Rude or Respectful. Which Audience Member are You?

When someone is given the task of standing before an audience to give a presentation, the appropriate and courteous thing to do would be to pay attention -- or at the very least, acknowledge them by making eye contact.  Would you ever dream of sitting during a presentation and pulling out a book to read or your smart phone to play games?  Would you blatantly close your eyes to take a nap or put your earphones in to listen to your iPod?  I think most of us would agree that being a respectful listener is most appropriate.

Yet as my family took several trips this past summer, and as the in-flight crew was giving their safety demonstrations (5-6 minutes, maybe), the aforementioned bad behavior is exactly what I saw.

As a former airline employee, it has always bugged me when passengers completely ignore the flight attendants during their safety presentation.  I know, I know.  You might argue their spiel is a waste of time, and that information is on that card in the seat pocket in front of you anyway.

If the cabin suddenly loses pressure, are you going to be the calm one that pulls the card from the seat pocket in front of you and reads about how the oxygen masks work or how to inflate the flotation device in the 3 minutes you have left before you pass out?

You might contend that you travel so much and have heard it so many times, you do not need to hear it again.  However many times you have heard it, the flight crew is STILL under FAA regulations to make their spiel and the courteous thing to do is to put down our books, take out our ear buds, and give them our full attention.

I don't know if you've ever had to give a presentation in front of a group before, but it is a little unnerving when no one seems to give a flying fart about what you have to say.  Respect, people.  "Just a little bit."  Not to mention it takes like 5-6 minutes of our time.  In the grand scheme of things, that isn't very much.

I worked for Delta for nearly 8 years, and what can I say?  I'm still loyal.  We flew Delta quite a bit this summer, and I have to say I love their latest in-flight safety videos.  I'm sure their marketing gurus pitched these in response to, "How can we get the attention of the passengers during the safety announcements?"  Very clever and I applaud Delta for their ingenuity.

While I think these are brilliant, I challenge you, dear passengers, to show a little courtesy and respect the next time you fly the "friendly skies."

Now - for your viewing pleasure, a few of my favorites...

2 Hours After Sunset (and 10pm on weeknights)

It's true.  We Americans love to celebrate our independence day.  It's crazy how much we spend here in the United States for our fireworks.  $600 million!!!  {{source}}

As a kid I loved going to fireworks shows and I loved it even more when my parents let us make "air designs" with sparklers.  I'd write my name and make squiggly twirls and all sorts of amazing things in 20 short seconds.

We never really bought much more than sparklers, as my parents preferred popping our own popcorn and finding a free fireworks show to attend rather than spending the month's budget on light-em-yourself firecrackers.  I admit as I became a parent, I felt a childish giddiness take over me when I bought my first fireworks to light at home.  Putting on your own little show in the driveway can be fun and let's face it, it's nice to NOT have to get to a park hours in advance to save a prime fireworks viewing spot and then wait forever in traffic to get home.  So, I don't blame many for wanting to have their own fireworks at home.  

The problem is, we're not talking sparklers here folks, or just on the 4th.  Many will shoot off fireworks several nights throughout the month.  Aerials, poppers, squealers, all of it.  And things in the night are ALWAYS louder than during the day.  And they especially seem louder when the neighbors are shooting them off at midnight in the middle of the week and your own littles can't sleep because of the noise and you yourself have to get up in 5 hours to get to work.  

My message?  Be Considerate.

So, what's the rule regarding fireworks?  Well, that is up to each city's ordinances, and they do vary, by the way.  Some have no rule, while others say nothing past curfew (10pm).  Many city ordinances allow fireworks for up to 2 hours after sunset.  (Which is typically what - 8:30, 9 pm?)

But just because that is what's allowed, doesn't mean it's POLITE or appropriate.  Proper fireworks etiquette would be this:

No shooting off fireworks 2 hours after sunset, and not after 10pm on weeknights.

Seriously.  I've had littles with bed times MUCH earlier than 10pm.  And while much of the nation is on summer break from school, many of the districts I've lived in are on a year-round schedule.  Not to mention, just because it's summer break doesn't mean every parent in your neighborhood is letting their littles stay up.

