Rodeo and stuff

I am a volunteer.

I will be the one smiling at you when you pick up your tickets wishing you to enjoy yourself. I will be the one wearing the silly usher’s vest and showing to you to your seat.  I will be one of the many who will go around after and pick up the debris and empty the garbage and recycle bins.

I may have sold you your ticket to event prior to it.  I might have been the one answering the phone and reciting the times and dates while you jot them down.  And the one who does that the second and sometimes third time you do that, too. Each time I’ll do my very best to do it with a smile on my face because I’m a volunteer by choice.

I’m not a paid employee of the facility or organization that’s putting on the event.  I’m there because I want to be.  I’m there because I believe in the organization that’s putting on the event and want to contribute to its success.

I don’t get to watch the show for free. Fact is I haven’t sat down in the stands in the last 7 years to watch more than a few minutes and really couldn’t tell you who won, lost or wrecked. I don’t get any ‘behind the scenes’ perks that you can’t have for the price of the event.  I don’t get to meet the performers and I don’t get to go afterwards and have a drink with them either because I’m a volunteer. 

I don’t get to harangue anyone, demanding that the event change to agree with my considerable knowledge and experience either.  I do as I’ve been asked to do in my capacity as a volunteer.  Sometimes that means I will tell you “no”.  I’m not just
‘exercising my superiority’; I’ve been entrusted with the job I’ve been given and I’m going to do it.  If that some how hurts your feelings, I’m truly sorry.

I’m not there to spoil your particular fun.  Nor am I there to baby sit your children or run your errands either.  I’m there to make every possible effort so that you and other paid patrons can enjoy the very best performance possible in the most comfortable way for all. Not just you.

I’m a part of a team.  We all fail or succeed as one.  If I stand by and let another volunteer fail, I fail. That would be nothing less that sabotage of the organization I’m volunteering to assist; and what would be the point of that?

If I micromanage someone into a state of indecision or worse, fury, I fail, just as they do.   I do my job and let others do theirs and the event succeeds and so do we all.

The best thing I can hear as I tiredly smile and wave to you all as you leave is “See you next year.” That tells me that you’ve enjoyed yourself and intend to come back and that is a true measure of our success.

See you next rodeo.

Broken or Mended, Trust is Trust

Scooped this from a post on Facebook from a friend.  

My response:  Melted and remolded chocolate tastes just as good as chocolate molded to its original form. That is, if the integrity of the chocolate is maintained by careful reheating and remolding... course... I guess you could just toss it out as bad rubbish too.. your choice, but I tend to prefer to conserve rather than waste, be it friends or well especially chocolate ;).

I don't necessarily disagree with it, either.  Goodness knows; trust is hard enough to place in someone's hands as it is.  I mean... you have to trust them to trust you back, y'know?  You have to give up a part of yourself that's so very vulnerable and so very personal and let someone have control of that part of you, to trust, that it's mind boggling that anyone can do that, ever. 


I see a lot of stuff like this, various places.  Almost all of them deal in absolutes.   Akin to the "mess with me and die" sentiment expressed by some.

Over the years I've heard trust expressed and discussed many times. 


Trust has to be earned, not expected from someone. 
Akin to respect, trust is.  Though like respect it's easier all around when it's reciprocated, not just expected to be placed blindly in a person who demands that you earn it from them.

Once trust is broken, well that's it then.  Right? I mean if you trust someone and they break that trust that's the end forever.  
 there are no possible circumstances that could have been a factor.  Like... you trust your loved one to come home after work every day.  And one day, they don't.  You no longer trust them.  Then, the police arrive at your door and inform you of an accident, and how your loved one did everything they could to avoid it but they couldn't and they died on the way to hospital.  Well you should just go on not trusting them after that, don't you think? I mean you TRUSTED them to come home and they didn't, end of story...
But say, they didn't die. They lived but you know, they still didn't come home after work that day.  Should you trust them then? How about if they were just delayed for hours because they stopped to help the people in the accident and you find out that they held a little girl's hand til the response team could get her free? Would you go on trusting them then?
Well not according to these popular sayings. Cause once it's gone, it's gone. There's no rebuilding it, no reforging it no earning it back.

There are far too many things that are treated as absolutes in how we deal with people. 

Sure, you need to stand for something because if you don't, you'll fall for anything.  I just worry that by promoting such absolutes we aren't teaching our kids to think for themselves.  Wouldn't it be far more productive to tell them, trust in someone till they prove a reason not to.  Far less catchy and way harder.  To do that one would have to decide what would constitute broken trust and to do that ... one would have to think ahead, make some decisions about their priorities and ... oh hell that's far too much work.

Better just to do like my mom told me to do many years ago:

Love many and trust few,
Always paddle your own canoe.

(sorry for the disjointed stream of consciousness post, but it might be all you get from me for the next while)

2012 here we come... OR a knitting update

How's the new year treating you all?

I read somewhere that the second Monday of January is called BLUE Monday, anyone else have a day of the 'blues'?

I've been recovering from surgery and am now at that point where I 'want' to be doing stuff but still can't be doing what I want to do.

This energy bubbling has morphed into a pretty bad case of startitis. Over the past weekend I've cast on for 3 scarves, knitted the ribbing for a 2nd sock, and added 2" inches to the 2nd of a pair of wristwarmers. I've also finished two WIP (yay me!) and planned a number of Christmas gifts for next Christmas. I need to get one of those counter widgets and keep track of what I do get knit :)

About those wristwarmers... I'm working the Nereid Gloves from Sutherland Studios. A nice textured, ribby wave pattern that is working up right nice in Chroma Fingering in the Regency colorway. The subtle greys are nice and long and the purples are just enough color accent at the base of my hand and thumb with just at dusting of it creeping in on the fingers edge. I usually don't bother with finding the repeats when working with variegates but this time I did although not perfectly accurately.

I'll post a picture as soon as I get one uploaded to Ravelry.

I'm having a little bit of trouble with the yo holes being loose, due in part I believe to using two circs. I really need to get stocked up on dpns. I 'like' the idea of 2 circs, but somehow my tension and gauge goes on holiday when I use them with any sort of patterning beyond simple ribbing.

Another thing I've noticed, is that I don't seem to be following the graph and yet, the pattern is turning out correctly. I can't see that the change I'm making is a correction on the graph and pattern, since it's a really big obvious switch of the ribbing in the middle section.

Anyone else do this sort of thing? Just decide that the pattern should be another way and knit blissfully on til you need to check for a measurement or increase or decrease number and find yourself in a WTH moment? I can't really be alone in that can I?

I hope to be back on track with the posting this year. Not exactly a resolution (more a kick myself in the pants moment) but I guess like with every good intention, we will see.

Happy New Year.