No respect? No authority.

On July 1st, 2013, I was serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had been called to serve in the Washington Seattle mission, but effective immediately on July 1st, I became a missionary in the new mission, the Washington Federal Way mission.

Seattle & Snow: "A No Go"

             

The northwest corner of the state of Washington is known for many things, one of which is its weather. For a good nine months out of the year you can expect it to rain at least once every week. Natives to the area are so used to the precipitation it does not seem to bother most of them… until the temperature starts to plummet, conditions are just right, and a rare occurrence takes place creating absolute mayhem: snow starts falling. Because snow is so rare in this part of the country Seattle and most of the surrounding cities are very ill prepared for this type of weather. Worst of all are the roads which, after a good hour or two of snowy conditions, become indistinguishable from a demolition derby event.

                I witnessed one of these destructive events first hand as a missionary for the LDS church. Two other missionaries and I were driving a van and attempting to drive up an unplowed snow covered hill, which rounded around the bend to top it all off. Cars were literally stacked bumper to bumper, the brave (and yet ignorant) continued to try and make their way through the mess of cars, completely ignoring any sensible driving laws and painted lines on the road. We were jumping out of the van attempting to brace our van as it slid down the hill, nearly hitting a woman’s car. To top the day off a semi came and jack knifed down the middle of the hill, proceeding cars falling suite like a life size game of Tetris with cars as the building blocks.

 

                No longer do I ever complain about traffic laws, or other roadway authorities. Without them driving would be… well… not driving.

Supervisors Do More Than Just Sit Around?

Great minds think alike. What does it mean when they don’t think alike?

When I started working at subway several of us were thrust into the thick of things and we were supposed to figure things out. We had a paper giving us a list of things that needed to be done, but no instructions on how to do them. Each person had a different opinion, and each person knew his or her opinion was the right one. When someone tried to take authority and govern the others, we would shoot them down and someone else would try to lead. But with no true leader, we were running around with our heads cut off.

That first night it took us over an hour to close. The next time we worked we had a better idea what we were doing, but we still didn’t have a leader to direct us. Several jobs were done multiple times because of lack of communication, and some didn’t get done because nobody wanted to do them. I mean after all, when it is cold outside who wants to go pull all the bread out of the freezer, go down a steep ramp, and put it in the fridge? Once again it took us awhile to finish.

This is pretty much sums up what
it felt like happened to our supervisor

The next time we had a crew supervisor. It was one of us from before, but now he was invested with authority. We respected his authority, did what he asked, and finished work much earlier that night. There were no arguments, it was just follow what you are told so everyone can get out of there as quickly as possible.

Who knew, supervising was more than just being paid to watch others work.

Ode to the Sandwich

Many people do not think about how they could improve their culinary satisfaction by changing the way they eat simple foods. Take an ordinary sandwich for example. Sandwiches are usually a quick meal for when you are in a hurry and they are usually not very remarkable, unless they are prepared properly. A properly prepared sandwich is one that is assembled and then cut in half diagonally so as to ensure the most delicious eating experience [Definition]. You may think this is ridiculous, since the uncut and cut sandwiches should have the same flavor due to being composed of the same ingredients. However, if the sandwich is cut in half then the flavors are much better distributed [Antecedent/Consequence]. Sometimes an uncut sandwich allows toppings to fall out of the opposite side of the bread; virtually a sandwich disaster!

When you eat a sandwich the ideal situation is to get a piece of tender meat, succulent cheese, crispy lettuce, and juicy tomato in each bite, or else the experience of the sandwich is not complete [Whole/parts]. The timing of the sandwich eating process is also important. Cutting the sandwich in half allows for the eater to enjoy the soft, inside bread while still in the beginning stages of eating and leaves the crust for when the eater has already begun to take the sustenance for granted [Cause/Effect]. If eating an uncut sandwich is plain and ordinary then eating a sandwich cut in half is fun and exciting [Contraries]! After all, eating an uncut sandwich is like drinking a cup of hot cocoa. It tastes good, but it is much better if a little more effort was put it, either in the form of adding whipped cream or simply cutting it in half [Similarity/Difference]. Now, you may be hesitant to go out of your way and try to make a properly prepared sandwich, but after you try one you will be cutting all of your sandwiches in half [Past Fact/Future Fact]. Don’t be tempted to get lazy and say that an uncut sandwich is good enough because a properly prepared sandwich is infinitely better [Degrees]. I’m just saying that there is a reason that Subway cuts all of their sandwiches in half [Authority], but don’t take my word for it. Go with your gut instinct and try it for yourself, cut your next sandwich in half before you eat it [Supernatural]!

Men vs. Women

Because men and women are so different, men cannot
understand women

Like they all say, “Women are from Venus, men are from Mars” [Maxim/Proverbs].  It is therefore impossible for men to truly know the mind of a girl [Possible/Impossible] because men and women are so different.  Women are like mystery novels with the conclusions ripped out [Similarity/Difference].  Although men may act clueless while “reading these novel,” they are not completely clueless [Contradiction].  However, if women don’t even know how to understand themselves—and they don’t—then men certainly cannot comprehend women [Degree].  The word women might have the word men in it, but they are completely different creatures [Notation and conjugates].  God made women and men with different purposes and personalities [The supernatural] for a reason.  These divine purposes separate men and women quite a bit.  Because women and men are so different, men obviously cannot understand women.  Even registered psychologist Dr. Noam Shpancer agrees that men find it incredibly hard to understand women [Authority].  No wonder that when you have to take a standardized test, they make you mark whether you are male or female [Documents]; testers are figuring out all the differences between women and men to better understand them.  I have always seen how my brothers cannot seem to understand my gender, so their lack of understanding will extend long into the future  [past fact/future fact].  Women are made of 1000 thoughts all at once, bundles of contradiction, and pretty faces; men are made of 1 thought at once, practicality, and muscles [Whole/Parts].  No wonder men cannot understand women, but women can pretty much understand men.  Men are not complex; they are simple [Contraries], but women are the exact opposite.  The feasibility of men understanding women is incredibly slim [circumstances].  Therefore, because men are so different from women, men cannot understand women.