Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Excuses vs. Solutions

The first time I ever met Chandler, it was my first day on the job in a male-dominated industry. That wasn't a first for me. Chandler was a big guy, stocky and very tall. He had been a Marine in his youth and still walked with that cadence to his step. It was quite impressive when he was in a hurry. He intimidated most of the guys he ever came into contact with, and to this very day he scares the daylights out of anyone he’s angry at.

Chandler walked in to talk with the Supervisor, Rob. Rob was at his desk, and I was standing in front of it as he was going over some basic items with me like where to park when I came in to work and how to clock in, since it was my first day.

Chandler walked up to Rob’s desk, briefly glanced in my direction upon doing so. and turned back to Rob.

"It's done" he said. I have no clue what they were talking about even to this day. Then Chandler turned back to me, smiled, reached out his hand for mine, and said hello. Rob tried to make the introductions and told Chandler my name before Chandler pulled a typical move he’s very well known for. He fully introduced himself to me with his job title and gave a brief run down of what his job title meant that he did. He welcomed me to the property and smiled a big, broad, genuine smile. I've not seen him or heard of him doing that with anyone in that job position ever again.

He stayed for a chat, kind of a "getting to know you" conversation. It was right around shift change, so several more people came into the office. Chandler was in rare form to these guys. He was laughing and smiling, cracking jokes left and right. Everyone in the office was smiling and laughing.

Somehow we got on the subject of families. He mentioned that his parents had him in dance classes when he was a kid. Stunned, most my new co-workers either took a step backward or stood with our mouths opened. He could tell half of the people there didn't believe him, so he broke into a Tap Dance routine and danced right there in the middle of the office floor for all of us. Then, seeing that he had an audience waiting for his next move, he demonstrated a full Ballet pirouette with his fingertips touching over his head and one leg extended slightly.

By the time he left, the entire Security staff thought I had cast a spell and was actually a living witch. Their only pRoblem was that they couldn't decide if they should still burn witches at the stake or not. It seemed as though I had done a good thing.

Chandler has been that way with me ever since. He's his natural, crazy self around me. The rest of the world only gets to see what he's willing to show. Chandler's a really great guy when it comes down to it. He doesn't ask for much - just that things get done when they are supposed to, and when people screw up, they go to him and tell him rather than waiting until he finds out on his own. Chandler will always find out. It's best just to tell him early on.

I have a personal motto that I've posted here at work – and Chandler was a large portion of the inspiration behind the quote I live by.

"There are no excuses, there are only Solutions."
I've never seen him tap dance again, and I'm pretty certain I'll see that before I see another pirouette from him. Every time I tell the story to anyone who's even met him once dont ever fully believe me. It's ok... I don't need them to. If Chandler wanted to tap dance for them, he would have.

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