Oh boy, here we go

My computer is playing up at the moment, so I'm trying to use my DSi to manage the task of posting here. Holy heck, it's much harder to do this when you're navigating semi-functional webpages on a teeny tiny screen! Let's just see how this works, hey?

...Well, that seemed to work without too much trouble - though, I doubt I'll be trading in my keyboard any time soon.

So! It's nearly That Time Of Year Again™, and everyone is frantically rushing around the shopping centres trying to prove how much they love each other via expensive and impractical gifts! Gotta love it.

I've been clever this year, and did most of the gift-shopping back as far as June (when I still had my last job). Yet, I still went through the whole "maybe I should get so-and-so a little more"...

I'll be working again on eXcemas Day this year, but only for about three hours... which means that I'll then have to do the big run-around afterwards in order to catch up with everybody. (I'll be driving for at least 3 hours afterwards!)

-----------

I got to socialise a few times this month, and all from the comfort of my home. I had a couple of friends come down for a visit - I 've known them both for at least ten years, from when we all used to study at TAFE. Unfortunately our jobs and locations keep us from seeing each other as much as we would want to nowadays, so whenever we get to meet up is a pretty big deal.

Anyways, once they'd arrived, and we did the basic catxh-up, we fell back into old habits... which were basically sitting around, talking trash and generally doing a lot of not much at all.
Oh, we did get in a few games of Beatles Rock Band too.

-----------

I have more to say but the browser won't let me enter any more characters into this text-box - damn you, Opera! - so I'll continue in the next post.

End of Part One!

So Long, November

And so, another month runs away from us all. Only 25 days to Christmas, and 31 before the year leaves us for good. It really does feel like time moves so much faster now!

So, here's a quick-ish recap of what I got up to in the last month:

---

I slowly got the hang of my new job. The manager said that I was the fastest person they'd ever seen at adapting to the registers, which made them happy (they are essentially the same register system that they had at the last place). However, I only wish I could have translated that same success to the rest of the tasklist; it's been so damn difficult trying to work out which knowledge I need to keep, and which skills I'm better off forgetting. The good news is that I have been improving and getting more stuff done over the month, which makes me happy.

---

I went and visited my friend in Warragul twice - the first time I had to leave early so I could cover someone's "sickie" at short notice. (That in itself was kinda weird, since I was still in the middle of training at that stage and felt totally out of my depth, but it was only a short shift and I managed fine.)
...The second visit to my friends was much better. We spent most of the day fooling around like friends do; we had a go at making soft drinks with a Soda Stream system, which I'd never seen in action and was very curious (long story short - it's just fizzed up water with sugary syrup added to it).
Then we tried to figure out what kind of animal was making these small holes in the backyard:

We assumed that they were yabbies (small freshwater crayfish-type animals) except that these holes were too far away from a watersource for that to make sense; didn't stop my friend from trying to coax one out by ramming a big stick into the hole.

Needless to say, it didn't really work. Maybe they were yabbies on holiday, or something. Or maybe there are bits of crustacean mashed two-foot deep into the ground... who can tell?

---

I was supposed to go up and visit my Dad in Queensland near the end of the month, but had to defer it until January thanks to the new job - which I was happy with. I figured I'd have to put it off even before I'd had the job interview! (I hated putting my Dad out like that, but he didn't seem to mind so much; so long as I still go up and visit him... eventually.)

---

I'm still having some issues adjusting to the new hours I'm keeping. I'm meant to be working from 11pm to 7am, four days a week. That basically means I sleep through the better part of the day - unless something wakes me up, like the bloody phone ringing >:{ - so when my "weekend" comes up, I have the option of either keeping my nighttime schedule, or trying to break the cycle and get at least something out of the natural daytime. So far, I've been keeping the latter, mostly to fulfill the obligations I've been making to others, but also because it's damn annoying only doing stuff at night!
Also, I've been noticing a residual tiredness, which has been affecting my sense of judgement slightly.

---

I also caught up with my friends from the days of the mural project. It had been several months since we'd last gathered, and I wasn't sure how much longer I would be available now that I had a job again - as it turned out, no major problem on my part, but have you ever tried to synchronise the schedules of more than three people?
Anyway, I'd been meaning to ask the art director of the project if I could buy one of her works of art - specifically one of her ink-brush pictures, of which she'd done an entire series a few years ago - and so, after perusing her collection, she surprised me by giving me this:

I naturally went straight to the picture framing place and had it professionally mounted. It's now on the wall above my computer desk, and I'm looking at it right now!

