Monday, September 30, 2019

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 23~24

Chapter Twenty-three Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal: The Hunted Apparently I am the Hunted, which, I want to note here, I am totally not qualified for. Here I sit, perched in the rafters (I think these things are rafters) of the Oakland Bay Bridge like a crippled night bird, waiting for doom to descend on me in the form of an ancient, undead thing, to wrench the very limbs from my delicate body. So that sucks. Fortunately I have some sustenance until my Dark Lord and Lady rise from their diurnal slumber to kick some fucking ass. I know I should be eating bugs and spiders and stuff to facilitate my vampyrism, but as a vegetarian, I haven't developed the hunting skills, so I've started with some Gummi Bears I got at the theater. (Supposedly they are made out of beef pectin or extract of horse hooves or something, so I think they make a good transition to the nosferatu diet. And I like biting off their tiny heads.) Here, high above the City – well, actually, we're about ten feet above some homeless people who live under the bridge – I feel like the guardian of an ancient tomb, willing to face any attacker to protect my master and mistress, who are wrapped in tarps, lying on the next beam or rafter or whatever. OMFG, there are fucking pigeons everywhere! Sorry, one just pooped on my notebook. Never mind. Move along. I'm over it. But ewwww! Jared has gone to his dad's house in the Noe Valley to get the lawn cart and minivan so we can transport my masters to safety. He left me his dagger, which I've only had to brandish once, against a woman who wanted to take the tarp from over my Dark Lord. Then I used it to scrape off my old nail polish, which was totally chipped and stuff from doing minion manual labor. So, my masters like met up with us outside the Museum of Modern Art and they were all, â€Å"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?† And they were being all secretive around Jared, like he didn't know we were vampyres. And I was all, â€Å"Just chill, he's assistant minion.† So they relaxed. Then Flood pulls this bronze hand out of his bag and he's all, â€Å"Abby, do you know what this is?† And I was all, â€Å"Why yes, Lord Flood,† because I speak obvious as a second language. â€Å"It's a bronze hand, correct?† So the Countess took the hand from him. â€Å"Abby, this is what's left of the shell of the vampyre who turned me.† So I'm all, â€Å"Begging your pardon and whatnot, Countess, but that's a statue hand.† And she's all, â€Å"That's what I'm saying.† Which is not what the fuck she was saying at all. So it turns out that the bronze statue that used to be in the loft was actually the vampyre who turned the Countess, and then the Countess turned the vampyre Flood, except he was just Flood then. So the old vampyre, whose name is Elijah, got all PMS and started fucking with the Countess by leaving dead bodies all over town with evidence pointing toward her, and threatening to kill her minion, who was Flood at the time, and it got completely out of hand, with some cops and the geeks from the Safeway blowing up Elijah's yacht and really pissing him off, and then the Countess pretending to save Elijah when in fact she was extracting his ancient vampyry secrets, and Flood bronzing them both, but letting the Countess out because she is the love of his life and whatnot. So Flood, who is not a mysterious and ancient creature of the night at all, but has been a vampyre like a week longer than I have, took the statue down to the waterfront to drop it in the Bay, so it wouldn't remind the Coun tess of her heart being torn asunder by the yearning for two lovers and stuff. But the sun came up and Flood left the statue on the Embarcadero, and when they went back it was gone, and it turns out that Elijah is loose and he was the crusty vampyre in the yellow tracksuit I saw shaking the huge cat guy and he is now stalking me to get back at the Countess for being a duplicitous ho. So Jared was all, â€Å"Fuck. That's awesome.† And I was all, â€Å"You lied to me.† And the Countess was all, â€Å"Yeah, sunshine, that's why I'm telling you this now.† Which was completely unnecessary sarcasm on her part. And Jared was like, â€Å"This is the best Christmas ever.† And I was all, â€Å"Shut up, gay-bait. I've been betrayed.† And the Countess was all, â€Å"You'll get over it. We have to go see if William is okay.† And I see now that she was right, but I brooded as we went back to the loft, just to make a point, because I hate it when people take me for granted. When we got to the Countess's block, there was an ambulance there and cops all over the place, so Flood and the Countess hung back and sent me over to get the 411. I could see that the huge cat guy was on a stretcher and they were strapping oxygen on him. And I was all, â€Å"Let me through, this man is my father.† And the EMTs were all, â€Å"No way.† And I was all, â€Å"Who called you, anyway?† And they were like, â€Å"The guy in the building. A sculptor or something.† And then the cat guy was all, â€Å"Let her through.† So they let me through. So I blew by the EMT to the huge cat guy, and I was all, â€Å"Are you okay?† And he was like, â€Å"Well, my head hurts like hell, and I think my leg is broke.† And I was all, â€Å"Is there anything I can do?† Because I was under orders of the Countess to gain information and offer assistance. And he was like, â€Å"If you could take care of Chet. He's in the stairwell. He'll be hungry.† And I was all, â€Å"You got it.† So then he like pulled the oxygen mask off and had me bend over so he could whisper, and I was all, â€Å"Yes, Dad,† for the EMTs who were watching. And he whispered like, â€Å"Before they take me away, could I see your tits.† So I kicked him in the ribs. And the EMTs went all byzerk and shit, and told me to get away, but they were totally overreacting, because I had on my red Converse All Stars, which will hardly even bruise you. So they loaded him into the ambulance, and just as they were shutting the doors, he reached out his hand, like he was a drowning man reaching for the last spark of his mortality before the inky waves of death swept him away – so I flashed my boobs for him, just a quick lift of my bra and top at the same time, because I don't think we do enough to help the homeless, and I wanted him to die a happy man. And besides, they're small and I don't get that many requests. So I got Chet out of the stairway of the old loft and was carrying him kid-style when I saw the two cops from before – the ones the Countess said helped blow up Elijah – so I went up to the Hispano-cop and I was all, â€Å"So, what's up, cop?† And he was all, â€Å"You need to get home, and you have no business out at this hour, and we should take you to the station and call your parents and blah, blah, blah, threat, threat, disapproval, and fascist dogma all up in your darkly delicious grille.† (I'm paraphrasing. Although I do have a delicious grille as I had to wear braces for three years when I was a kid, and now my teeth are like my most acceptable feature. I hope my fangs come in straight.) And the big gay cop was all, â€Å"What are you doing here?† And I was all, â€Å"I live here, bone-smoker, what are you doing here? Aren't you guys homicide cops?† And he was all, â€Å"Let's see some ID blah, blah, bluster, bluster, Oh My God I am so full of shit.† And I was like, â€Å"I guess you wouldn't have to deal with this shit if you had properly blowed up that old vampyre when you stole his art collection.† So all of a sudden the Hispano-cop and his big gay partner were all, â€Å"Whaaa – ?† And I'm like, â€Å"Just so we know where we stand. How long you bitches going to be here?† And they were like, â€Å"Just a half hour or so longer, miss. We need to interview some witnesses and go clean out our boxers where we have just completely shit ourselves. Do you need a ride somewhere?† (Again paraphrasing.) So I walked off, while they were still stunned, let Chet into the new loft down the street like it was mine, then ran around the block and reported to the Countess and Flood. Jared was just staring at them like he was hypnotized or something. I was like, â€Å"Hey, Boo,† to remind him what a tard he was being and Jared snapped out. (Lily and Jared and I watched the To Kill a Mockingbird DVD like six times together and our favorite part is when Scout sees Boo Radley behind the door and goes, â€Å"Hey, Boo.† It's like thanking the universe for sending you a benevolent retard to help you out, which is how I often feel about Jared.) So I was like, â€Å"Buy me a coffee.† And the Countess and Flood look at each other and shake their heads. No money. So I was like, â€Å"You guys are so fucking lame. You have piles of cash and you roll with no money. You are no longer the Dark Lord and Lady of me.† Which I totally didn't mean, but I was stressed and starting to get a low-on-caffeine headache. But Jared goes, â€Å"Hey, Boo† at me, and he's holding a ten-dollar bill. And I pretended to find a snag in my fishnets so everyone would quit looking at me. The Countess said she knew of a Chinese diner off Freemont Street that was open all night on Christmas and we could hang out there until the cops left. Jared and I had cups of coffee and an order of fries, which FYI, taste a little like shrimp in a Chinese diner. And Flood and the Countess are watching us, looking all sad. So I'm like, â€Å"What? What? What?† And the Countess is all, â€Å"Nothing.† Which I know is totally something, because I say it all the time. And I watch her eyes follow Jared's cup as he sips his coffee and I'm all, â€Å"Oh, fucksocks, Countess, cowboy the fuck up, would you?† Then I slipped Jared's dagger out of his boot, grabbed his hand, and poked him in the thumb. I'd like to say right here that the screaming was totally unnecessary. And whatever the Chinese guy was saying at me from behind the counter was a total overreaction and how does he expect me to understand him when he's talking that fast AND in Chinese? Anyway, after I squeezed Jared's thumb into his cup, then a little into my own and gave it to Flood, everyone calmed down, even the Chinese guy after Jared paid him for two more coffees – and the meeting of the Immortal SOMA Drama Queens officially came to order. It seemed like we waited forever, and the Countess and Flood wouldn't answer any of my questions about the way of the nosferatu. It was like they had no idea what they were doing. Like last year I took Advanced Foods class (which is like cooking for nerds) after lunch, and so I usually took a nap. Which was fine, because I'm not even thrilled about regular foods, so, you know, what do I need with like advanced digital HD wi-fi foods and whatnot – so I took the course pass-fail and slept. But then, at the end of the semester, my mom springs this trap on me, like – â€Å"Oh, Allison, I've bought ingredients and you can prepare dinner for Ronnie and me to show what you learned in your Advanced Foods class. It'll be fun.† You can pretty much bet that anytime Mom uses the phrase â€Å"it'll be fun,† she is about to drive a stake in fun's heart so that it may never rise again. Which is what happened. Artichokes? Who eats something like that? I thought it was a weapon. So anyway, after nine eternities in the diner, we went back to the loft, where the Countess said she had my Christmas present waiting. When we got to the block, the cops and EMTs were gone and it looked like the coast was clear, but when the Countess opened the security door to the loft, there, sitting on the steps, was the old vampyre, naked. Well, the Countess and Flood jumped about eighteen feet in the air and I'm pretty sure I peed a little. Yes, I definitely peed. Jared just started an asthma attack, not the whole attack, just the first gasp. He just stopped breathing after that. So Elijah is all, â€Å"I needed to do some laundry.† Let me say right here, if I haven't made it clear, that I have seen as many pale, naked old-man parts in the last twenty-four hours to bruise my delicate psyche for a lifetime, so don't be surprised if you someday find me wandering the moors at midnight, a crazed look in my eye, babbling about albino Tater Tots nesting in Brillo pads and being pursued by sagging man ass, because that shit can happen when you've been traumatized. Then Flood threw himself against the door and screamed for us to run as he bravely held the door against our ancient vampyre ancestor's assaults. I was beginning to doubt Flood's ability to fulfill his duties as my Dark Lord until he stepped up and saved us – valiant vampyre hero that he is – because I was starting to think he was just a geek with a passing knowledge of poetry. As we ran I could hear Elijah saying, â€Å"He peed on my tracksuit,† as he threw himself against the door, or I guessed he did, because I didn't turn around until we were two blocks away. The Countess was all, â€Å"I've got to go back for him.† But before she even turned around, my Dark Lord came running around the corner. And he was all, â€Å"Go, go, go!† waving at us. And we were all, â€Å"Where? Where? Where?† And then as the Countess threw her arms around Flood and started to squeeze the bejeezus out of him, and Jared was all, â€Å"Gasp, get a room, gasp,† her watch started beeping. Then Flood's watch was beeping, too. And they were all, â€Å"Uh-oh.† So we had like ten minutes to find someplace dark to hide them, and no one had any money for a hotel, even if we had the time to check in and whatnot. So they ran toward a big construction site under the Bay Bridge. And I was thinking, I do not want to bury my masters in the construction site. What if they got paved? It would totally freak them out to get paved. And the Countess was all, â€Å"How did you get away?† And the vampyre Flood was all, â€Å"The dryer buzzer went off.† And she was all, â€Å"He let you live because his laundry was done?† And Flood goes, â€Å"Lucky, huh?† Totally not out of breath, even with the running. So when we got to the construction site, everything was either open or would be when everyone came to work. And the Countess looked up into the rafters or whatever of the bridge and goes, â€Å"There.† So there is where we went. I grabbed some tarps that were covering this generator thing by the construction site and Jared and I climbed up into the rafters with our vampyre sires and helped tuck them in just in time for them to go out. But as it got lighter, and we saw all the homeless people around, Jared and I realized that our masters would not be safe here when all the homeless people who lived under the bridge noticed the tarps and our delicate youth or smelled my Gummi Bears and came after us. So Jared went to get the garden cart, some trash bags and duct tape, and hopefully his stepmom's minivan so we can move our masters to a safer realm. Oh, check it, before the Countess passed into the inky sleep of the undead, I was like, â€Å"So what did you get me for Christmas?† And she was all, â€Å"Ten thousand dollars.† And I was like, â€Å"I didn't get you guys anything.† And she was like, â€Å"That's okay. You are our most special favorite minion and it's all good.