The Virtue of Being Me

So, as you can imagine, when people meet me, they ask the inevitable question. Come on, it begs to be ask...

Do you have any? Patience, that is.

And standard answer - Yes, with everything but myself and traffic.

I've come to realize in the last few weeks, that this is more than just a flippant answer, and not entirely true.

The true part - I am, in fact, very impatient with myself.

The not entirely true part - I'm impatient with way more than just traffic...

So, let's explore the things that make me impatient...

TRAFFIC. Definitely traffic. Though if I'm sitting in a traffic jam, I'm pretty calm. If the car in front of me can't move any faster because the car in front of him can't move any faster because the car in front of them...I think you get the picture. Anyway, I'm pretty patient in this situation. I've learned - getting frustrated at this situation beyond my control doesn't make the traffic jam magically disappear. HOWEVER, if the guy in front of me CHOOSES to go 30 in a 55...yeah, no tolerance for THAT driver. Seriously...yelling, screaming, red in the face impatient, swearing enough to make any sailor proud.

POLITICIANS - Okay, I get a free one on this one. No one in their right mind has patience for politics.

BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. Two years of working at Disney, 6 years of dreaming of working with Disney and 12 years working in retail - that adds up to a lot of customer service experience. I know what it's like to deal with stupid question after stupid question, to be endlessly pounded by requests, reasonable and unreasonable. I know what it's like to be treated like a servant instead of a service representative (often confused). But I know what good customer service is and I give good customer service. Therefore, if you ever wait on me, whether it be a Neiman Marcus (as if) or Wal-Mart, be prepared to be judged - and judged harshly. I have EXTREMELY high standards of service and I have no patience for what, in my humble opinion, is incompetence. And though I may not say anything to the service rep, I WILL say something to the poor soul hanging out with me. You've been warned.

BAD ATTITUDES. I'm a fairly positive person. I do my job to the best of my ability and take pride in my work. And I expect everyone around me to have the EXACT same work ethic. So, don't make excuses. Admit that you made a mistake, admit that you don't know something, admit that you had a bad moment and forgot to do something. DO NOT blame someone else, DO NOT make excuses when you just plain forgot or overlooked something. DO NOT rain on my parade because you don't like your job or your co-workers. DO NOT think that sick days are just freebies and expect me to pick up your slack.

BAD JOKES. Seriously...does anyone have any patience for this?

NO MANNERS. I say "thank you" to everyone. To the extreme. I empathize with your situation and when I say "I'm sorry," I genuinely mean it. I know the magic word and I use it. I don't expect you to wait on me, but I'll do what I can to make your journey a little easier. BUT...it would be nice if you practiced with I preach... :)

MYSELF. In most every respect. When learning something new, I expect to get it right the first time, every time, never error, never question. Yeah...that doesn't happen a lot. And in the years struggling with my weight, I expect that if I eat right and exercise for an ENTIRE week, then my clothes will no longer fit and all my worldly dreams will come true. Hence the reason I've been living a series of last days...no patience, I tell you... And, the most tragic of all - With life in general - I want tomorrow now and so, I often forget to enjoy today.

I have nothing profound to finish this entry off with. I just think it's ironic that, for a girl named Patience, I don't have a whole lot of it.