---

I went to the Gem, Bottle and Collectibles Expo last week. It's basically a big room full of people showing off their wares, which happen to be items of a sought-after nature (gemstones, collectible books, vintage bottles, stamps, swapcards, etc.) and for some reason I felt it necessary to spend quite a bit of money in there. I came out with some old Coca-Cola glass bottles, of the kind I barely even remember (this is going back about thirty years, before soft drinks started being sold in plastic bottles); my uncle collects Coca-Cola stuff, so he will be very pleased when he gets those.
The rest of the stuff I got was basically ROCKS, but at least they were attractive rocks. If I'd been interested at the time, I could have asked what some of them were, but that takes away from the challenge of discovery, of course! What's the value of saying "Here's a nice piece of chalcopyrite" without having the research to back it up, anyway?

---

And... now it's December, and I turned 32 this year. When did this happen?!? insert sound of premature mid-life crisis
But seriously, though... this year my birthday was good.
I went out for lunch with my family, and then I helped my Ma out with her Christmas shopping, which basically involved following her around and acting as a sounding board for gift ideas - "Do you think your sister would like these pearl earrings? How about we get her a hot tub?" and so on and no, those were not actual ideas.
It was rather weird, though. While we were out and about, we kept running into people who remembered me from my previous job, and they were so friendly and asked me how I was doing [fine, thanks] and if I'd scored a new job yet [yes, actually] and about how those dreadful [people from country I won't name] weren't running the old shops very well, and so on...
And my Ma thought it was so funny that it kept happening wherever we went, it became a kind of running joke, to the point where people were just saying "Oh, hello Ben!" to me on the street!
Who knows, maybe it was some Birthday Mojo thing... Anyway, once we'd got back off the street and away from my audience, we cleaned up and went out for dinner at a bistro-type place, which was also nice. And then, we went home and had cake! And then tried our hands at Beatles RockBand! (once we figured out how to make it work in two-player, that is)
And then... well, I came online and posted about it all here! And so... goodnight!

Tics Tacs - the Inverse of Kit Kats

...okay, sorry for the folks who thought my last post was TL and so DR. Basically, here's a quick catch up over what happened since September:

• I lost my job
• I caught chicken pox
• I then caught a cold, or flu, or some upper respiratory infection
• thus I spent half of September sick
• and I missed out on the company break-up because I was too contagious to go
  
• (oh, and my sister caught the pox as well, and we both almost died apparently)
• my savings started running out at the end of the month
• so I signed up for unemployment benefits
• two days later, my tax refund arrived, which meant I didn't need to go on the Dole (d'oh!)
• I applied for a few jobs, and had my name put down for something else via my employment agency contact
• two weeks into October, I scored an interview at another service station
• I was the best candidate, and I got the job
• so now, I am employed again! :)
  

Weird how it works out like that, isn't it?
So now, I at least have an income again (yay!), but now I have to start worrying about keeping schedules and missing out on important social gatherings all over again (boo).
Still, it beats being on the Dole.

---

I got an email from my old American penpal the other week; she has a much more exciting blog than mine, not neglected or anything, but she is apparently a semi-regular reader of this one. She asked me if I were still posting anything on this thing, and I explained that I didn't have a lot to share about myself these days...

And then I remembered something; back when we first started writing to each other (which was probably waaay back in '98 or so), we used to send each other different types of confectionery. She would send me delicious Hershey's chocolate bars and Jelly Belly beans straight from the United States, and I would represent humble Australia by sending her yummy Tim Tams and Peppermint Aero bars.

Sadly, this Candy Exchange was thwarted by the change in political temperature brought about by September 11 - the US Government shortly implemented new controls on importing food into the USA, such that every food item brought into the country (whether it be a shipment of beef, a crate of oranges, or just a big crazy-looking box full of sugary crap) required lengthy documentation for each unique item, detailing where each product was made, who made it, how it was packaged, what it was made of, how many were in each pack, how tasty it was, how many the postal inspectors were allowed to sample, etc. etc. etc.

I am sorry to say that, because of my enthusiasm for the project, the registration process was ridiculously daunting, and so I failed to honour my part of the exchange.
...but I DID at least buy the candy, so that counts for something, right?

Anyway, while I was cleaning up my room the other day, I found the parcel I'd assembled a couple of years ago, and it still had some confectionery items in it! Now, I know what you're thinking, and yes, a lot of the stuff in the box was spoiled; chocolate does not keep for much longer than two years (trust me on this - ick).

Before I throw all of this stuff out, I'd like to show you some of the interesting stuff we got to sample over the past couple of years, because it's kinda interesting, you know?

