It might be better not to write a blog entry when you’re somewhat emotional… But what the Hell! The last couple of days have been quite traumatic for me… actually this whole week. It started Monday morning after what I now realize was a stressful weekend. I often tend to be intuitive and tend to sense things before they become apparent or they’re revealed.
Monday morning I came to the office agitated. We’re beginning to build a factory to make candles and on the previous Friday I had met with the contractor so that I could have a quote by Monday morning. The candle maestro arrived. It quickly became apparent that what we thought was needed in terms of a building was in reality quit different.
Luckily the contractor was able to meet us. We all sat down together and were very specific about what was needed. Our office is out in the country where it can be windy and dusty so that the building needs to be insulated to some degree from the dust and dirt. One of the reasons I was so agitated was that I had planned to be back in town by 9:00a.m. to meet someone… obviously this wasn’t going to happen.
My office manager asked me what was wrong today. I don’t think she had seen me this way in quite some time. In the beginning working with her in Mexico this was quite common. I’m glad we all had this opportunity to meet however, and that we were able to straighten out any misunderstandings before we began construction. Of course that conversation doubled the cost of construction… that was also a little stressful.
Switching from candles to glass carving… We’re opening two different factories in less than six months.
The Maestro: (previous blog) Well… he is around 60 years old. He is a maestro of grabado… carving on glass done with grinding stones. He’s been here for approximately five months, lived in my apartment and has had his wife to visit. She returned last Friday night because he hasn’t feeling well. He’s from another city in Mexico which means he commutes home every other weekend. I’ve given him everything that he has asked for which ironically he confirmed yesterday. I never tried to negotiate with him, but was grateful that we had found what we thought was an honorable man who had an interest in what we were trying to accomplish.
From the time his wife arrived last Friday evening, I had this feeling that things weren’t going well. They both acted differently than they had before when she was in town. Wednesday morning I woke up and wrote an email canceling my trip this weekend which was planned. I really wanted to go, be with friends, see great folk art, etc. Maybe next year? I had this feeling that I needed to stay. As I said earlier… sometimes I have these intuitive interventions and this one was strong enough to make me listen.
We’ve been having problems with the maestro for some time. As the office manager and company accountant puts it… “He’s difficult!” They also say that the more I give him the more he wants and expects. He’s a contract worker, but thought he ought to get paid for holidays and days taken for doctor’s appointments. He remembers if I don’t do the things he wants, but quickly forgets when he leaves early and promises to work on Saturday’s to make up hours.
Yesterday when he was asked if he was working this Saturday, he tells the office manager that he’s leaving on Friday and will not be returning. Somehow I had felt all of this without really knowing what or why or how come. My home is my sanctuary and when it’s tainted my life becomes less peaceful. I now understand why I felt agitated on Monday morning.
I didn’t even get to my title… so more to come.
P.S. These two factories are mentioned in my Mission Statement (right hand column), they’re part of my “dream” plus I have employees that count on my family. This was a big blow… but life and business goes on! How to persevere is the question!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
(44th Entry) The workplace…
Workplaces are different than everyday life regardless of what country you’re in. Working in Mexico is definitely different than working in the U. S. My family was very lucky when moving their business to Mexico. The original employees hired have done a tremendous job. Although they were mostly young, they were very mature and had a great work ethic. As we’ve begun to open our factories and hire additional employees we’ve experienced many new challenges.
Production/factory work is different than anything that we’ve done before. The company had always wholesaled products made in Mexico and distributed them to retailers throughout the U. S. The basic function of our original employees in the warehouse was to do quality control and pack orders. There’s considerable flexibility in this work. All of the employees know their jobs, have the ability to organize their work and take breaks as they need them.
Factory production is different. It has to be much more organized, discipline and monitored. In addition, there’s a very long learning curve to doing the grabado so that there’s not an immediate economic benefit to the company. We hired a maestro from another city to teach. He’s an older man who we thought was very excited about teaching younger people the craft and also our desire to hire disabled individuals. More about this later...
Currently we have five individuals learning to do grabado, carving on glass. We’ve lost three employees along the way. Two employees left due to either running away with their boyfriend or getting married. The third employee that left was the second disabled individual hired. He basically left due to sexually harassing one of the young women. He resigned on his own when confronted.
For two years the company had been operating with young people working side by side and we had never experienced any problems of this nature… but… this is life and reality in today’s world… or just something that we recognize today and take seriously.
Previous to this we had talked to the maestro about letting us know if the employees were working hard or if there were any problems. Unfortunately he didn’t let us know about this situation. My regret is that we didn’t know about this earlier and might have been able to prevent this outcome. In order to not have this happen again and have a more organized production environment, we decided to have a supervisor in this area.
