So, funny story.
NOTE: These are the same two masterminds that worked out a way to stay at Hill AFB longer than they were supposed to so they could be the very best of friends and talk about barbecue all day long. But that's a whole nother story.
Anyways, the entire exchange took place when they asked me to write my own annual award package in less than 24 hours. I didn't deserve the award and refused on those grounds. When they started to ask why I felt I didn't deserve the accolades I explained that I hadn't really done a great job at work and felt like it wouldn't be setting the right example. They went on to ask if I had taken any educational courses or been involved with community activities to which I replied that I had already completed my graduate degree, volunteered regularly at the animal shelter, took certification courses, followed HBR and MIT courses online (pre-Coursera), read books off the CSAF Reading List, and...
They stopped me and said, "Well if you want to win these awards you need to volunteer with humans."
Right. In the next 24 hours I need to get to the hospital and save some lives, correct?
"This is precisely why you will never win at higher levels," they said.
Right. Because winning awards is what it's all about. They explained that it was whether I liked it or not.
So I eventually kowtowed and wrote a crappy award package and got called insubordinate because I had a backbone and didn't want to self promote myself (???).
I was so perfect I was insubordinate. BWAHAHAHAHAHAH, cracks me up just thinking about it.
But you want to know what really chaps my ass? The assumption that volunteering with animals was somehow less important or meaningful than volunteering with humans.
You want to know why I volunteer with animals? Because people are assholes. Serious assholes.
I did BBBS, coached soccer for 10- to 12-year-old boys, built homes for H4H, cleaned houses at a Bob Hope Village, read at elementary schools, fed folks at the mission, fed the homeless in a soup kitchen, and on and on. And you know what? Everyone was an asshole.
The parents, the kids, the homeless, the widows, etc. I know I may not be the best soccer coach or big sister or onion chopper, but I try to do my best and I try to give a little of my time to people. Not everyone was a thankless mooch, but would you continue to build houses for people that drive better cars than you and always show up with their hair and nails done up real nice? Nope, didn't think so.
I don't think dogs are people or anything, but they do complete a family and they can offer more than a jerk can to those in need. They love unconditionally and that is something hard to find in a human soul.
Regardless, I am going to keep caring for the less fortunate (even if they travel on all fours).
Cheers!
I was once told that in order to be a more well-rounded officer and candidate for a prestigious annual award I needed to volunteer with humans.
This came from not one, but two, full-bird colonels who I lovingly referred to as Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
Screenshot: Colonel Sanders was a better leader than these two...and he wasn't even a real colonel!
NOTE: These are the same two masterminds that worked out a way to stay at Hill AFB longer than they were supposed to so they could be the very best of friends and talk about barbecue all day long. But that's a whole nother story.
Anyways, the entire exchange took place when they asked me to write my own annual award package in less than 24 hours. I didn't deserve the award and refused on those grounds. When they started to ask why I felt I didn't deserve the accolades I explained that I hadn't really done a great job at work and felt like it wouldn't be setting the right example. They went on to ask if I had taken any educational courses or been involved with community activities to which I replied that I had already completed my graduate degree, volunteered regularly at the animal shelter, took certification courses, followed HBR and MIT courses online (pre-Coursera), read books off the CSAF Reading List, and...
They stopped me and said, "Well if you want to win these awards you need to volunteer with humans."
Right. In the next 24 hours I need to get to the hospital and save some lives, correct?
"This is precisely why you will never win at higher levels," they said.
Right. Because winning awards is what it's all about. They explained that it was whether I liked it or not.
So I eventually kowtowed and wrote a crappy award package and got called insubordinate because I had a backbone and didn't want to self promote myself (???).
I was so perfect I was insubordinate. BWAHAHAHAHAHAH, cracks me up just thinking about it.
But you want to know what really chaps my ass? The assumption that volunteering with animals was somehow less important or meaningful than volunteering with humans.
You want to know why I volunteer with animals? Because people are assholes. Serious assholes.
I did BBBS, coached soccer for 10- to 12-year-old boys, built homes for H4H, cleaned houses at a Bob Hope Village, read at elementary schools, fed folks at the mission, fed the homeless in a soup kitchen, and on and on. And you know what? Everyone was an asshole.
The parents, the kids, the homeless, the widows, etc. I know I may not be the best soccer coach or big sister or onion chopper, but I try to do my best and I try to give a little of my time to people. Not everyone was a thankless mooch, but would you continue to build houses for people that drive better cars than you and always show up with their hair and nails done up real nice? Nope, didn't think so.
I don't think dogs are people or anything, but they do complete a family and they can offer more than a jerk can to those in need. They love unconditionally and that is something hard to find in a human soul.
Regardless, I am going to keep caring for the less fortunate (even if they travel on all fours).
Cheers!
<3.
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