Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturdays Warrior
I had of course heard of this show growing up, with a vague idea that it was a musical, so I finally got the chance to see it yesterday. It was much cheesier than I expected. A warm and fuzzy feel good family movie. Maybe I would have liked it better if I had a large family. Or if i remembered the 80's better. (Dance moves and costuming, may we never go back to that era!!!) The music wasn't very pretty either. It did have a good message though. Don't base the size of your family on the possibility of depleting the earths natural resources. They used to have huge families a century or so ago, today people can barely manage 2.7kids each. One of my friends is the oldest girl in a family of 14 kids. She said it was mostly good growing up in a large family but I always felt for her, because it seemed like she had to be the second mother to all of them. They talk about baby boomers hitting retirement and there not being enough of a working population to cover all their retirement pensions, and Im not sure what to think about it, except that the world has bought all its problems on itself, and we will be the ones to pay for it all. Suck
Saturday, June 20, 2009
EQ
Had to go on a course for work the other day all about customer service and dealing with difficult situations. Emotional Intelligence, making peace and resolving issues. Had a lot of problems to deal with for some reason, more than usual. Had one man arrive just after a couple that took forever and say to me "dont worry, I'll only be a few minutes." Half an hour later, he was still at my counter waiting for a printout of his itinerary to arrive. If you're travelling into any of the pacific islands, you have to have a copy of your ticket out of the country, unless you're
a national of that country.
For some reason i can have a lot of people harass me and cause me stress and it doesn't really affect me at all, but then there can just be that one person that pushes me over the edge. I checked in a young mother with two little girls, she seemed really nice, until I had to go to my supervisor to get her seat changed so that she was sitting with her daughters.
When I got back and handed her boarding passes to her she turned weird, slamming stuff down and scowling. I went to tag her baby seat so she could take it to the fragile counter and she started muttering about how she was never going to bring a car seat ever again. Then when I went to tag it she yanked it off me while I was still putting the tag on, nearly making me fall across the luggage belt. Then she snapped at her daughter telling her she had to wait because the lady was taking forever.
4 hours later she's still in my head, bugging me. I know I should just let it go - if someone abuses you its like a gift that you can accept or not, according to a proverb story I read recently. I tried to imagine the situation from her point of view, having to wait for the seats to be changed while her 2 and 4yr olds screamed and jumped around her feet, and being stressed about it all. Sometimes that helps me to feel better, when I can empathise from someone elses point of view, but today not. I really can't see it from her point of view. Maybe my sister can help me, she's travelled on a plane with a small baby, she didn't have a good experience at all.
Still waiting for the conclusion on this one.
a national of that country.
For some reason i can have a lot of people harass me and cause me stress and it doesn't really affect me at all, but then there can just be that one person that pushes me over the edge. I checked in a young mother with two little girls, she seemed really nice, until I had to go to my supervisor to get her seat changed so that she was sitting with her daughters.
When I got back and handed her boarding passes to her she turned weird, slamming stuff down and scowling. I went to tag her baby seat so she could take it to the fragile counter and she started muttering about how she was never going to bring a car seat ever again. Then when I went to tag it she yanked it off me while I was still putting the tag on, nearly making me fall across the luggage belt. Then she snapped at her daughter telling her she had to wait because the lady was taking forever.
4 hours later she's still in my head, bugging me. I know I should just let it go - if someone abuses you its like a gift that you can accept or not, according to a proverb story I read recently. I tried to imagine the situation from her point of view, having to wait for the seats to be changed while her 2 and 4yr olds screamed and jumped around her feet, and being stressed about it all. Sometimes that helps me to feel better, when I can empathise from someone elses point of view, but today not. I really can't see it from her point of view. Maybe my sister can help me, she's travelled on a plane with a small baby, she didn't have a good experience at all.
Still waiting for the conclusion on this one.
