The answer to yesterday's Who Am I was an author, a filmmaker, a women's rights activist, a disabilities rights activist, an artist, and not to mention she did it all while having cerebral palsy. Let's celebrate a true hero, HARILYN ROUSSO. Since this is Update Day there isn't a Who Am I.
My life update: One really nice lunch with mom yesterday celebrating my dad's birthday. As many know it is those days that are so hard for the spouse left behind. It is better to meet it head on. Mom took me to Claim Jumpers for lunch. Several of my chores were already mentioned in an earlier post. A day with a cousin going over pictures. Then the normal chores. Filling the car with gas, grocery shopping for two households, watering the lawn to keep it alive during the current heat wave, picking up royalty checks, meeting with a client at the firm that bought my business (he trusts me and requests that I sit in on all meetings), sending out several emails for the guy thing we do every year - football party. The football party has two new members this year since two members decided to move on. The league is now all men, the two new members are a pharmacist and a CPA bringing drugs and taxes to the league. I also spent one night at Mom's, dropped off and picked up dry cleaning, took in one movie - Dinner For The Schmucks (an annoying movie, and did a few other things I don't remember.
On the agenda this week. Today is paying bills, doing a little reading, a little resting, a little shopping. Tomorrow is taking Mom to the doctor, Ordering the food for football night, sending out more emails related to football night. Tuesday is working on a work project, picking up two work projects from the firm that bought my business, and dinner with the family. Wednesday and Thursday are working on all work projects. Friday is lunch with Mom and maybe a little writing and maybe a movie. The two movies on the agenda are Eat, Pray, Love and Charlie St. Cloud. Saturday is practicing my occupation of future lottery winner.
WARNING ONE HELL OF A RANT COMING:
First, I was upset over all the hoopla and the turning into a hero of a Flight Attendant that went off of his rocker. Celebrating bad behavior only encourages bad behavior. He put fellow crew members and passengers in potential danger. How in the world can anyone celebrate his actions? I wonder how many of those celebrating his behavior and making him a hero have complained about the lack of manners, kindness, and courtesy in the world? By celebrating his stupidity are they not being hypocrites? While I don't think he should end up in jail and I would completely support Jet Blue hiring him back after an anger management class I am sure in the hell not going to celebrate his actions or make him a hero. I would be a hypocrite and my integrity would be brought into question.
Speaking of integrity or should we say the lack of integrity, that brings me to Top Chef, a reality show that now, in my opinion, has absolutely no integrity. They have judges that celebrate cheating and judges that don't have enough guts to do the right thing. In the accounting profession one of the standards that we must follow is, "the appearance of impropriety." Which basically means if it appears you got yourself in a tight spot, then whether or not in fact you have done what it appears you have done you are to remove yourself from the situation. It protects the honesty of the profession. I wish Top Chef would conduct itself under that standard. Twice now a chef that is still on the show has appeared to cheat, he has appeared to not cook his own food and has still stayed on the show. The judges, in my mind, have encouraged his cheating and put their own integrity into question by leaving the chef in question on the show. Head judge Tom Colicchio will tell you is that they couldn't eliminate Alex this week because he was on the winning team. Which, frankly, is complete bull shit. What he is really saying, is he and the other judges didn't have the guts to do the right thing. Rules are really guidelines. There is no way rules on any show or in any organization or in any sport can be written to allow for every situation that comes up on the show, in the organization, or in a sport. That is why it takes strong judges, leaders, and referees. When the judges were confronted with an issue of a member of The Red Team cheating the judges did nothing. Well they did award the win to the cheating team. The judges should have shown some leadership and guts and went outside the box. They should have said "it has come to our attention that it has appeared that a chef has cheated. And this is the same chef that was accused of cheating on a prior episode. In order to protect the integrity of the show and our own integrity we in good conscience cannot eliminate a member of the blue team. We have no choice but to eliminate Alex." I have decided to boycott the show. I just can't invest my time in a show with no integrity and with judges to weak to do the right thing.
How was you week? Catch me up with all of your doings. Tell me everything! And answer the question how important is integrity to you?
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6 comments:
Integrity is critical to me, yet it seems to be in short supply, from the antics on the show you mention to corporations to top level positions in our nation. Application of integrity would have resulted in very different decisions regarding Enron, corporate and bank bailouts, health care and a number of other issues. Probably reduce the divorce rate, as well.
I totally missed the story on the flight attendant and just picked up bits and pieces now on Google. Sounds to me like the guy was pushed pretty hard. I pretty much agree with your assessment. Get him some anger mgt counseling, maybe some stress counseling and give him another try. OTOH, is he a hero? Not in my book. Then again, there've been many times I'd have liked the tee shirt (I wish my job had an emergency exit).
