This morning, just like any other morning I am driving into work. I pull into the parkade behind a car and he stops just on the other side of the gate. OK he's obviously concerned about security issues and, although my parking decal is clearly displayed in my rear view, and my window is open, and my hand is out with my garage door clicker that I'm frantically clicking, he still doesn't realize that I also park there. I get the security issue. But come on, its 9am on a weekday and the cars are piling up behind me.
I get inside and I park and then I head towards the stairs. The same guy is ahead of me again. He walks thru the door, and it literally slams in my face as I almost go to walk thru. The door falls right on my arm as I try to quickly grab the door and leaves a nice little bruise. Geesh! REALLY???!! he saw me. He looked right at me when we both approached the door.
Maybe my title on this entry is wrong. Maybe it's not "chivalry" that I should be talking about. Yes its 2013 and women have equal rights. But I admit I like it when guys hold doors open for me. Hell let's be completely honest......I like it when people hold doors open for me. I don't expect it but I think its nice just to be courteous to each other. I like when people are nice to each other! And find that there are way too many rude people these days for my liking.
We continue walking up the stairs and I'm still right behind him. Second set of doors coming up. He sees me (still) and he goes thru the door, and he pushes it really wide open this time just so that I can get out behind him without getting hit with the door. He didn't "quite" hold it open for me just opened it wider for me to squeeze thru. So I say "THANK YOU!!" and he turns and gives me this weird look like I've got two heads.
This isn't the first time its happened to me. One time at Starbucks I had my hands full of coffee for an office meeting, and a lady walked right in front of me, cutting off my path and out the door ahead of me. Me being naive and thinking that she saw me struggling with my hands full and she was coming get the door for me. Nope! UGH Coffee all over me and my nail ripped off by the door. She didn't even look back, let alone apologize. At least the people in Starbucks stopped to help me. Nice people there.
We have become a society where when you accidentally park 10 minutes prior to allowed parking time on Davie Street, people pull up and scream disgusting and vulgar words at you. A society where in the same situation a guy on a bike kicks and punches your car while screaming obscenities about what he is going to do to you! Yes its true it happened!
Everyone seems to be in a rush. But are we in such a rush that we have no time to be kind to others? For those of you who know me, I am very friendly to other people. I try to help others when I can. I smile at people when I pass them and they make eye contact. And believe it or not I get a lot of weird looks when I do that. I hold doors open for people if I see their hands are full, or if they are walking behind me. I wave people in front of me in rush hour traffic if its safe and if someone lets me in I wave back. I say please and thank you and bless you if someone sneezes. (and I cover my mouth when I sneeze - that's another blog for another time!) I say excuse me if I sneeze or if I need to get by someone. Is it so much to ask for others to do the same?
These days communication is lacking on so many levels. I was taught in HR that the source of most conflicts is lack of communication. That's a huge part of it. Working with teams is a frustration in itself. There is lack of ownership, and then there is too much ownership. Have you ever worked on a team project and you have someone who always uses the words "me, mine, my, I?" but yet its a project that the whole team has ownership in and the whole team contributes? I'm all for taking credit as a team, its people who take credit for themselves that drive me nuts. People who don't communicate with other team members before they make decisions that affect the team, makes other team members feel alienated and left out of the group. It's frustrating to say the least. All this really boils down to being courteous and considerate doesn't it? Take credit where due and don't where its not.
I was just outside for lunch and saw a man that was standing on the corner. He was mumbling street names to himself and pointing like he was lost. Seemed apparent to me he was lost anyhow. So I stopped and said "Excuse me are you lost? do you need directions?" and he laughed at me and told me no, he is a glass contractor and trying to figure out where the glass is that he needs to change. But then he wouldn't leave me along and stop talking to me and started following me around. I think he thought I was hitting on him!! LOL this happens to me a lot. My husband laughs at me for this reason. But yet I will still continue to talk to people and be nice and try to help. I just think the world could always use more nice don't you????
I get inside and I park and then I head towards the stairs. The same guy is ahead of me again. He walks thru the door, and it literally slams in my face as I almost go to walk thru. The door falls right on my arm as I try to quickly grab the door and leaves a nice little bruise. Geesh! REALLY???!! he saw me. He looked right at me when we both approached the door.
Maybe my title on this entry is wrong. Maybe it's not "chivalry" that I should be talking about. Yes its 2013 and women have equal rights. But I admit I like it when guys hold doors open for me. Hell let's be completely honest......I like it when people hold doors open for me. I don't expect it but I think its nice just to be courteous to each other. I like when people are nice to each other! And find that there are way too many rude people these days for my liking.
We continue walking up the stairs and I'm still right behind him. Second set of doors coming up. He sees me (still) and he goes thru the door, and he pushes it really wide open this time just so that I can get out behind him without getting hit with the door. He didn't "quite" hold it open for me just opened it wider for me to squeeze thru. So I say "THANK YOU!!" and he turns and gives me this weird look like I've got two heads.
This isn't the first time its happened to me. One time at Starbucks I had my hands full of coffee for an office meeting, and a lady walked right in front of me, cutting off my path and out the door ahead of me. Me being naive and thinking that she saw me struggling with my hands full and she was coming get the door for me. Nope! UGH Coffee all over me and my nail ripped off by the door. She didn't even look back, let alone apologize. At least the people in Starbucks stopped to help me. Nice people there.
We have become a society where when you accidentally park 10 minutes prior to allowed parking time on Davie Street, people pull up and scream disgusting and vulgar words at you. A society where in the same situation a guy on a bike kicks and punches your car while screaming obscenities about what he is going to do to you! Yes its true it happened!
Everyone seems to be in a rush. But are we in such a rush that we have no time to be kind to others? For those of you who know me, I am very friendly to other people. I try to help others when I can. I smile at people when I pass them and they make eye contact. And believe it or not I get a lot of weird looks when I do that. I hold doors open for people if I see their hands are full, or if they are walking behind me. I wave people in front of me in rush hour traffic if its safe and if someone lets me in I wave back. I say please and thank you and bless you if someone sneezes. (and I cover my mouth when I sneeze - that's another blog for another time!) I say excuse me if I sneeze or if I need to get by someone. Is it so much to ask for others to do the same?
These days communication is lacking on so many levels. I was taught in HR that the source of most conflicts is lack of communication. That's a huge part of it. Working with teams is a frustration in itself. There is lack of ownership, and then there is too much ownership. Have you ever worked on a team project and you have someone who always uses the words "me, mine, my, I?" but yet its a project that the whole team has ownership in and the whole team contributes? I'm all for taking credit as a team, its people who take credit for themselves that drive me nuts. People who don't communicate with other team members before they make decisions that affect the team, makes other team members feel alienated and left out of the group. It's frustrating to say the least. All this really boils down to being courteous and considerate doesn't it? Take credit where due and don't where its not.
I was just outside for lunch and saw a man that was standing on the corner. He was mumbling street names to himself and pointing like he was lost. Seemed apparent to me he was lost anyhow. So I stopped and said "Excuse me are you lost? do you need directions?" and he laughed at me and told me no, he is a glass contractor and trying to figure out where the glass is that he needs to change. But then he wouldn't leave me along and stop talking to me and started following me around. I think he thought I was hitting on him!! LOL this happens to me a lot. My husband laughs at me for this reason. But yet I will still continue to talk to people and be nice and try to help. I just think the world could always use more nice don't you????
Chivalry is not dead but it certainly is missing in alot of areas...
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