Friday, June 19, 2009
INFJ
My first experience with the Myers-Briggs personality test came about at the Provo MTC. They took our class and a few others away once a week and did different tests with us, and this was one of them. At the time I had no idea what it was about nor did anybody really explain it to us afterwards, although I do remember something about my ideal jobs including counselling, writing and being a religious minister or some kind of spiritual leader. That one seemed quite funny to me.
When I got home one of my companions got married straightaway, so I went over to Oz for her wedding where her dad redid the test and took me through it. INFJ, introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging. He said the last one judging was the most curious because I seemed more like the spontaneous type than the lists and highly organized type. I informed him that due to whatI would call "cultural influences", I would probably naturally be prone to making lists and planning every hour of every day, I had had to learn to go with the flow on occasion.
I copied and pasted this from http://typelogic.com/infj.html if anyone wants to go look it up, I thought it was very interesting and I quite liked it, especially what it says about INFJ's expressing themselves better through writing. That seems very valid to and about me.
Introverted iNtuiting Feeling Judgingby Marina Margaret Heiss
INFJs are distinguished by both their complexity of character and the unusual range and depth of their talents. Strongly humanitarian in outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally "doers" as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be drawn.
INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world. On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as inherent "givers." As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood -- particularly by those who have little experience with this rare type.
Due in part to the unique perspective produced by this alternation between detachment and involvement in the lives of the people around them, INFJs may well have the clearest insights of all the types into the motivations of others, for good and for evil. The most important contributing factor to this uncanny gift, however, are the empathic abilities often found in Fs, which seem to be especially heightened in the INFJ type (possibly by the dominance of the introverted N function).
This empathy can serve as a classic example of the two-edged nature of certain INFJ talents, as it can be strong enough to cause discomfort or pain in negative or stressful situations. More explicit inner conflicts are also not uncommon in INFJs; it is possible to speculate that the causes for some of these may lie in the specific combinations of preferences which define this complex type. For instance, there can sometimes be a "tug-of-war" between NF vision and idealism and the J practicality that urges compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals. And the I and J combination, while perhaps enhancing self-awareness, may make it difficult for INFJs to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings.
Usually self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper, as they tend to have strong writing skills. Since in addition they often possess a strong personal charisma, INFJs are generally well-suited to the "inspirational" professions such as teaching (especially in higher education) and religious leadership. Psychology and counseling are other obvious choices, but overall, INFJs can be exceptionally difficult to pigeonhole by their career paths. Perhaps the best example of this occurs in the technical fields. Many INFJs perceive themselves at a disadvantage when dealing with the mystique and formality of "hard logic", and in academic terms this may cause a tendency to gravitate towards the liberal arts rather than the sciences. However, the significant minority of INFJs who do pursue studies and careers in the latter areas tend to be as successful as their T counterparts, as it is *iNtuition* -- the dominant function for the INFJ type -- which governs the ability to understand abstract theory and implement it creatively.
In their own way, INFJs are just as much "systems builders" as are INTJs; the difference lies in that most INFJ "systems" are founded on human beings and human values, rather than information and technology. Their systems may for these reasons be conceptually "blurrier" than analogous NT ones, harder to measure in strict numerical terms, and easier to take for granted -- yet it is these same underlying reasons which make the resulting contributions to society so vital and profound.
Copyright © 1996-2007 by Marina Margaret Heiss and Joe Butt
When I got home one of my companions got married straightaway, so I went over to Oz for her wedding where her dad redid the test and took me through it. INFJ, introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging. He said the last one judging was the most curious because I seemed more like the spontaneous type than the lists and highly organized type. I informed him that due to whatI would call "cultural influences", I would probably naturally be prone to making lists and planning every hour of every day, I had had to learn to go with the flow on occasion.
I copied and pasted this from http://typelogic.com/infj.html if anyone wants to go look it up, I thought it was very interesting and I quite liked it, especially what it says about INFJ's expressing themselves better through writing. That seems very valid to and about me.
