Indian names

I don't know exactly what the posts on this blog are supposed to be about (Astros or whatnot) but I'm going to write this one on something I recently decided. I went to the Western Days in Yorktown, Texas a few weekends ago with some of the interns and I saw a funny shirt. It read:
My Indian name is Runswithbeer. I laughed about it, but then, as usual, it got me thinking. How often do we give someone an Indian name?

If you take it out of the context of this shirt, this guy's "Indian name" is an activity he does... runs with beer. I thought about how, often, I say things like, "oh that's Kara, she works for the Astros too," or, "David, he's my best friend from 7th grade." These names aren't always the nicest descriptions, though. Sometimes their Indian names end up being negative like: "Randinotanicegirl" or "Kendon'treallylikehim."

So, how much easier would it be to just drop their Indian name, and let that person be who they are? Or, keep the reason you may not like this person to yourself, and let others decide on their own?

I feel like sometimes we let people decide for us what we think about someone. There are too many people that are quick to side with a friend, rather than gather their own opinion about someone. Maybe to someone I'm Chelseaplayedsoftball (the -ed kills me, of course) or Chelseathinksshescool. How do I know which one a fall into?

This summer working with the Force, I hated it when we were in a social setting and the girls referred to me as Chelseatheintern. I HATED that, because I felt like it took me apart from being their friend or one of them, to this girl that they just knew. Eventually, I was given the official, "you've gone from Chelseatheintern to Chelsea Wilson," and I almost sighed with relief.

There's often too much need for people to associate with something, for people to just stand out on their own. I just hope that Indian names can change, because I believe that people can change.

Try and think about someone you've given an Indian name to, that maybe doesn't fit that description anymore. Doesn't it seem silly to associate that person with the action, still? Learn to let it go. Change their name.

It's been toooooo long!

I'm sorry that it's been so long since my last post. Honestly, I still don't have time to really get into one right now. The media relations department is hard at work creating and PROOFREADING (mainly proofreading) our 2009 Postseason Guide. The deadline was Friday, it moved to today, and it honestly looks like it's not getting done today! Guess we'll see... proof, proof, proof!

I will leave you with this funny that popped into my head while proofing (no way, right?!) yesterday:

Astros Media Relations: There's a stat for that.

:)

Thoughts... choices.

I had an English teacher in high school, cannot for the life of me remember his name, that had us spend two class periods on the first sentence of a book. He was absolutely convinced that the author spent just as long deciding that first sentence, making it perfect, with every word carefully chosen. While I think that is a bit over-the-top, I think he may have been one of the first to really push me to find the deeper meaning in things.

It's almost an annoying habit I have, seeing everyday things and trying to find how they can be used in a metaphor. If you've ever watched a movie, or been out on a rainy/sunny day with me you've probably heard me mention the term "pathetic fallacy." The term describes a time when an inanimate objects are personified. I usually talk about this when there is a sad scene in a movie and it is raining. These are the types of things I am CONSTANTLY thinking about.

Sometimes I feel as though these thoughts are just silly, maybe it's just an exercise to keep my brain sharp, but sometimes my tender heart really pays attention to what I find. I have always believed that an interpretation is subjective, and what someone sees stems from how they are feeling or where they are in their life.

Every day when 5:30 strikes, I clock out, but I don't leave Minute Maid. I have turned the stadium into a personal gym (I'm on an intern salary... using my resources). I run the concourse (three laps is a mile), I run the stairs (I routinely conquer sections 100-156, which you can see here), I do lunges, squats and abs in and around the press box. More than just working my body, however, this is one of the best times for me to think. I think about work, school, friends, softball, future, past, how the recycle bins around the stadium look like people at a distance, and even about all the history I'm reading as I'm running.

Then, the other day I saw this sign:

Many people might just see it as a sign, but it immediately hit me as a choice. I can either work hard and move up, or I can get out. It's simple. Even as I went back to take this picture, I noticed that "exit" is written twice. It's easier just to get out, give up, walk out the doors and move on... but what I really want is "up."

Why did I notice this sign? There's a difference between seeing something and looking at it. Your mind registers crazy numbers of things every day, so why did this stick for me?

Maybe I saw this sign, because I needed to be reminded that there is a choice, and that one will seem easier than the other most of the time. All the signs may be pointing towards that easy route, but I need to figure out what I want.

I want to work "up."

