Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Los Angeles and Fast Food
Headline:
"Los Angeles City Councils Passes Moratorium on New Fast Food Restaurants"
Huh? So you're telling me that the City Council is going to prevent me from being obese in South L.A. (where the moratorium is to be in effect pending the Mayor's signature), solely from preventing more fast food places from opening up? Uh, don't think so. People are not obese because of the fast food places. They are obese because of what they eat AND how much exercise they get. How many non-fast food places serve tasty fattening food? Lots. And how many of them also serve less-fattening food. The same. Lots.
This is ludicrous. A government controlling what restaurants can be built based upon if they have table service and use heat lamps? Hmmmm, let's see, even restaurants WITH table service use heat lamps or some other type of heating element to keep food hot in the "window" while waiting to be "expo'd" and delivered to a table.
These council people are morons. Plain and simple. I guarantee none of them have ever worked in the Food & Beverage Industry. If they hear NRA they think guns, not the National Restaurant Association. It's not the restaurants, it's the eating habits of the people. I mean if they really wanted to tackle this, why not give people the incentive to buy healthy ingredients at this nifty invention from decades-past that's still around. It's called a Grocery Store. You see, you can buy all kinds of really cool and healthy items there.
Psst. Guess what, you can also buy some really tasty unhealthy stuff too. Just like every fast food place in existence. These council people are so stupid in thinking that a proper "sit down" restaurant will guarantee healthy food.
Anyone care to guess how many calories are in a Bloomin' Onion appetizer at Outback Steakhouse? 2100 calories! How about Chili's Big Mouth BBQ Burger. Just the burger. 1110 Calories. Olive Garden's Tour of Italy. 2000 calories. Pizza Hut Cheese Personal Pan Pizza. 850 Calories. Subway's 6" Super Seafood & Crab(R) made with light mayonnaise. 444 calories, 888 for a 12". Mc Donald's Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese. 740 Calories. Burger King's Whopper(R) w/Cheese. 760 Calories. Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits Mild Breast. 270 Calories each. Shall I go on?
So regular sit-down restaurants are not necessarily healthier than fast food. They also argued that the people in South L.A. don't have cars so fast food is their only option. Waaaa! I lived in Chicago for 7 years and 5 years without a car. And so do many people most of their lives. You know what we did? We walked or took the bus to that new-fangled thing called a grocery store, or yes, Virginia, we walked to a fast food place, or even a real restaurant to eat.
They also wanted to argue that fast food was cheap and therefore the people there were eating cheap food and getting fat. So.....that means if you don't put fast food restaurants for a year to draw healthier sit-down places those places will charge me $5.00 for a full meal deal? Yeah, right. Using the economics of fast food places is stupid. Again, a GROCERY STORE gives me a better value.
So what if I have to microwave it, or God forbid, cook it. If I'm that lazy (and I can be many times), I can make this other thing called a sandwich. Couple pieces of my choice of meat between two slices of bread (they make some with only 6g of carbs per slice ya know) and a condiment. A lot less calories than that Big Mac from down the road and cheaper to boot too, yo.
I lost a lot of weight a few years ago by adjusting my diet. Cut out a lot of bad things. Healthier meals and less visits to the bar after a closing shift. And ya know what? I still went to Mc Donald's and got a Hamburger. Just the regular hamburger. The $0.69 kind? Yeah. A few times a week for lunch. That and water. Among other meals and the physical exertion/stress from work I lost about 30lbs in 2-3 months.
Don't blame the restaurants. Blame the people. Other than the ones that seriously have a medical condition that prevents them from losing the weight, the rest of the World can be a lot less obese. All that weight I lost? I gained it back. How? Not eating like I did for a couple years. I got lazy again. And a job that had less physical exertion/stress.
So here's the link to an article (not the only one BTW) about this. And the poll I took from that site showed that 79% percent of the people taking the poll effective agree with me.
Government policing what I eat. Before you know it, we'll be eating Soylent Green.
That's all I got tonight.
l8r,
Marz
"Los Angeles City Councils Passes Moratorium on New Fast Food Restaurants"
Huh? So you're telling me that the City Council is going to prevent me from being obese in South L.A. (where the moratorium is to be in effect pending the Mayor's signature), solely from preventing more fast food places from opening up? Uh, don't think so. People are not obese because of the fast food places. They are obese because of what they eat AND how much exercise they get. How many non-fast food places serve tasty fattening food? Lots. And how many of them also serve less-fattening food. The same. Lots.
This is ludicrous. A government controlling what restaurants can be built based upon if they have table service and use heat lamps? Hmmmm, let's see, even restaurants WITH table service use heat lamps or some other type of heating element to keep food hot in the "window" while waiting to be "expo'd" and delivered to a table.
