We all know the importance of our children knowing and understanding fire safety. We expect that they will have fire drills in school, have a discussion with a fireman on the importance of an action plan and what to do if you or your home catches on fire, and have a family meeting on what happens if the fire alarm sounds. But what about adults?
Is it necessary that adults go through the motions of completing a fire drill at work? Didn't we complete enough fire drills in our youth to be set for life? By the time you reach adulthood don't you know what a fire alarm sounds like and where to go if the building you are in catches on fire? If you don't, I'll help you out. The fire alarm is the loud screeching siren that doesn't stop, letting you know you are in danger and you need to get outside quickly. Now we all are informed on what to do during a fire emergency so what exactly is the point of a fire drill for knowledgeable adults?
I ask this because the other day while at work we had not one but two fire drills. I can't wrap my head around the importance of one fire drill and I got th privilege of participating in two on the same day!! I work in a two story building in which 40% of the exterior is covered in windows. I enter through the main entrance everyday which also happens to be my emergency exit. If the place goes up in flames, I'm fairly certain I can get out and if you can't see an obvious solution to getting out of this burning building than you my friend are a moron.
It was mid-October in Minnesota and the temperature was in the high 30's and someone decided it was a great time to have a fire drill. Always remember safety first. However, it would seem that the bigger safety concern was not how to get people out of the building during an emergency but rather how to treat frost bite after two 30 minute romps in the parking lot.
Now these fire drills are planned, obviously not by anyone who lives in Minnesota, so wouldn't you schedule them in...oh, I don't know April through September when you can be fairly certain that the weather will be cooperative when having your employees stand outside for an hour. Not to mention, as an employer wouldn't you prefer that the idiots that couldn't figure their way out of a burning building just expire. Obviously, these are not the best and brightest that one would want to staff their company with. I know that seems rather harsh but really it's just natural selection at its finest.
Perhaps they should start using fire drills as a way of weeding out the job pool candidates. If you are too stupid to figure out how to get out of a burning building you are too stupid to work here.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Time versus Money
Have you ever asked yourself, how much is your time actually worth? I ponder this question a lot and I always seem to come up with different answers. For example, I think I am worth much more per hour than my job is willing to pay me but we have come to a compromise, if I show up at least they will pay me. But I also realize that there are things that you couldn't pay me to do like go to the movies to watch a horror flick. I don't want to waste two hours of my time doing something I hate only to have nightmares when I go to sleep. And there are things you wouldn't have to pay me to do like read a good book or go swimming at the beach because I love these doing these things.
Then there is the other perspective, how much would I be willing to pay to have someone else do some of the things I have to do, in order to have more time to do the things I like to do? I suppose I would pay someone $5 to wash my dishes because although it's not my favorite thing to do it's really not that bad nor does it take that long but I think someone else may find that $5 is a bit on the low side and probably won't want to take the time to drive to my house and wash my dishes for $5. So, I guess, I'll probably have to keep washing my own dishes.
As my list goes on, I realize that there is no real answer or so I thought. Sometimes I realize in order to understand the wisdom that comes with life you just have to listen to a child. The child in this instance is my youngest son, Kylen. Now that I have reentered the workforce on a full time basis, I realize that it is a big adjustment for all of us. My children miss having me around all the time, I miss being around all the time, and I don't always have the time for all the things I want to do like bike rides, play dates, and field trips but we have a much more secure future because of the sacrifice.
As adults we all understand the reasoning but sometimes it's hard for children to grasp the concept. So as much as I tried to explain all the "reasons" that mommy went back to work it just didn't seem to help. But kids are so much smarter than we adults give them credit for.
Because of Kylen, I now know that my time is worth a nickel...Yep, that's right a whole whoppin' five cents!! You see Kylen does understand why I have to go to work, to him I work in order to get paid. Kylen was willing to pay me for my time. He was willing to pay me five cents so I wouldn't have to go to work and I could just play with him. Now I couldn't not go to work but I could drop everything right then and there in order to spend some quality time with my son.
Now, maybe he knows that for him my time is always free but now I know that all it takes is one shiny nickel to turn me into mush and drop everything for the two most wonderful people I know. Now that we've mastered Time vs. Money, our next lesson is going to be about business and how to drive a hard bargain. Perhaps, Kylen will teach me a thing or two about that as well!