Three and a half months ago we hired our first disabled individual. Juan is a great individual with great presence. He’s in his late 30’s, married and has four kids. Juan was born with his disability and is basically paralyzed from the waste down. He stands less than 5’ tall and uses what I call polio crutches to get around. We decided to promote him to supervisor.
More to come…
Production/factory work is different than anything that we’ve done before. The company had always wholesaled products made in Mexico and distributed them to retailers throughout the U. S. The basic function of our original employees in the warehouse was to do quality control and pack orders. There’s considerable flexibility in this work. All of the employees know their jobs, have the ability to organize their work and take breaks as they need them.
Factory production is different. It has to be much more organized, discipline and monitored. In addition, there’s a very long learning curve to doing the grabado so that there’s not an immediate economic benefit to the company. We hired a maestro from another city to teach. He’s an older man who we thought was very excited about teaching younger people the craft and also our desire to hire disabled individuals. More about this later...
Currently we have five individuals learning to do grabado, carving on glass. We’ve lost three employees along the way. Two employees left due to either running away with their boyfriend or getting married. The third employee that left was the second disabled individual hired. He basically left due to sexually harassing one of the young women. He resigned on his own when confronted.
For two years the company had been operating with young people working side by side and we had never experienced any problems of this nature… but… this is life and reality in today’s world… or just something that we recognize today and take seriously.
Previous to this we had talked to the maestro about letting us know if the employees were working hard or if there were any problems. Unfortunately he didn’t let us know about this situation. My regret is that we didn’t know about this earlier and might have been able to prevent this outcome. In order to not have this happen again and have a more organized production environment, we decided to have a supervisor in this area.
Three and a half months ago we hired our first disabled individual. Juan is a great individual with great presence. He’s in his late 30’s, married and has four kids. Juan was born with his disability and is basically paralyzed from the waste down. He stands less than 5’ tall and uses what I call polio crutches to get around. We decided to promote him to supervisor.
More to come…
Monday, March 10, 2008
(43rd Entry) Invalidos
Invalidos… Invalid… A old word used often in Mexico to describe a person with a disability. Another word that is being used more often today instead is incapacitades… or incapacities. A word that is probably more politically correct. In the U.S. during my lifetime the word for disabled has changed quit a few times… crippled, handicapped, disabled, and then… all of the “challenges”… physically challenged, mentally challenged, technically challenged… OK… I have to have a little fun with this.
A label is a label is a label… Right! We change words to make people feel better about them selves and maybe along with the change in words comes a little change in attitude… if we’re lucky! BUT… a description, a label, a differentiation still denotes a difference.
Mexico is a wonderful, caring, compassionate country in many ways. My memories of coming to Mexico when I was young still resonate within. For me Mexico was a place I could come as a little kid in the mid to late 60’s and not feel as “different”. In Mexico it seemed that I could just be and not be reminded that I was different. I don’t think I consciously understood this at the time… I was only 6 to 12 years old.
On those visits I don’t remember being stared at or comments being made continually or being the object of attention in a negative way. I always loved the feeling that I had when I visited Mexico. The people always treated me well. It’s the same feelings that I have about New York. Others might not see it or feel it, but I do… and that’s really all that matters. As far as Mexico goes, I think the rest of my family would concur that there was something special… after all the whole family lives in Mexico today.
During the 60’s the U.S. was much different than today. As I’ve said on several different occasions the hospital that I went to for physical therapy didn’t even have outpatient care in those days and you didn’t see people with disabilities out in public.
Some times I write things in my blog that I don’t necessarily know if they’re true or not, but I always say that it’s a memory or a feeling that I have or remember. Here’s another one… My memory… My Dad and I are in a hardware store when a lady walks up to my Dad and says, “You and your wife must have been horrible people for God to have punished you with a child like that.” This memory would be from the mid to late 60’s.
Mexico was different. There was compassion, a spirit that the people had. Mexico was a very poor country is those days. Maybe because of the poverty people were used to seeing all types of people with all types of conditions. Mexico has changed over the years. We truly live in a global world… via the internet, MTV, etc. But that basic spirit that I felt when I was young still exists to a large degree to this day.
But the workplace might be different… to be continued!
A label is a label is a label… Right! We change words to make people feel better about them selves and maybe along with the change in words comes a little change in attitude… if we’re lucky! BUT… a description, a label, a differentiation still denotes a difference.