These council people are morons. Plain and simple. I guarantee none of them have ever worked in the Food & Beverage Industry. If they hear NRA they think guns, not the National Restaurant Association. It's not the restaurants, it's the eating habits of the people. I mean if they really wanted to tackle this, why not give people the incentive to buy healthy ingredients at this nifty invention from decades-past that's still around. It's called a Grocery Store. You see, you can buy all kinds of really cool and healthy items there.
Psst. Guess what, you can also buy some really tasty unhealthy stuff too. Just like every fast food place in existence. These council people are so stupid in thinking that a proper "sit down" restaurant will guarantee healthy food.
Anyone care to guess how many calories are in a Bloomin' Onion appetizer at Outback Steakhouse? 2100 calories! How about Chili's Big Mouth BBQ Burger. Just the burger. 1110 Calories. Olive Garden's Tour of Italy. 2000 calories. Pizza Hut Cheese Personal Pan Pizza. 850 Calories. Subway's 6" Super Seafood & Crab(R) made with light mayonnaise. 444 calories, 888 for a 12". Mc Donald's Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese. 740 Calories. Burger King's Whopper(R) w/Cheese. 760 Calories. Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits Mild Breast. 270 Calories each. Shall I go on?
So regular sit-down restaurants are not necessarily healthier than fast food. They also argued that the people in South L.A. don't have cars so fast food is their only option. Waaaa! I lived in Chicago for 7 years and 5 years without a car. And so do many people most of their lives. You know what we did? We walked or took the bus to that new-fangled thing called a grocery store, or yes, Virginia, we walked to a fast food place, or even a real restaurant to eat.
They also wanted to argue that fast food was cheap and therefore the people there were eating cheap food and getting fat. So.....that means if you don't put fast food restaurants for a year to draw healthier sit-down places those places will charge me $5.00 for a full meal deal? Yeah, right. Using the economics of fast food places is stupid. Again, a GROCERY STORE gives me a better value.
So what if I have to microwave it, or God forbid, cook it. If I'm that lazy (and I can be many times), I can make this other thing called a sandwich. Couple pieces of my choice of meat between two slices of bread (they make some with only 6g of carbs per slice ya know) and a condiment. A lot less calories than that Big Mac from down the road and cheaper to boot too, yo.
I lost a lot of weight a few years ago by adjusting my diet. Cut out a lot of bad things. Healthier meals and less visits to the bar after a closing shift. And ya know what? I still went to Mc Donald's and got a Hamburger. Just the regular hamburger. The $0.69 kind? Yeah. A few times a week for lunch. That and water. Among other meals and the physical exertion/stress from work I lost about 30lbs in 2-3 months.
Don't blame the restaurants. Blame the people. Other than the ones that seriously have a medical condition that prevents them from losing the weight, the rest of the World can be a lot less obese. All that weight I lost? I gained it back. How? Not eating like I did for a couple years. I got lazy again. And a job that had less physical exertion/stress.
So here's the link to an article (not the only one BTW) about this. And the poll I took from that site showed that 79% percent of the people taking the poll effective agree with me.
Government policing what I eat. Before you know it, we'll be eating Soylent Green.
That's all I got tonight.
l8r,
Marz
Monday, July 28, 2008
I Wanted to Believe
I saw X-Files: I Want to Believe last night. I Want to Believe that there are still conspiracies in the World for Fox and Dana to fight. I Want to Believe there was a shady character that was secretly helping Mulder. I Want to Believe Chris Carter would give us some new nemesis to hate. I Want to Believe there were aliens about to abduct someone. I Want to Believe it was a good movie.
It wasn't. It was bad. No, wait, BAD. No, BAAAAAAAAD. Really. Seriously. I've never walked out of a movie before that I can remember. And there were a couple times I thought about it. I thought Indiana Jones was bad, but this was worse.
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. I mean, was I expecting too much? Was I romanticizing how good the TV series was? Was there really some new story to be told here since Fox and Dana were effectively done with the FBI? I had hoped so. I wanted to believe there was.
I first found out about this movie in February/March. Somehow I stumbled upon a link to a video from a Sci-Fi convention that claimed it showed a preview of the new X-Files movie. I clicked the link, and sure enough, I was watching a preview of the movie. I heard the crowd go nuts. I went nuts. I went to work to request the day after the premiere off so I could go to the midnight show. That's how jazzed I was about it.
Fast forward a few months later. My personal life has changed a bit so I didn't go see it on opening night. I was able to catch the last show on the way home from work last night as I had gotten out early. I was stoked.
What I saw was nothing more than an hour-and-a-half episode (it would have been 2 hours with commercials). And not a very good one at that. One of those episodes easily forgotten. You, know, one of those that are really just a filler; doesn't advance the main story-line? That's what this one is.
I won't really go into the plot itself. I read that Gillian Anderson said she had a hard time getting into character for this movie. I really think the movie itself had a hard time getting into character. I actually though she did a pretty good job. Duchovny did OK. Oh, did I mention that during the previews was a movie with a forgettable title that stars Téa Leoni. Hmmm, David Duchovny's wife's movie trailer before David Duchovny's movie. Coincidence? Doubtful.
