The Pains and Joys of Work

Serving is quite the art.

You balance hot plates on one arm, take orders from multiple customers, serve drinks, and so on and so forth. All this is done with the hope of taking a good amount of money at the end of the day, and being able to move forward financially.

Photo credit: tipsfromyourwaitress | Tumblr

However, we often disregard the good work interactions that we have, and don’t, with others. For me in particular, I have had both. With coworkers, and with customers. 

I have been reminded lately that the end-goal at work is to focus on yourself and ignore distractions. It has been a bit difficult though, after a series of disagreements with a coworker that have led me to be mentally exhausted almost every day. 

Understandably, everybody is different, but her demeanor towards me has not been the most pleasant, and it has made me uncomfortable. 

Everyone’s told me: “Sebastian, don’t worry about them. Just work and bring in the money that you need.” And they’re right. I already feel better and more ready to take in the disagreements. 

The experience has been completely different with the customers though. I have met people from Mexico, Germany, the UK, and Panama, just to name a few. They share their ills, and tell me of how different the US is. On the other side, I agree with them and tell them of what I learned while living abroad. One customer though, an American, eventually shared with me his writing blog and read mine as well. It was a moment that I really appreciated, and renewed my desire to interact with others and learn about them as much as possible. 

Eventually, life is about living and learning, and of meeting new people, whether they are pleasant or not. Since in the end, it is you who is affected, and who matters.

Obama’s Clean Coal Power Effort against a Republican Field

Every year that passes seems to be the hottest on record. While we are constantly told that climate change will be upon us, and that we should be more conscious of our efforts, most of us are not as aware of the issue as we should be. This 2015, temperatures in Europe and India reached record-breaking highs. 

As the Rolling Stone notes, The Guardian UK had to stop its live blog in the month of July because of excessive heat in its computer system. Then in India for example, the heat has been so strong that over a thousand people died because of it. While in the North American continent, California continues on its longest drought in history. 

Scientists have come out of their research shadows and began advocating their findings years ago, but many of us still do not listen to them. Take James Hansen, former NASA climatologist for example. He says that global sea-level rise could rise further than originally expected, up to 10 meters by 2065 as told by Rolling Stone. That would mean people living in Mauritius would have to find a new home in another country willing to take them in. 

Taking bold action to avoid this, Barack Obama issued his ambitious Clean Coal Power Plan a few days ago. Despite its difficulty in achieving it, it aims to cut carbon emissions from coal factories by 32 percent of 2005 levels in the next 10 years. A great plan indeed. 

However, it does not come without its critics. Republican nominees for the White House, like Jeb Bush, say it is a complete job-killer and unproductive for the American economy. Many fear that energy costs may go up because of it. Though these are good arguments at a glance, it fails to take into account the rise of renewables in the American economy as of late. 

As Derrick Z. Jackson of the Boston Globe reports, many Republican states have benefited from this rise, as Iowa and Kansas for example, already get “between 17 percent and 27 percent of their energy from” renewables. Moreover, Jackson also tells us that several companies like PepsiCo and General Motors have saved millions by focusing more on sustainability than ever before.

The tide is turning, and whether conservatives like it or not, caring for the environment is a bipartisan issue that affects us all. Obama’s efforts are encouraging, although with room for much more, but with the environmental problems that we have, that is what our planet needs.

Portland Calling

In the past few days, environmental activists in Portland have put themselves front and center against Shell’s Arctic drilling intentions. 

As the Royal Dutch Shell Company prepared to set out its icebreaking ship, the Fennica, onto the Arctic for the Summer Drilling Season, activists opposed to the drilling moved quickly to prevent it from setting out to open sea.

By early Tuesday, several began gathering at the St. Johns Bridge, while others in Kayaks defied the ship’s advances. Democracy Now! even tells us that the activists “successfully forced Shell’s ship to turn back to port” early Thursday morning. It was quite impressive to watch.[1]

 

Photo credit: kgw.com

Eventually, Shell filed a court order against the activists, forcing their removal from the St. Johns Bridge path. The scenes of what happened were inspirational. The only way a corporate giant could pass through was with the help of law enforcement, while the people opposed its efforts and continued to do so until the end.

After much stalling, Fennica passed through after 40 hours behind schedule. Despite seen as a failure in part by the activists, the defiance and willingness shown by them continues to demonstrate that people will go to great lengths to protect the health and well-being of our planet.

 

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[1] http://www.democracynow.org/2015/7/31/police_remove_greenpeace_activists_from_portland