Use Your Wisdom

I watched a segment on the Today Show about how many teenagers and young twenty-somethings are choosing coursework over summer jobs. They believe taking on additional classes will better prepare them for their future careers and feel it is more productive than taking on a menial restaurant, service or retail job.

Though it is great they are not spending their summer breaks loafing around and doing nothing, I am not convinced they are actually learning more from books than a traditional summer job might be able to teach them. I spent my highschool and college summers working at a marina. I cleaned bathrooms, scrubbed boats, sorted bait, arranged rentals and managed a small convenience store. The job had nothing to do with my planned career path. What I learned over those summers was invaluable, however. Books and classes don’t offer an opportunity to learn team strategies, patience, flexibility with job functions and people skills.

As a professional recruiter, I often encountered new grads with excellent grades and zippo preparedness for how to succeed in the real work world. Because they are getting their feet wet in the working world with professional level jobs, the performance expectations are higher and the allowed learning curves are shorter. Employers are more forgiving of a $7/hr employee who needs to hone his/her basic work skills than they are of the $20+/hr employee who is struggling with being a reliable team player who can problem solve an effectively deal with a variety of personalities.

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I get the impression many people believe disposable income is indeed income you simply throw away.  Who came up with such a silly term?  Disposable income is defined as the income left over after taxes.  This is the money we can spend AND save.  So often when I hear individuals speaking of their disposable income, it sounds like they are prepared to toss it down the drain.

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The story out of New Zealand about the judge barring a couple from naming their son ‘4Real’ is getting a lot of attention. It is my understanding the ruling was based strictly on New Zealand not allowing numerals or symbols in legal names. That aside, the decision prompted a huge debate over how much freedom parents should be allowed in naming their children.

Many comments on the story from internet readers express outrage over the judge’s actions. He is often referred to as an intrusive bigot. Though I don’t believe the decision was influenced by anything other than legal technicalities, I have no problem with the idea of outside sources stepping in when parents are making irresponsible decisions regarding their children. I do not feel a parent’s rights are more important than the well being of a child.

Though a name destined to guarantee years of teasing and attention may not be as serious a violation as physical abuse or neglect, anyone who feels this child wouldn’t have endured pain as a result of his parents’ choice of name is in denial. Children should have the right to choose how much attention they wish to attract as they grow. The formative years are tough. My daughter has a facial birthmark that automatically subjects her to remarks from others. It is impossible for her to fade into the woodwork on days where she doesn’t feel like being in the spotlight. I would never intentionally put her in this type of position. Granted, names and physical differences shouldn’t be met with criticism and teasing. The fact of the matter is, they are. Before this child’s parents move forward with naming their son ‘4Real’, they need to get real and put some actual thought into how this choice will effect their son long term.

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Where I live, more and more people seem to be backing into parking spaces. As often as it happens, I’m still caught off guard with a person’s decision to slam their car into reverse and back into a parking space I had convinced myself they had passed up and would soon be mine. Luckily, I have yet to kiss bumpers with anyone. I do wonder what the appeal is to backing into parking spaces. It’s not exactly the easiest way to park. Perhaps they are all current or former valets who are overly dedicated to their profession.

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You’re never too young to show signs of wisdom. My 11 month old daughter asked me to pass on to the world a little nugget of brilliance. Are you ready? Here it is.

YOU ARE NEVER TOO FULL TO EAT A COOKIE!

I’m so proud. She clearly has a good head on her shoulders.