Anyway for most of the movie I thought we were going to get this big reveal of aliens being behind the mystery. I kept waiting for the scene of the secret government or corporate conspiracy trying to block Mulder and Scully. Instead I got Scully in conflict of trying to save a boy's life at a Catholic hospital and her desire to help Mulder. Waste of time. I got Mulder being Mulder for the most part, so that's OK. I got Skinner in way too late. I got no other compelling characters other than a psychic who is a former pedophile priest that Scully loathes. I got lots of snow and frozen people. What I go was just really weak.
And in doing a little bit of research just before writing this, I come across a statement that Chris Carter wants to do a third movie based upon the idea of the alien colonization on 12/22/12 based on the Mayan Calendar's date for the end of the world. As long as this movie does well. Hrmph. Well, Chris, I doubt you'll make that movie.
Unless you are an X-Files nut and just have to see everything associated with the X-Files, stay away. Just like all but 5, that's right 5, of us at the 10:30 show last night.
I shoulda seen Dark Knight instead.
l8r,
Marz
P.S. Hey, FOX (as in the movie studio, not the character), since you seem to have some extra coin laying around to make bad movies, I could use a little bit of that. I've got a couple ideas for a movie, though nothing really thought out. Couldn't be worse than what I saw last night. KTHXBAI!
It wasn't. It was bad. No, wait, BAD. No, BAAAAAAAAD. Really. Seriously. I've never walked out of a movie before that I can remember. And there were a couple times I thought about it. I thought Indiana Jones was bad, but this was worse.
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. I mean, was I expecting too much? Was I romanticizing how good the TV series was? Was there really some new story to be told here since Fox and Dana were effectively done with the FBI? I had hoped so. I wanted to believe there was.
I first found out about this movie in February/March. Somehow I stumbled upon a link to a video from a Sci-Fi convention that claimed it showed a preview of the new X-Files movie. I clicked the link, and sure enough, I was watching a preview of the movie. I heard the crowd go nuts. I went nuts. I went to work to request the day after the premiere off so I could go to the midnight show. That's how jazzed I was about it.
Fast forward a few months later. My personal life has changed a bit so I didn't go see it on opening night. I was able to catch the last show on the way home from work last night as I had gotten out early. I was stoked.
What I saw was nothing more than an hour-and-a-half episode (it would have been 2 hours with commercials). And not a very good one at that. One of those episodes easily forgotten. You, know, one of those that are really just a filler; doesn't advance the main story-line? That's what this one is.
I won't really go into the plot itself. I read that Gillian Anderson said she had a hard time getting into character for this movie. I really think the movie itself had a hard time getting into character. I actually though she did a pretty good job. Duchovny did OK. Oh, did I mention that during the previews was a movie with a forgettable title that stars Téa Leoni. Hmmm, David Duchovny's wife's movie trailer before David Duchovny's movie. Coincidence? Doubtful.
Anyway for most of the movie I thought we were going to get this big reveal of aliens being behind the mystery. I kept waiting for the scene of the secret government or corporate conspiracy trying to block Mulder and Scully. Instead I got Scully in conflict of trying to save a boy's life at a Catholic hospital and her desire to help Mulder. Waste of time. I got Mulder being Mulder for the most part, so that's OK. I got Skinner in way too late. I got no other compelling characters other than a psychic who is a former pedophile priest that Scully loathes. I got lots of snow and frozen people. What I go was just really weak.
And in doing a little bit of research just before writing this, I come across a statement that Chris Carter wants to do a third movie based upon the idea of the alien colonization on 12/22/12 based on the Mayan Calendar's date for the end of the world. As long as this movie does well. Hrmph. Well, Chris, I doubt you'll make that movie.
Unless you are an X-Files nut and just have to see everything associated with the X-Files, stay away. Just like all but 5, that's right 5, of us at the 10:30 show last night.
I shoulda seen Dark Knight instead.
l8r,
Marz
P.S. Hey, FOX (as in the movie studio, not the character), since you seem to have some extra coin laying around to make bad movies, I could use a little bit of that. I've got a couple ideas for a movie, though nothing really thought out. Couldn't be worse than what I saw last night. KTHXBAI!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Texas Citizenship
So, today I officially became a citizen of Texas. Well, I don't have the picture ID yet, but I got slip of paper that says I'm a citizen. So does that mean I have dual citizenship in Texas and the United States of America? Well, son, yes it do.
Why is it that the people who live here have such a state pride? Well I think I covered much of that in an earlier post on Texas.
Over the past several weeks I've changed my profiles and accounts everywhere online (and I got a lot of them) to reflect I live in Texas. However, until I went to DPS (Department of Public Safety) - the equivalent of the DMV in most places, I didn't feel like a citizen of Texas. Yes, I keep using the term citizen. Not resident. Most Texans would probably like to be called a citizen rather than a resident. It's that whole Texas was once a nation thing.
