Chantel Williams

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In the car, out of the car

September 3rd, 2010 No Comments

Since Dr. B was laid off again we’ve had to cut back. Cut back on vacations is actually more like it. Which means that all trips now include camping. Its true I hate to camp. I have no desire to get in touch with nature that way. Here’s a short explanation. When Dr. B asked, “would you just love to sell everything and live in a car?” I reminded him that I used to live in a car, I used to camp out every single night of my life. I’ve roughed it, I survived and I have no need to do it to myself again. However, when your cute daughter and persuasive boyfriend smile and promise to take care of you……

Here’s a short pictorial of our recent camping trip through some very beautiful and very dangerous country.

Yosemite Valley Meadow, 2010

Yosemite is one of the most beautiful, contradictory places I’ve ever seen. Abundant beauty is nestled in one of the harshest mountain ranges in the United States. I realized this even more when my daughter woke up the next morning to let me know that a bear came to visit her in the middle of the night. I put together two and two and remembered, that was probably the moment Luna wedged herself under the covers and “wufed” silently. What I realized even more the next morning is that Puddin’ left a piece of garbage in the fire pit. This helpful, kind bear returned it to its original owner and left a note. “Don’t litter, this is my house.”

Luna, 2010

What we’ve also learned is that Luna likes to stay in the car. The wilderness is not for her. She also likes to give directions and drink only bottled water. She also doesn’t like the desert. It is here that we confirmed her desire to be fanned at all times and draped with a cool wet towel when the temperature reaches above 80 degrees.

Andrea likes it!

This is what Andrea looks like when she’s camping. Except when a bear comes by her tent or, in the middle of Death Valley on a dark night and she’s found her tent door was left open for an unidentifiable amount of time. Then she’s frustrated and turns her tent upside down looking for snakes. Then she sits on her air pad and it hisses and asks to sleep with her mother in her tent.

Half Dome over Yosemite Valley, 2010

Then its just beautiful, there are no words and no photos to describe what this looks like. As an amateur I may never develop the skill to explain how I felt when I looked at this view. I can only describe it like this; when you see something this beautiful you know the world is good and is worth your effort. Taking photographs for me is like trying to tell you how I felt when I see something.

Then you break the law.

Its very difficult to travel with your pet. Its actual illegal to let them swim in a protected environment. I didn’t know this when Luna leaned out the window of the rental car and whined at the water. We gave in, pulled over to the most beautiful mountain lake ever seen and she dove in immediately. I’ve never seen such satisfaction on her face. Before anyone yells at me, I didn’t know it was against the law until seeing a sign later that day. I would have happily taken the ticket because she was so damn happy.

Our family portrait and, she blinks.

Death Valley, 2010 – Devil’s Golfcourse

Death Valley is the most desolate, dangerous, gorgeous, enticing place I’ve ever been. Its hot, its 120 degrees hot. So hot, that this year camping on the valley floor is over for the season. After finding a place to camp 2 thousand feet above the valley floor, we settled in the complete darkness with a night sky show that would make you jealous. There was a moment that can only be described as spiritual as the three of us sat in complete darkness and silence while watching the moon rise above the mountain cliffs. We watched as all the constellations slowly disappeared and the moon shed light on the valley below.

Artists Palette, Death Valley

Death Valley is very rich in mineral resources. However due to its heat and lack of water it is nearly impossible to mine. Many have tried and many have failed. I’m grateful for this desolate protection because what would have happened to this beautiful landscape if technology got hold of it?

That being said I still don’t like camping. I still don’t like it when my boyfriend asks “wanna take a shortcut?” I abhor the shortcut when it turns out to be a 39 mile dirt and rock road on a remote portion of Death Valley. I abhor all things like flat tires and survival scenarios when my dog is a pansy and I hate getting my hands dirty.

But we did survive, the flat tire, the remote road, the dirt, the heat, the bugs, the bears and now we’re home.

This is the day I gave up on Corporate America

August 25th, 2010 1 Comment

I too am disappointed, in light of my last post where I applauded the actions of two seemingly mistreated humans.

It seems our dear girl who we’ll call the “dry erase quitter” was a hoax. On many occasions in many different jobs I have wanted to quit grandiosely and leave my employer feeling as bad as they have made me feel. However, I restrained myself. Why do we restrain ourselves? Because we have children, car payments, credit card payments and, mortgages and, lives. One could argue that these very aspirations ultimately become our prison guards. We can’t stand up for ourselves because, we need the money. This is another reason I too am all to familiar with.