Introverted iNtuiting Feeling Judgingby Marina Margaret Heiss
INFJs are distinguished by both their complexity of character and the unusual range and depth of their talents. Strongly humanitarian in outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally "doers" as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be drawn.
INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world. On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as inherent "givers." As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood -- particularly by those who have little experience with this rare type.
Due in part to the unique perspective produced by this alternation between detachment and involvement in the lives of the people around them, INFJs may well have the clearest insights of all the types into the motivations of others, for good and for evil. The most important contributing factor to this uncanny gift, however, are the empathic abilities often found in Fs, which seem to be especially heightened in the INFJ type (possibly by the dominance of the introverted N function).
This empathy can serve as a classic example of the two-edged nature of certain INFJ talents, as it can be strong enough to cause discomfort or pain in negative or stressful situations. More explicit inner conflicts are also not uncommon in INFJs; it is possible to speculate that the causes for some of these may lie in the specific combinations of preferences which define this complex type. For instance, there can sometimes be a "tug-of-war" between NF vision and idealism and the J practicality that urges compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals. And the I and J combination, while perhaps enhancing self-awareness, may make it difficult for INFJs to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings.
Usually self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper, as they tend to have strong writing skills. Since in addition they often possess a strong personal charisma, INFJs are generally well-suited to the "inspirational" professions such as teaching (especially in higher education) and religious leadership. Psychology and counseling are other obvious choices, but overall, INFJs can be exceptionally difficult to pigeonhole by their career paths. Perhaps the best example of this occurs in the technical fields. Many INFJs perceive themselves at a disadvantage when dealing with the mystique and formality of "hard logic", and in academic terms this may cause a tendency to gravitate towards the liberal arts rather than the sciences. However, the significant minority of INFJs who do pursue studies and careers in the latter areas tend to be as successful as their T counterparts, as it is *iNtuition* -- the dominant function for the INFJ type -- which governs the ability to understand abstract theory and implement it creatively.
In their own way, INFJs are just as much "systems builders" as are INTJs; the difference lies in that most INFJ "systems" are founded on human beings and human values, rather than information and technology. Their systems may for these reasons be conceptually "blurrier" than analogous NT ones, harder to measure in strict numerical terms, and easier to take for granted -- yet it is these same underlying reasons which make the resulting contributions to society so vital and profound.
Copyright © 1996-2007 by Marina Margaret Heiss and Joe Butt
Thursday, June 18, 2009
and joy cometh in the morning
Journal found, crisis averted. Mum kept telling me to look in one place in particular, but would I listen to her? Not really. Turns out she was right. But I truly did think I had looked in the place where she told me, but it was more of a category. In my scrapbooking stuff?
Seriously ma, do you know how much stuff I have. I haven’t really used it lately, but that’s not the point. I thought I’d already looked in that bag, until this morning when I was pulling my suitcase off the top of my wardrobe. I just happened to decide to look in that particular bag at the same time, since it was in the same place, might as well. And there it was, my journal with a photo of me and my name plastered on the front cover. I don’t always do the photo thing, and I usually don’t put pictures of me, I put ones of my family and friends, then I get to look and remember them on a regular basis. I haven’t much felt like writing since I lost it. Now I feel much better and my writers block seems to be over.
Lesson one: Don’t leave my journal in obscure places or I will think that I’ve lost it and mentally revert to a worst case scenario – someones stolen and read it and plans to humiliate or blackmail me! Maybe I should go back to writing in French.
Lesson two: Mums are always right. I can’t believe my journal was in my room with me that whole time, hiding from me, far out.
Seriously ma, do you know how much stuff I have. I haven’t really used it lately, but that’s not the point. I thought I’d already looked in that bag, until this morning when I was pulling my suitcase off the top of my wardrobe. I just happened to decide to look in that particular bag at the same time, since it was in the same place, might as well. And there it was, my journal with a photo of me and my name plastered on the front cover. I don’t always do the photo thing, and I usually don’t put pictures of me, I put ones of my family and friends, then I get to look and remember them on a regular basis. I haven’t much felt like writing since I lost it. Now I feel much better and my writers block seems to be over.
