A Snow and ski forum. SkiBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » SkiBanter forum » Skiing Newsgroups » Snowboarding
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #21  
Old January 15th 04, 03:29 PM
paul m
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired

interesting observation wc, i was noticing the same...
you have to remember, americans live in a simpler world, where everything is
black or white. and in a world like that, who needs sarcasm or satire?

the reality is a lot of us take ****ty jobs to be able to do what we love a
lot. for example, i live in salt lake city, which pays for my industry about 30
to 40% less than places like seattle, portland, or socal. but i'm stoked to
live here cuz the snow is incredible, and the resorts are close. and i'm one of
the lucky ones! i get to have a decent paying IT job and *still* snowboard 70+
days. others aren't so lucky... i know a lot of kickass riders and skiers that
are diggers, or wash dishes, or whatever to make ends meet and get a free pass.
in the author's case, she's a snowboard instructor so she can *snowboard* and
get paid for it. she makes fun of herself, and the idea in the very article
we're wasting a bunch of calories on ("...I am all that. I am a snowboard pro,
yo.").
being a ski school instructor is tough!
a lot of these kids are spoiled, and/or rich, and often they aren't used to
listening, or staying focused, or for that matter, being nice!! it takes
patience that i just don't have. so, i can understand her having some built up
animosity.

and part of having a ****ty job, for those of you that have forgotten, is to
bitch about it. yes, i think she went a *wee* bit overboard, and didn't really
balance the **** and sarcasm with *some* mention of how cool her job can be.
BUT, it was written in a certain character specific context that i understand.
if i were in her place, i'd prolly have a lot of funny biting comments about all
the obnoxious people i came across too.

and lets face it, there is nothing more obnoxious than someone that comes for a
holiday, can't ski/ride, crashes continually in high traffic parts of the
mountain they shouldn't be on, and bitches about all the snowboarders and
freestylers whizzing by. if i have to hear from some rich wannabe that
skis/rides 4 days a year how snowboarders are ruining the snow, i'm gonna burst.

now, before you castrate me for that, i welcome newbies and visitors to the
mountain. i really do. i always make it a habit to kick it with people on the
lift and suggest cool parts of the mountain or sights, or whatever. i want them
to come here and enjoy what i do... the beauty and fun of riding down snow! but
please don't bitch because you can't ride well, and you fall alot. just because
i jump, or ride fast past you doesn't induce immediate falling.

that last part was a lil bit off-topic, but it snuck out. sorry.
good turns people...
paul

WeatherCam wrote:

"Barney" wrote in message
...

"Baka Dasai" wrote in message
news:slrnc0cshp.72k.idontreadthis@yahoobb220004112 021.bbtec.net...
On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 11:11:09 -0500, Walt said (and I quote):


http://www.aspentimes.com/apps/pbcs..../COLUMN/312310
17

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/2754374/detail.html

I'm having trouble understanding other posters negative reaction to
the instructor's original article. It's a naive fantasy to expect
that everybody loves their job all the time, and that students are
always bundles of fun.

It's just an instructor having bitching about her students. Doesn't
everybody bitch about their jobs now and then?

I'm speaking as a parent who puts my child in ski school, and I'd
have no qualms about having her taught by the writer of the article.
She sounds like she's got a pretty healthy attitude if you ask me.


Yeah, I can't see what the fuss is all about. So she wrote a jokey

article,
and she sometimes doesn't like her job. And?



Interesting vibe coming out of these posts - it would seem, and again
difficult to judge because I'm only guessing from the various names /
organisations / sigs that there seems to be a definite split between those
that find it satire / amusing (me included) and those that don't - pretty
obvious so far - then attempt to apply some form of geographic demographics
to it and my conclusion, which is probably wrong - is that our N American
descendents do not find it any where near as amusing as non US citizens - is
that becasue it happened in the US or is it more......... we (non US) don't
take ourselves too seriously and as yet ( though it's coming) we're not to
dragged down by PC attitudes......oh well I won't get my VISA to the US
now.......

