Tuesday, September 9, 2008

ADD at a Glance

No, this isn't going to be your typical ADD report; instead of blabbing on about chemicals and rapid neuron fire in the brain, or whatever have you, I am going to go by one of the steps to the scientific method (the cornerstone of science):

Observation.


Today, as I was placing a cake order for this family, I noticed several things; so, let's start from the beginning.

One of my managers was helping a guest with getting some bread for her, so I noticed some other guests who needed help. I go over, ask them if I could help them in any way, and they say they needed to order a cake. I promptly respond and grab the order sheet, and return and begin to ask them the questions on ordering the cake. I noticed that the Birthday-Boy-to-be was, shall we say, "energetic," to say the least. Yes, he was a little on the wild side, "ADD" as some may call it; but I am going to question whether or not that is a valid label for the boy.
I continue with my order, and they want this Lego cake. Now, by license laws, we cannot alter the cake in any way, such as: color, characters, shape, design, etc. If we were to, and we were auditted, we could lose our license. Anyway, moving on.
My manager comes over, and the parents (particularly the mom) are getting anxious about not being able to change the color of the trim (which makes up, like, 5% - if that - of the cake). She didn't like the red, because she (allegedly) worked in a bakery and red frosting just tasted "awful." She wanted it changed, and she was getting frustrate.
At this point, the boy said that he didn't mind the red frosting, that it was okay.
Mom? Ohhh, no. Totally and utterly unacceptable and she pretty much told the boy to shut up. (Now mind you, this boy is like 6 or 7.)
The kid energetically turns away and begins to admire the fake wedding cake that we display, with father carefully eyeing him out of his periferal vision.
Mom continues carrying on how stupid we are for not allowing the change in color; meanwhile, the boy takes some of the fake cake on his finger, and precedes to put it in his mouth. Dad and mom are in an uproar, almost as if they are imbarrassed by their kid.
Mom is still thinking about what to do with the cake, dad is yelling at boy, and boy is running around touching everything. I ask mom what she wants the cake to say, and she replies with sarcasm that it has to have the exact wording that is shown on the picture - but she was inconsistent and she chose to change the name of "Eric" (or whatever) to "______" (no, I am not going to tell you the kid's name :P). So not only did you show yourself as a tempermental person, but you allowed your son to see you treat someone who is trying to help you with disrespect. But this isn't about you mom (okay, indirectly is), it's about your boy.
Anyway, they go off nicely but clearly in a tiss. They didn't get the cake the way they wanted it, their child is having his ADD moment in an uproar, and you're only contributing to his uproar. Why? Let's go onto my conclusions.

Firstly, I would like to point out that I am not a firm believer in ADD. Do I think it exists? Yes. To the enormous extent that people say it does? No, I believe the term "ADD" is overused and a way - quite frankly - for parents to get their kids on drugs to shut them up. Little kids (especially 2 to 8 year olds) have a vast abundance of energy. Ever wonder why they are so skinny and don't gain much weight? Their metabolism is running at a very fast pace, a pace many people still wish they had. They are vibrant, little beings of energy - like a conduet of electricity in humanized form. Do kids need to tone it down, from time to time? Yes, that's the parent's job of making sure their child knows when to release the energy and when to quiet it up. Anyway, moving on.
Children are very interesting in the way they show their emotions. Many a time, they are blatant about how they feel: crying over spilled milk, saying that they don't like a person directly to that person's face, stealing a toy out of jealousy, etc., etc. But, when a child is not being treated right by a parent, say the parent is sarcastic to the child or the parent does not give the child as much attention as he may need (for instance, telling him to go play video games instead of taking a walk with him), the child will most certainly act out because that is all he knows how to do. I saw it very clearly today: Mom didn't like red icing, child said that it was fine, mom yells at child, child goes and starts eating foam.
The boy probably did not feel that his comment mattered, and/or that he was yelled at injustly (yes, kid's do have a sense of right and wrong).
The boy also later began touching everything that he could. Why did he do this? I think he wanted attention. Earlier he was made out to be someone who is insignificant, and this is his gosh damn birthday for crying out loud! If he wanted red icing, then give him red icing! But no, it was apparently gross-tasting and that would not be okay with the mother. Excuse me, but the cake isn't for you.
To me, the parents were putting unnecessary stress upon the boy, and aren't birthdays supposed to be stress-free?
Another observation I witnessed was when the family was looking at our sandwhiches over in the deli. Down at the bottom of one of the cases is a basket of oranges. The boy picks it up and asks, "Is this an orange?"
Dad looks over at him, "Smell it. Does it smell like an orange?"
Boy sniffs it and replies, "I don't know."
Of course the boy knew, he knew right from the beginning, but he chose to pretend he didn't know because he was acting out for some reason. Let's take a look at the father's response, "Does it smell like an orange?" (Please note that his tone was slightly angry/sarcastic.) Sure, the boy's question was stupid, but it was supposed to ascertain attention from the parents. Children only act out (from what I've seen) in one of three situations: 1. they are being rebellious, out of dissagreement with their parents; 2. something is physically wrong and/or bothering them; and 3. something is psychologically wrong and/or bothering them. Be aware that when I used the wording of "psychologically wrong," I meant "metaphysically," such as: emotion - they feel sad or got their feelings hurt by someone around them (friend, adult, family member, etc.); I did not mean it as if they were mentally ill, such as: insane, bipolar, and even ADD.
You can say that I am a huge "environmentalist" in that I believe the enviroment in which you are raised or live in has a huge impact on you as a person. If someone is being rude to us, or mean, we often will be rude/sarcastic back, spread rumors about that person, or we may even turn to physical violence. A child, on the other hand, will act out in ways trying to emulate his derision, but he just doesn't know how. (As I believe the case of the above said child was acting out.)