Mexico is a wonderful, caring, compassionate country in many ways. My memories of coming to Mexico when I was young still resonate within. For me Mexico was a place I could come as a little kid in the mid to late 60’s and not feel as “different”. In Mexico it seemed that I could just be and not be reminded that I was different. I don’t think I consciously understood this at the time… I was only 6 to 12 years old.
On those visits I don’t remember being stared at or comments being made continually or being the object of attention in a negative way. I always loved the feeling that I had when I visited Mexico. The people always treated me well. It’s the same feelings that I have about New York. Others might not see it or feel it, but I do… and that’s really all that matters. As far as Mexico goes, I think the rest of my family would concur that there was something special… after all the whole family lives in Mexico today.
During the 60’s the U.S. was much different than today. As I’ve said on several different occasions the hospital that I went to for physical therapy didn’t even have outpatient care in those days and you didn’t see people with disabilities out in public.
Some times I write things in my blog that I don’t necessarily know if they’re true or not, but I always say that it’s a memory or a feeling that I have or remember. Here’s another one… My memory… My Dad and I are in a hardware store when a lady walks up to my Dad and says, “You and your wife must have been horrible people for God to have punished you with a child like that.” This memory would be from the mid to late 60’s.
Mexico was different. There was compassion, a spirit that the people had. Mexico was a very poor country is those days. Maybe because of the poverty people were used to seeing all types of people with all types of conditions. Mexico has changed over the years. We truly live in a global world… via the internet, MTV, etc. But that basic spirit that I felt when I was young still exists to a large degree to this day.
But the workplace might be different… to be continued!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
(42nd Entry) On a different note…
I’m going to continue on with my quest to talk about what gives me meaning… I want to talk about what got me to where I am today, but also talk about what’s current in my life.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m helping my parent’s business out in Mexico. Back in October we opened a factory that does grabado. Grabado is carving on glass which can be done in different patterns. In Mexico City it’s known as Pepita, an art form influenced by the French. As of Monday I will have five employees and the maestro, the teacher. Two of the five employees are disabled. (I talk about my goals in the Mission Statement.)
We’re limited at the current time on the types of disabilities that we can hire due to transportation issues. There is no transportation in the town of San Miguel de Allende for individuals in wheel chairs. Plus, our office/factory is located 10 miles out in the country which makes it an even greater issue.
We have six stations at the current time for production. I hope to add to this shortly. The new machines will be made so that they can be used for individuals in wheel chairs or for those that stand. My goal is to have 20 individuals by the end of the year producing and at least 14 disabled individuals.
This sounds wonderful… Unfortunately, I thought it would be much easier than the reality is turning out to be. Things often turn out more complicated than I think. I think because it’s my dream and something that might be able to help others that it will be easy. It should be easy!
Where to go from here…
Last summer one of our business partners casually said… “We’re having production problems and you (me) have this desire to do something with the issue of disability, so let’s just open our own factory and hire disabled individuals.” Sounds great! Doesn’t it? It sounded good to me.
We found a maestro. We told him about our goals and he sounded very interested and we felt that he bought into the idea of hiring disabled individuals. In October we opened the doors and began producing. The first thing that became apparent is that the learning curve for employees was going to be much greater than we were led to believe. OK… I adjusted to this and realized that the investment would be greater than I expected. This was not insurmountable, so we continued.
More to follow:
I’ve mentioned before that I’m helping my parent’s business out in Mexico. Back in October we opened a factory that does grabado. Grabado is carving on glass which can be done in different patterns. In Mexico City it’s known as Pepita, an art form influenced by the French. As of Monday I will have five employees and the maestro, the teacher. Two of the five employees are disabled. (I talk about my goals in the Mission Statement.)
We’re limited at the current time on the types of disabilities that we can hire due to transportation issues. There is no transportation in the town of San Miguel de Allende for individuals in wheel chairs. Plus, our office/factory is located 10 miles out in the country which makes it an even greater issue.
We have six stations at the current time for production. I hope to add to this shortly. The new machines will be made so that they can be used for individuals in wheel chairs or for those that stand. My goal is to have 20 individuals by the end of the year producing and at least 14 disabled individuals.
This sounds wonderful… Unfortunately, I thought it would be much easier than the reality is turning out to be. Things often turn out more complicated than I think. I think because it’s my dream and something that might be able to help others that it will be easy. It should be easy!
Where to go from here…
Last summer one of our business partners casually said… “We’re having production problems and you (me) have this desire to do something with the issue of disability, so let’s just open our own factory and hire disabled individuals.” Sounds great! Doesn’t it? It sounded good to me.