Any thoughts......

Regards
WC


Ads
  #22  
Old January 15th 04, 04:33 PM
mark
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired


"MoonMan"
Do you every watch "Satirical" Tv Programs or read satirical magazines?

just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's not funny and it didn't
seem very hostile to me, she was taking the micky out of herself as well

as
the pupils.

--
Chris *:-)

Downhill Good, Uphill BAD!

I don't watch much TV of any kind, although I do read satirical writing from
time to time (boring, aren't I?). As another poster suggested, it's entirely
possible that I, like a lot of Americans, just don't respond well to satire.
Maybe this is a flaw in our national character, maybe not.

I remember quite well from my ski instructor days that quite a few
ski/snowboard school students (and their parents) are almost as difficult to
deal with as the article showed them to be. At the same time, I remember a
few too many self-centered, egotistical "instructors" whose attitudes were
pretty close to those portrayed in the article. Maybe that's why I had
trouble seeing a lot of humor in the article.
I still think that the writer would have found her students a lot easier to
deal with had she put a little effort into improving her teaching skills.
--
mark


  #23  
Old January 15th 04, 04:49 PM
Mary Malmros
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired

"WeatherCam" writes:

"Barney" wrote in message
...

"Baka Dasai" wrote in message
news:slrnc0cshp.72k.idontreadthis@yahoobb220004112 021.bbtec.net...
On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 11:11:09 -0500, Walt said (and I quote):


http://www.aspentimes.com/apps/pbcs..../COLUMN/312310
17

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/2754374/detail.html

I'm having trouble understanding other posters negative reaction to
the instructor's original article. It's a naive fantasy to expect
that everybody loves their job all the time, and that students are
always bundles of fun.

It's just an instructor having bitching about her students. Doesn't
everybody bitch about their jobs now and then?

I'm speaking as a parent who puts my child in ski school, and I'd
have no qualms about having her taught by the writer of the article.
She sounds like she's got a pretty healthy attitude if you ask me.


Yeah, I can't see what the fuss is all about. So she wrote a jokey

article,
and she sometimes doesn't like her job. And?



Interesting vibe coming out of these posts - it would seem, and again
difficult to judge because I'm only guessing from the various names /
organisations / sigs that there seems to be a definite split between those
that find it satire / amusing (me included) and those that don't - pretty
obvious so far - then attempt to apply some form of geographic demographics
to it and my conclusion, which is probably wrong - is that our N American
descendents do not find it any where near as amusing as non US citizens - is
that becasue it happened in the US or is it more......... we (non US) don't
take ourselves too seriously and as yet ( though it's coming) we're not to
dragged down by PC attitudes......oh well I won't get my VISA to the US
now.......

Any thoughts......


After having plowed through the above hundred-word paragraph without
a perceptible sentence break, yes, I have a few. The woman in
question exercised some pretty poor judgment in publishing that
article, or at least, in not doing so very, veeery anonymously. The
irate response was to be expected (and no, it's not a North American
thing; spend some more time on different continents before you start
making such generalizations).

Was the response justified? Well, no, not IMO. But a lot of
parents who bring their kids to ski school have some skewed views
about several things. First off, they're almost all affluent
people, and a great many of them have never had a job that paid
little more than minimum wage -- or if they did, it was as a
trust-fund-kid lark, without having to actually meet a full set of
grownup financial obligations on that kind of paycheck. Nor do they
have any idea that minimum wage plus a bit is what that instructor
is being paid. They believe that the majority of the x dollars that
they pay for their child's lesson ends up in the instructor's
pocket, times six or however many kids are in a class. You expect a
great deal of someone who's getting paid that much.