So how did the experience go? Well, rather smooth. Though it took two days. Huh? Two days? Well, I went at about 11:30 yesterday hoping to beat the lunch crowd. HA! I don't think it was a lunch crowd I hit. There were probably 50+ people in line. I literally would have been the last person in line that would have been inside the building. I couldn't even get the form I needed until I got half-way through the line. So I bailed.
I went back this morning. Got there at 8:15 AM. 15 minutes later than I wanted, but no biggie. Unlike Chicago, I only had one person in front of me in line at that time. In Chicago, it was like 40 at 8:15. So JimBob was my longest delay as he didn't have all of the right paperwork with him at the first counter. That's where they make sure you have everything you need before going to the second counter where you actually get your license. Chicago did the same thing.
Apparently JimBob needed 3 pieces of ID and he only had two. The lady kept telling him other things he could use and he would say, "I got that." OK, but he didn't have it WITH HIM. All of this took maybe 5-10 minutes at the most. Of course I'm thinking, "Dude, she already told you what you need and you don't have it. Go on, git." Actually I think I really thought, "didn't you look this up on the internet? I did." So, with that said, I walk up and show my Illinois driver's license, Social Security card (the same card I've had for about 35 years), and my Birth Certificate. See, I came prepared. She gave me a form and I sat down to fill it out.
Next line. So I was the only one in line, but had to wait for one of the 4-5 clerks to see me. They were all taking care of people. I waited under 5 minutes. I hand over all of my paperwork and start the process. Painless. One difference between Texas, Ohio, and Illinois. In the latter two states I had to take a written test in order to get a license. In Texas I didn't. Not really sure why unless it's because I've had a Texas driver's license in the past. But I don't remember that license number. Maybe she found it.
When she got to my birth certificate, she had to go ask a supervisor about it. Apparently because it has the word "Registration" up top she thought it might not be valid. It also says "Certificate" right after it so it was OK. The lady next to her had the same thing from NY (mine is from NJ). After that smooth sailing. Raised right hand, asserted authenticity of my answers, took vision test, took picture (glasses off please), scanned both thumbs, capture signature.
Now here's the part I really don't understand in this day in age. First. They only accept cash and checks. No credit cards. Why? I understand that the credit card companies charge a fee to process one (that's one way they make money), but we don't live in the 1950s anymore. And if the person defaults on paying their credit card bill, the State still has the money. That's the advantage over checks. I mean I had the $24 in cash to pay. No big deal. And I knew it prior to actually having to pay as there were signs strategically placed to let me know of this fact. But still.
Second. Why do I need to wait 3-4 weeks to get my actual license? OK, so one of my Twitter buds said it took two weeks to get hers, but seriously? Ohio in 1997 gave me my license right then and there. I was stunned. Illinois, same thing in 2003. I wasn't as stunned then. I actually expected it. But Texas? 2nd largest state in the Union can't give me my license right now. Oh, and Texans hate the fact that Alaska is bigger...they like to conveniently forget that.
Anyway, I'm now a citizen of Texas. Welcome home, Mark.
l8r,
Marz
Why is it that the people who live here have such a state pride? Well I think I covered much of that in an earlier post on Texas.
Over the past several weeks I've changed my profiles and accounts everywhere online (and I got a lot of them) to reflect I live in Texas. However, until I went to DPS (Department of Public Safety) - the equivalent of the DMV in most places, I didn't feel like a citizen of Texas. Yes, I keep using the term citizen. Not resident. Most Texans would probably like to be called a citizen rather than a resident. It's that whole Texas was once a nation thing.
So how did the experience go? Well, rather smooth. Though it took two days. Huh? Two days? Well, I went at about 11:30 yesterday hoping to beat the lunch crowd. HA! I don't think it was a lunch crowd I hit. There were probably 50+ people in line. I literally would have been the last person in line that would have been inside the building. I couldn't even get the form I needed until I got half-way through the line. So I bailed.
I went back this morning. Got there at 8:15 AM. 15 minutes later than I wanted, but no biggie. Unlike Chicago, I only had one person in front of me in line at that time. In Chicago, it was like 40 at 8:15. So JimBob was my longest delay as he didn't have all of the right paperwork with him at the first counter. That's where they make sure you have everything you need before going to the second counter where you actually get your license. Chicago did the same thing.
Apparently JimBob needed 3 pieces of ID and he only had two. The lady kept telling him other things he could use and he would say, "I got that." OK, but he didn't have it WITH HIM. All of this took maybe 5-10 minutes at the most. Of course I'm thinking, "Dude, she already told you what you need and you don't have it. Go on, git." Actually I think I really thought, "didn't you look this up on the internet? I did." So, with that said, I walk up and show my Illinois driver's license, Social Security card (the same card I've had for about 35 years), and my Birth Certificate. See, I came prepared. She gave me a form and I sat down to fill it out.