So, ADD a mental-chemical-illness? No; or at least, not 100% of the time. I believe it is just the energy of a six year-old combined with his not knowing how to handle the way he is treated, so he acts out and goes "crazy," if you will. I mean, y'all know that I am "ADD" and I change the subject way too much....





























-- Derek.


(Please note that this is my own observation and thought on the matter. There are many well educated people out there who have written books. How? I don't know...I'm ADD.)

:D

Friday, September 5, 2008

Labor- ah what the heck, "Memorial" Day.

For some odd reason, I kept calling it "Memorial Day." Can't figure out why....

Anyway, here are some pictures from LABOR Day. xD















































This picture wasn't taken on Labor Day, but I felt it deserved to be posted anyway:

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Churchill's Exposition

More pictures of Winston!

Hello There!
















He's already becoming a protector of the property. :)

Those two are the only I had time to upload, but there will be more to come. :)

Friday, August 29, 2008

O Morning

How I despise getting up at 6:40am. I am not a morning person; never have been, never will be. Oh well, at least you get to see stuff like this:

:)

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Two Weeks Notice.

It was always customary in the old world to give two weeks notice before you quit your job; apparently, that has changed. As I mature, I pick up on personality types faster and whether or not someone is going to quit their job. Ha! So I thought. I now realize that my radar for detecting those things has gone out the window. We have gotten screwed twice now over in the food side by people who just quit. Lame!

So, a message to those reading this note:

PUT IN YOUR GOSH DAMN TWO WEEKS NOTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Now that I've flushed that one out of my system....

I have another bone to pick. Yes, you saw this one coming. You. Oh yes...yes, you. The ever-present, ever-constant, ever-annoying shopper. Do you know how much more I have to work when you put merchandise in a location where it does not belong? Hmm? HMM?!! DO YOU?! No, apparently not.

So, moral of this article is...do not place junk in locations where junk does not go. Do not just quit as you are not thinking of your fellow employees. Do subscribe to my site.


Thank you.


-- Derek.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Change





Well, I don't know exactly what to say here, but I felt like blogging, and I like the blogs where I write something out like an essay. So, what am I going to talk about? I am going to talk about change. Good? Bad? Meh? Let's find out!

I have noticed recently a few people around me (and not necessarily just friends) are dissatisfied with their lives; and, for granted, I have experienced this too...for instance: I am not happy and content with my family life, or lack thereof. You see, family is a great thing, because when you get down to the nitty-gritty of things, family is the only physical thing that you can fully depend on. (And when I say "physical thing", I am referring to humans. Jesus has already promised that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. Which is completely and utterly true.) My family life? Almost nonexistant. I mean, okay, maybe I am overexaggerating things a little bit here; I've got my Mom and my Dad, whom I can always depend upon. I've got my sister, and even my brother that I see on very rare occassion. My sister's and my relationship is pretty good; my brother and my relationship? Not so much. But this blog isn't about that facet of my life (well kinda'), but it is moreso my need for more. You see, my family is like a web; we're all connected and spread apart in these articulate and variant lines, strung together all by one web-maker, but that is where our relationship ends. Nothing emotional, nothing solid, nothing true. Our relationship amongst eachother is fake and rather disgusting. Kinda' like, "I like you as long as you got no problems." And in that regard, I hate my family-life and think it sucks. I mean, my cousins all hate me terribly anyway (haha).

Thus brings me back to my point: change. I would like my family life to change, and I am dissatisfied with it. But is change always a good thing?