Flocking together

Everyone's heard the phrase, "birds of a feather flock together," and interestingly we had our second intern roundtable on this subject. "How to co-exist with other birds" was the topic, and after taking personality profiles we were given our bird-type. There were four types of birds: eagles, peacocks, doves and owls.

What do these bird types mean? Each bird has different characteristics, and the test we took helped draw a decision on what type of worker we are, and how those types of workers fill a niche in the office.

I am a peacock:

"Social peacocks are direct and supporting, exhibiting characteristics such as animation, intuitiveness and liveliness. Peacocks are fast paces. Peacocks' primary strengths are their enthusiasm, persuasiveness and delightful sociability. Peacocks are idea persons. Peacocks are true entertainers. Many peacocks are in occupations such as sales, entertainment, public relations, professional hosts, trial attorneys, social directors on cruise ships, hotel business and other glamorous, high profile careers. Peacocks design and use their space in a disorganized cluttered manner, but they know if something is missing."

Those are just the first line from each paragraph describing peacocks. Most of that feedback is positive, but there are downsides to peacocks.

"They can also be viewed as manipulative, impulsive and excitable when displaying behavior inappropriate to the situation. Their actions and decision are spontaneous, and are seldom concerned about facts and details trying to avoid them as much as possible. Their primary weaknesses are getting involved in too many things, impatience and their short attention spans which cause them to become bored easily. They influence other and shape their environment by bringing others into alliance to accomplish results. They tends to work quickly and enthusiastically with others."

Interesting, huh? I think I fit a lot of these categories, both negative and positive. There are some things I don't agree with, but hey, that might be because I don't notice. We were told several times in our discussion that a lot of these are general characteristics, and that we as individuals won't have every specific area.

The last paragraph describes what I, as a peacock, probably need to work on to make myself better in an office environment. "Peacocks need to: control their time and emotions; develop a more objective mindset; spend more time checking, verifying, specifying and organizing; develop more of a task-focus; and take a more logical approach to projects and issues." I know at least one of those hits me dead on: spend more time checking and verifying. There's a reason I'm not a mathematician!

My cubeighbors Kara and Brittany are birds of a different feather.

"The wise owls are both indirect and controlling. Owls tend to be perfectionist, serious and orderly. They like organization and structure, and dislike too much involvement with other people. Their primary strengths are their accuracy, dependability, independence, follow-through and organization. The greatest irritation for owls is disorganized, illogical people."

Kara called it. She knew that her results would come back that she is a control freak; however, in a business setting I think that she is a huge asset. She does take time to see things through, and despite her results she is not someone to dislike involvement with other people. She just dislikes stupid or "illogical" people.

We decided that Brittany is a hybrid, hence her tag. Her results came out that she is an eagle, but she has toooooo many peacockish tendencies to not have flirted with another species.

Eagles are: "controlling and direct. They accept challenges, take authority and go head first into solving problems. Their weak traits include stubbornness, impatience and toughness. They are fast-paced and are impatient with delays. It is not unusual for an eagle to call you and, without saying hello, launch right into the conversation."

Eagles seem to be the most hard-nosed of all the birds. They don't put up with much, but they get stuff done. Brittany definitely has a lot of the work ethics of an eagle, but she becomes borderline peacock because she is friendly, outgoing and works well in a social environment.

The dove is the last category, and our cuborhood doesn't have any doves nests. But for anyone who's interested: "the diplomatic dove is supporting and indirect, relatively unassertive, warm and reliable. They take action and make decisions slowly. They tend to be the most people-oriented of all the four behavioral styles. They focus on getting acquainted and building trust. They are irritated by pushy, aggressive behavior."

All these birds have different qualities, but that does not mean that they won't work well together. It's the approach and understanding a different bird that makes the work place flow smoother with each of these types. According to a chart that was in our packet, peacocks:

• work excellently with doves, and socialize fairly with them
• work poorly with other peacocks, but are socially perfect
• work well with owls, but not well in a social environment
• work borderline fair/poor with eagles, but are socially pretty good with them

It's important to understand how to read people and what type of workers they are. Reducing conflict in the work place by being proactive and knowing how to, or how no to, approach someone can help getting tasks done easier. Understanding what kind of bird you are, however, and how to tame some of your characteristics that may bother someone else, can be step one.

Help yourself and then you can help others. Lead by example. Do work.

**The name tags were created by Kara and hang on the outside of our cubes. My middle name is not Lynn, you're right in thinking that, but apparently it sounds better and I'm not a girl who's favorite color should be pink. Says the owl.**