Lesson one: Don’t leave my journal in obscure places or I will think that I’ve lost it and mentally revert to a worst case scenario – someones stolen and read it and plans to humiliate or blackmail me! Maybe I should go back to writing in French.
Lesson two: Mums are always right. I can’t believe my journal was in my room with me that whole time, hiding from me, far out.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Running in Heels
Its never a good idea to run in heels, especially when surrounded by people. and yet thats exactly what i found myself doing today. I never thought it was possible to run in heels. I tried to hurry the passengers up, but they had limited command of the english language, and I wasn't
sure they understood what "run to the gate" means. So i had to demonstrate for them, drag them along with me, interrupt people on the way to butt into their place in line. Everyone was quite lovely except for when the support crew sent me into business class check in to clear customs. That was not fun. I have a thing against snooty people. Its not like I wanted to be in there. All the way to the gate I was intercepted by my coworkers encouraging us to hurry up. Then we caught up with several more passengers who were strolling along casually like they had all the time in the world. I think our running was contagious, because they all started moving faster until they were all hurried onto the plane and away it went. And home I went.
I was surprised that I didn't get tired from running, i actually felt energized, even in heels. I don't know how it was possible, but I managed to shut the general public out of my peripheral vision and I barely even noticed they were all there. That doesn't happen to me very often. It was quite marvellous.
sure they understood what "run to the gate" means. So i had to demonstrate for them, drag them along with me, interrupt people on the way to butt into their place in line. Everyone was quite lovely except for when the support crew sent me into business class check in to clear customs. That was not fun. I have a thing against snooty people. Its not like I wanted to be in there. All the way to the gate I was intercepted by my coworkers encouraging us to hurry up. Then we caught up with several more passengers who were strolling along casually like they had all the time in the world. I think our running was contagious, because they all started moving faster until they were all hurried onto the plane and away it went. And home I went.
I was surprised that I didn't get tired from running, i actually felt energized, even in heels. I don't know how it was possible, but I managed to shut the general public out of my peripheral vision and I barely even noticed they were all there. That doesn't happen to me very often. It was quite marvellous.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Karma
They say you get back what you send out. Or something along those lines. Had a weird experience today. I went to a customer service course yesterday where we learned about EQ, being polite and friendly, and dealing with difficult customers. At one point we had to do a role play where a customer was angry and we had to use the PEACE model to resolve their difficulties. My group was picked to do the "bad" example. We had a customer arrive after the check in had closed and beg us to let them on the flight (even though we don't have authority to do that). My job was just to be really rude. I tried to think of phrases I've wanted to use in the past but haven't, but my mind went blank.
The first passengers I checked in today arrived after the checkin had closed and I thought it was so weird that that was the roleplay I had done yesterday was the first thing to happen to me. I don't know if karma is the right word. Deja vu maybe. I genuinely felt sorry for them though, becuase they had actually arrived on time, waited in the queue, went to check in, got sent away to repack their bags and came back into the line only to find out that the flight had closed while they were away. There were some trainees on today so they probably stuffed up because they don't know what they're doing, they should have checked the couple in without bags and added the bags later.
After me telling them for 10 minutes that I couldn't get them on the flight and them requesting to talk to someone higher up, one of the team managers finally overheard, listened to their story and offered to take them over to ticketing and see if they could get any rebooking fees waived. So that was a good outcome in the end.
The first passengers I checked in today arrived after the checkin had closed and I thought it was so weird that that was the roleplay I had done yesterday was the first thing to happen to me. I don't know if karma is the right word. Deja vu maybe. I genuinely felt sorry for them though, becuase they had actually arrived on time, waited in the queue, went to check in, got sent away to repack their bags and came back into the line only to find out that the flight had closed while they were away. There were some trainees on today so they probably stuffed up because they don't know what they're doing, they should have checked the couple in without bags and added the bags later.