Also, these parents are often not all that used to spending a great
deal of time with their kids. They shuffle them off to school,
daycare, activities, whatever, and they may not have the most
accurate view of their children's character and abilities. It's
pretty common for a child to end up in ski school as a result of a
parents' resolve to break their child of the sugar-and-video habit
and get him/her into a healthy activity...all well and good, but
when the horrible reality sets in, the parents are off in the hot
tub. It's the instructor who has to deal with the tantrums, the "I
don't want to/I don't have to/I want to have a snack and watch a
video," to take this child who has never been made to really work at
anything in his/her whole life and change that. A kid like that is
not going to be rippin' up the hill by the end of the day; in fact,
if you can get a kid like that to spend a reasonable part of the day
outside giving it an honest try, you have accomplished a miracle.
But the parents come back at the end of the day, and while many of
them understand full well the struggle, a few are quite irate that a
lifetime's worth of bad habits weren't turned around in a single
afternoon.

It is, in part, a management and marketing issue. Parents need to
have their expectations set appropriately when bringing kids to ski
school, and that's not the job of the instructor. Nor is it the
instructor's job to tell parents when their kid is really not ready
for ski school -- not without some backing from management. If
management and marketing are not doing their job properly, an
instructor's life is going to be nonstop hell, because parents will
expect things that you simply can't deliver. And even when things
are managed well, you will have some spectacularly bad days at
work. But when you talk publically about your spectacularly bad days
at work, you make your workplace look bad, and you shouldn't be too
surprised if your employer does something about it. Don't believe
me? Try it sometime. Post about your horrible day at work, the
idiot customers and your ******* of a boss, publically identify
yourself and your employer, and do so in a forum where it's bound to
get back to the people at work. Then sit back and watch what
happens.

IOW, her feelings were justified, and I don't think she should "just
quit if she doesn't like it" (a simplistic solution typically
offered by well-off people who've never had to resort to it
themselves). But she is guilty of some spectacularly bad judgment.

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.
  #24  
Old January 15th 04, 04:54 PM
WeatherCam
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired

I don't watch much TV of any kind, although I do read satirical writing
from
time to time (boring, aren't I?). As another poster suggested, it's

entirely
possible that I, like a lot of Americans, just don't respond well to

satire.
Maybe this is a flaw in our national character, maybe not.



Don't worry Mark, you've probably got some German ancestry in your blood -
all Europeans know they have no sense of humour too.....and this is probably
the route of the problem for many US citizens......

Regards
WC

Great, Great Grandmother was a "Buerkler" in fact, had to change the name in
1914 as they were getting harassed by the Brits in London - so ****e where
does that put me!!!


  #25  
Old January 15th 04, 05:11 PM
WeatherCam
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired


"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
(and no, it's not a North American
thing; spend some more time on different continents before you start
making such generalizations).


Of course, sincere apologies by bracketing Canadians in the North American
generalisation - you do have very fine comedians, and the superb Montreal
commedy festival - it's just that I forgot about you out there in the big
wide world....easily done....

REgards
WC


  #26  
Old January 15th 04, 05:12 PM
MoonMan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired


"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
"WeatherCam" writes:

"Barney" wrote in message
...

"Baka Dasai" wrote in message
news:slrnc0cshp.72k.idontreadthis@yahoobb220004112 021.bbtec.net...
On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 11:11:09 -0500, Walt said (and I quote):



http://www.aspentimes.com/apps/pbcs..../COLUMN/312310
17

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/2754374/detail.html

I'm having trouble understanding other posters negative reaction to
the instructor's original article. It's a naive fantasy to expect
that everybody loves their job all the time, and that students are
always bundles of fun.

It's just an instructor having bitching about her students. Doesn't
everybody bitch about their jobs now and then?

I'm speaking as a parent who puts my child in ski school, and I'd
have no qualms about having her taught by the writer of the article.
She sounds like she's got a pretty healthy attitude if you ask me.

Yeah, I can't see what the fuss is all about. So she wrote a jokey

article,
and she sometimes doesn't like her job. And?



