Whoa. So I just looked at this blog and its been a while since I've sat down in front of my computer and did any serious writing. To catch you all up/long story short, I am now/still living in Portland, Oregon, happily settled into two fabulous jobs and a beautiful new home with two really sweet roommates. I waffled back and forth between staying here and returning to Atlanta for a while (a hard decision to make), but finally after much deliberation realized that Portland is where I feel healthiest and where I hope to raise a family someday. I now have a day to day routine set into motion, and have been having a super fun, active summer with friends and family, soaking up as much sunshine as I possibly can. And the inspiration for this blog post came from an event that transpired yesterday afternoon, at the Portland Saturday Market...
As you may have read in an earlier post, I now work for my friend Bryan's company "Chopstick Art". (www.chopstickart.com) It's a fabulous business and while I will soon be doing wholesale/office type work for Bryan, at the time being I am solely selling his crafts at the Portland Saturday Market. Working weekends isn't always ideal, and the set up/tear down of my booth can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but overall I'm in love with my job. The entire vendor crew down there is so good to me, and I miss them when I go to other festivals and don't see them for weeks at a time. And on top of that, I get to be outside and interact with new people all day long...two things I love (we'll see if my tune changes when October and the rain/cold rolls around....)
So yesterday was just like most days at the market: a busy, sunny Saturday with people hustling all about. Dogs were sniffing out new scents, kids were crying over melted snow cones, and the occasional hippie stopped by my booth to tell me about how hopped up on drugs they were. Then, around 3pm, I heard this yelling going on. Granted, working downtown means that conflicts and yelling are kind of part of the routine, but this time I noticed that the conflict was between a market goer and my fellow vendor...right across the aisle from me. The guy across the aisle sells electronics. If you've been to a Saturday market, you know the type. It's one of those booths with wires hanging all over it, with every kind of gadget you could image for attaching your ipod to your car, charging multiple cell phones at a time, or any other type of cord/attachment that insists it will make your life easier. Well in this case, it was making life harder on everyone. Apparently this customer lady (who was the "yeller") had been sold a cord that didn't work, and she was furious. She and the vendor fought it out, and in the end he gave her her money back. All of the rest of us vendors just stayed out of the middle of it, let things run its course, and were happy to see things settle down. After all, the conflict and the arguing had left the aisle ways clear. Customers don't like to be around arguments like that on their weekends....
Then, after about 5 minutes or so of this customer lady hanging out down the aisle at a different booth, she came back. Why? To torment and harass the electronics guy. She was being loud and just as obnoxious as the first time she visited his booth, except this time she was waving her cords around in the air, high above her head saying "oh...you want these? You want these? You think I'm going to give these to you now?"
Time-out. At this point, I'm pissed, shocked and perturbed. I can't believe this is continuing. Enough is enough. She's driving away my business, and annoying the living hell out of me (and everyone else) at the same time. Who does she think she is anyways? Usually I like to stay out of things like this, but recently in my personal life I've been really trying to focus on speaking up more and being more honest with myself and others, so I decide that its time to do something about it. Just a small, simple sentence, and I don't think twice before saying: "Hey, why don't you just leave him alone?"
Well, that did it. She yells at me and tells me not to get into her business. Then she walks just barely past his booth and (children...don't read this...profanity coming up...) says in her loudest voice possible to maybe her boyfriend (or whoever is willing to listen), obviously directing her comments at me, "this fucking bitch thinks she can get in my business. I'm gonna kick her ass".
Whoa. Warning, warning, warning!!! Trouble.
For those of you who know me, you know I am not the fighting type. I'm strong but I'm not about to get into a punching match...ever. Heck, I'm the polar opposite. A peace loving girl who has a hard time even saying no to people. So it might shock you to know that this is not the first time that I have been in a situation where a girl decided she wanted to beat me up. Maybe they can sense that I'm an easy target? I dunno. But the same feelings and thoughts rushed through me just as before: "oh shit. I'm done for".
That's when my fellow vendor friend, Charles, who was running the booth right next to me stood up for me. He verbally went after her, and other vendors stepped in too. She was told not to disrespect vendors, and that she was going to be permanently banned from the market if she didn't leave immediately. After about 3 minutes of banter and tongue lashings, Miss conflict was on her merry way. And though we were all a bit frazzled from the events that had just transpired, we all took a sigh of relief. Security came over and took note of who she was, listened to our stories, and gave me their phone numbers so that if she ever came around again, I could contact them at a moments notice.
After all the drama subsided, I took a minute to reflect on what had happened. Some other vendors came up to me and said "girl, you shouldn't mess with crazy. There are some really messed up people down here and its better to just let them be than get involved in what they've got going on". So for a moment I thought they were right. Better to let crazy, angry people just be. But then, eventually I came to the conclusion that no! That's not right. I was happy with the choice I had made.
All of us vendors are like family down at the market, and I couldn't help but defend one of my "co-workers". Because at the end of the day, I would hope that someone would do the same for me. And in fact, someone did (Charles). I think its important to stand up to people who bully others, because rarely do I think that happens to them. Reality check! I'm hoping that maybe I made some impact, and maybe...just maybe...she will think twice before she reams into someone like that again. And if not, at least my fellow vendors know that I have their back and I am standing there with them in a time of need.