Next line. So I was the only one in line, but had to wait for one of the 4-5 clerks to see me. They were all taking care of people. I waited under 5 minutes. I hand over all of my paperwork and start the process. Painless. One difference between Texas, Ohio, and Illinois. In the latter two states I had to take a written test in order to get a license. In Texas I didn't. Not really sure why unless it's because I've had a Texas driver's license in the past. But I don't remember that license number. Maybe she found it.
When she got to my birth certificate, she had to go ask a supervisor about it. Apparently because it has the word "Registration" up top she thought it might not be valid. It also says "Certificate" right after it so it was OK. The lady next to her had the same thing from NY (mine is from NJ). After that smooth sailing. Raised right hand, asserted authenticity of my answers, took vision test, took picture (glasses off please), scanned both thumbs, capture signature.
Now here's the part I really don't understand in this day in age. First. They only accept cash and checks. No credit cards. Why? I understand that the credit card companies charge a fee to process one (that's one way they make money), but we don't live in the 1950s anymore. And if the person defaults on paying their credit card bill, the State still has the money. That's the advantage over checks. I mean I had the $24 in cash to pay. No big deal. And I knew it prior to actually having to pay as there were signs strategically placed to let me know of this fact. But still.
Second. Why do I need to wait 3-4 weeks to get my actual license? OK, so one of my Twitter buds said it took two weeks to get hers, but seriously? Ohio in 1997 gave me my license right then and there. I was stunned. Illinois, same thing in 2003. I wasn't as stunned then. I actually expected it. But Texas? 2nd largest state in the Union can't give me my license right now. Oh, and Texans hate the fact that Alaska is bigger...they like to conveniently forget that.
Anyway, I'm now a citizen of Texas. Welcome home, Mark.
l8r,
Marz
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Story of Outstanding
Hello, Everyone. This is the Story of Outstanding. What is that you ask? Just about anyone who knows me in real life knows that my stock reply to "how are you" is the word "outstanding." So how did that become my automatic reply? Well, lemme tell you a story.
Back in the mid-90s while working for Dave & Buster's in Houston I had a General Manager named Joe. I won't attempt to spell is last name, but we all called him Joe Z. Well, most people called him other names, but that's not important right now. What is important is that no matter how Joe Z. really felt, if you asked him how he was doing, he always gave the same reply - "Outstanding." He could be on Death's door and he would still have the same answer.
Now, Joe Z. wasn't all bad as I may have alluded to. However he was a harsh GM if he didn't like you. I happened to be someone he liked, even though I was just a Blackjack dealer. And part-time while he was there. I didn't go full-time till after he left that store. He was also a bit shady. Not in the skimming off the top shady (at least I assume he wasn't). Shady in the aspect that he would manipulate people. He tried to do that with me and my Pit Boss, but that's also not important right now.
As people got to know him, and know his stock reply, it became a trademark. It also became farcical. This is related to him not being the most-liked of GMs. We would imitate him when he wasn't around. But in spite of that it still was effective. Even if you laughed about it, you couldn't help but fell even a little better because he used the word.
Eventually, Joe Z. left us in Houston, and we would remember his trademark. We also would remember other aspects of him. Now let me be clear - I was never one of those that hated him. I actually thought he wasn't THAT bad. He actually held people accountable, and the slackers of the world hate people like that. But he also had other negative qualities that others weren't too happy about.
So fast forward to 1997 when I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to open the Dave & Buster's there. I was the Pit Boss. The least important of the important people (i.e. salaried manager). I had my own 800 sq. ft. area of a 65,000 sq. ft. building that I was responsible for. Over time I developed two "trademarks." OK, I actually developed a third that I will briefly mention. Anyway, the two trademarks I'm referring to are the Word of the Day, and the Color of the Day.
I'll briefly cover the Color of the Day. We had, like most of the D&B's at the time, a fortune teller game near the front door. Also near the front door was the aptly named Front Desk. At our location (and Houston) the Front Desk staff would constantly complain about this fortune teller game as it would say a few phrases over and over known as "attract mode." One of those phrases said, "Hello, what's your lucky color today?" So as a bit of fun, I would call the Front Desk from my Casino (they were literally behind me so a phone call wasn't necessary) and repeat the phrase. This evolved into me deciding on a different color for each day and the staff would ask me what the color was. There were two rules:
1. It had to be a one-word color. No blue-green, or ocean blue, or pine green, etc. Most of them only needed the one word anyway.
2. It had to be a color I never used before. That got very difficult as time went by.
The other trademark, the Word of the Day, was a word that I would use in response to "how are you?" The rule was that I could never use the words "good", "OK", "alright" and a few others as they were overused and boring. I had a little Sharp or Casio (I can't remember) organizer. And in that organizer I actually had a list of words that I would use. I would add words as I thought of them. Many of the words really weren't true synonyms of "good" but were close enough.