Interesting vibe coming out of these posts - it would seem, and again
difficult to judge because I'm only guessing from the various names /
organisations / sigs that there seems to be a definite split between

those
that find it satire / amusing (me included) and those that don't -

pretty
obvious so far - then attempt to apply some form of geographic

demographics
to it and my conclusion, which is probably wrong - is that our N

American
descendents do not find it any where near as amusing as non US

citizens - is
that becasue it happened in the US or is it more......... we (non US)

don't
take ourselves too seriously and as yet ( though it's coming) we're not

to
dragged down by PC attitudes......oh well I won't get my VISA to the US
now.......

Any thoughts......


After having plowed through the above hundred-word paragraph without
a perceptible sentence break, yes, I have a few. The woman in
question exercised some pretty poor judgment in publishing that
article, or at least, in not doing so very, veeery anonymously. The
irate response was to be expected (and no, it's not a North American
thing; spend some more time on different continents before you start
making such generalizations).


From a UK perspective, there would be a public (well press) outcry about her
dismissal. and she would quite likely win her job back and compensation at
an industrial tribunal. then again that sort of article is quite common even
in the most highbrow of newspapers here so I supose it's mainly what you are
used to.


--
Chris *:-)

Downhill Good, Uphill BAD!

www.suffolkvikings.org.uk


  #27  
Old January 15th 04, 05:26 PM
John Sindell
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired

In rec.skiing.snowboard Mary Malmros wrote:
(and no, it's not a North American
thing; spend some more time on different continents before you start
making such generalizations).

But a lot of
parents who bring their kids to ski school have some skewed views
about several things. First off, they're almost all affluent
people... snip


Perhaps you should follow your own advise.

--
John Q. Sindell Jr.

http://jqs.pikapp.net
  #28  
Old January 15th 04, 06:13 PM
Dick Durbin
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired

"pigo" wrote in message ...
People here (US) are so politically correct it makes me sick. They're for
free speech as long as it agrees with them. They're against pollution unless
it's from a baby. They want to conserve recources as long as it's not a
recource they need or want.


I don't recall anyone saying she should not have the right to say what
she did. She should have realized that dissing her employer's
customers the way she did could have negative consequences. The
company is in business to make money. It hired her to help make money
for the investors. She did something that could reflect badly on the
company and may reduce revenues. Why should they continue to pay her?

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Grown-ups where you are responsible
for your actions.

Dick Durbin
  #29  
Old January 15th 04, 06:19 PM
Mary Malmros
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired

"WeatherCam" writes:

"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
(and no, it's not a North American
thing; spend some more time on different continents before you start
making such generalizations).


Of course, sincere apologies by bracketing Canadians in the North American
generalisation - you do have very fine comedians,


I'm not Canadian. But thanks for playing.

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.
  #30  
Old January 15th 04, 06:21 PM
Mary Malmros
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Self-described Snowboard Whore Fired

John Sindell writes:

In rec.skiing.snowboard Mary Malmros wrote:
(and no, it's not a North American
thing; spend some more time on different continents before you start
making such generalizations).

But a lot of
parents who bring their kids to ski school have some skewed views
about several things. First off, they're almost all affluent
people... snip


Perhaps you should follow your own advise.


And what exactly was I advising? Avoiding generalizations about the
population of entire continents, was it? I don't see the connection
between that and making an observation about "a lot of parents who
bring their kids to ski school."

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Snowboard Forums ? Rob Snowboarding 2 December 31st 03 03:58 PM
broken snowboard sporty.zimowe Snowboarding 2 December 3rd 03 04:43 PM
Snowboard Manufacturers and Retail Outlets BarB Snowboarding 2 November 25th 03 02:07 AM
FS: Oxbow snowboard Jacket brand new Craig Corbett Snowboarding 1 October 6th 03 04:08 PM
Is this snowboard too long for me? Gary H Snowboarding 5 September 25th 03 02:44 PM


All times are GMT. The time now is 01:09 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SkiBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.