First up, the Kit Kat Chunky bars. In Australia, Nestlé has the license to make Kit Kats, and, along with the regular 4-finger packs, they make these over-sized single-finger bars. As many popular snacks do these days, they sometimes come in seasonal "fun" flavours; though they weren't all available at the same time, I managed to assemble a collection of them (click to see close-up):
Left side: Honeycomb; the regular Chunky; Caramel; Cookies and Cream (these last three are the only ones still currently available).
Right Side: Chocolate Strawberry (special fundraising edition for the Pink Ribbon breast cancer charity, it has a pink strawberry wafer inside); Cookie Dough; Chocolate Overload (every element of the bar is chocolate flavoured!); Toffee Crisp.
Not Pictured: Mint Crisp; Peanut Butter (which I thought tasted foul, nothing like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups); and White Chocolate (because they never released that in a Chunky bar!)
If you're at all interested in seeing some other strangely-flavoured Kit Kat bars, click here and here for the Japanese take on them!

And continuing the colourful candy theme, we move on to Tic Tacs:

Top row: Peppermint; Spearmint; Orange; Extra Strong Mint; Apple Sour.
Bottom Row: Peppermint (in a special box for the Pink Ribbon charity); Passionfruit Mint; Lemon Mint; Mango; Tropical Acerola (which I imagine is some kind of berry?).
The first three flavours were pretty much the only variety of Tic Tac available here until about ten years ago; then they released the Extra Strong, and then the Passionfruit flavoured one (which is... an acquired taste). After that they seemed to go a bit mad with flavours. The most recent variety is Citrus Twist, which isn't included here.

I was fascinated to learn that Tic Tacs had vastly different flavours in the States; thanks to my penpal, I got to sample some Wintergreen flavored Tacs, which I was also surprised to learn were actually green - none of the above flavours have any colouring, aside from the actual box. I understand there is also a Cinnamon flavoured Tic Tac?

Learning about this sort of thing is very interesting, I think - things as simple as the food we eat can be vastly different when you travel even a short distance (like interstate), so I can only guess what someone else in another country would think of our old familiar "lollies"!

Okay, enough of the candy comparison! If anyone out there wants to find out more about the local confec., send me a comment, and I'll see what I can put up! For further recommended reading, have a look at the Candy Blog for more sweeties from around the world!

Back soon! :D
(so, how's that Loretta?)

The Past Two Weeks (approximately)

Tuesday 24th August
Got called in to work at the local servo at the last minute. Normally Tuesday was my day off, but my Manager argued me around; he pointed out that it will probably be the last time it will happen before the big changeover to the new fuel company. (And I figured, yeah, why not?)

About an hour later, as I come into the shop, I notice a group of young men who were having a deep conversation with the Manager. I step behind the counter and ask the Assistant Manager if he knew what was going on, and he replies, "It looks like they're the new commission agents for this site, and we've just been told we are no longer required at the end of the month."

REALLY.

Oh-kay, I kinda figured that this might have happened, but I was still trying to work out why they would want to remove everybody from the site, if there's only four or five of them to run it?
The mood among the general day staff (most of whom were also there at the time; the rest found out later) was pretty weird - relieved to find out the truth about what was going to happen with their jobs, but unhappy that it took until the very last week of employment to find out.

The Manager went out to an urgent team-leader meeting at head office. When he came back, it transpired that just about every site in the company had been bought out by commission agents (and was in the same boat as us)... except for one other site - and it happened to be the other one I was working at. "So hey, you're the lucky one, you still managed to keep your job, at least..."

Wednesday 25th August
Went to my regular shift at the above-mentioned site. My co-worker there asked me if I'd heard the news, and I told him what I'd seen the day before. He tells me that the managers are trying to chase up the paperwork so that we can all re-apply for our positions once we change over. I go through my shift, letting my regular customers know that at least some of us will still be working here next month.

That night, I call in to the other servo to see how the night staff have taken the news. They seem well resigned to it - but they also tell me that our company made headline news on the local TV bulletin. I'd missed the 7pm broadcast, but I was still able to catch the Midnight re-screening. The story detailed how the staff had all lost their jobs in the space of a week, and brought up some archival footage of the CEO explaining how "jobs were no more secure than if he hadn't made the sale". They also had a voiceover of a 'disgruntled employee' who had called in to explain their side of the issue, and about how most of the relieved staff had mortgages and families to look after. They disguised his voice, but I still recognised him.