† Which is why I love her and will guard her to the death. Then she like kissed the vampyre Flood and passed out. I'm sure their love will span the ages, if Jared and I don't fuck up and fry them during transport. OMG! I just remembered, we forgot to feed Chet! Chapter Twenty-four The Half-Life of American Cheese The Cheddar Princess of Fond du Lac was toasted. It wasn't just the bursting into flames that had crispied her up more than somewhat physically, it was that Drew's blood tasted like bong water, and she was still a little mentally baked from feeding on him. She'd made the mistake of trying to get the taste out of her mouth with some orange juice and had been rewarded with five minutes of the dry heaves. She brushed at her arms and great black flakes of burned skin came away, revealing fresh, unscarred skin below. Drew's blood was healing her, but it appeared that the process was going to take time and, like life in general, was going to be messy. Maybe a bath. She padded naked into the bathroom, which was done all in slabs of granite and green glass, and ran her bath. While the tub filled, she picked the last few burned tatters of her dress away from her skin and dropped them into the toilet. There was a swath of gray dust across the black tile, the remains of the original owner, and she was tracking him all over the bathroom and bedroom suite, so she stopped to sweep him into the corner with a towel. That had sort of been a surprise (in what was turning out to be a long line of surprises) when her first victim had disintegrated in her arms two nights ago, just as she was getting the hang of blood drinking. â€Å"Oops.† He had been so nice, too. Had picked her up in his Mercedes not two minutes after she'd stumbled out of Lash's apartment building wearing nothing but a leather bustier and thigh-high platform boots. It wasn't the first time she'd been on the street with her ass hanging out – that wasn't what had thrown her. It was waking up feeling like her tits were on fire to see her body rejecting the giant silicone globes she had spent so much money having implanted. Even as she tried to push them back in with her hands, the implants pushed through her skin, opening her up like they were aliens hatching out of her. She screamed as they broke through and rolled to the floor, then lay there, quivering on the carpet. As she watched, her skin mended, her breasts tightened and lifted, the pain had turned to a tingling, but now she felt a squirming in her face – her lips specifically, and she wiped her mouth and came away with two sluglike lines of silicone that had been injected years ag o. It was only then, in looking at the grotesque globs of lip filler on her hand, that Blue realized she wasn't blue at all. Her palms were baby white. Her arms, her legs – she ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. An old familiar stranger looked back at her – the Cheddar Princess of Fond du Lac. She hadn't seen this person since high school; the milky-white skin, hair almost white blond, still in the severe cut of the blue call girl, but looking somewhat like a pageboy cut now. Even the tattoos she'd had done in her early days in Vegas were gone. I'm alive, she thought. Then: And I'm going to be alive forever. Then: And I'm going to need some fucking money. She ran to Lash's bedroom to where she'd left her makeup case. It was gone. Her money was gone! She ran out of the apartment and down the steps like she might see a green trail of bills blowing in the wind in the direction her money had escaped, but once on the street, she headed for the only place she knew, toward the Marina Safeway. She got half a block before the Mercedes pulled up and the electric window rolled down. â€Å"Hey, you need a ride? It's a little chilly out here for that outfit.† His name had been David, and he did something that had to do with moving money around. Whatever it was, it must have paid well. He was wearing a two-thousand-dollar suit and his penthouse apartment on Russian Hill looked out on Golden Gate Bridge and the massive dome at the Palace of Fine Arts. He'd given her his coat to wear up in the elevator. It was in the elevator that the hunger had come upon her. Poor David. They hadn't even talked price before she'd had him bent over the green glass vanity in the bathroom, drinking his life away. â€Å"Oops.† The difference, she realized, between what had happened to her and what had happened to David had been the bloody kiss she'd taken from Tommy. But for a kiss, she, too, would be a pile of dust. There should be a song like that, she thought. At least she'd learned before she took her victims. Now she swept the last of David into the corner, then scraped him up with a piece of cardboard from his shirt drawer and dumped him into the wastebasket. Then she slipped into the tub full of bubbles and began to scrub off her charred skin. She wouldn't be able to stay long. David had been married or had a girlfriend. Blue had found a whole closet full of women's clothes – expensive clothes, and the woman would probably be back. Of course, this would make a great base of operations, maybe she could just wait for the wife to return and sweep her into the wastebasket with David. Blue leaned back and closed her eyes, listened to the bubbles popping, the wires humming through the building, the traffic out on the streets, to fishing boats leaving the wharf – then a sudden intake of breath from the living room, then another, deeper gasp as the second one found life, then a long man-scream. The dead Animals she'd collected were coming back to life. â€Å"Sit tight, boys,† Blue said. â€Å"Mama's just going to get cleaned up and put on a new dress, then we'll go get you something to eat and pick up my money.† She ran a sponge over her arm and smiled. She really could be Snow White now. One dwarf at a time, she thought. Elijah Ben Sapir had roamed the planet for eight hundred and seventeen years. In that time he had seen empires rise and fall, miracles and massacres, ages of ignorance and ages of enlightenment: the full spectrum of mankind's cruelty and kindness. He had seen all manner of freakishness, from the perversions of nature to the perversions of mind, twisted, beautiful, terrifying: he thought he had seen it all. But for all of his years, and all the acuity of perception enabled by his vampire senses, he had never seen a huge shaved cat in a red sweater, and sitting there in his newly washed yellow tracksuit, still warm from the dryer and smelling of soap and fabric softener, he smiled. â€Å"Hey, kitty,† the old vampire said. The huge cat eyed him suspiciously from across the loft. The cat could sense that he was a predator, just as Elijah could sense that the cat had been prey to a vampire. Kitty treat. â€Å"I'm not going to eat you, kitty. I've fed quite enough.† It was true. Elijah was feeling a little bloated from trying to keep the body count up. Perhaps he should just kill the next few, not feed. But no, the police wouldn't know it was a vampire then, and there'd be no joy in terrorizing the fledgling. He just wasn't ready to feed yet. There was someone in the stairwell right now, he could hear her breathing and smell patchouli and clove cigarette odor wafting under the door. Soon enough, he thought. â€Å"Perhaps we'll find something for you to eat, hey, kitty?† Elijah vaulted off the bar stool and began opening cupboards. In the third one he found pouches of Tender Vittles. He took a bowl from the cupboard that looked as if it had never been used, dumped in the meatish nuggets, and shook them around. â€Å"Come, kitty.† Chet padded a few steps toward the kitchenette, then stopped. Elijah put the bowl down and stepped away. â€Å"I understand, kitty. I don't like to eat in front of witnesses either. But sometimes – â€Å" The vampire heard a car pull up outside, a car that hadn't been tuned in a while. He cocked his head and listened as the doors opened and slammed. Four got out. He heard their steps on the concrete, a female voice, hissing at the other three. In an instant he was at the window looking down, and in spite of himself, he smiled again. There was no vivid life aura around the four down on the sidewalk. No healthy pink glow, no black shadow of death. The visitors below were not human. Vampires. On one hand, an indication of an enormous problem – one that just might attract attention that he could ill afford – but on the other, exciting in a way that he hadn't felt in a hundred years. â€Å"Four against one. Oh my, kitty, how ever will I prevail?† The old vampire ran his tongue over his fangs. For all the rage, frustration, and discomfort he'd endured since choosing the redhead as his fledgling, he was, for the first time in decades, not bored. He was having the time of his very long life. â€Å"Killing time, kitty,† he said, slipping into a pair of Tommy's Nikes. Jody awoke to the smell of clove cigarettes and the crunching of Cheese Newts. There was music screeching, too – a whiny guy singing about some girl named Ligeia, who apparently he missed a great deal because he was talking about dragging her worm-worn corpse from the earth and caressing her cheek on a cliff above the sea before throwing himself off, with her in his arms. The singer sounded a little down, and like he could have used a throat lozenge. She opened her eyes and was initially blinded until she adjusted to the black light, then she yelped. Jared White Wolf was sitting on the bed about two feet away from her, shoving handfuls of crunchy Cheese Newts into his mouth. There was a brown rat on his shoulder. â€Å"Hi.† Newt crumbs sprayed and fluoresced on the black sheets and clothing. â€Å"Hi,† Jody said, turning her head to avoid the crumbs. â€Å"This is my room. Do you like it?† Jody looked around, for once not really that thrilled with her vampire night-vision abilities. There were disturbing stains glowing on the sheets, and almost everything else in the room was black with a patina of vibrant blacklight-enhanced dust or lint – there was even lint on the rat. â€Å"It's swell,† she said. Interesting, she thought. She was no longer afraid of gang members and street criminals, and would even throw down with an eight-hundred-year-old vampire if need be, but rodents still sort of gave her the willies. The rat's eyes were glowing silver in the black light. â€Å"This is Lucifer Two.† Jared scooped the animal off his shoulder and held him out. Despite an attempt at self-control, Jody climbed backwards halfway up the wall, shredding a Marilyn Manson poster with her nails in the process. â€Å"Lucifer One went on to his dark reward when I tried to dye him black.† â€Å"Sad,† Jody said. â€Å"Yeah.† Jared turned the rat and rubbed noses with him. â€Å"I was hoping we could turn him to nosferatu when you bring Abby and me into the fold.† â€Å"Yeah, sure, that'll happen. Why am I in your room, Jared?† â€Å"It was the only place we could think to bring you. It wasn't safe under the bridge. Abby had to go, so I'm in charge.† â€Å"Good for you. Where's Tommy?† â€Å"Under the bed.† She would have known that – would have heard him breathing if the music wasn't cranked up to coffin-splitting volume. â€Å"Could you turn the music down a little, please?† † ‘Kay,† Jared said. He tucked Lucifer Two in his pocket and spidered across the bed, getting a little tangled in his black duster, then rolled to the floor and across the room in a commando-under-fire move until he got to the stereo, where he twisted the dial, putting the keening Emo singer out of his misery, or at least shutting him the fuck up. â€Å"Where are we?† Tommy's voice from under the bed. â€Å"It smells like gym socks stuffed with ground-up hippies.† â€Å"We're in Jared's room,† Jody said. She let a hand drop off the edge of the bed. Tommy took it and she pulled him out. He was still partially wrapped in duct tape and garbage bags. â€Å"Was I a hostage again?† â€Å"We had to cover you up to keep you from burning in the sun.† â€Å"Well, thanks.† Tommy looked at Jody, who shrugged. â€Å"I was unwrapped when I woke up,† she said. â€Å"That's because Abby says you're the Alpha vamp. Do you guys want to play Xbox or watch a DVD? I have The Crow Special Collector's Edition.† â€Å"Gee,† Jody said, â€Å"that would be great, Jared, but we'd better be going.† Tommy had already picked up the Xbox controller, but set it down with marked disapproval, as if he'd notice a little botulism there on the trigger button. â€Å"Oh, you can't go until the ‘rents go to bed.† Jared giggled, high and girlish. â€Å"The door is right by where they watch TV.† â€Å"We'll go out a window,† Jody said. Jared giggled again, then snorted a little, then started to honk, then took a hit from the inhaler that hung around his neck before he went on. â€Å"There's no window. This basement is totally windowless. Like we've been walled up in here with our own grotesque despair. Isn't it sweet?† â€Å"We could go to mist,† Tommy said. â€Å"Go out under the door.† â€Å"That would be so cool,† Jared said, â€Å"but my dad put rubber gaskets around the door to contain my disgusting Goth stench. That's what he calls it: my ‘disgusting Goth stench. Although I don't think I'm really Goth, more like death punk. He just doesn't like cloves. Or pot. Or patchouli. Or gay people.† â€Å"Philistine,† Tommy said. â€Å"Oh, would you guys like some Cheese Newts?† Jared picked the box up off the floor and held it out. â€Å"I can open a vein on them if you need me to.† He waved the thumb Abby had stabbed to prepare their coffee the night before, now wrapped in a ragged ball of gauze and medical tape the size of a racquetball. â€Å"I'm good,† Tommy said. Jody nodded in agreement; although she would love a cup of coffee, she didn't think she should ask the kid to stab himself quite so soon. She checked her watch. â€Å"What time do your parents go to bed?† â€Å"Oh, around ten. You'll have plenty of time to stalk the night and whatnot. Would you like to wash up or something? There's a bathroom down here. And a washing machine. My room was the wine cellar, then my dad crashed his car and started twelve-stepping, so I got this sweet room for my own. Abby says it's dank and disgusting – and she says it like it's a bad thing! I think it's just her perky side manifesting. I love her, but she really can be perky sometimes – don't tell her I said so.† Jody shook her head, then nudged Tommy, who shook his head in agreement. â€Å"We won't tell.† The kid was sort of giving her the creeps. She thought she might have lost that ability with blood drinking and the sleep of the undead and all, but nope, she was getting completely creeped out. â€Å"Jared, when is Abby coming back?† â€Å"Oh, she should be here any minute. She went to your loft to feed the cat.† â€Å"She went to our loft? The loft where Elijah was?† â€Å"No, it's okay. She went during daylight so he couldn't hurt her.† â€Å"It's not daylight anymore,† Jody said. â€Å"How do you know?† Jared said â€Å"No windows, duh.† Tommy Stooge-smacked his forehead with enough force to render a mortal man unconscious. â€Å"Because we're awake, you fucking moron!† â€Å"Oh yeah, ha,† Jared said. The trilling giggle again. â€Å"That's bad, huh?†

