there isn't a ton of money in it, they won't do it. So why are we so shocked at what they put out? We're the ones who buy what they create. "But," you may say, "I plan to boycott this movie and any like it." Good for you! Are your friends? Is your city? Is that mom down the street taking her kids to see an R-rated action flick? Are those kids going to grow up demanding more of what they loved as kids? Yes. Yes, they are. The only thing that is going to change what Hollywood produces is if their audience changes what they want to see.
Another point I'd like to make is that it's not Hollywood's job to monitor what you and your children watch. That's your job. It's Hollywood's job to create pictures that are pretty, move, and entertain. You can't tumble a pyramid by knocking off the top, you have to crack the foundation. And that's what we are, friends. We're the foundation of the pyramid that is the entertainment industry. When we as consumers stop downing trash and start demanding better things, then that's what we'll be given. Stop worrying about how the movie industry is corrupting the world, start worrying more about the world that is begging to be corrupted. Worry about the part of the cycle you can change.