It's All About Perception

Well here goes post 2...

Story 1...

So a couple months back here in Nashville we had a gas "shortage" due to the hurricanes.  Fair enough, i can comprehend how this could happen.  But here is what I can not understand, during this shortage if you were to drive 8-10 miles in ANY direction away from Nashville there an abundance of gas.  To give you an idea (those who aren't from Nashville) of the magnitude of the crisis people would wait in a line for 2-4 HOURS to use the pump.  and 9 times out of 10 the pump would run out and everyone would scurry to next line wrapped down around the block.  It was pure insanity.  I luckily only had to fill up one time during all this and did it at 6am (i was already at work for an hour)  I waited for one person to finish paying pulled in filled up and by the time i was pulling away a line of 10 cars had already formed.   I literally saw a line of cars following a tanker pulling into a gas station,  It was dumb. 

 So what caused all this? Perception!  There may have been a shortage but not enough to warrant what happened.  Then why? Perception.  All the news medias constantly talked about the gas "Crisis".  Which made Nashville worst than a room full of kindergartners with a box full of pixy stixs.  Everyone would rush to the pump even if they were 3/4's full.  How do i know.  I work at Starbucks, it might as well be a barber shop.  Everyone tells their barista's EVERYTHING, i don't know why they just do.  So people would constantly tell me, i was almost at half a tank but i filled up so i'm good. I would imagine strangling them in my head screaming "YOU ARE THE REASON FOR THIS CRISIS"  but instead would smile and hand them a coffee.

Every radio station, every tv station constantly would talk about why ONLY nashville was having this problem and how it was gonna be fixed.  I really wanted to call in and tell them to SHUT UP cause if they stopped talking about it people would fill up when they were empty instead of half full and it would go back to normal.  

Story 2...

At starbucks we have these little green pluggers.  They go in the lid to keep it from splashing when you are to nervous to hold a cup without spilling or when you are driving back to work and your co-worker was just to lazy to get in the car with you so he had you bring him one, whatever the case they are dumb little plastic things.  We only have recently gotten them maybe November or December.  Well they were a hit, people were hoarding them in their car (when we ran out someone said to me "it's okay, i have a couple in my car")   They were a success but Starbucks didn't plan well (not a surprise) and we constantly ran out.  The fits people would throw about how stupid starbucks is or "this is why you are going out of business" (I thought "Sir, you just payed 5 dollars for a coffee...") or that we owe them something now was astonishing.  I thought, a month ago you didn't even know these existed and now you can't function without one? This phenomena also got me thinking about America and our NEED compared to our WANT and how quickly we get those to confused.

As most of you all know, Slumdog Millionaire racked in the oscars Sunday and deservedly so.  It was an incredible movie.  While the movie was going on they kept showing the slums and the begging and how people washed clothes  it caught my attention more than usual for some reason.  Then just last night Ian(my cousin/roomie)  watched The Pianist.  The holocaust is always an eye opener for me because it was so recent, that kind of destruction happened less than 100 years ago.  As Waldyslaw Szpilman, the main character, fights to stay alive by eating A loaf a bread maybe every 2 weeks and sleeping on cement (along with a constant 2.5 hrs of other hardships) I thought, i may have only made 15,000 this past year (yep, sad i know), but i got it pretty good.  There was a line slumdog millionaire "Money and Women.  The reason for most mistakes in life"  I thought it was a great line that and it probably true about the Majority of America's problems...well depending on your senator it might be money and men but that's a whole different post.  People are greedy and jealous and lonely etc.  I guess i could bust out into a sermon, but i'll leave that to your local pastor.  To me it has instilled this sense of appreciation.  This thought of you controlling your happiness.  As the ever popular country band Sugarland puts it "i believe that happiness is something we create"  I agree.  Am I gonna be jealous of what everone else has or am I gonna love what I'm doing.  I can be happy I woke up today, be happy I get to afford a 5 dollar cup of coffee even though they are out of stupid green little pluggers, be happy that I sleep on a freakin comfy bed etc. etc. etc. There is plenty of stuff that needs fixing in this country sure, (economy, poverty, eduction etc.)  but there is plenty to be happy about too So as i've rambled on about a topic that is overly preached but not frequently absorbed or put into practice.  I am challenged by this..."what's your perception"

This guy is hilarious and gives great insight.