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Values of Effective Leader

Exploration Paper Topic: Values Structure of assignment: 1. Introduction 2. Research 3. Results of research 4. My view on values in terms of management 5. Conclusion 6. References 1. Introduction Paying attention to our values helps us to: ? become self-aware ? make ethical decisions ? prioritize our tasks ? develop credibility as a leader Reasons why values are important to managers: 1) Understanding one's own core values is essential to becoming self-aware. And self-awareness helps us to understand how people perceive us; also it allows us to identify the personal qualities that we would like to change.Values influence our choices, but our choices also influence our values with time. If we don’t pay enough attention to examining the correspondence between our actions with our values, our actions may be guided by immediate concerns and instant gratification rather than our values. Process of changes in values takes a lot of time, but usually it begins with changes in behavior . Over time, we start to take for granted the choices that we repeatedly make even if they are initially inappropriate with our values, and our values begin to float as well.Clarification and requalification of our personal values can stop that float. 2) People who internalize and act on standards of justice and human rights achieve a high level of moral development, and they make ethical decisions. During our lifetimes, we pass through different stages of moral development. Small children, at the preconventional level of moral development, make choices on the basis of the immediate consequences of their decisions. People who have not developed further than the preconventional level of moral development, only choose an ethical alternative if it's in their immediate personal interests.People who step forward to the conventional level of moral development make decisions on the basis of the formal rules and informal norms of their social context, and will choose ethical alternatives ev en at the cost of forgoing their self-interests. The small percentage of people who progress to the highest level of moral development, the postconventional stage, make decisions on the basis of human rights, fairness and justice. Such people are willing to close the eyes to their self-interests and may even break society's rules and norms in order to act according to their principles.People who achieve the postconventional level of moral development are trustworthy; it’s difficult to bribe them and they are not pressured by peers. 3) An understanding of one's personal values is useful for time management. The majority of us has the opportunity to do more things than we'll ever have time to do. Consequently, we have to choose the tasks we will work on thoughtfully. An understandable picture of our personal values allows us to rank the tasks on our â€Å"to do† lists according to its importance for us. 4) Having a clear set of personal values helps us to build the relia bility and trust that assists leadership.The most challenging times for leaders are times when they must lead others into something new. Transformational leaders are able to influence their followers to increase their faith and follow them into the unknown; they build trust. We are more tending to trust people when we understand their values, and see that their actions are harmonious with those values, because we can predict how they will act. Today, companies are confronted with different normative expectations from their environment and are expected to be socially responsible.The discussion about responsible behaviour of companies is based on the increasing importance of values in business context. Important element of the choice of motives for human action is the set of values of the person involved in the action. In small and medium-sized enterprises which are human being-shaped more strongly than big companies, the question of values propagated and lived in the company refers d irectly to mangers. There was one research conducted in co-operation between the International Graduate School Zittau (Germany) and the Technical University in Liberec (Czech Republic) in the period of March – September 2006.It considers the question of what values are significant for small and medium-size companies’ managers and owners and how they manage to bring their personal moral values into harmony with the company’s interests. It focuses on personal values as broad concepts examining their importance in the context of the entrepreneurs’ or managers’ personal lives on one hand, and in process of making a decision and actions inside the company on the other hand. 2. Research Method and context of research Small and medium-size companies were determined by the number of employees; companies were selected from the following business area: Industry ? trade ? service sector ? public and state authorities ? non-profit organizations ? counselor ? e ducation The statistics was collected by personal interviews using a standard approved questionnaire. The interviews were hold only with personnel responsible for decision-making: with the company’s owner, director or manager. The questionnaire covered a variety of areas of business ethics such as: ? perception and evaluation of the business ethics ? ethical values ? ethical/unethical behaviours ? attitudes towards unethical behavior perception of unethical behaviour ? role of success in unethical behavior In questions focusing on personal and company’s ethical values, categories defined in beforehand of 20 values were used to evaluate their importance in the process of decision-making. Connection between personal and company’s values was calculated by Likert scale[1]. As a point of departure for the analysis of categorical variables, percentage frequency tables were used to describe the importance of personal and company ethical values. . Results of reserch The significance of personal values Owners and managers are not just business people; they are also human beings. They have their deep personal values and that are unlikely to change in a short period of time. To investigate the owners’ and managers’ personal values importance, 20 values focused on the objective that one would like to achieve were selected from different areas of value system. Respondents were asked to tick five the most important and five the least important values.According to survey: [pic] The majority of asked owners and managers consider health (86 percent) and family (76 percent) to be the most important personal values. Other personal values that have got comparatively high number of answers were reliability (51 percent), integrity, honesty (42 percent) and trust, reliance (40 percent). About one third of respondents stated responsibility (34 percent), money, financial success and prosperity (31 percent), and education (29 percent) to be one of ver y important values.The least important values with the lowest frequency of answers (stated by less than 10 percent respondents) were commitment (2 percent), individualism (3 percent), discipline (6 percent), openness, frankness (9 percent), and credibility and trustworthiness (10 percent). Also survey showed that reliability was perceived to be more important personal value for companies operating in the industry, trade and service sector than to non-profit organizations, state and municipal authorities, education or consultancy companies. The significance of business valuesAlike the personal value system, the importance of values in term of corporate management and culture was studied by the research. Respondents were asked to tick five values that in their opinion are the most important in their business activities and decision-making processes. Also, they were asked to mark five the least important values in managing their business. According to survey: [pic] Comparing to persona l values, the importance of values in management is not so clear. The highest achieved number of answers (65 percent) was showed in professionalism and quality.Just about 50 percent of respondents said that reliability (53 percent), and relationships, co-operation and team work (51 percent) are important values in their management. Roughly one third of respondents believe that integrity, honesty (36 percent), responsibility (35 percent), focus on success, profit, prosperity (32 percent) and flexibility (30 percent) to be very important values in business operations. The least important management values were individualism (2 percent), tolerance (3 percent), openness, frankness (5 percent), discipline (6 percent) and respect, acknowledgement, justice and fairness (7 percent).Concurrence of personal and business values Growing competition and unstable business environment force managers to look for the highest possible return on each investment and develop strategies that can increase companies’ profits and success. This puts high pressure on companies’ owners and managers. In order to fulfill all requirements, owners and managers are often have to make decision and act at variance with their believes and personal values.For this reason, the research examined how difficult it is for owners and managers of small and medium-size enterprises to bring their personal values in concurrence with their business values, and under what circumstances they would make a decision that would be against their personal moral values. Respondents were asked to mark if they agree or disagree, using Likert scale, with six statements that show complexity in keeping their business decisions and actions (business values) in concurrence with their personal values.Over a half of respondents agreed that for owners and managers it is difficult to behave according to ethical norms and values either because: ? it is not possible to fulfill expectations of people (agreed 70 perc ent of respondents), ? conditions in the market are not adjusted for ethical behaviour (69 percent), ? there is danger that competition will be stronger (67 percent), ? there are no ethical regulations in the company (50 percent). Also, about 57 percent of respondents agreed that it is not difficult to act according to personal ethical values but in order to achieve company’s objectives, it is inconvenient.Roughly 49 percent of respondents agreed that it is not difficult to combine their personal and business values, even though it is uncomfortable for them. What's more, the survey showed that about 3 percent of respondents would always and 31 percent maybe act against their personal values if they could increase success and profit of the company whereas, in case of the company bankruptcy more respondents would be certainly (about 25 percent) or very probably (47 percent) willing to step on their personal values.Approximately 84 percent of owners would act against their perso nal values in order to save their company from bankruptcy, comparing to 72 percent of managers and 69 percent of directors. 4. My view on values in terms of management Value is a choice of that you think is important in the present. Values are not something that can be seen. They can be recognized only by studying reactions and attitudes that motivate your behavior. Values and personal life positions are formed under the influence of experience on the stage of person and in the long term may be inappropriate or even destructive.Children are closely watching their parents and see how they behave in times of black and white stripes of life. Bearing in mind and sensing behavior of parents in a calm and tense moments, the often begin to imitate their parents. Children also react to how they are treated, and are seeking ways to overcome the certain problems that arise. Child perceives, mimics, experimenting. Some things he drops and develops a certain way of behavior for himself. Heads o f companies are not insulated from each other in their work.They are influenced by the values existing in a particular social group, especially the views and personal outlook of the senior managers. Due to the need to remain to the style adopted by the corporation, individual managers have problems. The relation between personal and corporate attitudes may vary from support to dissent. Managers with blurry personal values are not tend to doubt their own values and also, in most cases, they tend to ignore data that disagree with their values. They have tendency to be inconsistence.Often, can’t take a quick decision when it s needed and don’t want to take a key position in the dispute, or in making important decisions for the company. Thus, they are trying to shift responsibility to others and to avoid situations where they are expected to explain the decision they made. Managers with clear personal values, on the contrary, often doubt their own values; they are very ser ious about the role of values in decision making. They are able to change their values under the influence of perceived data and experience and are open to talk about it and discuss with colleagues.They are always ready to take the responsibility for decisions made according to their personal values and enthusiastically accept views of colleagues that are different from their own. They are truly trying to understand others' views. These managers are always reliable in making decisions. Both, in everyday life and at work, they always rely on their beliefs and act according to them. Usually, such managers become more effective leaders of organizations, employees tend to listen to them and appreciate them and trust their choice (decision). 5. ConclusionIt is hard to make a standard list of corporate values, because the organizational culture is almost always a mix of original values, attitudes, norms, customs, traditions, behaviors and rituals that are unique to this organization. The purpose of common values is to unite people in groups, to create a powerful force in achieving goals. This aspect of values is widely used in organizational culture, because it allows people to achieve goals. As shown by different studies around the world, today’s qualified employee wants to receive from the organization more than just money.The materialization and impact of a number of social factors led to the formation of a great class of the today’s employees, the expectations are very different from those that dominated in the previous generation. Nowadays, workers are counting not only on financial success, but also tend to psychologically feel comfortable in the organization, and on cultural values which match their personal values. Each organization carries out its activities according to those values, which are essential for its employees.While creating an organizational culture social ideals and cultural traditions of the country should be taken into account. Moreover, for an absolute understanding and assimilation of values in an organization, it is important that the corporate values vary within the organization. The gradual acceptance of these values will allow members of the organization to achieve stability and success in organizational development.References: 1. http://community. livejournal. com/marketing_club/14212. html 2. http://www. fin. ru/management/practice/man_today/lichn. shtml 3. http://www. summittraining. co. uk/news-detail. asp? fldNewsArticles_ID=126 4. http://www. ipsihologia. com/? p=206 5. http://quality. eup. ru/MATERIALY7/ckk. html ———————– [1] A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly used in questionnaires, and is the most widely used scale in survey research. When responding to a Likert questionnaire item, respondents specify their level of agreement to a statement. (www. wikipedia. org)