Then there is the other perspective, how much would I be willing to pay to have someone else do some of the things I have to do, in order to have more time to do the things I like to do? I suppose I would pay someone $5 to wash my dishes because although it's not my favorite thing to do it's really not that bad nor does it take that long but I think someone else may find that $5 is a bit on the low side and probably won't want to take the time to drive to my house and wash my dishes for $5. So, I guess, I'll probably have to keep washing my own dishes.
As my list goes on, I realize that there is no real answer or so I thought. Sometimes I realize in order to understand the wisdom that comes with life you just have to listen to a child. The child in this instance is my youngest son, Kylen. Now that I have reentered the workforce on a full time basis, I realize that it is a big adjustment for all of us. My children miss having me around all the time, I miss being around all the time, and I don't always have the time for all the things I want to do like bike rides, play dates, and field trips but we have a much more secure future because of the sacrifice.
As adults we all understand the reasoning but sometimes it's hard for children to grasp the concept. So as much as I tried to explain all the "reasons" that mommy went back to work it just didn't seem to help. But kids are so much smarter than we adults give them credit for.
Because of Kylen, I now know that my time is worth a nickel...Yep, that's right a whole whoppin' five cents!! You see Kylen does understand why I have to go to work, to him I work in order to get paid. Kylen was willing to pay me for my time. He was willing to pay me five cents so I wouldn't have to go to work and I could just play with him. Now I couldn't not go to work but I could drop everything right then and there in order to spend some quality time with my son.
Now, maybe he knows that for him my time is always free but now I know that all it takes is one shiny nickel to turn me into mush and drop everything for the two most wonderful people I know. Now that we've mastered Time vs. Money, our next lesson is going to be about business and how to drive a hard bargain. Perhaps, Kylen will teach me a thing or two about that as well!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Difference Between Living There and Visiting There
Last week, the family and I decided to take a drive up to Duluth and head up the North Shore for some fall foliage spectating and hiking. This is not a new adventure for us as we do it every year. We take a tour around Duluth, check out Canal Street, pick up smoked salmon at Russ Kendall's, and pick a few state parks to go hiking through. I love it!! I absolutely look forward to every fall for our little get away.
However, I realized that as much as I love going up there in the fall and checking everything out, I would probably shoot myself if I ever lived there. What a God Awful place to live!! I can only imagine how barren and desolate of a place it is in the winter. Not to mention you are even further north, where it is colder longer. The area was built up around mining and logging, so career opportunities leave something to be desired. All this combined with the lack of Vitamin D could quite possibly make me go insane.
After putting the North Shore into perspective of visiting compared to living, I realized many places are like this. Take Mexico for example. They have beautiful beaches, tons of activities, snorkeling, yummy drinks with umbrellas, and cheap souvenirs, but I wouldn't ever want to live there. The cartel runs rampant, you can't flush the toilet paper or drink the water, small children are put to work selling Chiclets to tourists, and many of the people have a standard of living far below what me or my family has become accustomed to.
And the list just continues. Africa has safaris but if you live there you might get AIDS. Greece has beautiful architecture and sightseeing but if you live there you might want to reconsider seeing as your country is about to be bankrupt. Then there's Afghanistan and they have well...nothing, never mind Afghanistan but you do get my point most places are better if you just visit them.
However, I realized that as much as I love going up there in the fall and checking everything out, I would probably shoot myself if I ever lived there. What a God Awful place to live!! I can only imagine how barren and desolate of a place it is in the winter. Not to mention you are even further north, where it is colder longer. The area was built up around mining and logging, so career opportunities leave something to be desired. All this combined with the lack of Vitamin D could quite possibly make me go insane.
After putting the North Shore into perspective of visiting compared to living, I realized many places are like this. Take Mexico for example. They have beautiful beaches, tons of activities, snorkeling, yummy drinks with umbrellas, and cheap souvenirs, but I wouldn't ever want to live there. The cartel runs rampant, you can't flush the toilet paper or drink the water, small children are put to work selling Chiclets to tourists, and many of the people have a standard of living far below what me or my family has become accustomed to.
And the list just continues. Africa has safaris but if you live there you might get AIDS. Greece has beautiful architecture and sightseeing but if you live there you might want to reconsider seeing as your country is about to be bankrupt. Then there's Afghanistan and they have well...nothing, never mind Afghanistan but you do get my point most places are better if you just visit them.
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