Through all this, I couldn't help but think of that TV show, "What Would You Do?" If you haven't seen an episode or know what I'm talking about, here's a link: http://watchabc.go.com/what-would-you-do/SH5555951 . Basically the show is about putting people in awkward/unfair situations and seeing how they react when under pressure. There usually is one person being the actor or actress, and they intentionally create conflict to see if people will let it go and ignore the problem, or if they will stand up and say something. I know you bloggers probably won't respond to this thread, but at least ask yourself the question in your mind. You've read my story. What would you do? Do you think I made the right choice?
As you may have read in an earlier post, I now work for my friend Bryan's company "Chopstick Art". (www.chopstickart.com) It's a fabulous business and while I will soon be doing wholesale/office type work for Bryan, at the time being I am solely selling his crafts at the Portland Saturday Market. Working weekends isn't always ideal, and the set up/tear down of my booth can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but overall I'm in love with my job. The entire vendor crew down there is so good to me, and I miss them when I go to other festivals and don't see them for weeks at a time. And on top of that, I get to be outside and interact with new people all day long...two things I love (we'll see if my tune changes when October and the rain/cold rolls around....)
So yesterday was just like most days at the market: a busy, sunny Saturday with people hustling all about. Dogs were sniffing out new scents, kids were crying over melted snow cones, and the occasional hippie stopped by my booth to tell me about how hopped up on drugs they were. Then, around 3pm, I heard this yelling going on. Granted, working downtown means that conflicts and yelling are kind of part of the routine, but this time I noticed that the conflict was between a market goer and my fellow vendor...right across the aisle from me. The guy across the aisle sells electronics. If you've been to a Saturday market, you know the type. It's one of those booths with wires hanging all over it, with every kind of gadget you could image for attaching your ipod to your car, charging multiple cell phones at a time, or any other type of cord/attachment that insists it will make your life easier. Well in this case, it was making life harder on everyone. Apparently this customer lady (who was the "yeller") had been sold a cord that didn't work, and she was furious. She and the vendor fought it out, and in the end he gave her her money back. All of the rest of us vendors just stayed out of the middle of it, let things run its course, and were happy to see things settle down. After all, the conflict and the arguing had left the aisle ways clear. Customers don't like to be around arguments like that on their weekends....
Then, after about 5 minutes or so of this customer lady hanging out down the aisle at a different booth, she came back. Why? To torment and harass the electronics guy. She was being loud and just as obnoxious as the first time she visited his booth, except this time she was waving her cords around in the air, high above her head saying "oh...you want these? You want these? You think I'm going to give these to you now?"
Time-out. At this point, I'm pissed, shocked and perturbed. I can't believe this is continuing. Enough is enough. She's driving away my business, and annoying the living hell out of me (and everyone else) at the same time. Who does she think she is anyways? Usually I like to stay out of things like this, but recently in my personal life I've been really trying to focus on speaking up more and being more honest with myself and others, so I decide that its time to do something about it. Just a small, simple sentence, and I don't think twice before saying: "Hey, why don't you just leave him alone?"
Well, that did it. She yells at me and tells me not to get into her business. Then she walks just barely past his booth and (children...don't read this...profanity coming up...) says in her loudest voice possible to maybe her boyfriend (or whoever is willing to listen), obviously directing her comments at me, "this fucking bitch thinks she can get in my business. I'm gonna kick her ass".
Whoa. Warning, warning, warning!!! Trouble.
For those of you who know me, you know I am not the fighting type. I'm strong but I'm not about to get into a punching match...ever. Heck, I'm the polar opposite. A peace loving girl who has a hard time even saying no to people. So it might shock you to know that this is not the first time that I have been in a situation where a girl decided she wanted to beat me up. Maybe they can sense that I'm an easy target? I dunno. But the same feelings and thoughts rushed through me just as before: "oh shit. I'm done for".
That's when my fellow vendor friend, Charles, who was running the booth right next to me stood up for me. He verbally went after her, and other vendors stepped in too. She was told not to disrespect vendors, and that she was going to be permanently banned from the market if she didn't leave immediately. After about 3 minutes of banter and tongue lashings, Miss conflict was on her merry way. And though we were all a bit frazzled from the events that had just transpired, we all took a sigh of relief. Security came over and took note of who she was, listened to our stories, and gave me their phone numbers so that if she ever came around again, I could contact them at a moments notice.
After all the drama subsided, I took a minute to reflect on what had happened. Some other vendors came up to me and said "girl, you shouldn't mess with crazy. There are some really messed up people down here and its better to just let them be than get involved in what they've got going on". So for a moment I thought they were right. Better to let crazy, angry people just be. But then, eventually I came to the conclusion that no! That's not right. I was happy with the choice I had made.
All of us vendors are like family down at the market, and I couldn't help but defend one of my "co-workers". Because at the end of the day, I would hope that someone would do the same for me. And in fact, someone did (Charles). I think its important to stand up to people who bully others, because rarely do I think that happens to them. Reality check! I'm hoping that maybe I made some impact, and maybe...just maybe...she will think twice before she reams into someone like that again. And if not, at least my fellow vendors know that I have their back and I am standing there with them in a time of need.
Through all this, I couldn't help but think of that TV show, "What Would You Do?" If you haven't seen an episode or know what I'm talking about, here's a link: http://watchabc.go.com/what-would-you-do/SH5555951 . Basically the show is about putting people in awkward/unfair situations and seeing how they react when under pressure. There usually is one person being the actor or actress, and they intentionally create conflict to see if people will let it go and ignore the problem, or if they will stand up and say something. I know you bloggers probably won't respond to this thread, but at least ask yourself the question in your mind. You've read my story. What would you do? Do you think I made the right choice?