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Mentoring Program Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mentoring Program - Research Proposal Example So, first of all, it seems necessary to define what particular outcomes we should expect from implementing an own mentoring program. One of the most significant is, I believe, developing a high performing team of professionals. Since team work is an essential part of our operations, it is important that our employees understand and accept this principle. Especially important it is because we cannot provide each with a mentor. Therefore, the first task to be accomplished while designing our mentoring program is choosing which particular people will be directly participating in the program. 2.1.1. 360 Degree Evaluation For this purpose I suggest to conduct a 360 degree evaluation: The 360 Degree Feedback System has recently experienced a wide spread among the organization wishing to improve and enhance their performance measuring systems. This particular method involves getting a feedback on an employee’s performance not only from a supervisor, as we do now, but also from four to eight peers, reports, colleagues or customers. In most cases the system also requires an employee oneself to assess own performance in an individual assessment (Heatfield, 2008). So, in addition to giving the manager an opportunity to get a wide range perspective on the employee’s performance, this system enables the supervisor to understand how the employee’s performance is viewed by others – that is to base evaluation not only on own perception, but on other’s opinions as well.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Understanding enron Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Understanding enron - Assignment Example Enron is a unique data point which cannot be considered a trend. Another perspective suggests Enron as an example of systematic governance failure. Openly roiling the market, Enron has established new demand among investors for transparency. Market has discovered that professional staff like gatekeepers cannot be trusted for handling the financial data. Enron demonstrates gatekeeper failure. Gatekeepers provide services of verification and certification to the investors. Attorneys are more of transaction engineers than reputational intermediaries, though they can also be included in the category of gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are known as valuable sources of information because of their tendency to provide honest assessment, though gatekeepers derive their importance from pledging a reputational capital, that is too dear to them to sacrifice for a little fee. However, heavy gains optimize a gatekeeper’s tendency to comply in managerial fraud. Enron’s gatekeeper let the man agers do fraud. The status of gatekeepers is changing. Arthur Andersen engaged in several security frauds. The number of earning restatements and the amounts involved increased by the 1990’s. Most securities analysts kept recommendations on the stock of Enron till its bankruptcy filing. Analysts are also reputational intermediaries. The ration of buy to sell kept increasing over the years in the 1990’s. Something made the gatekeepers compromise the objectivity and independence. Enron provides an example of the collective failure of gatekeepers, including the auditors, the analysts, and the debt rating agencies. Two explanations can be laid for the ignorance of the massive fraud by these watchdogs; the economic general deterrence story and the psychological bubble story. 1990’s saw a decline in the risk of auditor liability along with an increase in the benefits of acquiescence, which

Thursday, September 26, 2019

A Good Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Good Manager - Essay Example Lynn Tilton is among the intelligence leaders and manager taking into consideration her behavior and positive traits she portrays and articulates in her routine services within the private equity and an auto-part company she owns. One of the bases of her leadership and management qualities is that she is honesty. As a good manager and a leader, you are required to raise the company bar even higher than the anticipated level keeping in mind that your employees are among the top reflection entity personnel who requires honest and ethical behavior value for the purpose of their effective service delivery. We learn that Lynn considers herself as an established leader and a manager who strips and flips not for men but her company which she says she hold that company long and close to her heart. Becoming a good leader and a manager too requires the ability of delegation, which comes because of brand vision finessing and characterized through organized and efficient business environment in any prevailing business. Trust and believe in your team, as a manager is the only key to delegate ability since this makes a manager to determine the strengths and weakness prevailing in any company and in turn capitalize on them for the purpose of profit maximization.

Heroism English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Heroism English - Essay Example As the world has become technologically advanced, and knowledge has thrived, use of mind has taken over the use of physical force to a large extent. As a result of this, there has occurred an expansion, if not a change in the definition of a hero. A hero in the 21st century is not necessarily physically strong and powerful, but he is emotionally intelligent and brave, and is able to fight the evils the community or society is suffering from to pacify the society. Sheikh Zayed was the leader who made a difference in people people’s life. In 1971, Sheikh Zayed invited six presidents from different regions in order to have one strong country instead of several weak ones. He succeeded by establishing the United Arab Emirates and being the first president (uae-embassy.org, 2009). Sheikh Zayed was a wise leader who dealt with the union progress patiently. He turns the United Arab Emirates from the state of chaos to a powerful country in thirty years. He focused on educating people. Also, he helped many countries to fight against their rights and problems. He made various decisions that influenced many countries such as Palestine issue. Sheikh Zayed was a lovely leader who drew a smile on his people faces. He worked hard in order to achieve his goals. Heroism is a very large concept that has many definitions. Being a good leader and guiding people to the right path might be a part of the heroism definition. Sheikh Zayed was a great example. He made many important decisions that led him to be a hero. Sheikh Zayed was a smart and wise leader. I want to do my best to develop my personality and learn his values. Learning from Sheikh Zayed is my goal. I want to be a leader who could make a different in other’s life. Sharing love and respect in the main key as Sheikh Zayed taught us. Working hard is an important value that I want to develop. Improving my personality is main focus since I have a great example of a hero going to be easier. A hero like Sheikh Zay ed has very high emotional intelligence. He can talk a lot to people easily and never runs short of thoughts on any topic. One trait of hero that I have is that I can speak to any kind of person in such a way that he starts considering me his friend. This makes me think that Sheikh Zayed and I commonly possess emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is about knowing what it takes to reach people’s hearts. Since my childhood, I have had a lot of friends. Anywhere I go, I make friends. This helps me build relationships and contacts. In the present age, social networking works a lot. You get to know the right person to approach at the right time for the right purpose. Another trait of a hero that I possess is bravery. Bravery comes from confidence. The fact that I have so many friends speaks of the confidence I have. It is the very confidence that has built bravery inside me. I say to people who I think like, not what they necessarily want to hear. Although this puts me i n tough situations sometimes, yet I know how to come out of them using my emotional intelligence. My friends often tell me that one thing they like me for is bravery, which is what makes me think that I am brave. Bravery does not only mean being bold. It means that one is able to put his view in front of the world and hold on to them in spite of all opposition and criticism which arises. I know that I am brave because I never step back from my decision when I am sure I am right no

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The Influence Of Music On Society Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Influence Of Music On Society - Term Paper Example We start of with the positive influence music has on society members. Music is a unique and magical entity that has the power to change anything and everything. Music has the power to make people laugh, cry, feel excited, smile, sad and even change the way we understand various societal issues (Meyer, 1994). It is full of so much emotion and thus writers and artists find their aspirations drawn of the music they listen to. Music also influences the musicians to turn to other areas of their creativity. Throughout history the highly evocative language of music has had powerful influences on individuals and societies. Music has the power to express, illicit and convey powerful emotions thus the music’s moral and ethical power and how that power affects individuals and societies should receive optimum attention in our post modern society. The moral and ethical power of music in ancient societies was held with strong beliefs and therefore imperative for artists to exercise a certain level of moral and ethical responsibility in their creative endeavors. Music is a unifying entity in the society and acts as a socializing tool in the society. During music performances, members of the society interact and share ideas with each other. This enhances social cohesion and unites the society (Cope, 1978). Through music, different cultural societies have come together and resolved their differences. Also the message in the music may be that of uniting the society therefore uniting the society. Music has served to educate the society of their cultural background. When the traditional songs are played with a cultural message, the young members of the society get to know the way of life of the past generation. The classical music has revealed to the young people the living styles as well as the thoughts of the past generations. In so doing, we are able to estimate and analyze the progress we have made either negatively or positively. In the

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Medicare Modernization Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Medicare Modernization Act - Essay Example When it comes to income that means those who are living from hand to mouth are unable to benefit from the Act. In order to analyze whether it is a step forward or backward, let us discuss the significance of MMA in the light of its pros and cons to the U.S citizens: Medicare initially was not considered among the major concerns of American national politics 3. First, there was the targeting of Medicare expenditures, which federal officials regularly forecasted to raise over the 1990s, as a way to reduce the federal budget deficit. That issue momentarily heated up the debate between the Bush and Clinton campaigns when Budget Director Richard Darman claimed in July 1992 that Medicare outlays would have to be drastically reduced if the budget deficit were to be substantially lowered. The other set of political issues involved the emergent politics of universal health insurance in the early 1990s both the realization that an extraordinary consensus had emerged about the need for far-reaching change and the presumption that, if elected, Clinton aimed to act on that consensus 4. The context for the 1997 Medicare changes reflected two long-term forces at work in American politics. One element was the wearing down of the faith in government and ameliorative social programs that had been central to Medicare's birth in the heyday of the Great Society. The second was a form of fiscal politics that emphasized the consequences of the aging of the baby boomers, particularly the budgetary strain they would put on both Medicare and Social Security in the years ahead 5. Medicare - The most costly Program Medicare makes up the largest proportion of income-assistance spending. The cost of medical benefits has risen by more than the cost of other programs since the 1970s. It is said and often considered that certain social insurance and welfare health programs raise the greatest number of people out of scarcity, especially among the elderly and retired. The success of such programs can be determined by the historical acceptance of such Acts like the Food Stamp Act in 1964 and Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, which provided health insurance for the needy and poor 6. In the early 1990s, once again there felt a need to change the existing plans and policies regarding health and medication, so certain health welfare and food stamp programs arrive but at a smaller scale. The main reason for requiring such policies was the dissatisfaction with the then welfare programs and policies. Bill Clinton, who had vowed to "end welfare as we know it" in his 1992 campaign, helped do just that, signing a bipartisan bill in 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) 7. This was a dramatic and controversial measure that brought an end to six decades of federal social policy guaranteeing at least a minimum level of aid to those in poverty. The measure abolished AFDC and replaced it with a system of smaller grants to states, which established rules of eligibility but were required to end welfare to

