Frantic Friday
I leave for Michigan tonight and it seems everything MUST go wrong before I do.
Why is it that this always seems to happen?
Remind me to NEVER fly with Spirit Airlines. They are the money-hungry airline who is charging for carry-ons! WTF?! Seriously? I am a light packer. I do not take things I "might" wear; I take things I KNOW I'm going to wear. I don't like checking bags in; it's part of my paranoia of losing things. I prefer to take as little things possible because I hate having to worry about leaving anything behind. Paranoia. They charge $30 per carry-on. They allow ONE personal bag for free (handbag) and that is all. No extra's unless you pay for them. The usual one personal and one carry-on for free in other airlines DOES NOT apply to them. Want to pick your seat? Sure, for an extra $10-$75, you can choose where you want to sit. So, my $295 flight has turned into an almost $400 flight. Fuck you Spirit Airlines, fuck you with a dirty rusty pole.
/rant
Well, maybe.
I am head of an art department for a dancewear company. My job involves pictures, TONS of pictures and dancers. Dancers are fragile spirits with either high self esteem or low self esteem; rarely anything in between. Do we photoshop them? Yes, to remove bruises, scars, pimples, food in their teeth, shiny foreheads or hairy armpits. Do we manipulate the image to make them look unnatural? Never. Now that I am in charge of editing, I do not 'bring them in' unless a tight is digging into their body. I do not shed 15-20 pounds off of already thin athletic dancers and I DO not add anything that isn't already there. We were copied in an email of a customer complaining that a dancer looked "photoshopped and terrible" and that the advertisement made her "not want to purchase anything" because of dancers legs. Really? She was complaining about a professional dancer who has hyperextension; a sought after trait in the dance community. This customer was obviously not a professional, so it made her: A) Look stupid, B) Sound uninformed and C) Unaware of the dance industry. She's probably a bitter mom who never got to that status or a jealous dancer. Either way, they forwarded her email to my department and the owner of our company; my boss. It upset me because it makes us look bad right off hand and it was something that happens all the time; a customer complains because they want free stuff. It's also one of my pet peeves; people who criticize someone based off their looks. It's this filthy attitude toward someone's image that makes people become anorexic, bulimic or just plain ol' paranoid about their self image. It's hard enough being a woman, we have to have these kind of women in the world who HAVE to find something wrong about someone and spread their hate. THAT is what I am passionate about and why I was upset. The man who sent me the email came to talk to me about it and he said "I think you're taking this too personal" and I told him "Of course, this dancer deserves respect, she is a professional ballerina with extraordinary talent and some woman wants to tell us she looks terrible? I'm sorry, but I'm backing up the dancer here" - he went as far as telling the other manager up here that we should do well by our customers, because she too was defending the dancer. He told her "Remember it's the customer that pays for your meals"... while this is true, our company PRIDES itself in only photographing professional dancers; not models.
Ugh... my Friday is just turning into a ball of stress. Can I just be on the plane towards a farm to ride horses and do some skeet shooting?
Oh, and RenFest with pear cider and lots of beer and a trip to Detroit Institute of Art.
I really need today to be over.
I already miss my husband... oh how I love that man of mine.
Why is it that this always seems to happen?
Remind me to NEVER fly with Spirit Airlines. They are the money-hungry airline who is charging for carry-ons! WTF?! Seriously? I am a light packer. I do not take things I "might" wear; I take things I KNOW I'm going to wear. I don't like checking bags in; it's part of my paranoia of losing things. I prefer to take as little things possible because I hate having to worry about leaving anything behind. Paranoia. They charge $30 per carry-on. They allow ONE personal bag for free (handbag) and that is all. No extra's unless you pay for them. The usual one personal and one carry-on for free in other airlines DOES NOT apply to them. Want to pick your seat? Sure, for an extra $10-$75, you can choose where you want to sit. So, my $295 flight has turned into an almost $400 flight. Fuck you Spirit Airlines, fuck you with a dirty rusty pole.
/rant
Well, maybe.
I am head of an art department for a dancewear company. My job involves pictures, TONS of pictures and dancers. Dancers are fragile spirits with either high self esteem or low self esteem; rarely anything in between. Do we photoshop them? Yes, to remove bruises, scars, pimples, food in their teeth, shiny foreheads or hairy armpits. Do we manipulate the image to make them look unnatural? Never. Now that I am in charge of editing, I do not 'bring them in' unless a tight is digging into their body. I do not shed 15-20 pounds off of already thin athletic dancers and I DO not add anything that isn't already there. We were copied in an email of a customer complaining that a dancer looked "photoshopped and terrible" and that the advertisement made her "not want to purchase anything" because of dancers legs. Really? She was complaining about a professional dancer who has hyperextension; a sought after trait in the dance community. This customer was obviously not a professional, so it made her: A) Look stupid, B) Sound uninformed and C) Unaware of the dance industry. She's probably a bitter mom who never got to that status or a jealous dancer. Either way, they forwarded her email to my department and the owner of our company; my boss. It upset me because it makes us look bad right off hand and it was something that happens all the time; a customer complains because they want free stuff. It's also one of my pet peeves; people who criticize someone based off their looks. It's this filthy attitude toward someone's image that makes people become anorexic, bulimic or just plain ol' paranoid about their self image. It's hard enough being a woman, we have to have these kind of women in the world who HAVE to find something wrong about someone and spread their hate. THAT is what I am passionate about and why I was upset. The man who sent me the email came to talk to me about it and he said "I think you're taking this too personal" and I told him "Of course, this dancer deserves respect, she is a professional ballerina with extraordinary talent and some woman wants to tell us she looks terrible? I'm sorry, but I'm backing up the dancer here" - he went as far as telling the other manager up here that we should do well by our customers, because she too was defending the dancer. He told her "Remember it's the customer that pays for your meals"... while this is true, our company PRIDES itself in only photographing professional dancers; not models.
Ugh... my Friday is just turning into a ball of stress. Can I just be on the plane towards a farm to ride horses and do some skeet shooting?
Oh, and RenFest with pear cider and lots of beer and a trip to Detroit Institute of Art.
I really need today to be over.
I already miss my husband... oh how I love that man of mine.