Money doesn't make you better

Another story from Vegas.

I usually get a sedan to take me to and from my hotel when I go to Vegas. This company has the best drivers, very nice, very professional and they actually are the least expensive.

This driver was exceptionally fun. He talked to us about some of the celebrities he had driven. I was surprised by some of his comments of who is cool and who isn't.

But one thing is for sure, just because you are paying someone for a service doesn't mean you can treat them as a lesser human being. In fact, just because you have money doesn't mean you are a better human then others with less money. At times I find it inversely proportional, the more money the sadder, less useful and less productive a human they are.

Money really seems to taint the thinking of some people and that is sad. If money has tainted you into thinking you are better then others, then there really is something so sad with you, something so lacking in your life.

Vegas and Frustration

I had a very interesting experience in La Perla in Las Vegas.

I had been looking for a bra set, wearing beautiful lingerie can make you feel wonderful and so feminine.

My experience at the sales counter started as far from wonderful as possible.

I didn't know what was going on, but when I was done selecting my lingerie, I went to pay only to find a women so totally frustrated she was no longer herself. She had turned into a diva. She was so mad because her gift was not exchangeable in the Las Vegas store. Something that corporate headquarters should fix. She was so frustrated which then fell onto everyone around her. The poor sales clerks were doing what they could which was not acceptable to this women. To top it off here I come into the picture. The sales protocol was to take care of the first customer. Since I was in the store before this women, I was to be taken care of before her. Well this just made her so incensed. She was fit to be tied.

The saleswomen apologized to me, I felt bad for her to deal with the frustrated women. Maybe she heard me say that to the saleswomen. I dont know what changed her attitude but she turned to me and apologized that this was not her normal behavior. I could tell she was simply frustrated. But what I was going to say to this women when I left was her diva behavior had soiled my experience.

Thankfully, this women saw she was acting beyond what she thought was good. She saw her bad behavior. We all need to remember that we also will get frustrated and will behave in a way beyond our character. It is what we do when we see ourselves and our bad, non-elegant behavior what we do with that. This women, as important as she is in her career, saw me as another human being, due the same respect she was demanding, and with grace fixed the situation.

To be honest when I heard her she was going to be an example on this blog as "what has our world come to", but she showed such grace and class, she hit this blog as an example of what happens to us all, we get caught up in the moment but how we handle our bad behavior, that makes elegant or average.

Las Vegas Strip

Yes, it has been a long time between posts. Please remember I have a new job and that will take my time.

Anyway I was in Las Vegas for business and Brooks came down for the week.

Boy do we have a lot to blog about our time on the strip. I am making sure to define that we were on the strip and this has nothing to do with Vegas natives. To be even more specific between THEhotel at Mandalay bay and the Palazzo.

There are just so many things to comment on, from the fake grass to the TSA agents that made it so easy for us to go thru security, to the sales snake at a store selling facial products ( oh yea he should get his own posting) , to the frustrated women at La Perla.

There will have to be multiple posts and I will need to bribe Brooks to post.

Well that explains it!

Wish I had taken a look at the magazine's name, all I know is it was October 2010. But they had an article that explains a lot. It was a survey and one of the questions was who is Emily Post. Thankfully most people didn't say the owner of a cereal company but more then 60% of "younger" readers 18-34 didn't know who she was.

That really explains a lot. I'm not saying that these readers don't have manners. If you need to write a thank you note, the internet is a great resource and if you type in manners into yahoo's search engine Miss Manners and Emily Post are on the first page. The question is, do you know when to write a thank you note?

Do you really think you're more important then the person next to you?

You do - THEN STOP IT!
We are all important.
So, stop showing us your bad behavior.

Whose the bigger fool?

There is a new show on MSNBC. I fully intended to take a look at the Lawrence O'Donnell's new show. His first night he had the VP of the US as his guest. Well, I've changed my mind. Watching "Morning Joe" on Wednesday (which I've stopped watching as of the end of last week, check an up coming post for the reason) they showed a clip of Mr. O'Donnell's guest, Levi Johnson. Are you kidding me? This "serious" MSNBC show had Levi Johnson on the night after the VP? I didn't think you could fall, that far, that fast.

Most know Levi is running for mayor of Wasilla AK. Why he is running? Not sure anyone has really ascertained the reason. Levi has yet to finish high school, which I think, in this day and age the laws should be change to not only to age but high school / GED education requirements for public office. That aside...

Comparing Larry and Levi in a mental show down, Levi is woefully unarmed. There is no way this ever was going to be a fair fight. Gentleman engage in fair fights, Larry.
But for Mr. O'Donnell to sit back and let both barrels of his wit, worldliness, and education at Levi was crazy. It was like someone shooting fish in a barrel, where's the sport?

Morning Joe called it embarrassing, I agree just not with the person they were embarrassed for. I was embarrassed for a grown man feeling he had to show up a much younger man from a small town with out a complete formal education. I was also embarrassed for this grown man to even have invited this much younger, less worldly "boy" onto his program only to show us what we already knew.

So, I've learned Mr. O'Donnell doesn't fight fair. Mr. O'Donnell did you pull little girls pig tails when you were in grade school? Did you hit kids with glasses? Why not pick on someone your own mental size? I would hate to think how else he doesn't play fair, or maybe that is just the DC way?

My question, who is the bigger fool? The fool, or the man who show us how much a fool the fool is

Finding the Time

It's very hard to find the time. The time to do what we like vs. what we have to take care.

Sometimes what we have to take care of is ourselves. I would love to post more, but my life has become so crazy that my body has started to react. I need rest and decompression time. Writing is one way to relax, but being ill takes all of your time. Once you have a diagnosis you then can move forward and take steps to mitigate what might be causing the problems / pain.