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Global Hunger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Hunger - Essay Example mbined aid of between $135 and $195 billion for the next ten years, which may seem like a lot but it is not, according to Sachs, because it would only represent a small increase in the gross domestic product percentage of each country. Sachs is a valid source on this issue, as he has worked as an economist for various institutions and countries and is even a special advisor to the United Nations on global poverty. Extreme poverty, which is defined by Sachs as having an income of less than a dollar per day, is a significant problem, as it is responsible for countless deaths worldwide each day and is solely responsible for the extreme living conditions in many developing countries. This book uses a number of significant analyses from Sachs’s own experiences, which give the book a very legitimate feel. Also, Sachs discusses many of the causes of global poverty and gives solutions to how these problems can be fixed and why the governments of these countries should listen to his th eories and implement these solutions. One of the main reasons for extreme poverty, according to Sachs, is that much of the world suffers from poor geography, poor road and rail networks, and/or poor healthcare. This makes travel to and from these locations difficult, which cuts down on the amount of trade that other countries are willing to do with that particular country. It also makes these regions unviable for tourism, which is a main source of income for many wealthy nations. This makes it very difficult to maintain any type of economic growth, as there is very little to build on. Even though â€Å"todays search for cheap labor has moved jobs from rich countries to poor,† (Landes, 520) the disparity between the countries remains. Without any immediate sources of viable income, these countries have become trapped in subsistence mode, which makes it nearly impossible for them to develop at a significant rate. All of the money that these countries do produce goes into maintaining what the

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Business Intergration Essay Example for Free

Business Intergration Essay New IT developments are important to all business disciplines because they trigger changes in marketing operations, e-commerce, logistics, human resources, finance, accounting, and relationships with customers and business partners. Nothing about business or corporate strategy is untouched by IT (Turban Volonino, 2011). The five elements of an IT-enabled business strategy Business strategy| * Contains the mission, vision, and objectives of the organization * States the companys market strategy * Describes the unique value proposition the company offers customers * Provides the distinct value configuration of the organization| Business expectations of IT| * Describes how the company might expect IT to contribute to the success of the * business * Possible business expectations of IT include delivering better value, reducing costs, * or improving products and services| IT strategy| * Provides information on IT applications * Describes how to develop the competencies of the people who work in IT * States how IT is to be organized and controlled within the company * Describes the technical infrastructure| IT assessment| * Aims to reveal how technology helps or hinders a business * Can include network and systems performance reviews, software audits, and * concept testing and development * Can include strategic evaluations, technical reviews, and risk management * Should recommend how to use technology to meet business goals| IT plans| * Outlines a companys long-term IT plans * Is concerned with how IT should be deployed, managed, and implemented in the * future * Should be cost effective and in line with business goals| What are the advantages of aligning business and IT strategies? There are many advantages when an organization IT strategies are aligned with the organizations business strategies. Information technology is a key business function in almost every successful organization. An effective IT strategy will enable businesses to: * Reduce cost; * Standardize processes; * Enhance productivity; * Improve risk control mechanism; * Implement new business strategies; * Facilitate organic and acquisition driven growth; * Gain competitive advantage by exploiting new technology; Other benefits of the alignment of IT and business strategy is automation, knowledge, organizational improvements, and innovation. Automation can result in increased efficiency while decreasing cost. Knowledge in IT is the ability of an organization to collect, store, process, and disseminate information. The benefit of knowledge gained from IT is cost reduction, greater efficiency, and increased revenues. IT also leads to organizational improvements which usually lead to more decentralized leadership structure which improves the overall effectiveness of the organization. Proper alignment of IT and business strategy can make an organization stand out and look different from its competitors. This alignment can provide a competitive advantage for an organization. How does IT deliver business benefits that are related to the business strategy? IT delivers business benefit by performing high-speed, high volume, and numerical computation. IT provides fast, accurate communication and collaboration unrestricted by time and location. IT gives organizations the ability to store huge amounts of information that is accessible via private networks and the internet. In addition it enables automation of routine decisions making and help facilitate complex decision making. IT also improves the ability to make informed decisions. IT also helps to facilitate collaboration, enhance customer relationships, develop new analytic capabilities, and provide feedback on performance. Reference Turban, E., Volonino, L. (2011). Information Technology for Management (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, Inc..

Friday, September 20, 2019

What Determines A Good Service Encounter?