Obviously "outstanding" was one of the those words. It wasn't a word that I used a lot actually. I used "spectacular" and "phenomenal" quite a bit. "Phenomenal" was one of my favorites. One of the servers came up with that and a certain way of saying it, emphasizing each syllable.
One day one of our newer managers heard me say "Outstanding" in a certain way. She turned to me with one of those looks. A combination of quizzical, disbelief, scorn, and amusement if that is possible. I really didn't notice it at the time to be honest. I used that word a few more times that day and she finally asked me if I had ever worked for a guy named Joe Z. "Why, yes, as a matter of fact," I replied. She immediately started laughing and I was a bit stunned she knew him. We shared stories about him and his use of "outstanding" for as long as we worked together.
Somewhere along the line after that I started using the word on a regular basis as a bit of an inside joke with her. And, over time, it stuck. Not only did it stick, but I would be very demonstrative about the word. "OUTSTANDING!" was the normal response. Sometimes it was just "Outstanding!" And rarely it was "outstanding." The staff starting having some fun with it too. I was a regular manager at that time after going from Pit Boss to server to manager.
Remember when I said that this word was effective? It is. If you ask someone how they are, typically they will reply in one of a few different ways:
- good
- OK
- alright
- uh
- not bad
And that about covers it. Never:
- Phenomenal
- Spectacular
- Great
- Stupendous
- Fantastic, like the NBA - one of my other favorites
- Awesome
- Outstanding
And this is because most people go through life in a blah state. So to not make you feel bad, or to not talk about how they really feel, they give one of the first group of responses. Now if you ask someone how they are and they reply from any of the second group of responses (or any similar words) don't you feel just a little bit better? Especially if they ask how you are too? Unless you're a Scrooge, that "Outstanding" feeling is a bit contagious. Just like a smile.
While watching Joe Z. and my own experience in using all of these great words to express how I was, I noticed that others seemed to be in better moods. Whether they were an employee or guest. And "Outstanding" really is one of the best words to use. And it became a word for me at work only. Outside of work, I would rarely use it. I typically reverted to the same group of words as others do.
Why? Well, while I was at work, especially in a manager role, I felt that one of the best motivational tools is to never be in a grumpy mood with your staff. OK, so there are times when they piss you off and you have to yell at them. But it is very counter-productive to be a Mr. Grumpypants everyday. No one wants to be around Mr. Grumpypants. So keying in on that word got a desired result.
Outside of work, I had no one to inspire. No one to motivate. I was like everyone else. And I hated living in Cincinnati. There are plenty of people that love that area. And most of them only live there. I was one of those that didn't. A friend of mine in Houston who tried to warn me about moving there was right. They really do roll up the sidewalks at 10:00PM. On a Saturday night! But I digress. I really wasn't "outstanding" living there. On the other hand, I was "outstanding" working at that D&B.
At work, I had many, many people come up to me and tell me they loved my use of that word. It made them feel better. They had a better time at work knowing I was there. Knowing that I was always "outstanding." Getting that feedback would really make me feel "outstanding." So it became a two-way street.
Eventually I moved to Chicago, and no one there was part of the history of the "Word of the Day", the "Color of the Day", or "Outstanding." We had a fortune teller game at the front door, but the Front Desk was on the 2nd floor at the top of the escalator. And that fortune teller never asked what my lucky color was like in Houston and Cincy. So my use of "outstanding" diminished.
Until.....I started getting really frustrated at work. Frustrated at being taken for granted. Frustrated at doing more work than about 90% of the rest of the people in the building. Frustrated at being passed over for an AGM position by others who were incompetent (except for one person). So I started using "outstanding" again.
But it had a double meaning. While I would say it seriously, there was a tinge of sarcasm. I would hide that sarcasm most times, but occasionally, with only a few staff, I would say it dripping in sarcasm. These people knew why. But I tried to not let that get me down. I didn't want my staff depressed. I needed them to be as upbeat as possible. Let me carry that burden.
And I also told the story of Joe Z. And I told the story of the "Word of the Day." And I told the story of the "Color of the Day." And they listened. Politely. Mainly because they weren't there to experience the why. It's like telling a funny story only to have to say, "you had to be there."
But the sarcastic "outstanding" started growing. But here's a strange twist. I started using it outside of work. It became such a habit for me, that it translated to outside of work. And do you know why? Because I really was "outstanding" when I wasn't at work. Chicago is a great city. I had made friends, though some of those were "bar friends," but even those people made me feel outstanding.
And I got the same reactions from everyone in Chicago like I did in Cincinnati. People's general attitude improved. In a way it was similar to one of my server's phrases in Cincy. "Your attitude determines your altitude." Or something like that.
