Tag: Facebook

Respecting the Distance

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized2 Comments

For those of you who follow me on Facebook and Instagram you know that just over a week ago I had a very traumatic experience at Walmart. It was the weekend of hoarding and panic buying. It really sparked a level of anxiety I don’t think I have ever experienced before. I know I am not the only one who felt (feels) that way.

The start of my work week was much like the week before. I went to the office and it was all hands on deck. Being in the travel industry, which is an ‘essential’ service, we were helping people get back to Canada, facilitating clients who had to cancel their existing bookings and be there for each other. If you know someone who is a travel professional, you may have some understanding of what this time has been like for us.

On Wednesday I finally had the go ahead to work from home. When I left the office I called my parents to ask what they needed from the store as I once I got home I would not be going out again for many days.

I went to the No Frills at Centrepointe Mall. I walked over to one of the produce staff and thanked him. He said, “what for”? I said, for make sure all the customers got what they needed. He was very vocal about the insanity from the weekend before. He really shed a light on the process. Because of all the panic buying and food hoarding, it set back the supply chain about 72 hours. They can’t catch up while the people are storming the stores and grabbing everything in sight.

But that changed towards the end of the week. The city and province put rules in place for “social distancing”, limiting the number of people in the stores, recommending special hours for seniors and those with compromised immune systems. Thankfully I was tucked in at home and didn’t need anything.

Until yesterday…when I went to make KD for lunch and took out my milk, which had gone bad. Yup, no milk for my coffee or my KD. What was I to do? Well, nothing yesterday. It was already the middle of the afternoon and I wasn’t going anywhere at that time of the day.

I woke up early this morning and arrived at No Frills on Centre about 8:45am. There was a line which didn’t bother me. I got my cart and took my place in line. I would say that for most folks they were leaving a shopping cart length between, except for the man behind me who didn’t have a cart and was too close to me. I moved up two inches, he moved two inches. I was about to say can you back the “f’ up, but just moved the cart around.

I was observing the folks leaving the store. Do you know what each and every cart had…you guessed it… TOILET PAPER.

I spoke to the owner when I entered the store and thanked him. I told him that this was the least anxiety I have had since this started. He said they were just waiting for the directives to be put into place to help level it off.

There was meat, chicken, lamb and more. There was a full case of meat and chicken in the Kosher section, milk, eggs cheese and more. Some of the milk options were limited, but there was at least milk to buy.

I thanked the clerk who checked me out and came home. Home is where I plan on staying for quite a while. There is no need to leave (except for walks). My fridge is full, my freezer is full and my pantry is full.

I was quiet at home, resting on my couch when I got a text message – it said go to ur balcony. I had a nice surprise visit when my brother brought my two nieces for a quick hello from the street. Made my day.

I am looking forward to talking to you, my friends on the phone or on FaceTime any time you want. Those of you with families have a busy house with lots going on. Take the time to remember those who are alone. Social distancing, or self isolation is hard for those who live alone, no matter the age.

I think we all need to get used to this new normal as I feel it is going to be here for a while. I think quite a while.

I will be here, and sharing my love for storytelling with you. I hope you will come on this journey with me. What else do you have to do?

Stay home, safe and secure and most of all stay connected.

Lisa

 

The night I was cyber bullied

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized2 Comments

I was a victim of cyber bullying. It was not the first time actually, but the other time I didn’t have a voice to fight back. Last night I had a chance in real time to confront my attacker and fight back. Thankfully the visual has been removed from social media, but it has left me scarred.

As many people do on facebook, they ask their FB community for recommendations on a multitude of things, which is fine as we are all looking for the same thing, which is we want the best we can do in our lives. It could be a restaurant recommendation to spend your date night, finding the right person to clean your house, or in this case something travel related.

I don’t like to comment on these posts. Most people know someone in the travel industry. Everyone has the right to choose who they want to give their business to, even if it is not booking with a human but a computer.

Someone else I know tagged me in the recommendation process which I appreciate referrals always, but I would prefer if they came privately as I don’t want to get a notification every time someone recommends someone else and says they are best out there and can beat any price.

There were about 20 comments on this thread. Someone I knew from a past contact deliberately choose to comment on the one that had my name attached. This person had an agenda which was to berate me in public, say horrible things about my profession, my ethics and business acumen and more.

After someone on the thread defended me and said that if the prices were equal they would give the business to me. Again this person could have chosen one of many comments to state her erroneous, ignorant comments, but she chose this one and again attacked my credibility.

My reply to her was simple – leopards don’t change their spots, your behavior here proves you are the same as you were before. That fueled this person to be vile, disgusting and so disrespectful I was mortified.

I sent a private message to the person who started the conversation and thankfully agreed and deleted the post.

As a friend of social media I would ask you please not to tag me in your comments in the future. I have been a travel professional for 27 years. I am very well respected in my industry and if you choose to use me for your travel plans I appreciate your business and I am glad I earned your trust and respect.

As Ellen says at the end of her show, be kind to one another. Words hurt people. I am still not over what happened last night.

Thank you for reading. It would mean a lot to me if you shared this post with your community to show what cyber bullying looks like and how it makes people feel. It is not a good feeling.

Live your best life,

Lisa

Today is #BellLetsTalk, so let’s do that

On By thestampsinmypassportIn Uncategorized2 Comments

Today is #BellLetsTalk day. It is a day to bring awareness on Mental Health issues. I don’t know about you and the friends that you have, but with a lot of different people in my life this is an ongoing topic of conversation. We are having #bellletstalk daily.

Life is challenging. Not all people think that they have mental health issues, but I think more do than they realize. Have you ever just felt like not getting out of your pajamas or taking a shower? How about not wanting to go out with your friends or talk on the phone? How about crying for would appear to be no apparent reason? How about feeling like every one you know is moving and you are standing still? Well guess what, those are mental health issues.

We all have bruises. Some are visible but others are not. Sometimes it manifests itself outwardly like passive aggressive behaviours on social media. Maybe you have done it and not even realized your comment was exactly that. Sometimes what you don’t say is almost as important as what you do say. Passive aggressive comments on facebook are more often than not written for a reaction, a “like” or a comment. Your friends will give you the “rah rah” cheer of approval. Others may look at it and know that it is more than that.

One of the things that happens sometimes is that people get pushed away. While it is true that everyone has their problems, everyone’s are their own and different. There is a saying that if everyone put all their problems in one big pile you would be guaranteed to take yours back. That may very well be true.

Reaching out is hard. While you are going through whatever it is you are going through, you may not really want to hear about your friend’s issues, whatever they may be. You need to keep trying. Friends often tell you what you want to hear, not necessarily what you need to hear. Tough love isn’t easy to give or receive. Everyone is responsible for their own actions and reactions. Sometimes you even get unfriended on Facebook or stop calling or your phone stops ringing.

I am trying to say a lot of things, without being too specific. It is hard. Ellen Degeneres ends her show every day ‘be kind to one another’. I would also say not to give up on your friends that may have dropped off the grid for a while. Since today is #BellLetsTalk day, reach out and send a message to just one person. If everyone reached out to one of their friends today, think about the impact of that.

Live your best life,

Lisa