So, be considerate.  Pay attention to sunset and don't shoot fireworks off 2 hours after that, or after 10pm on weeknights.  Sure, you might think your neighbors do not care, since they haven't ever mentioned it before.  But I guarantee, unless they are right outside shooting them off with you, you are making SOMEONE in the neighborhood ticked off.   Honestly, it's plain rude. 

I've lived in neighborhoods before where one or two households would light off fireworks until well past midnight.  And as much as I liked my neighbors, it really irritated me of their lack of sensitivity to the others that lived on the block.  Did I ever ask them not to?  Did I ever call the police?  No...  turns out I'm much too passive-aggressive for that.  I really hate confrontations.  :)

So, unless you live in the middle of nowhere, without a neighbor in sight for miles, be polite.  

Don't shoot your fireworks off 2 hours after sunset or after 10p on weeknights.

I Was A Cry Baby

Normally, I don't let things get to me - with regards to what other people say or do. When I am stressed, depressed or anxious about something, it is usually over something *I* have to get done, or something that I can't get done. Deadlines, school, pressure, work, money, kids... those are the things I usually fret over. If someone looks at me the wrong way, or says stuff behind my back, I usually am like, "whatever". And then, I sort of "weed" that person out of my life. If they want to be like that, then I just don't need to be around them, right? Right.

However, when I am uber-stressed, uber-tired, and feeling overwhelmed I get emotional fairly easy. But again, this usually occurs over matters such as deadlines, school, pressure, work, money, kids, etc. I guess because I am sarcastic much of the time, only those who know me well, see this emotional side to me.

Fact: Sarcastic People Have Feelings Too.

That being said, last week, someone said something to me, in front of a group of people, which I found very hurtful and I cried; like a big fat baby. I mean, seriously -- this was no little tear. I cried and couldn't stop. And then I cried at least three more times. My appetite was ruined. I even left the event early, and called Big-D and cried again while re-telling it.

Let me just say that I HATE that I cried. This usually isn't me.

Case in point. About a year and a half ago, some people, who were supposed to be my friends, were caught up in some gossipping -- about ME! I was oblivious to the entire ordeal. Well, guilt had got the best of two of them, and they came forward and confessed to me what they had done. I didn't cry. Honestly, I hardly felt hurt at all. I thanked them for having the courage to come forward. The one even asked me a few days later if I was ok. I said, "yep". She replied, "but you don't seem upset or angry. I mean you haven't cried or anything." I said, "Nope. For some reason, I am not upset or angry. I think that it is easy to get caught up in something like that, and I respect you more for having the courage to tell me." And honestly, with all truthfulness, I can say that this instance didn't bother me at all. I am still friends with the women as well.

NORMALLY, I am like - if they wanna talk about me, whatever. If they don't like me, who cares? If they don't want to be my friend, so be it. If they think my parenting skills are a little out there, I already know. If they think I'm a little too sarcastic and slightly "dirty-minded", oh well. I just really don't let it bother me.

So, back to this incident. Why did I cry??? Why did it bother me SOOOO much? True, I was tired. True, it was during the week of finals and I was already stressed. True, it was a personal attack. True, it was about something I had worked hard on and felt like was a success. True, it was in front of other people, and True, it caught me off guard. Others whom overheard agreed that it wasn't very nice.

But what bothered me more than her being mean was the fact that it bothered me at all. I really HATE that I cried over it, that I allowed myself to give away my "power" or "control", so to speak.

Now that I have had some time to think a little about it, I guess the "trigger for tears" was that it was something mean said to my face, and it has been a while since that has happened. I mean, I get that not everyone will like me or things that I do or say. But if you wanna say mean things, I'd rather you do it behind my back, hehehe. What's that saying? Ignorance is bliss?

What about you? Do you get offended easily? or do you let things roll off your shoulders pretty easily?

Saying Goodnight

If you ever want some good entertainment, simply go to google video and type in Coronet Instructional Films These are great instructional films that were produced from the 50's & 60's. So funny to see what they thought was important to teach back then. Much of it is outdated.

Here is one on dating etiquette. Boys, are you paying attention? They present 3 ways to "say goodnight" to your date. I'm not sure, but for me, #2 & 3 seem the same, lol! Anyway, it takes a minute to show up and if you're computer is slow, then hit pause to let fully load first. But it is totally worth it.

Mr. L. Rx - How To Say Good Night - Watch more funny videos here