My week. Mostly a series of hassles, starting with someone hacking into one of our credit card company's system, changing our address and phone and racking up charges. No, we're not liable. Apparently the glitch was in their system, nothing we did. However, this has resulted in literally hours and hours of talking with their fraud department, the FTC, contacting every card company, getting new cards, contacting all banking institutions, contacting everyone with whom we have automatic billing, going to the sheriff's department twice (first time, detectives had left for day, second time, they can't do anything until we get fraud report from cc company). Then discovered Himself's license tags were expired, because (a) we never received this years pers prop tax bill and (b) DMV never notified tax collector our tag renewal was due the last two years. Trip to tax office, where they were very helpful and apologetic, an hour arguing with DMV, to no avail. When Himself couldn't fix my cruise control, he went to the web and discovered my car has five recalls, including cruise control, non of which we've gotten notification of. Then, a letter from the Discover card, asking us to authorize them to release account information to an third part - unidentified. Call them and they say they won't, then can't release info, then don't have info on 3rd party. So, uh, how are they going to provide what 3rd part wants? Pithy letter to their fraud department. IOW, spent the week doing CYA and damage control. Bright spot was line dance and an impulsive stop at local jeweler, who's going out of business, unknown to me, and sterling silver chains are all 70% off. One of their employees is buying business, reopening. Talked to him, showed him the necklace I was wearing and he gave me a cell number and said to have MA call him in late October, he's interested in considering carrying her items.
Next week's mission is to return to some sort of normalcy (or whatever passes for that around here anymore) and try to make up for the fact I got zero billable hours in this week, have two ms in house and two more coming in next week.
Are we having fun yet?
Hi DR
Integrity would have lead to a better world with Enron and the financial stealing from America a couple of years. The Accounting firm for Enron failed to following the standard I mentioned in the blog bost and had they done just that the damage from Enron would have been nil. They were sued for millions, went of buiness and tens of thousands of their employees ended up out of work. One instance of not following the standard of the "appearance of impropriety" and resigning from the engagement. Perfect definition of the reason why the accounting has that standard.
There was an article about the Jet Blue in today's Oregonian. Well really it was a column. It stated that now that the passengers are speaking out a different picture of the wacko steward is coming to light. Apparantly he was grouchy from the time the flight took off and picked several fights along the way.
What a week it has been for you. The credit card fiasco has dominated you life. Wouldn't you like to get your hands on the crook or crooks that stole you identity? Then to add the DMV issue to you platter, I would have been spitting nails. The recalls are a pain and even more so when you not get notice of them.
Love the jewlery story, you could make Maryanne rich!
I do home the next week will be a return to normalcy and include some billable hours!
Bill
Bill, you are one busy dude! Don't know how you find time for all the movies. One question: Who is the "CPA bringing drugs and taxes to the league"? And come on, tell us about the drugs!
As to Top Chef, it's a TV show. I'm sure those shows are somewhat fixed in who they really want to continue and for how long. I suspect if you are fast enough (or pause it) to read the disclaimer you see at the end, you'll find that the judges are only part of the decision-making. I'd bet there's an Exec Producer in there somewhere actually calling the shots. So keep your anger diffused enough to cover the unseen. {g}
I think the Jet Blue guy's story is just funny. Is he a hero? Nah, just a po'd guy who blew his stack in an amusing way. And will have to pay the price. But he sure struck a chord with some other po'd people who are still plugging away at jobs they hate.
Me? Enjoying driving my new(er) car. Today, met some friends for a bite before we went on to see a play. Leaving the cafe parking lot, the other guy driving came within about 2 inches of backing into my so far perfect car! Talk about your heart stopping! I was honking away, but he doesn't hear too well and kept coming, but stopped just in time. He's driving a new Prius, and maybe he has that thing that beeps when you get too close to something, but he got WAY too close to me!
Hi Pat
I go to movies on my lunch two hours. They have a lot movies her starting between 11:30 and 12:30 so instead of eating lunch I have lunch at the movies.
The CPA is not Mark even though I did ask him, he just is to busy with work and taking care of his parents. The CPA coming in is a pretty well known one in Portland that is a friend of Ted, my rich friend. The drugs and taxes was just a play on their occupations.
I did read the disclaimer but I also know from the past shows that there has been more than one instance where the judges went outside the box due to special circumstances. Even though it is just a TV show, if they allow cheating they aren't for me.
At first I thought the Slater story was funny but I've really changed my mind and am more in agreement with Susan Neilson (link in response to DR) and with a column in today's Oregonian by Leonard Pitts JR, link follows:
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/08/whatever_happened_to_that_quai.html
I did email and ask him where in the world he got a movie ticket for $7.50.
I would be so ticked if I had a new car and some idiot came close to hitting her. Especially what, two months after buying her?
Bill
I'll sure go along with the Leonard Pitts column. I like his rules for civility.
And yes, I'd have been EXTREMELY upset if Ben, who I'd just left, had hit my car. Maybe he can't see behind him in his brand-new Prius. I clearly had the right of way, and just as clearly no way to escape, so I have to believe he just didn't see me there. Or hear me honking away.
Hi Pat
It seems like I heard somewhere that a Pirus is so tight that the drivers often can her horns etc and also the motor is so quiet that pets and people can't hear the car coming.
Still if you can't hear you should LOOK.
Bill
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