Excuse my political quabble for a second: Obama keeps preaching "Change, change, change!" But he is so tactful that what he wants his "change" to be is never fully revealed; nor will it be unless he becomes our next el presidente'. So, on a side note: be careful what you wish for, because you may just get it all. Isn't that in a song? ;)

Anyway, people get dissatisfied with their lives (and/or situations) and so they want change, which is exactly what is going on in America right now. People are fed up with the feds, that they are desparately grasping for some hope, but unfortunately, what they are grasping for is - in my opinion - psuedo-hope that is only going to get us more screwed in the end. Gah! Going off topic again! Excuse me.
People get dissatisfied with their lives and they want change: they're sick of their job, they're sick of their friends, they're sick of their family (guilty), they're sick of their tellar at freaking Starbucks! Well maybe that tellar at Starbucks is freaking sick of you always ordering that damn, grande, half-mocha, light, no soy, butterskotch, vanilla-whipped, iced, coffee, double latte, cold cream frappaccino!! And that will be $4.16, please. Fact of the matter is when the going gets tough, the tough (or not) gets going. People don't like conflict and people want their lives to be as pristine and as Hollywood, Desparate Housewives as they can get!! And trust me, if you want your little "comfortable" cubicle to be like anything that is on that show, your life is going to be filled with drama. Uh, next point please - your drama. Whether or not you like it (which you probably do because half of Americans are masokists), you are probably the one responsible for your own drama. Yes, your drama at the job (why you don't like your job), your drama with your friends (which is why you don't like your friends), your drama with your family (why you don't like your family), and even your local Starbucks em-ploy-ee. So if there is drama, even if you're the one responsible for causing it, look it straight and the eye and say, "I am done with your BS."

Oh boy, I'm on a roll now (lol). So...you change your job, you change your friends, etc., etc. And where does it get you? Nine times out of ten, it gets you back in the same spot you were just in. Take a little wisdom from John Butler:

"The grass is greener (on the other side), but just as hard to mow."

If you don't face your problems (or rumors...wait those are problems [or drama...wait that's a problem too]) square in the eye, they're just going to keep coming back. Problems are like herpes, if you don't burn them off, they're just going to keep coming back...wait, maybe that's warts. Anyway...The point that I am trying to get across is that change isn't always such a good thing...and the reason why is: things don't always go according to plan, and we can't make our own plans. Period. God is in control of the plan making, so if you think that all of a sudden that you can write your life out like a Cindarella Story then you are badly mistaken and you probably need to reconsider dusting off the ol' Bible and opening up a few pages.

But! I am not saying that change is always bad...consider change like yin-yang. Half good, half bad...but niether half is completely good or completely bad. Everything has consequences, even change- actually, change most of all has consequences.

Moving on to the good change. You have someone that is just always bringing you down and making you miserable. First, tell that person to stfu and pay attention to your feelings. If that doesn't work, dump 'em like a falling star (trying to think of something happy and appropriate; I didn't think "hooker" was suitable) and find a new friend. In addition to that thought, always try to make it work first. Don't write everything off. I think this is extremely important in today's culture because everything in our society is throw-away and if it doesn't work, change it. Get rid of it. Get something new. And I think that philosophy (for the most part) is taking the easy way out and stupid.
Sorry, sidetracked again.
Anyway, dump that person like a dirty burrito and move on. They deserve a second chance, but you deserve to be not treated like that throw-away dirty burrito. Other good changes can be your habits. For instance, a man is addicted to porn and it is killing his relationship with his family and his faith with Christ (if he has faith); he one day decides to stop looking at it. Whadda' you know? Good change has occurred. (By the way: "porn" can actually be a catch-all for different bad habits/problems, such as: gambling, drinking, gluttonizing, stealing, murdering Telly-Tubbies...) Change in beliefs can also be good, but it can also be bad (Re: Normal person to crazy Satanist person); but that subject is a double edged sword and would make this blog even longer than it already is.

So! Fact in point and cheek in tongue: be careful about what you want to change, who you want to change, and why you want to change those things. It may not always be the best decision. My advice? Give every body a second chance. Take another shot at your job. Kill the drama. Kill the bad habit. Make a change. But make sure that it is the right change. My advice again: pray about it. You may not get your answer right away, but if you lean on Christ, He'll open the door for the right change for you. :)


"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not upon your own understanding."


As always, God bless and all that jazz, and keep safe.

-- Derek.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Purple Ninja


So...today was okay. Work was okay, I mean - nothing bad, nothing great...just - meh. Came home, and it was boring; I mean, I got to play Day of Defeat for like five hours tonight, but yeah, uh, would have preferred to play Magic...with friends. But apparently, three of them had other plans. Oh well. =\ But we did light off fireworks tonight! But gosh dangit, anyway! I had to help Dad light them off so I couldn't get some cool firework snap shots. *sigh* So boring, yes? Yes. Anything else exciting? I may watch Corpse Bride tonight. :) Lata.