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When they first came out with shoes that double as roller skates I thought how cool. Kids must find them to be incredibly fun. I also imagined kids getting more exercise and fresh air as it would encourage them to wheel all over the place. Now that some time has passed, I’m less enthusiastic. My fickle side comes through. The masses of youth wheeling through the malls, grocery stores and parking lots are nothing short of disastrous. I am forever dodging pimply faced speed demons wheeling through life without care or concern. The real catch is one minute the kid is walking at a snail’s pace only to suddenly shift into overdrive and zoom forward. Attempting to predict another’s path or destination is nearly impossible. Part of me wonders if it wouldn’t make more sense to let the kids skateboard everywhere. At least you can hear those wheels coming before you find yourself entangled. My biggest fear is I will accidentally hit one of these rolling nightmares while backing out of a parking space. Though I wouldn’t mind crushing the shoes, I’d never get over hurting a child. The fact it wouldn’t be my fault would be little consolation.

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Yep, it has been confirmed Quiznos is the company running the offensive ad about girls liking their meat. How sad a food chain feels the need to join in the disgusting sexualization of our kids.

I logged a comment on Quiznos’ website today (www.quiznos.com). I invite you to do the same. Their creative minds should be able to come up with a better way to market their product. Here is a copy of what I sent them today:

“Your new commercial that makes a statement along the lines of “girls like a lot of meat” is disgusting. The suggestive nature of the ad is clear. Many of my friends who have heard the commercial are shocked, men and women alike. It’s one of those ads that seriously makes you stop what you are doing and drop your jaw. I think you should pull the ad and rethink things a bit. It’s great to get people’s attention, but if you have to do it that way you won’t be seeing any more of my money. I’m tired of all of the sexual messages our kids receive. There is no reason for a sandwich shop to contribute to the problem.”

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Non-profits are really getting smart. Donations are down and normal fundraising efforts are failing. What do you do when you need to raise a lot of money fast? You call in the kids; that’s what you do. Non-profits have been partnering with school systems for help with fundraising campaigns. It’s brilliant. With a cause in their hearts and the promise of cool prizes for their efforts, kids hit the streets on a mission. They are to ask all of their neighbors, relatives and family friends to support the cause of the moment by purchasing an overpriced item or by simply making a cash donation.

The current cause for our local school district is the American Heart Association. The premise is that you sponsor a kid to jump rope in an effort to promote heart health and reduce heart attacks. Trouble is, by the time the umpteenth kid has knocked on your door asking for a donation, the donor is having a heart attack over all of the funds they’ve managed to turn over to the cause so as not to disappoint the doe-eyed munchkin.

Supporting kids is great. There is something sad to me about using kids to generate cash for some of these causes though. The kids don’t necessarily care about the cause and are often motivated to approach as many people as possible to earn an iPod or a cool t-shirt. Potential donors are often stuck in the trap of having to support multiple kids in an effort to be fair. Perhaps you’ve already contributed to the cause, but each child cares whether or not you’ve contributed to their prize goal. Parents are also entangled in the mess. In order to avoid subjecting their children to the dangers of door-to-door prospecting, parents often take over the fundraising efforts.

On the bright side, I guess our schools are providing early training for those who will eventually find themselves in sales positions. Never mind how much harder it will be to convince people to hand over money or buy a good once they no longer have youth on their side.

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It is rare to read a news story that leaves you smiling and hopeful that morality isn’t on a helpless decline. This morning I read about a NY City cabbie who found luggage in his trunk left behind by a jeweler. The case held a bag of diamonds. The cabbie spent a considerable amount of time making calls, driving around the city and tracking down the passenger who left the case behind. He found the owner and was given $100 for his efforts. He took the money since tracking down the owner cost him a decent amount of time and gas that he could have been using towards earning more fares.

What makes this story interesting to me is the passenger had originally tipped the driver 30 cents for an $11 fare. Finding diamonds in your trunk after a tip like that might tempt a person to succumb to the ‘finder’s keepers’ way of thinking. Not this man. He knew he held a mini fortune in his hands, but didn’t want to attain wealth by capitalizing on the misfortunes or mistakes of others, even if those ‘others’ seem as though they could afford to lose some. Like most people, he would enjoy the comforts of money. His desire for money does not outweigh his need to be ethical and honest. I hope his actions ensure good karma that pays him back in spades.

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