Thursday 26th August
Went back to work at what was apparently my only job now. During the night, and on the way there, I tried to work out how my new situation was going to work - since I only worked at that site 15 hours a week, it was not going to justify the expense of travel there and back, yet having a bit of work going would make my Unemployment benefits go a bit further. (I'd be entitled to Centrelink benefits because I would be getting less than 30 hours a week.)

When I got to work, however, my co-worker told me that they'd "hit a boulder". Apparently, while we'd been assured that all our places would be kept here, the incoming owners had either changed their minds or been misunderstood - because only the full-timers would be kept, not the part-timers. And... guess which one I was?

So...

Friday 27th August
I still went about my business as I normally did; after all, I was still getting paid by the same company (for now), and I still had a good amount of work to do (as per normal). It just felt bad that I had to go back on what I'd told everyone on Wednesday.

As it turned out, a lot of people were very understanding. There were several customers who were previously happy account-holders, but, when they tried to apply for the account card offered by the new company:

• were rejected, because the new system wouldn't allow applicants who didn't have an ABN code (in other words, wanted to use the account for personal reasons, instead of as a business or company)
• baulked when they saw how high the monthly rate was (something like $12 a month, compared to the $2 we used to charge)
• weren't sure if they would be able to freely use it all over the country, like they could with the previous cards (the new company is sort of up-and-coming, whereas we used to be like a licensee of a much bigger brand name)

And a lot of others were just unhappy with the direction the way the company was going in general. There was also a surprising amount of, um, racism... which, intentional or not, made me feel a bit uncomfortable (especially since some of the staff were staying on).

I usually left that site a bit later than most, because I like to make sure I catch everything I missed before I go. I somehow managed to leave the site about an hour and a half after normal closing time, yet I think I left the air-con going all weekend by mistake...

Saturday 28th August
Came in to a workplace that had left us with almost nothing interesting to do, aside from cook food (what's left of it), try to rearrange the shelf stock so it's neat (what's left of it), top-up the drinks (what's left of them) and serve customers (what's left of them).

You see, prior to last Tuesday's bombshell, the staff had kept the incoming orders low, so that when the big interchange happened, the shop-wide stocktake that would then take place would be a lot easier. This meant that, by the last weekend, the entire back-storeroom was EMPTY. It gave me a complete shock when I walked out there the first time, because for the six years I've been working there, I've NEVER seen the storeroom that bare before!

So yeah. Apart from the usual site-checks and things, it was business as normal.
...Oh, and I also heard from a lot of customers that they "weren't coming back to this shop next week" either. I suspected a few of the staff members had been telling the customers a few home truths too... ;)

Sunday 29th August
Last day at work, hooray! I wasn't hugely unhappy, because I knew that the Manager had organised a big event for the Last Tuesday (a big yummy BBQ to which everyone was invited!) and so I'd get to say a proper goodbye to everybody before we broke up.

It was strangely awesome just doing your job, not having to worry about doing it all over again tomorrow, and the next... knowing that you can just get stuff done, even though in a few days' time it wouldn't matter for shit. I didn't care what my co-worker did - I just left him to watch the front if he wanted to, and to cover the register if he felt like a break.

It felt great.

I ate dinner - and then I didn't feel so great.
Not totally AWFUL, mind - just like, you know, when you feel you've eaten a bit too much, or ate something that didn't agree with you.

Nah, I felt fine.

Feeling AWFUL... no, that came later.

Monday 30th August
First day as a FREE MAN, man! I'd planned to use today as a chance to say goodbye to the other folks I'd worked with at the other sites, drop off a few uniforms and keys and things, take some photos, share some memories, and generally tie things off until Tuesday, but...

Wait, what? Why do I still feel funny?

Why the hell did I sleep through three alarm clocks?!

WHY THE HELL IS IT 3PM?!?

I get up, take some paracetamol, and feel a bit better. Take a shower. Gather up the stuff I needed to take, open the mailbox, and discover -
Hey! Phone bill, I'll pay that too.
Hey! Letter from Real Estate, we're getting a house inspection in HOW MANY DAYS?!?
Okay, have to go into Estate Agent's and re-negotiate an extension on the inspection date too. (sigh)

I eventually manage to catch up with some of the folks I worked with, and drop off all of the old work-clothes I had, not that anyone else will be needing those for a while (heh-heh). I manage to pay the phone bill with interest, and get the necessary extension time to the inspection.

I am relieved...

I also discovered that the EFTPOS system went down during the day, and a lot of the sites were forced to use those old-fashioned paper vouchers (the triplicate card-swipey type)... and of course, all OUR sites were just the same (to add insult to injury, I guess). I feel bad for all the staff who couldn't care any less about explaining to customers, over and over again, "Um, they system's gone down, I'm gonna have to get some details... Oh, wait, I'm gonna have to get an authorisation code..."