After me telling them for 10 minutes that I couldn't get them on the flight and them requesting to talk to someone higher up, one of the team managers finally overheard, listened to their story and offered to take them over to ticketing and see if they could get any rebooking fees waived. So that was a good outcome in the end.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Choices
To be or not to be, that is the question...
I went to a musical fireside last night about choices. It had a nice little situational drama about 2 ysa, Jane and John and the choices and decisions that they made throughout the week and whether it was leading them towards or away from their goals.
On an airplane, a small deviation in ones initial trajectory can have big implications later on. Not only that, but the pilot continually has to make minor adjustments in accordance with wind velocity and other factors.
Sometimes the standards I set for myself seem unattainable and I feel bad about trying so I write stuff off as being unimportant or uneccessary because its too painful to try and try and never get to where I want to be, or even worse, to never feel like I'm going to succeed.
Sometimes I get minute glimpses of the person I'd like to be, like a shaft of light piercing a dark cavern where everything is closing in around me. I feel the darkness like a smothering blanket over my head, whenever I'm not happy with myself, but the light comes back when I pray or when I allow myself to hope for better things to come. Its always preferable to focus on the things that are going well in ones life, but sometimes failure completely overrides all the good things that may be going on. Its difficult to be happy on such days.
I wonder if we knew before we came here to earth just how tough things were going to be.
I went to a musical fireside last night about choices. It had a nice little situational drama about 2 ysa, Jane and John and the choices and decisions that they made throughout the week and whether it was leading them towards or away from their goals.
On an airplane, a small deviation in ones initial trajectory can have big implications later on. Not only that, but the pilot continually has to make minor adjustments in accordance with wind velocity and other factors.
Sometimes the standards I set for myself seem unattainable and I feel bad about trying so I write stuff off as being unimportant or uneccessary because its too painful to try and try and never get to where I want to be, or even worse, to never feel like I'm going to succeed.
Sometimes I get minute glimpses of the person I'd like to be, like a shaft of light piercing a dark cavern where everything is closing in around me. I feel the darkness like a smothering blanket over my head, whenever I'm not happy with myself, but the light comes back when I pray or when I allow myself to hope for better things to come. Its always preferable to focus on the things that are going well in ones life, but sometimes failure completely overrides all the good things that may be going on. Its difficult to be happy on such days.
I wonder if we knew before we came here to earth just how tough things were going to be.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Thinking
Well it seems like ages ago that I started this blog but it probably wasn't really that long. Just got back from a trip up north for my little cousins baptism. Its like a whole 'nother world up there. Laid back, takes ages to get anywhere, nobody seems to mind about things running half an hour late (and I thought hamilton time was bad). Seems strange to have to go back to work tomorrow. My boss has been moved to a different department. She was not very approachable at times, so I hope her replacement is nicer. I want to request a heapload of leave for my 30th at the end of the year. I just found out staff travel is only 20-40% of the normal commercial flight price. You're on standby the whole way but still brilliant!
This post has the feel of a diary entry to me, which I don't really like, I usually try to pick one topic and stick to it, but I've lost my journal. Sadly I have absolutely no idea where it is. I hate to think of the potential ramifications if someone finds it and reads it, i would be horribly embarassed, even though I can't remember exactly whats in it, but it was bound to be extremely personal. I hope I've just misplaced it somewhere harmless, like in my room.
This post has the feel of a diary entry to me, which I don't really like, I usually try to pick one topic and stick to it, but I've lost my journal. Sadly I have absolutely no idea where it is. I hate to think of the potential ramifications if someone finds it and reads it, i would be horribly embarassed, even though I can't remember exactly whats in it, but it was bound to be extremely personal. I hope I've just misplaced it somewhere harmless, like in my room.
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