It is in turn this very money that empowers others to act like petulant children. These children will turn on you for the small cost of a bowl of pasta. Suddenly the lady at the take-out-counter is berating you and your entire life choice because she is about you pay you $6.99 for a to-go bowl of “holier than though”. I’ve seen it happen so many times it makes me sick. It wasn’t two weeks ago when I was standing in a grocery store bakery getting a birthday cake. There was one person behind the counter and she was efficiently taking care of three different requests. Out of nowhere I see a man standing next to the “artisian” bread counter. He stood alone unacknowledged for less than two minutes. Then he shouted for all of the bakery to hear “HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT TO BUY BREAD FROM YOU PEOPLE?” I’m not sure where this well dressed, normal looking man learned about being human, but it certainly wasn’t in any finishing school I’ve ever heard of.

I’ve been a boss before and I’ve been an employee in a service organization. The first thing I did when I became a supervisor is tell my employees that they do not have to tolerate being abused by customers. No ONE needs the money that bad. As a woman who worked in an automotive field for most of my 20’s; I know this more than anyone. I would remind my co-workers that I would be equally as insulted if they were lovingly patient with a customer who walked into my shop and abused me or insulted me; which happened on a daily basis. Ultimately causing me to give up on one of the things I loved. I loved cars – now I despise the industry and everything that goes with it.

It seems that our idea of employment has no hope of getting better. You can look at this article I recently found on Salon.com that talks about how Americans work harder than our most equal Western counterparts. While I don’t have the time, education or vocabulary to address the implications of socialism in the article, I can certainly see the benefits. We enjoy less, we get paid less and we have less to show for it. But that’s not the problem is it? Because on top of it all, we work to provide for our lives and families by sacrificing them. When we are finally in public we are over-worked, stressed out, emotionally stretched; we turn into total jerks. We’re jerks to those fellow humans who are equally over-worked, stressed out and emotionally stretched. Its a vicious circle of epic un-fulfilling proportions.

When I first moved to San Francisco I had a temp job or two before I started working at the restaurant. My first day on the job spent hours going over all of the personality traits of the person I was employed to care for. This seemingly healthy, successful 37 year old man had what we would call a “difficult personality”. If “difficult personality” didn’t get what he wanted he tended to not only retaliate but viciously degrade whomever was around him. Hours of Company money was spent on training me how to deal with him. But that’s OK too? Companies not only reward those high achievers or exemplars of the company with promotions, bonuses and special treatment. They are trained by their organizations to demand more and spend less. So while we’re doing more and more and, getting paid less and less and getting treated worse and worse; they are getting rewarded. Handsomely.

I had a job interview over the phone a year or so ago with an Executive Assistant placement company here in the Bay area. The interviewer who also happened to be the owner of the company asked me a seemingly innocent question. “What are your interests? Your passions you would say?” I answered with my hobbies and my activities that I LOVE. Which was promptly answered with, “it sounds like YOUR not committed to being an Executive Assistant. Most of the people who are in this business THIS IS their life” Where she continued to go on and on and on about how being an Executive Assistant is a dedicated service. I went back to bed after the interview, tended to my cold and thought that this was the last time I’m ever going to deal with another person like this in my entire life. That’s the day I gave up on Corporate America and became a comedian.

Follow up post: You don’t have to work a corporate job to feel discriminated against. Read this from Jezebel about Wal-Mart trying to get a suit dismissed from 1.5 million women.

when she asked why a man in the same job as her was making $23,000 more a year, was told, “Stephanie, that assistant manager has a family and two children to support.” She herself was a single mother with a six-month-old child.

Read more: http://jezebel.com/5622493/wal+mart-tries-to-unload-15-million-pesky-discrimination-plaintiffs#ixzz0xk08kCHq

Things that made me cheer this week

August 10th, 2010 No Comments

People are pissed off a lot lately. Unfortunately the ones who have to put up and shut up are in the customer service industry. I feel a movement coming, a cultural movement. A time when people are expected to act with grace and dignity in the face of uncertain outcomes. I feel a movement coming on where a person is allowed to call you an asshole and dismiss your rude, uncouth, heathen ass when you act like a jerk.

Here are several instances that made me cheer!

Girl quits her day job and emails entire office, via The Chive.com

You can click on the headline to see the entire set of photographs. I’m really proud of this lady for doing this. I’ve been an assistant many times and I’ve been treated with extreme disregard several times. Just in case you’re wondering dearest bosses; WE CAN FUCKING HEAR YOU!

Episode 2 when Chantel cheers!

Flight Attendant quits! Source CNN.com

His angry screed over the JetBlue plane’s intercom was apparently prompted after a passenger cursed at and shoved or hit Slater. And it’s getting an unexpected level of support from folks sympathetic to its “Take This Job and Shove It” bent.

I applaud this guy, as a person who has worked in some form of customer service my entire life. I’ve worked with the public and the public treats customer service employees like second class citizens. Customers degrade, insult, name call and generally act like douches.

I personally have been called names, insulted, yelled at, taken to court and openly sexually harassed. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – don’t take it! Do not reward bad behavior with good customer service. Just say no to ASSHOLES!!

Public; YOU’RE ON NOTICE!