What Determines A Good Service Encounter? When giving examples of my service encounter I will, each time try to explain the reasons for my service encounter, a brief description of what the firm did and provided for myself, my level of satisfaction through a rating system between one to seven, from lowest to highest possible satisfaction, and lastly my reasons for this satisfaction rating. I feel this information will allow me to most effectively analyse the service encounter, and identify the determinants of a good service encounter whilst allowing me to compare different service encounters. I will firstly look towards the 7ps concept (Booms and Bitner 1982) which is an extended version of the marketing mix. What is crucial here, for the purpose of the essay, is determining if some Ps are more important than other Ps in terms of having a greater impact on a service encounter outcome. I will therefore proceed through each P, systematically and in turn evaluate its importance in determining a good or bad service encounter. The introductory marketing texts suggest that all parts of the marketing mix (4Ps) are equally important, since a deficiency in any one can mean failure (Kellerman, Gordon and Hekmat, 1995). Number of studies of industrial marketers and purchasers indicated that the marketing mix components differ significantly in importance (Jackson, Burdick and Keith, 1985). Robicheaux (1976) found that key marketing policies had changed significantly. Pricing was considered the most important marketing activity in Robicheauxs (1976) survey, although it ranked only sixth in Udells (1964) survey. Udell (1968) found that sales efforts were rated as most important, followed by product efforts, pricing, and distribution. LaLonde (1977) found product related criteria to be most important, followed by distribution, price, and promotion. Perreault and Russ (1976) found that product quality was considered most important, followed by distribution service and price. Thus, it appears from the studies above that business executives do not really view the Ps as being equally important, but consider the price and product components to be the most important (Kellerman, Gordon and Hekmat, 1995). Brunner (1989) argues that the marketing mix should be extended to include more factors affecting the services marketing and thus actually becoming mixes themselves. He provides examples of Concept Mix, Cost Mix, Channels Mix and the Communication Mix So far we have mainly touched on the 4 core Ps but what Ps can affect and determine the outcome of a service encounter? Fryar (1991) argues that differentiation and segmentation is the basis of a successful service. Further, the personal relationship with the customer and quality of the service are important elements of the service marketing. This may be referring to the extended Ps of the marketing mix. Heuvel (1993)seems to agree with Fryar stating that Interaction between the one delivering the service and the customer is very important and has direct effect on the service quality and quality perception. He goes on further to state that the Product element can be better demonstrated as having two components, the primary and secondary service elements as well as the process. Both Heuvel and Fryar seem to be heavily referring to the People and physical Ps of the extended marketing mix (Grove et al. 2000) compares service marketing to a theatrical production. How the service is performed is as important as what is performed. The critical factor is therefore the customer experience. He goes on to state that the traditional Marketing Mix does not adequately capture the special circumstances that are present when marketing a service product. As such it could be concluded that the 4Ps for the purpose of service marketing and thus as a determinate of a service encounter can be seen as outdated. Rafiq and Ahmed (1995) state that 7Ps is more comprehensive, greater refined and includes important participants such as people and process. For the purpose of Service encounters the three new Ps of People, Process and Physical design can be seen as equally if not more important than the four core Ps. This can be supported through the extended Ps widespread acceptance in recent years The customer satisfaction Kano model helps to understand and evaluate consumer acceptance and satisfaction, and can be used in many different disciplines. The model classifies product attributes based on how they are perceived by customers and their effect on customer satisfaction (Kano, Seraku et al. 1996). According to the model, there are three types of product attributes that fulfil customer satisfaction to a different degree: 1) basic or expected attributes, 2) performance or spoken attributes, and 3) surprise and delight attributes. A competitive product or service meets basic expected attributes, maximises performances attributes, and includes as many delighted attributes as financially feasible. In the model, the customer endeavours to move away from having unfulfilled desires. The basic or attributes are basic attributes, which customers take for granted and are not worth mentioning due to their obviousness. While the presence of these attributes is not really taken into account, the nonexistence of these attributes could be very dissatisfying for the customer. The performance or spoken attributes are those voiced by customers in what they are wanting from the product. These requirements can satisfy or dissatisfy consumer depending on the level of their satisfaction by a product or a service. The surprise and delight attributes if present can excite the customer, but their absence does not dissatisfy, as customers do not expect them. A competitive advantage can be achieved through successful use of both expected and exciting attributes Kanos model of customer satisfaction will now be looked at. According to various researchers, product life cycles are getting shorter, thus businesses are looking for ways to reduce product development time and to introduce their products to the market more quickly and efficiently (Tan , 2000) Further, in many of the competitive markets, customers are getting more selective, demanding greater features in products and services. As a result, identifying customer needs and transferring this information through to the product design stage is imperative for any business to be able to stay competitive in the market (Sireli et al., 2003, Tontini, 2003,) Kanos model helps deal with these new trends and in turn hopes to meet customer requirements in the most efficient and effective way Through traditional customer satisfaction tools, used to evaluate customer feedback, a strong correlation is assumed between product performance and customer satisfaction. For example, customer satisfaction is assumed to increase or decrease proportionally to the product performance improving or deteriorating respectively (Huiskonen and Pirttila, 1998). However according to Mazler, increasing fulfillment of customer expectations does not always mean a proportional increase in customer satisfaction as this change also depends on the type of expectation (Matzler et al., 1996). The different types of customer expectations can have different effects on customer satisfaction fulfillment. Kanos model of customer satisfaction tries to address this issue in providing particular types to each expectation such as attractive and indifferent. This can help companys understand the customer requirements. SERVQUAL can be used to determine if there are any differences between perceptions and expectations and if so whether this difference (if it was positive) contributed to a happy service encounter. SERVQUAL can only be defined in a consumers mind as it is a psychological difference between perceptions and expectations. Gronroos (1982) suggests that the perceived quality of a service is the result of an evaluation procedure whereby customers compare their perceptions of service quality delivery and the outcome against what they expected . Expectations can be can be defined as the customers frame of reference with respect to a product/service that allows anticipation of product/ service performance (Bitner et al. 1990). Due to the fact that the model involves perception it means judgment may differ among individuals and thus could be based on the cultural framework that the person brings to the encounter (Ueltschy et al., 2007). While customers can judge the quality of manufacturing goods in terms of functions and standards, they may find it difficult to measure service quality because they have to assess not only the outcome of the service, but more importantly the process of the delivery of that service. Therefore, before customers purchase a service, they have expectations about service quality that can be based on a number of variables such as word-of mouth recommendations, individual needs, past experiences and a service providers marketing communications (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Parasuraman et al., (1988; 1991) attempts to define the dimensions of service quality. Five major dimensions have be identified, namely reliability, responsiveness, assurance, tangibles and empathy. Reliability is the ability to execute the service as promised. Responsiveness refers to the willingness in providing the service. Assurance concerns the politeness in delivering the services and trustworthiness expressed to customers. Empathy can be defined as the understanding of customers specific requirements and their individual needs. Finally, tangibles include the physical evidence of the service such as facilities and personnel. It has been widely accepted that these dimensions of SERVQUAL are able to capture the construct of service encounter quality (Raajpoot 2004). The concept of customer relationship management will now be looked at which has emerged from relationship marketing. There is no doubt that in recent years there has been a greater emphasis on customer relationship management then ever but why is this? And is relationship marketing that important with regards to a service encounter? The emphasis on customer relationship management could be attributed to technological advancements which have allowed businesss to create increasingly intimate relationships with their customers. ÃÆ'-sterle (2002) suggests that electronic commerce, supply chain management, one-on-one marketing [and] customer profiling to name a few are developments which can be attributed to the dramatic changes in the supplier-customer relationship observed. It is this amalgamation of business functions which could loosely be referred to as modern customer relationship management. Stone et al. (2000) asserts that the concept of RM always included a very strong focus on the consumer. But possibly, CRM takes this a step further in its integration of business functions which contribute to value maximising services for the consumer via the management of customer relationships, and in turn increasing customer retention Relationship marketing has been successful in creating strong relationships with customers on a large scale. The technique has traditionally looked to apply its marketing communications to its customers depending on their relative needs. This entails customising marketing and product/service offerings to the various individual consumer groups to create a more personalised service as well as to develop a relationship based on interactivity. CRM, on the other hand, provides more to the individual marketing needs. This is due in the main part to the technology to make such a system technically and economically feasible (ÃÆ'-sterle 2002), organisations are now able to further customise their marketing and product offerings, not just to groups but to individuals themselves. This has meant there is no longer a need for customers to be grouped together into lifecycles with others, as businesss can mould their services around individual requirements. As such it can be concluded that CRM is an evolution of RM and has utilised advanced technology as an instrument to meet and surpass individual customer requirements. Discussion Section I will first mention my service encounter with Dominos pizza; in short I was throwing a small party with my friends from home as I had recently returned from university. My freinds were very hungry and fancied some fast food that wouldnt be too expensive. Thus I ordered three large pizzas over the phone. I was very happy with the service encounter and would rate it at a six. My high satisfaction from this service encounter can be attributed to the following. Firstly when I phoned up Dominos pizza the staffs were very friendly and polite, swiftly taking my order. We were also informed on the phone about a seasonal special offer that was ongoing at the time. This special offer allowed us to reduce our expenditure on