Exploring San Diego: Balboa Park

 

Monkey Ben

Hercules Ben 

 

 

 

 

Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

 

Lots of weddings going on in the park on a Friday evening

Strong In Will

As we sat and waited Ben began to become a little irritated. Where is the waiter? We had gotten our self-serve chips and dip and began to munch on them and now we were in great need of some mouth cooling drinks.

As the kitchen door swung open a tall, lanky, pretty brown haired girl rounded the corner. She stopped for a moment at our table apologized and let us know that it would be just one more moment and she would take our drink order. As promised she was back in only a moment and off with our drink and meal orders.

As she made her way around her small section of the enormous bar/restaurant it was very clear that our waitress was not quite like the other wait staff. She was tall and quite pretty however, her legs did not move like others. She had a slight limp and it would not have been noticeable to most but after a longer look It became clear to me that one of her legs was longer than the other. Just at the bend in her knee you could see, when looking intently, that one knee was just slightly higher than the other. She also, noticeably spoke just a little differently than most.

In that moment I was overcome with great pride for this girl. Having an almost relative (once removed) with cerebral palsy and having worked for years with the mother of a small child with the same disorder it was quite clear to me that this girl most likely was born with cerebral palsy. She clearly has a great deal of trouble doing something that many people take for granted... walking.

She not only walks a lot, she does it for a living. Being a server is a grueling job. If you have ever been part of a wait staff you surely know this. She is doing the one thing that is most difficult for her as her job. This, to me, is simply amazing. This girl is inspirational.

I wanted so badly to tell her how impressed, amazed, and inspired she had made me. Though, I was afraid of embarrassing her so I simply left her a really fat tip!

The Teammate

Work is very difficult for me right now. Problems with coworkers are making my job, which has been a happiness in an otherwise cluttered world, almost unbearable. For weeks now the feeling of being "set up" has been plaguing my thoughts. Little things... like being encouraged to use something that my coworkers and I have been clearly told not to use. Being told that rules that are clearly stated don't  "always" apply. Being given misinformation only to be tattled on later, when performing a task thought to be correct, as though we were in a school yard.

There are hateful, vindictive, evil people in this world, this I know; because of my teammate from JV cheer-leading this concept is all too familiar...

As my teammate's hand met mine, palm to palm, she pulled me to my feet and whispered into my ear, "stupid bitch". Astonishment does not begin to describe what I felt in that moment. My tailbone was throbbing and my head spinning. Moments before three of my teammates had been holding me high in the air. With complete trust in them I was flying high into the gym air only to crash, seconds later, harshly to the gym floor with no cradle of hands to catch me. They had dropped me... on purpose... In that moment I knew hate.

Today all of it came to a head and the realization that it was not all in my head became quite clear. Today my boss called to tell me that "many" of my coworkers had been complaining about what a terrible job I have been doing. That I am slow. That I don't follow rules. Again, complete and utter astonishment filled me from within. She also let me know that she liked me very much and that my personality was amazing however, she has to listen to what her trusted employees tell her. This is essentially my first and only warning to clean up my act or lose my job.

I began to wonder... Just how many employees have come before me that have lost their jobs because their supposed trainers were sabotaging them instead of teaching them? Why would employees do this? Are they motivated by a competition for more or better hours? Are they really just that picky about who they work with? Am I really just that unlikable?

Growing up we are taught that trying your best and doing a great job will get you far in life. How though do we accomplish great things when there are people at every turn waiting to tear you down and make life more difficult?

Being extremely sensitive has long been a great strength and weakness for me. Having compassion and hope for the good in everyone seems to be an amazing quality but it also hinders me from moving forward in some endeavors. That animalistic fight for power, control, and territory is just not something I posses. Maybe to be truly successful that is what it takes. After all, that is what reality TV has taught us right? Thoughts... Advice...