2004-02-14 | ARABIAN NIGHTSHIFT

The hotel I work at is like a microcosm of the world.

More accurately, it's probably a little glimpse of what the world could be like.

There is diversity everywhere. There are 3 people I can think of who walk with a bad limp and/or use a cane. There are probably more than 5 mentally challenged individuals.

There is a plethora of gay and lesbian employees.

We have a cornucopia of ethnical backgrounds. We have Mexicans, Black people, Jewish people, Arabian people. People that would be fighting each other if they were in their home countries.

We have 3 or 4 guys in stewarding who are from Africa. I don't think I've ever worked with people from Africa before. It's beautiful.

When I had my orientation a year ago, I sat next to a gentleman from Belarus. To this day, every time we see each other we either shake hands or hug. He smiles whenever he sees me. I hope I have made some sort of contribution towards his happiness and made his adjusting to this country and starting a new job a bit easier. He did that for me, and he probably doesn't even know it.

We have a guy with Parkinsons. We have clinically obese people. We have people who have had gastric bypass. Heart-attack and cancer survivors. Reformed drug dealers. People with home-made tattoos all over their hands. People with missing teeth. People with no teeth. People who are a little bit crazy. People who don't care. People who care too much. Depressed people. Enthusiastic people. Fake people. Humanitarians. Racists. Thieves. Gift bearers. Liars. Cheats. Assholes. Sweethearts. Virgins. Sluts.

Tonight I talked to a dishwasher from the Middle East. He told me about how he's never had a holiday off since he's worked here, and he said it all with a smile on his face. He talked about how many dishes he had left to wash, even though it was already like ten at night. I shook his hand as I left and patted him on the back. I told him that I don't know if people tell him that they appreciate him, but that I appreciated him and his hard work.

I do see hate occasionally where I work, but it's amazing that with all the diversity that there is as much happiness as there is. It shows that it is possible for people to get along no matter who they are. Of course, it can never be perfect because they're aren't enough people who think like me. There are too many people who care about no one except themselves. And there are too many people who were born to hate and/or raised to hate and/or live their lives around hatred.

I connect with people there all the time who can't even speak English all that well. A smile goes a long way. Acknowledgement. I get more negative energy from Americans. There are people at work who think they're so great that they won't even look at me. People who I've worked with for a year who will go out of their way to avoid me. Who see me coming and look down or go the other way.

I'm no saint, but even if we just learn a little bit or open ourselves up a little more, and mix with as many diverse people and races as possible, that would be an improvement over the way our shallow society behaves too frequently.

Make sure you've judged yourself completely before you choose to judge me or anyone else you come in contact with, especially the ones you come in contact with on a regular basis.

I'm constantly trying to change misconceptions. Well I'm not trying that hard. I'm just being nice. People are people. If they're nice I like them. If they're assholes it doesn't matter what race or gender or anything they are. They're just a waste of my energy. I want people from other countries to meet me and say not all Americans are the same. I want homosexuals to meet me and think not all straight men are the same. I want women to meet me and think that they can at least trust some men.

I think the thing I get down about more often than not is that I want everybody to be happy, and when I see too many unhappy people it brings me down closer to their level, especially when someone is close to me in relation or vicinity, and nothing I can do can make them feel better.

Life is pretty easy stuff. It's so easy to walk around and be angry and always worried about what you don't have. You should try it on this side of the world. It may be a little more challenging, but the payoff is much more satisfying.

I don't know how to end this. Just think more. And try harder to smile.

- premature ejaculation | tantra +