| [BACK]
Well, it happens to the best of us. You take a chance on something that's supposed to be good for you, and it turns out to be a disaster. Hence, my recent absence from this column and so many other things. My computer is in storage (as is everything else) and I had to move in a hurry.
What also happens, though, is that a phoenix rises from the ashes. In other words, sometimes bad leads to good. As I said, it happens to the best of us. Setbacks are just that. They are not dead ends.
One thing storage centers don't have is full kitchens, so I found myself at a former dining facility that I haven't been to in a long while. I used to frequent this small buffet restaurant, and I knew there was a reason I stopped going there, but I couldn't remember what that reason was. Well, when I saw the cashier's angry face, I remembered.
While she was ringing up my take-out order, I noticed a sign behind the counter. It began "Tips are restaurant policy" and went on from there. Basically, it was a sign demanding tips. Yet another reason not to visit this cold, unfriendly environment.
"It's our policy" is just another way of saying "I'm only doing my job" or "I was only following orders". I read a psychological study likening this mentality to the primitive function of the caveman who bonked one of his fellows on the skull with a rock in order to steal his fish. It's self-preservation at its finest. I don't care what works for YOU; I only care about what's best for ME.
In Hollywood, you encounter this mentality constantly. No matter how you try, you will never convince some low-level grunt to put his job in jeopardy by sticking his neck out for someone he doesn't even know, no matter how good an offer you make him. "Help make my career, and I'll take you with me" is an offer people hear every day, and it's a load of crapola. A big studio GIVING someone a job painting parking lot lines or emptying trash cans is better than a nobody PROMISING someone a job as their personal whatever.
A bird in the hand... |