After leaving D&B, I continued to use "outstanding." At my new place of employment, ESPN Zone, I used it genuinely. With no hint of sarcasm. Well, only on the rarest occasions. And I continued to use it in my personal life. No matter how bad things got there, I was always "outstanding." And it became a trademark for me there. Especially on the weekly conference call. Over time, the people on the conference call began to realize that I really was "outstanding." I had the best job in the building practically.
Now I live in San Antonio. I still use the word. About the only people that will not hear me use it as an automatic response are my parents. I'll use it if I really am outstanding. Otherwise I'll revert to whatever I feel. Don't get me wrong. I am extremely happy I moved back to S.A. And in general I AM "outstanding." But I don't need to put on an act on front of them.
My fellow employees at work aren't used to me yet and the use of "outstanding" but they will be soon. I can already see that they subconsciously feel better. And not only do I respond "outstanding" I also ask them how they are. That is very key. It makes someone feel better if you reciprocate. Even more important if they work with you or for you. It also helps that they see me work as hard or harder than do.
So, I'm Outstanding. How are you?
Oh, what was that third trademark? "In the Casino!" That's part of another story.
Back in the mid-90s while working for Dave & Buster's in Houston I had a General Manager named Joe. I won't attempt to spell is last name, but we all called him Joe Z. Well, most people called him other names, but that's not important right now. What is important is that no matter how Joe Z. really felt, if you asked him how he was doing, he always gave the same reply - "Outstanding." He could be on Death's door and he would still have the same answer.
Now, Joe Z. wasn't all bad as I may have alluded to. However he was a harsh GM if he didn't like you. I happened to be someone he liked, even though I was just a Blackjack dealer. And part-time while he was there. I didn't go full-time till after he left that store. He was also a bit shady. Not in the skimming off the top shady (at least I assume he wasn't). Shady in the aspect that he would manipulate people. He tried to do that with me and my Pit Boss, but that's also not important right now.
As people got to know him, and know his stock reply, it became a trademark. It also became farcical. This is related to him not being the most-liked of GMs. We would imitate him when he wasn't around. But in spite of that it still was effective. Even if you laughed about it, you couldn't help but fell even a little better because he used the word.
Eventually, Joe Z. left us in Houston, and we would remember his trademark. We also would remember other aspects of him. Now let me be clear - I was never one of those that hated him. I actually thought he wasn't THAT bad. He actually held people accountable, and the slackers of the world hate people like that. But he also had other negative qualities that others weren't too happy about.
So fast forward to 1997 when I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to open the Dave & Buster's there. I was the Pit Boss. The least important of the important people (i.e. salaried manager). I had my own 800 sq. ft. area of a 65,000 sq. ft. building that I was responsible for. Over time I developed two "trademarks." OK, I actually developed a third that I will briefly mention. Anyway, the two trademarks I'm referring to are the Word of the Day, and the Color of the Day.
I'll briefly cover the Color of the Day. We had, like most of the D&B's at the time, a fortune teller game near the front door. Also near the front door was the aptly named Front Desk. At our location (and Houston) the Front Desk staff would constantly complain about this fortune teller game as it would say a few phrases over and over known as "attract mode." One of those phrases said, "Hello, what's your lucky color today?" So as a bit of fun, I would call the Front Desk from my Casino (they were literally behind me so a phone call wasn't necessary) and repeat the phrase. This evolved into me deciding on a different color for each day and the staff would ask me what the color was. There were two rules:
1. It had to be a one-word color. No blue-green, or ocean blue, or pine green, etc. Most of them only needed the one word anyway.
2. It had to be a color I never used before. That got very difficult as time went by.
The other trademark, the Word of the Day, was a word that I would use in response to "how are you?" The rule was that I could never use the words "good", "OK", "alright" and a few others as they were overused and boring. I had a little Sharp or Casio (I can't remember) organizer. And in that organizer I actually had a list of words that I would use. I would add words as I thought of them. Many of the words really weren't true synonyms of "good" but were close enough.
Obviously "outstanding" was one of the those words. It wasn't a word that I used a lot actually. I used "spectacular" and "phenomenal" quite a bit. "Phenomenal" was one of my favorites. One of the servers came up with that and a certain way of saying it, emphasizing each syllable.
One day one of our newer managers heard me say "Outstanding" in a certain way. She turned to me with one of those looks. A combination of quizzical, disbelief, scorn, and amusement if that is possible. I really didn't notice it at the time to be honest. I used that word a few more times that day and she finally asked me if I had ever worked for a guy named Joe Z. "Why, yes, as a matter of fact," I replied. She immediately started laughing and I was a bit stunned she knew him. We shared stories about him and his use of "outstanding" for as long as we worked together.
Somewhere along the line after that I started using the word on a regular basis as a bit of an inside joke with her. And, over time, it stuck. Not only did it stick, but I would be very demonstrative about the word. "OUTSTANDING!" was the normal response. Sometimes it was just "Outstanding!" And rarely it was "outstanding." The staff starting having some fun with it too. I was a regular manager at that time after going from Pit Boss to server to manager.
