... someday!

Have you ever said to yourself that something (or maybe someone) would happen to you at some yet to be determined, far off "someday"? (Usually, my somedays' are followed by a long sigh!) It's just such a monumental moment that you sort of tuck away and start working towards making a reality. When that someday peers its head, it's a moment of sheer delight! However, what are you to do when this someday kinda' peers its head a little bit too prematurely or in a completely unexpected fashion? GO!

... unneighborly behavior ...

This past weekend was certainly trying ... down below is one of the reasons.

Earlier this season, I had planted two types of pepper plants in my backyard, habaneros and poblanos -- two staple items in my diet. I wasn't anticipating having much luck with having an edible product but with a lot of care, I had six plants growing like weeds! It was awesome watching them grow from seedlings to full-fledged pepper producing plants. I was actually contemplating on which cheese I would use to stuff the poblanos. (By the way, Havarti is a good substitute for Oaxaca and Quesadilla cheese.) However, my poblano stuffing days were cut short ... thanks to my neighbor.

My neighbor decided (upon her own judgement) that she was going to have one of her hired people to come and do me the "favor" of cutting around the sides of MY house with a trim blade. Mind you, there are no weeds growing there. When I first saw him, I didn't think much of it because he was on her property. So I decided to go for a short walk. By the time I returned, he was still there. This time though, he was on my property. I surveyed what he did. As I moved towards the back of the house, I saw my plants on the ground. To say I lost it, is putting mildly. I went ballistic!!!

That's when I walked on over to this lady's house and knocked on her door and asked her what had happened and why. Her response was, "I thought I was doing you a favor ... I can buy you new pepper plants". It seemed like such a typical answer, which only helped to fuel my anger towards this woman. Sure, let's throw money at it and hopefully it will go away. Nevermind, the fact that she had paid someone to trespass into another person's property and disrespect their space.

Even though it's now mid-week, it still makes me somewhat upset to think back to what happened this past weekend. I'm still baffled at the whole notion that someone could be so intrusive, destructive towards another person.

Thanks to everyone I called this past weekend and simmered me down. You definitely got an earful! You know how I get when upset!

I get by with a little help from my friends ...

This was the title to a presentation/paper at a recent conference I attended. At the time, I thought it was amusing and a reflection of some of the environments I've lived in. Basically, it revealed the difference between friends and acquaintances and how useful acquaintances can be for certain tasks like finding a job (weak/strong social ties) in a "non-metro" setting somewhere in Wisconsin. The presenter's evidence showed a significant predominance of weak ties in this community. Surprise! Surprise!

As previously mentioned, I was working at a book manufacturing firm prior to moving to Mississippi. At this firm, nearly everyone was related to someone else. (By the way, this was how I rediscovered that information is a form of power ... how firms grow out of control and lose their clients ... more on that later.) I was one of the exceptions and reminded every so often of this fact. At the time of being hired, I was told I was to replace nearly four other employees. Nearly six months after, nothing happened. Why?

Apparently, I had rubbed one of my coworkers (whom I later learned was the niece and daughter of several other, upper-management employees) the wrong way because I was doing more than should have been assigned. She had called a "special" meeting with one of the managers, which she and her uncle attended. Personally, I would die of embarassment if I would ever even think of having my mommy, daddy or dear uncle join me in calling a "special" business meeting. Later that day, the manager came to my desk and informed me I was doing too much and that I was being watched.

I was not caught off-guard as I knew what was coming but was just so disgusted with being employed at a firm that condoned such unprofessionalism and reprimanded for it. Mind you, this has been common practice through several other firms I've been employed at before. Sadly, this trend is very much a part of the Mississippi culture.

I should be used to it by now but just can't seem to get over it -- nor will I ever. One of my reason for moving to Mississippi was to escape this nonsense. I wanted to prove to myself that the "American Dream" is still alive and being kept alive by people like me -- immigrants, sons and daughters of immigrants.

While my coworker was flipping through "American Eagle" catalogs, making plans for which outfit ensemble she was going to buy with her upcoming paycheck, I was starting/finalizing plans to attend a certain conference being held at my current school. It surprised me that she didn't place value on going school or perhaps believing she can actually have employment without the influence of others. Then again, it all doesn't really matter as long as your shoes and purse match the rest of you.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not operating at full capacity and haven't been since moving here. There were a lot of issues, "stuff" in general that followed me from Illinois and these mingled with new Mississippi "stuff" -- which has lead to a mess beyond description. I think back to my motivations (more on that later) and sacrifices I've made in order to be here and it makes me so angry at myself.

My thoughts gravitate towards my mom, dad and those who came before me. I come from folk who worked hard, no matter what they did. Pride, selft-respect are everything. Here I am, someone who came to accept mediocrity ...