Why You Should Submit That Application

Today’s post will probably have you scratching your head and wondering if I’ve ever been assessed for ADHD. Full disclosure: I have, and the results were inconclusive. I take that to mean that I do not have ADHD, I just act like I do. Today’s topics, in reverse order: Prop 35, Waffle House, why you should take submit/take a risk.

Why You Should Submit Your Writing or Take Other Small Risks

One of the biggest challenges as a writer is deciding whether and when you should start sharing your work with a larger audience than the one that has chosen to read what you’ve written. If you are reading this, it’s because you’ve chosen to read my writing. Aside from this newsletter, I have a lot of other writing projects - some might say too many - that are not yet out in the world. Some may never be. But I do want much of what I’ve written to be seen by other people, and I would like a little validation that my stories are worth reading.

In that vein, a writing colleague (dare I say friend?) recently encouraged me to start submitting stories to other literary outlets. I felt strangely shy about doing that, mostly because I really don’t like rejection, but I decided that I needed to treat rejection as a natural step in the writing process rather than a personal attack on my writing skills and took the plunge.

Recently I had an experience from the other side of the submitting game that I want to share. I was asked to judge a writing competition for a law journal that typically features articles relevant to my field. I was honored to be asked. There were two prizes: a student prize and non-student prize. After the deadline, the organizer sent me the packet of submissions. Only one paper had been submitted for the student prize; the question was whether it was high enough quality to warrant the prize. It absolutely was and probably would have won against a larger field of submissions. In fact, if we could give the student both prizes, I might have.

There were four submissions for the non-student prize. Only one of them relied on data to support the writer’s analysis. Of the other three, one was extremely vibes-based (“I think these two things are similar, even though I have no evidence”), one was anecdotal (“I think this is true because I experienced it”), and one was comparative (“I am going to mash together these two disparate areas and see if they fit together”). Because this was an academic law journal, we went with the data driven paper because it was based on quantifiable facts that the writer had done a decent job of presenting. The paper will need some firm editing, but it was the right choice. It wasn’t per se the best; it was just the best from among the available options.

And this is the important thing to remember about every risk in life. It isn’t you versus the known universe of other possible candidates. It’s you against whoever else applied. This goes for writing competitions, jobs, colleges, and dating apps. Not only does this encourage me to apply for more writing opportunities (fellowships, contests, whatever), it’s also a helpful reminder when I am rejected. I may not have won this time around because the second coming of Toni Morrison also applied, but she won’t apply next year, so I probably should. And so should you.

Waffle House

A few weeks ago, John Oliver did a piece about how Waffle House is a literal “light in the storm” because their operations are designed to stay open for as long as possible during disasters. FEMA and meteorologists track their Waffle House Index to determine storm severity and emergency response opportunities in the area. (It’s an interesting episode, and you should watch it if you can.)

Aside from the reporting, John Oliver expressed shock at the Waffle House order system. Waffle House staff do not have written orders and they don’t use a computer to enter orders either. They use an elaborate system of food placement on the plate to indicate what the order is. You can watch it here:

@magick_the_hippie| Repost | Everyone Tag @Waffle House I know you miss me now 😆 Good Ol Days ❤️ @Last Week Tonight Used this clip in Season 11 Ep 26 ❤️ #wafflehouse #linecook #lastweektonight #johnoliver #hbo #max #ohio #waffle #waffles #secret #secretrecipe

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John Oliver thought this was crazy, but I don’t. I think it makes so much sense and solves so many problems. Waffle House doesn’t need to have a complicated, expensive, hackable, hard-to-maintain computer system that depends on all kinds of factors that complicate running a streamlined business. If you use a computer system, employees need to be trained, equipment needs to be maintained, software has to be upgraded. Computers need clean, dry, cool places to run. They invite theft. It’s kind of amazing that more small business have not eschewed computer systems for their ordering, especially restaurants whose inventories are perishable.

The plate system also makes more sense than handwritten orders. Handwritten orders depend on good handwriting, strong decoding skills, shared language, and literacy. Having a symbols-based order system means that your staff do not need to be able to read to work there. According to the Department of Education, approximately 22% of American adults read below Level 1. Here’s a graphic to illustrate literacy rates. I’m not even going to pick on certain states; 28% of California adults have low literacy. And even people with higher literacy have difficulty decoding handwriting, especially now that it isn’t taught. Because, you know, computers.

Prop 35

You’re probably sick to death of me talking about the interminable ballot measures on the CA ballot. I wanted to give a final update on Prop 35, the one about permanent Medi-Cal funding. In the end, I decided to vote No because I don’t really like ballot box budgeting. The state legislature needs the flexibility that this prop prevents.

Everyone, have a great week. Please do not forget to vote, and if you have any nervous energy you need to expend in advance of the election, I recommend you visit Mobilize to find some phone banks, text banks, or canvassing opportunities to get out the vote.