Someone I met today is quiet.
When you think of a quiet person, you either think of someone who is soft-spoken, a little meek, and definitely non-threatening. Don't let quiet keep you from talking to someone new. First impressions are rarely everything.
Someone I encountered today was a woman discussing her impending marriage to the groom's brother.
It wasn't really a meeting, but more of an awkward encounter at an ice cream shop. The pair sat on the opposite end of a rather large table. We gathered that the groom wanted her to work, but she just wanted to be a housewife. What was interesting is that both these people were clearly not native English speakers... But were conducting most of the conversation in English. One of them was Japanese, and the other was Chinese... So maybe their primary languages weren't the same.
Although, they did speak in another language for some of it... So it made us wonder.
Someone I met today is a waitress.
She was at the Hideout at the Laylow, a new restaurant bar in Waikiki. Her accent was beautifully Irish, and no matter what she said, it sounded like it was the happiest thing she had ever said in her life. I asked her what brought her to Hawaii, and she said she's been living across the states for years... Then when she came here, she decided she liked it and never wanted to leave.
I'd might feel the same way too if I wasn't from here.
Someone I met today is a police officer!
My dad has been spending a lot of time outside, since he's giving the house a new coat of paint. Some guys came into our garage today, trying to steal our soursop plants. They feigned knowing the owner, and asking for the person who hired the painter... Obviously that wasn't the case. My dad said that they must be at the wrong house and asked that they leave. They didn't, so he chased them off.
I eventually called the cops, and the one who does our beat came down. He shared with some parents some tips, like calling ASAP so they can officially trespass them. Police officers aren't allowed to make a trespassing report unless the person is there... So ok.
Anyway, he seemed nice, I've just never had a cop in my house before.
We had a 13-hour layover in Seattle, and the best way to do it is to head to Pike's Place and see everything around it as quickly as you can.
Read MoreSomeone I met today had her flight delayed.
She shared with us that she had been at the PDX airport since 10pm the night before; the flight that was supposed to take her home didn't arrive till 12am. Since it was so late, they weren't going to fly. The group was offered hotels rooms, but she figured that she would only be sleeping in it for 3 hours before having to get back to the airport. She and another woman banded together to explore all of PDX, and found some people who suggested they sleep on the floor.
Obviously, she was grossed out by this and said no.
I asked her where home is, and she said it's an hour south of Seattle... So she had to run to her next flight so she doesn't miss it. She had been up for 24 hours at that point and was a little frazzled.
I don't blame her. I'm impressed by how composed she was. I would have been a little pissed.
We had one more day in Portland, so we explored downtown Portland and took the long, beautiful drive to Cannon Beach.
Read MoreSomeone I met today profiled me.
I was at Trader Joe's buying a plethora of snacks that my parents requested. While I was ringing out, the cashier and I struck up a conversation.
"So when's your flight?"
"Not till tomorrow."
Pause.
"How'd you know I was going to be on a flight?"
"All the Hawaii people tend to buy the same kinds of snacks in bulk. Is it because you can't get them there?"
I chuckled and shared that some of the snacks and produce I was buying aren't things that are easily available. For some products, the versions at home don't taste nearly as good.
We spent our first day exploring both sides of Portland by visiting Multnomah, Vista House at Crown Points, and shopping at the Nike Store!
Read MoreSomeone I met today worked at the Nike Employee Store.
I asked him if the store was staffed all the time, or how it worked, and he said yes. It's kind of impressive, because I'm pretty sure that the mostly empty store had at least 10-15 people on staff at the time we were there. He shared that the busiest times are generally weekends, so our choice to come at the beginning of the week was a good idea.
As for his employment? Most people start as seasonal workers during Christmas, and if they like you, you can apply for the PT or FT positions depending on their needs. I also asked him if employee store staff members are considered actual employees of Nike; they are, and their restrictions on access to the store are just as strict as the corporate division.
My brother has been living in Portland for a while now. He took us to some of his old, and new, favorite eating spots east of the Willamette River.
Read MoreToday, we spent time in Lakewood with more family. The food options were much different here, giving me a wide variety of foods from the different Asian communities in the area.
Read MoreSomeone I met today was the poor Alaskan Airlines Lady.
We were going to attempt to go into the lounge with Tam's lounge member card. Turns out they recently changed their policy to only allow the card holder. The man she was helping, however, was not going to take that answer.
He had his wife, and two boys between 6-8 in tow.
She smiled apologetically while telling us we wouldn't be able to get in. Her eyes, however, pointed sharply at the man ready to yell at the credit card company who "promised" him that benefit. We nodded knowingly.
In customer service, you'll learn that there's a lot that can be said with subtle language and oblivious people.
Why have one day with family when you can have two! We lined up to see the Infinity Room and celebrated Father's Day in between.
Read MoreSomeone I met today didn't know how to handle a customer service issue.
I went to Bottega Louie about to place my order for macarons. The first girl told me to circle and fill in a card with what I wanted. Easy enough. When I was done, she took it from me.
I then went to the cashier who then had the following exchange with me:
"Oh, you have to fill out a card with what you want."
"I did already. I gave it to that girl."
"... Oh. Uh. So you actually were supposed to give the card from me so it doesn't get confusing and mess up our system."
"... Ok, so what do you want me to do about it?"
"OH uh. Nothing, it's ok."
I was super annoyed because it was like, really? You're gonna correct me? The customer can be wrong, and to a certain degree, it's ok. But you kind of have to assess whether or not correcting the customer is in your best interest. If she went any further than what she already said, I might have had words for her.
There are ways to correct a situation, and tactfully is the most important way of them all.
Most of this day revolved around eating with family and exploring DTLA. This day, we had one of the best meals of the trip at Bestia!
Read MoreSomeone I met today... Really, all of the waitstaff at Bestia.
Holy crap, I have never had such amazing service at a place. Not only were they super attentive, but the attention to detail at Bestia was amazing. As we walked through the dining room, each waiter stepped aside to let the host lead us to our table, smiling as we past.
When I went to the bathroom, Tam mentioned that the waitstaff noticed and folded my napkin before my return. Even as I went to the bathroom several times (damn alcohol), they stepped out of the way for more, every time. They also were super pleasant, and were immediately present to clear our plates as we finished them.
I don't think I've ever met a more professional waitstaff in my life. Not that I go around eating at fancy places all the time, but they were GREAT.
Highly recommend to everyone.
Does racism rear its ugly head in all heterogenous communities? Do homogenous community appear peaceful because there is nothing challenging the established majority identity?
Are heterogenous societies doomed to strife and an insidious underbelly of hatred? Is it because we cannot count on everyone to choose better, despite the masses who want to?
We started our day in Vegas, but ended it in LA, by getting through traffic and ending up in Koreatown.
Read MoreSomeone I met is Fedex driver.
Well, in the day time. He's a Lyft driver at night. He shared that Fedex has a hard time finding drivers with clean driving records... So if you get a ticket, you have to let Fedex know right away and they'll "take care of it."
Case being that he was smart with a cop one day, mostly because he was high. The conversation went as follows:
"Hello, have you had anything to drink?"
"Yes sir I have."
points at Red Bull can
"Sir, I need to write you a ticket."
Anyway, I know USPS also has strict requirements, so this isn't unusual. I just didn't know that Fedex had Godfather-like capabilities.