We found a maestro. We told him about our goals and he sounded very interested and we felt that he bought into the idea of hiring disabled individuals. In October we opened the doors and began producing. The first thing that became apparent is that the learning curve for employees was going to be much greater than we were led to believe. OK… I adjusted to this and realized that the investment would be greater than I expected. This was not insurmountable, so we continued.
More to follow:
To long since..
It's been over a week since my last entry. It seems much longer. As usual things in my life change rapidly and therefore so does my direction in writing.
Be Patient... Please! There's just so much to express!
Be Patient... Please! There's just so much to express!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Please accept...
my apology... My parent's are in town. I've been busy with them and am a little behind on entries. I will post again on Saturday, March 8th.
And then... I should be back to a normal schedule.
And then... I should be back to a normal schedule.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
(41st Entry) On death and dying…
The first two projects during my sophomore year of high school were “On Death and Dying” (Fall 1976) and “Parenting the Disabled” (Spring 1977)
In the Fall of 1976, I met a Chaplain from one of the Dallas hospitals. I was involved with the Episcopal Church Youth Group. He had spoken to us at one of our Sunday night meetings. As it turns out, he was one of the two Chaplains that introduced Elizabeth Kubler-Ross to her first terminally ill patients. He was mentioned in her book… ON DEATH AND DYING. When I was asked to come up with my first topic for a project that year this is the topic that came to me.
Since I had been introduced to the Kubler-Ross books and had extended beyond her work I had some background already. I called the Chaplain, reminded him who I was and one Saturday he came to my house for a three hour interview. I was fascinated with the subject and his experience, but having the opportunity to talk to him uninterrupted for several hours was incredible.
It’s funny, but I remember many of the details from that day even though it took place over 30 years ago. I was extremely fortunate to have had this opportunity.
Kubler-Ross is renowned for her pioneering work with terminally ill individuals. Most noticeably her Five Stages of Grief.
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
As I said in the last blog entry, the four projects that I did during my sophomore and junior years in High School were an uncanny attempt to resolve many of the issues that I was attempting to work through in my personal life and that were expressed in ONCE THERE WAS A PEROSN (previous blog).
As I am sitting here writing a couple of things occur to me. It was also this same time period when I wrote the answer to… Question: “If you were to die today what would you want your epitaph to read”… Answer “I do what I can and that which I can not do; I do anyway!” (Also mentioned in Entry 9) Plus it was the beginning of this school year that I received my driver’s license (Entry 26).
The reason why writing, contemplating, investigating, etc. is so important is that it gives us insights into our selves that we might never otherwise perceive. There’s so much within all of us. We all experience so much and we’re constantly bombarded with stimuli from all directions that it’s virtually impossible for any of us to fully realize all that is taking place within ourselves and our lives.
My famous epitaph (OK… famous to me!) is nothing more than a declaration of denial.
To be continued….
In the Fall of 1976, I met a Chaplain from one of the Dallas hospitals. I was involved with the Episcopal Church Youth Group. He had spoken to us at one of our Sunday night meetings. As it turns out, he was one of the two Chaplains that introduced Elizabeth Kubler-Ross to her first terminally ill patients. He was mentioned in her book… ON DEATH AND DYING. When I was asked to come up with my first topic for a project that year this is the topic that came to me.
Since I had been introduced to the Kubler-Ross books and had extended beyond her work I had some background already. I called the Chaplain, reminded him who I was and one Saturday he came to my house for a three hour interview. I was fascinated with the subject and his experience, but having the opportunity to talk to him uninterrupted for several hours was incredible.
It’s funny, but I remember many of the details from that day even though it took place over 30 years ago. I was extremely fortunate to have had this opportunity.
Kubler-Ross is renowned for her pioneering work with terminally ill individuals. Most noticeably her Five Stages of Grief.
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
As I said in the last blog entry, the four projects that I did during my sophomore and junior years in High School were an uncanny attempt to resolve many of the issues that I was attempting to work through in my personal life and that were expressed in ONCE THERE WAS A PEROSN (previous blog).
As I am sitting here writing a couple of things occur to me. It was also this same time period when I wrote the answer to… Question: “If you were to die today what would you want your epitaph to read”… Answer “I do what I can and that which I can not do; I do anyway!” (Also mentioned in Entry 9) Plus it was the beginning of this school year that I received my driver’s license (Entry 26).
The reason why writing, contemplating, investigating, etc. is so important is that it gives us insights into our selves that we might never otherwise perceive. There’s so much within all of us. We all experience so much and we’re constantly bombarded with stimuli from all directions that it’s virtually impossible for any of us to fully realize all that is taking place within ourselves and our lives.
My famous epitaph (OK… famous to me!) is nothing more than a declaration of denial.
To be continued….
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
