Serendipity
Monkey Do
I think it was Thomas Hobbes who said that '...the life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' This quotation really made an impression on me when I first heard it being uttered by my Philosophy teacher back in college in one of our boring Philo classes. Credit it to my writerly instincts and poetic sensibilities, but even then, I just couldn't resist dramatic prose.
Anyhow, I have been mulling over the phrase for days now. I've been playing a game of 'word association' what with the hellish time I've had dealing with inept and moronic individuals just a few days ago. It's just that the words 'nasty' and 'short' aptly describe my temper, while 'poor' (not in the material sense but in the I.Q. department) and 'brutish' (as in dull and crude) refer to the annoying folks who have been the unfortunate (but deserving) objects of my loathing.
I had two major psychotic episodes this week -- all brought about by employees who cannot seem to do their jobs right. One of the things that probably sets me apart from other mortals in this ambivalent universe is the fact that I have an extremely short fuse especially when dealing with people who are dense (i.e. slow or thickheaded) and who do not seem to take their work seriously. I take pride in everything that I do and give one hundred and one percent of myself in whatever job I'm tasked with. Some call it O.C.-ness (obsessive-compulsiveness), but for me it's simply taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. I believe that everything that you do and the end results of the things that you do will ultimately tell people what kind of person you are. Simply put, I expect people especially in the service industry, to take pride in their work no matter how menial or small their jobs may be. Sure, I have a short, nasty and mean temper, but I never go ballistic for no apparent reason. I may be prone to temper tantrums, but I'm also never stingy with my appreciation and gratitude especially when people deserve them.
Take for example the two psychotic episodes I had where I went on a no-holds-barred verbal rampage with some drugstore sales people and bank employees. I don't want to mention the establishments here but if I had absolutely no point of comparison (meaning all the drugstores and banks in this city have lousy service), then I wouldn't have wreaked havoc the way I did. The employees of those two establishments proved to me that even with fully functioning body parts; if efficiency and attitude are not present and ingrained in the brain and in the heart, then we might as well give our jobs to robots or better yet to monkeys (even without sugar-free soda in hand).
I actually sat down yesterday and really pondered on why I had to go through such stressful moments. Is it because I expect too much from people; and that I have such high standards and a low threshold on mediocrity? Or is it the city? Is it Iloilo with its laidback culture, the slow pace, and the non-aggressive stance of the Ilonggos? Whatever it is, I think it's time for us to assess our attitudes, to better our skills and to take pride in our jobs. One thing I have noticed after my complaints and my tantrums, everyone suddenly became more efficient and the service (of both establishments) immediately improved. Why then do we have to wait for people to shout, rant and insult us before actually doing something? I think it's time for us to change and I think the time is now -- especially if we do not want to be replaced by monkeys.