the Pizzas which surpassed my expectations of what I thought would be the price. The pizza was then delivered to us within thirty minutes, as promised and was absolutely delicious and still fresh. Thus, I would be very happy to order from Dominos Pizza again; however I was initially put on hold for three minutes which is why I am not rating the encounter at a seven. This nearly left me hanging up the phone and browsing for a close competitor, which of course would have been detrimental to Dominos Pizza. I will first look towards the 7ps concept (Booms and Bitner 1982) to determine why and how a good service encounter has occurred. Clearly the price had a major impact on our decision to choose Dominos Pizza. It can be see that Dominos pricing scheme is competition based, due to the high competitiveness of this industry driving the prices down. However our decision to buy from Dominos pizza was not solely based on the price, as we had options to look for a cheaper competitor. What did determine why we decided to choose Dominos Pizza was based on the brand name, reputation it holds, convenience and peoples past experiences with Dominos Pizza. The convenience and price alone would not have persuaded us to buy from Dominos Pizza thus the main determinant of why we purchased from Dominos Pizza could be accredited to the brand name. But what actually determined a good service encounter? One must look further and concentrate on the extended Ps, namely People, Physical Evidence and Processes . The personnel on the phone and the friendly delivery staff certainly contributed towards a good service encounter. The staff taking my order were clearly well trained and well informed, providing me information on the latest deals and being polite. The process was a high determinate of a happy service encounter. The Pizza was delivered within thirty minutes; failure to do so may have meant unhappy hungry customers who would not have been willing to repeat purchase from Dominos Pizza. Indeed the three minute wait I needed to endure on the phone nearly left me hanging up and not completing the service encounter. The physical evidence is not really relevant to this service encounter. It can be seen that the fast process, polite personnel, product and place (convenience) contributed greatest to a happy service encounter from the 7ps perspective. SERVQUAL will now be used to determine if there were any differences between perceptions and expectations and if so whether this difference (if it was positive) contributed to a happy service encounter. SERVQUAL can only be defined in a consumers mind; it is a psychological difference between perceptions and expectations. The SQ can be measured using Parasuraman et al.s (1985) Gaps Model. The Gaps model is made up of five so called gaps. Firstly, the knowledge gap is the difference between what customers want and managers think customers want. In this case as customers, we wanted a tasty pizza delivered to our door within a reasonable time at a reasonable cost. We got everything we wanted, thus it would appear that there was no knowledge gap. However being put on hold for three minutes could be seen as a slight knowledge gap which may have been detrimental to Dominos pizza. This knowledge gap could have been caused by the manager not hiring enough or enough productive staff. The standards gap is the gap between managements perception of customer expectations and actual results for the service delivery. In this case there is probably a positive gap. Although Dominos pizza stated the pizza would be delivered within thirty minutes we didnt actually believe it. Thus the actual delivery outweighed our expectations and can be seen as a positive gap. Gap 3 Delivery gap The promises of a delicious pizza and a fast delivery were fulfilled and thus we were happy and didnt have any quarms. From the above it can be seen there were little if any gaps between our expectations and what was delivered and this clearly heavily contributed to a happy service encounter. The customer satisfaction Kano Model will be now be used to determine how Dominos Pizza satisfied us. Kano uses three types of relationships between attributes and the levels of customer satisfaction they generate. We must determine which attributes account for the largest proportion of customer satisfaction. The first type of attribute is the must have attributes. These are expected by the customer, all our must haves were met by Dominos Pizza. The linear satisfier attributes keep the customer satisfied, the delighter attributes are not expected or required, but help create customer satisfaction and can make the difference in brand choice for a consumer especially in competitive markets. The convenience, speed of delivery and tastiness of the pizza could come under the heading of linear satisfiers. The polite personnel over the phone and great offers provided on the phone can be seen as delighter types of attributes and most contributed to my happiness on dealing with Dominos Pizza, further it was these delighters which have made me want to repeat purchase from Dominos in the future. From using the relevant theories it can quite clearly be seen that the main determinants of a good service encounter which Dominos Pizza offered was the speed of the delivery, the special offers that ensured the price of the pizzas were less than first expected and the freshness of the pizzas which can be related to the speed of delivery. Thus, a manager working in the take-away service industry should ensure that his /her staffs are well trained and informed to not only take peoples orders over the phone but to answer peoples queries and provide information on ongoing special offers. A manager should also ensure there is an efficient distribution process so the delivery is undertaken as quick as possible. The service encounter that Dominos Pizza offered delighted me and my friends as customers, further I would be very happy to order from them again and recommend them to others. Therefore Dominos Pizza have provided a good service encounter. My next service encounter I will mention is my orthodontist appointment with my local NHS hospital Northwick Park. I was referred to the orthodontist by my dentist, who advised that I needed braces. I thus made an appointment for 9:00am on the 24/09/2009. I was pretty unhappy with this particular service counter for a number of reasons. Ultimately I was unhappy that I needed to wait an hour and fifteen minutes for my appointment after arriving prompt at 9:00am meaning me missing my train back to university. I was also upset because my actual appointment was rushed only lasted ten minutes, thus not all my queries were answered sufficiently. I would rate this service encounter at a two. I will again look towards the 7ps when analysing why and how bad services was encountered by myself. Firstly, the price for my appointment was free and therefore started my service encounter on a good note. The place of my appointment was however quite inconvenient for me as it meant me coming back from university especially for the appointment. The actual service was rushed and incomplete, this made me dissatisfied with the service. The process was slow and very inefficient which contributed heaviest to my dissatisfaction of the service encounter. As a customer I would have ideally preferred an NHS orthodontist to be located nearer my university for convenience, furthermore, I sought after a brief waiting time and a productive and effective appointment which would fully answer my questions. I got none of these things and thus there most certainly was a knowledge gap. This knowledge gap could be decreased through an efficient process, a more thorough appointment and a local NHS orthodontist for my convenience. My expectation pre appointment was that I would need to wait about twenty minutes for my appointment which I was happy to do and that I would be provided an appointment lengthy enough to ensure all my queries were answered. My expectations were not met at all and therefore clearly there is a negative standards gap. Review | Back To The Future Review | Back To The Future The movie Back to the Future, is filled with an all star cast and dynamic visual effects that were stunning in nineteen eighty-five and still stunning by todays definition. It was an appealing movie in which all ages could relate to the fun and entertainment that it was meant to portray. The movie was set in the fictional town of Hill Valley and focused upon the antics of Doc. Emmett Brown played by Christopher Lloyd and his sidekick Marty Mcfly played by Michael J. Fox. The film was written by Robert Zemeckis, who also directed the movie and Bob Gale,who came up the story idea. Steven Speilberg was the producer for the film. The story idea came to writer Bob Gale one day when at his parents home he found an old yearbook of his fathers. He thought to himself, Would he and his father been friends if they had gone to school together? Gale returned to California and shared his idea with Robert Zemeckis. They decided to take the project to Columbia pictures and made a developmental deal with Columbia for the script in September of 1980. (Klastornin) The rough draft of the script was finished in February, nineteen eighty-one. The film turned out to be more than just a thought about his father. The film had only a nineteen million dollar budget and brought in more than three hundred-eighty million dollars. Back to the Future was a critically acclaimed best movie of nineteen eighty- five. Critic Christopher Null claimed it to be a quintessential nineteen eighties flick that combines science fiction, action, comedy and romance all into a perfect little package that kids and adults will devour.(Null) It won the Hu go Award for dramatic presentation, the Saturn award for best science fiction film, academy awards and Golden Globe nomination. The film marked the beginning of a franchise with the sequels Back to the Future ll in nineteen eighty- nine and the sequel Back to the future lll in nineteen ninety. There was an animated series, a theme park ride and a video game released as well. The movie has a scene in which Marty is asked who is president in nineteen eighty- five and replies, Ronald Reagan. The person he is talking to laughs and tells him that Ronald Reagan is an actor, not a president. When watching the film for the first time Ronald Reagan himself was so amused by the joke about his being president that he had the theater stop the movie and rewind the reel so he could see the part again. He even referred to the movie in his nineteen eighty-six State of the Union address. He stated, Never has there been a more exciting time to be alive, a time of rousing wonder and heroic achievement. As they say in the film, Back to the Future, where were going, we dont need roads.(cspan) Many years later president George H.W. Bush used references from Back to the Future in his speeches. The film had to shoot at Universal Studios in California because no town would allow producers to redo their town to fit the nineteen fifties setting. Hill Valley scenes were shot at Courthouse Square on the back lot. Industrial Light and Magic created the thirty- two special effect shots. (Freer) Designers set the fifties in a wonderful way to make the town look beautiful, they shot all the scenes from the fifties first so they could make the town look bleak and ugly for the scenes in the eighties. Back to the Future had to shoot differently than how most movies are filmed. Michael J. Fox was working weekdays on the hit television series Family Ties. This made him only available to work on the movie set from six-thirty p.m. to two-thirty a.m. on weekdays. They were forced to save exterior scenes until weekends because that was the only time he was available during daylight. This routine gave him only five hours for sleep each day. He found this schedule exhausting but worthwhile bec ause he was simultaneously living his dream of being on television and in movies. The movie took one hundred days to film and finally wrapped up on April twentieth of nineteen eighty- five. Producers and editors worked twenty-four hour shifts making sure the movie would be ready for its July third release date. Only eight minutes of filming was omitted when editing was completed. A lot of hard work went into the making of the movie Back to the Future. It was a risk at the time with lots of wondering whether the movie would flop or be a success. It proved a risk worth taking because now, twenty-six years later, it is movie that most all generations have seen. Back to the Future will continue to remain a film title known worldwide. This is a film that closes the generation gap and brings old and young together as one. Future generations will continue to enjoy this film for years to come.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