Remember when I said that this word was effective? It is. If you ask someone how they are, typically they will reply in one of a few different ways:
- good
- OK
- alright
- uh
- not bad
And that about covers it. Never:
- Phenomenal
- Spectacular
- Great
- Stupendous
- Fantastic, like the NBA - one of my other favorites
- Awesome
- Outstanding
And this is because most people go through life in a blah state. So to not make you feel bad, or to not talk about how they really feel, they give one of the first group of responses. Now if you ask someone how they are and they reply from any of the second group of responses (or any similar words) don't you feel just a little bit better? Especially if they ask how you are too? Unless you're a Scrooge, that "Outstanding" feeling is a bit contagious. Just like a smile.
While watching Joe Z. and my own experience in using all of these great words to express how I was, I noticed that others seemed to be in better moods. Whether they were an employee or guest. And "Outstanding" really is one of the best words to use. And it became a word for me at work only. Outside of work, I would rarely use it. I typically reverted to the same group of words as others do.
Why? Well, while I was at work, especially in a manager role, I felt that one of the best motivational tools is to never be in a grumpy mood with your staff. OK, so there are times when they piss you off and you have to yell at them. But it is very counter-productive to be a Mr. Grumpypants everyday. No one wants to be around Mr. Grumpypants. So keying in on that word got a desired result.
Outside of work, I had no one to inspire. No one to motivate. I was like everyone else. And I hated living in Cincinnati. There are plenty of people that love that area. And most of them only live there. I was one of those that didn't. A friend of mine in Houston who tried to warn me about moving there was right. They really do roll up the sidewalks at 10:00PM. On a Saturday night! But I digress. I really wasn't "outstanding" living there. On the other hand, I was "outstanding" working at that D&B.
At work, I had many, many people come up to me and tell me they loved my use of that word. It made them feel better. They had a better time at work knowing I was there. Knowing that I was always "outstanding." Getting that feedback would really make me feel "outstanding." So it became a two-way street.
Eventually I moved to Chicago, and no one there was part of the history of the "Word of the Day", the "Color of the Day", or "Outstanding." We had a fortune teller game at the front door, but the Front Desk was on the 2nd floor at the top of the escalator. And that fortune teller never asked what my lucky color was like in Houston and Cincy. So my use of "outstanding" diminished.
Until.....I started getting really frustrated at work. Frustrated at being taken for granted. Frustrated at doing more work than about 90% of the rest of the people in the building. Frustrated at being passed over for an AGM position by others who were incompetent (except for one person). So I started using "outstanding" again.
But it had a double meaning. While I would say it seriously, there was a tinge of sarcasm. I would hide that sarcasm most times, but occasionally, with only a few staff, I would say it dripping in sarcasm. These people knew why. But I tried to not let that get me down. I didn't want my staff depressed. I needed them to be as upbeat as possible. Let me carry that burden.
And I also told the story of Joe Z. And I told the story of the "Word of the Day." And I told the story of the "Color of the Day." And they listened. Politely. Mainly because they weren't there to experience the why. It's like telling a funny story only to have to say, "you had to be there."
But the sarcastic "outstanding" started growing. But here's a strange twist. I started using it outside of work. It became such a habit for me, that it translated to outside of work. And do you know why? Because I really was "outstanding" when I wasn't at work. Chicago is a great city. I had made friends, though some of those were "bar friends," but even those people made me feel outstanding.
And I got the same reactions from everyone in Chicago like I did in Cincinnati. People's general attitude improved. In a way it was similar to one of my server's phrases in Cincy. "Your attitude determines your altitude." Or something like that.
After leaving D&B, I continued to use "outstanding." At my new place of employment, ESPN Zone, I used it genuinely. With no hint of sarcasm. Well, only on the rarest occasions. And I continued to use it in my personal life. No matter how bad things got there, I was always "outstanding." And it became a trademark for me there. Especially on the weekly conference call. Over time, the people on the conference call began to realize that I really was "outstanding." I had the best job in the building practically.
Now I live in San Antonio. I still use the word. About the only people that will not hear me use it as an automatic response are my parents. I'll use it if I really am outstanding. Otherwise I'll revert to whatever I feel. Don't get me wrong. I am extremely happy I moved back to S.A. And in general I AM "outstanding." But I don't need to put on an act on front of them.
My fellow employees at work aren't used to me yet and the use of "outstanding" but they will be soon. I can already see that they subconsciously feel better. And not only do I respond "outstanding" I also ask them how they are. That is very key. It makes someone feel better if you reciprocate. Even more important if they work with you or for you. It also helps that they see me work as hard or harder than do.
So, I'm Outstanding. How are you?
Oh, what was that third trademark? "In the Casino!" That's part of another story.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
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