I have a list of postings, I will take my time and get them posted as long as I have the strength.

The most distressing aspect is trying to stay elegant and maintain dignity, it can be done, but then there are times that the best way to express elegance is to admit this is what it is and what it will be. I do not need makeup to be elegant, but I do need to be kind, just because I am sick and in pain doesn't mean I have to bring those around me down.

Public Transportation

Is exactly what the name implies PUBLIC. This is not your own private world. The more I travel and the more I take cities public transportation the more I am noticing the lack of courtesy from other riders. The car in which are riding does not have your name on it, for if it did you would not be taking public transportation, hence you really could do as you wish.

We all hear your phone conversation. I am still amazed at the amount of phone calls placed and taken that are of a personal nature. Not "hey I"m running late I'll be in in 30 minutes" but at time full fledged fights on the phone. What also amazes me in the era of texting is that people arn't texting while on public transport. That way you can say all you need and have complete privacy.

I was in Portland OR last month. I so wanted to laugh (I think laughter was the sensation I had) but there was this women that called her friend to tell her about her first day at work. Ok but you couldn't wait until you got home? But it was what was next that I was astounded by, seems this women just got out of jail after 18 months for fraud. Now the would MAX car knows it also. Oh this MAX ride was like that. The women just out of jail told us all about the halfway house she was staying out and the amount of time her accomplices were servering. But that was only the start of all the personal things I was to hear that day. Next, another lady called her hairdresser talked 10 minutes about how horrible her sons hair was and all the gossip that would come along with a typical visit to the salon.This is happening at one end of the car, at the other end we have a couple have a very loud fight. I was very happy to get to the airport. In Seattle, the women across the isle from me on light rail picked up her ringing phone and announced "I'm not talking to you I'm mad at you" and she then proceeded to have a fighting conversation with her other on the phone.

Riding light rail I see all the time people totally unaware that others inhabit this earth - especially tourists. Tourists with kids are the worst. They seem to think that they are on vacation and since this isn't their city and there are no worries of running into people they know that could gossip about how horribly behaved their children are then let them run and run like wild animals. Running up and down the isles is not only unsafe for the children but its unsafe for my computer! The sudden stops and starts make the children moving projectiles into the closest object in the opposite motion.

Public lobbies are the same - they are there for all to use. Not for some to dominate with loud screaming conversation.

Again it all comes down to realizing your not the whole world to behaving with dignity and treat others with dignity. But its seems to be an order that is just to much.

Getting to and from public transportation is another issue. When using escalators, if your going to ride up, step the side. Others have places to go and they may be late. If there is no way to move to the side the DONT RIDE them up WALK if there is no one in front of you but a whole line behind you. If you cant walk up you should have taken the elevator. There is no reason for you to hold up a whole line of people behind you. Move with traffic.

There are others in the world and they have the same rights as you.

Learning from VP Biden

I doubt anyone would ever call VP Biden elegant. Why? Because he has impulse control problem to say the least. To make the comments he did to the custard shop owner (and the open mike comment after health care passed and ....)

He shows his ego, and lack of concern for others. He also demonstrates he doesn't understand there is a professional time and a personal time. What is scary is that he probably doesn't care what people thinking of him and as a person "serving the public" to not care how people perceive him and not care if he offends people shows his personality.

Elegance is to live your life - Your life. Not to tell other how to live theirs.

That shop owner has ever right to think his taxes are to high and there is the VP of the US in front of you. Well why not tell him your thoughts? As the VP of the US your comments mean something. To denigrate a citizen because he didn't agree with you is so unprofessional. And to not apologize. This man just gave him a commodity, the VP did say thank you, but when that owner made his comment, which he has the right to do, the VP could have easily replied, "That's an issue bigger then us here and now" Simple! No one offended, and no sound bites. But Mr. Biden shows he really thinks much to much of himself. He took that man's comment as a personal offense. The VP was not in a bar with friends he was representing the US. He showed he has little respect for himself or the office he holds..

As the VP he really has little power or little control over taxes and we all know it. But what he does have control over, he refuses to exercise that power. The power to control you tongue, the power to make others feel good.


We can learn from examples - even bad examples.

Adios, Architectural Digest

I have been a subscriber to AD for a long time. AD and Town and Country are the only magainzes I subscribe to.

In the last few years the articles have become less interesting and more pop culture. What really was the final straw for me were the celebrities adorning the front cover month after month after month and then using those covers to sell subscriptions you get a clear picture of their "vision".
Yet another magazine taking the easy way out. I dont care about those people. How about the architects that made the vision a reality, how much space in the article to the get? And truly do we have to have the celebrity in every shot. There were the yearly specials, the before and after and the spot light on architects and designers. But this magazine over the last year or so has turned into something more of an interior designers magazine. To find a floor plan printed in the magazine made you fell like you should go an by a lottery ticket because this was your lucky day. I use to love to sit and page thru the magazine and savory the images and articles. But AD is really no different then the other magazines on the stands. And when T&C has the same type of writing and articles that AD has then why have two of the same coming into the house? And with T&C at least I have fashion. But AD, T&C might not be to far behind you. Seems their new editor is a man - I will give him a few months to see his direction, but I am tired of men telling women what we should look like, what we should ware and what we should like. T&C had female editor with female sensibilities. But like I said I will reserve judgement, for a few months.

So I will not be renewing my subscription, no matter how many 'urgent" mailers I get. When AD gets back to Architecture and its design I happily subscribe again, but in our current environment were thinking is look down upon and everything must be light and candy-like not instructive, informative and useful it will be a long wait so I wont hold my breathe.