orwell :: essays research papers

Animal Farm and The Russian Revolution Minor characters and events of the novel Animal Farm symbolize things that are related to the history of Russia. Animal Farm is a story on Stalinism and the Russian Revolution. The characters in Animal Farm all have a part in the Soviet Union meaning the Russian Revolution. The similarities of Mr. Jones and Czar Nicholas II, the leader previous to Stalin tie into each other. There was a strike wave go on in Petrograd. Over 300,000 people went through economic crisis. Factories had a lack of fuel and there were power cuts. The railways were collapsing and there was no meat, and a shortage of flour. Hunger spread through the country. The bourgeois liberals of the â€Å"Progressive Bloc† pleaded with Tsar Nicholas for reform trying to frighten him with revolution. That revolution broke into the February Revolution. Farmer Jones came home drunk one night and didn’t feed the animals making it worse than it already was as they were already starving. The animals got the image of the revolution from Old Major in their heads and attacked. They succeeded and won the battle against Mr. Jones as they drove him off the farm. The animals were now free to do what ever they wanted and needed to pick a leader. Out of all of the animals the pigs were considered to be the most brilliant. The two pigs that stood out the most were Napoleon and Snowball. Napoleon is not a good speaker, but he can assert himself. Snowball is a better speaker because he has a lot of ideas. These two pigs did not get along, much like Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. The Russian leaders fought for power and Stalin achieved sole power and Trotsky was exiled. Trotsky escaped Stalin’s dilemmas. Stalin hated his opponent so much that he caused his name to be written simply â€Å"Judas Trotsky.† Stalin stole many of Trotsky’s ideas and methods. Eventually Trotsky was expelled from Russia. In the same manner, Snowball and Napoleon always argued over ideas. Napoleon was already power hungry and had a plan to get rid of Snowball after the rebellion. In the middle of this all, Snowball was planning out to build a windmill for power to energize the farm. Napoleon then directed the dogs he raised since they were puppies on Snowball and chased him off the farm. Napoleon eliminated his only enemy and was free to control the farm.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Battle of Stalingrad- A Turning Point in the Second World War Essay

The battle of Stalingrad raged from August 1942 until the German surrender on 2 February 1943. Significantly, it was the first catastrophic defeat to befall the Wermacht Army who not only lost the battle but were severely humiliated. Indeed, the German Army never fully recovered from this blow to its morale. Upwards of 270,000 troops were killed and 91,000 prisoners were taken by the Red Army; included in this latter number were 23 German Generals. Conversely, morale in the Red Army soared as a consequence of Stalingrad giving the Russians increased strength and confidence. This battle represented a turning point in the Second World War. By successfully defending the city of Stalingrad the Soviet Union were able to deny Hitler his summer 1942 objective of paralysing the Soviet war effort by interrupting Russian oil supplies and seizing the Caucasus oil fields. This achievement was made possible through the stubborn and ferocious resistance of the Red Army within the confines of Stalingrad and the meticulously planned counteroffensive which led to the encirclement of the entire 6th army outside the city. In addition, compared with their German counterparts, the Red Army were highly organized, they had superior lines of communication and were better equipped. Stalingrad, reduced to a burning shell within days of the first German assault, was defended by the Soviet 62nd Army led by General Chuikov. Although German troops captured 90% of the city, Chuikov maintained his hold on a strip of land a mile long. Stalin had issued the order 'not a step backwards' therefore discipline was harsh and traitors were killed without sentiment. The Red Army were merciless, executing over 13,000 of their own men. It was however the counteroff... ...man POWs. Stalin personally took credit for the victory and military defeats prior to Stalingrad were depicted as part of his pre-arranged plan. Stalingrad was a turning point in the war but not a decisive one. Stalin believed victory placed him in a greater position of strength within the Grand Alliance. He was therefore more confident during 1943 in pushing negotiations for the opening of a second front. The Red Army fought with renewed vigor on the 'E' front and within 18 months had recovered all Russian territory taken by Germany. In 1943, the question was no longer 'if' Germany could be defeated but 'when'. However, Stalingrad alone did not turn the tide of war in favor of the allies. The battle did play a vital role but other factors must be considered; American victories in the Pacific, allied landings in North Africa and the defeat of Rommel at el-Alamein.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott Essay -- Tennyson Lady Shalott essays

Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott What used to be a simple home is now a sacred sanctuary, a refuge from all the filth of the world, a place to trap and stifle beauty, adventure, and passion. What used to be a simple woman is now an angel, a pure and domestic celestial being. I live in an era where women are considered most beautiful when isolated, helpless, and even dead; where a lady with passion is scarier than a bitter hag; where feminine is now a synonym for pure, selfless, and submissive; where sexism has put on the fancy dress of romance. And Alfred, Lord Tennyson is a man of his era, grabbing romantic sexism by the hand and enchantingly twirling her around the dance floor. Tennyson’s poem The Lady of Shalott has created a great tension within me, within my mind and heart. He plays into the public’s hands, trapping a beauty in a high tower and keeping her there with the threat of a curse: There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colors gay. She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. She know not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, A little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. Not only is she trapped and isolated, but also this lady sits weaving, apparently cheerful and content. Protected, pure, even angelic she sings her melodies and weaves and weaves. A beautiful woman weaving in her faraway room, only seeing the world through shadows and reflections: Tennyson pitifully feeds off of stifling social expectations, weaved deep into our culture (with frail Snow White laying helplessly poisoned in a glass case and with dear Repunzel combing her long hair in a high fortress†¦in a land far, far away). In other words, at the beginning o... ... not trying to say anything as much as he is capturing the national mood and developing languages and images that haunt, move, and affect. At some point writers, readers, characters, and people must put aside their intentions and desires for social criticism and take part in the magic, even if it isn’t the wisest choice. I must refer one last time to my own writing as Jane brilliantly describes this unwise, tension-filled, passionate choice: I looked, and had an acute pleasure in looking—a precious yet poignant pleasure; pure gold, with a steely point of agony: a pleasure like what the thirst-perishing man might feel who knows the well to which he has crept is poisoned, yet stoops and drinks divine draughts nevertheless. (173) So sing on talented Tennyson. I’ll sway to the rhythm of your music. Bibbity, bobbity, boo. †¦and they lived happily ever after.