The “Poor Me” Post-it
Plucky and freckled, my neighbor Lana is a young Irish gal who’s always making wisecracks and is quick to lend a helping hand. Lana grew up poor, raised by a quirky single mom whom she says dated men “with more criminal charges than teeth.” To help make ends meet, Lana’s mom would take her daughters dumpster […]
Tribes and Tribulations
As I sat watching the victory parade for the San Francisco Giants, it hit me strongly how tribal we still are. Today, our tribes may be those with the same skin color, religion, economic level, or favorite sports team, but we still perpetuate the age-old mentality of “it’s my people versus yours.” We want to […]
You Are What You Tweet
I’m a big fan of social media, but I must say, some of what’s out there seems like a bunch of meaningless malarkey. Do I really want to hear about people’s delayed flights or whether or not they enjoyed their burrito? Not really. Not unless I’m the one picking them up at the airport or making […]
Body Shop
I got a notice in the mail the other day that it was time to service my car. When I called the garage, the office manager asked, “Are you calling to schedule routine service or major maintenance?” “I have no idea,” I replied. After looking up my records, she confirmed, “Looks like your car has […]
Seriously?
As the woman from my health plan abruptly cut me off and put me on hold for the fourth time, I thought to myself, “Seriously?” While normally, I’m a very patient, laid-back person, two things canquickly send me over the edge: computer problems and bad customer service. It took two hours, three transfers, and five […]
Banishing Boredom
Last night, I went out to dinner at an Indian restaurant with my friend Tracey. She started telling me about her colleagues at work, then her voice suddenly trailed off. “You were saying something about your clients…?” I encouraged her. “I got bored with my story,” she replied, going back to her masala. I […]