Tuesday 31st August
Tuesday morning, I had trouble getting out of bed.

Around noon, I had slightly less trouble getting out of bed.

Around 2pm, I managed to get out of bed - but only just, and with pharmaceutical help.

Something was WRONG...

[psst. there's more to come, but I ran outta room - stay tuned]

Sorry, You're Wrong!

I've been thinking about my job a lot lately.
Mostly because, though work is remarkably thin across the ground (thanks to the GFC, cheap overseas labour, competition in the field, etc.), I'm really not sure if I'm suited for the task.

I've always considered myself to be reasonably good at my job - retail work is hard, but it's not that hard, after all - but recent events have made me wonder if I'm actually suited to it. I've always been super nice to the customers, I don't steal cash or stock, I show up to all of my shifts... eventually... (blush)

My major concern here is where my loyalties lie. In the past, I've been inclined to give the customers the benefit of the doubt, but is that necessarily the best way to go about my job? The motto "The Customer is Always Right" may have held sway once upon a time, but there are some patrons who take that idea to an extreme, and assume that because you wear a polo shirt with your name on it, you become their serf, or at the very least someone of lower standing.
Should I really be giving people like this the advantage? I really ought to be giving my employers support, since they are the ones who hired me and are giving me paid employment! The fact that people are giving us money for a service doesn't mean we should be letting them get away with arrogance.

Yeah, okay. Not everyone I serve is nasty - in fact the vast majority of people I serve are civil if not kind- and I'm sure there are a few customers who could raise valid complains against me (hey, after five years I doubt anyone would have a perfect track record).

Anyway, I make this post to share another link I found: (The Customer Is) Not Always Right - which is a blog dedicated to the admittedly bizarre part of standing behind a counter... namely, the freaking weird folks you get every now and then. I could add a few interesting stories, like for instance:

• the customer who refused to buy an ice cream because I'd have to touch it to do the sale (mind you, the ice cream was fully wrapped and otherwise untouched by human hands)
• the woman who called me up to make a complaint about an incident that had occurred at a totally unrelated shop
• the two stray dogs who came and hung around the petrol pumps, and sat underneath the customers' cars
• the regular customer who stopped coming because I didn't give him a piece of battered fish
  
• the person who moved their hired truck across the forecourt because they didn't know that Distillate and Diesel were the same fuel, and wound up running into another bowser
• the patron who asked us if we stocked a brand of catfood - while we were dealing with a fire on the forecourt (just don't ask...)

There are many more, but I'm sure anyone with a few years' retail experience could share a few golden stories about the weird people they get to meet.

I could use this post to complain about the busy two weeks I have coming up... but I won't because that's just petty and immature. (And no, that statement doesn't count as a complaint. IT DOESN'T.)

So Much For The Weekend

NB. I changed the blog colour scheme again, in case people found the bright letters on dark a bit too hard to read. Is this current setup any better? Please let me know!

Well, what a weird week it's been. Actually, I refer to the past seven days, not the Sunday-to-Saturday.
I started off having three days off in a row, and by the end of it, I only had ONE. =(

I worked Saturday morning, and after only getting about two hours of sleep and working for about nine hours, I was pretty much ready for bed - unfortunately, Saturday night was also the night we had set aside for our second Games Night for the year.
Setting up the LAN was a little more complicated than last time, since we now had four PCs to hook up. One of the guests forgot to bring his network cable, which would have left him a spectator to the proceedings; luckily, we had one to spare, so he wasn't left on the sidelines.

Note to self: look for other games suitable for multi-player than Quake III. Shooting up my friends with heavy artillery is not something that makes me comfortable, even if they are disguised as pop-culture icons and running around a giant house!

I managed to stay up until 5am Sunday morning, when I suddenly remembered that I was incredibly effing tired. I shuffled off to bed and slept for about twelve hours. It is remarkably poor form to sleep through the productive hours of a day, even if it is the weekend. "Never mind," I thought, "I still have Monday and Tuesday free."

Now hang on, it gets better.

I got a phonecall at about 12pm Monday, asking me if so-and-so had got in touch with me about working that afternoon... did they happen to call? No? Would I be able to do it? Especially since absolutely no-one else can do it without somehow violating the law of physics (you know, the one that prevents an object from being in two places at once)? You will? Cool! Be here by 3.30!

"Never mind," I thought, "I still have Tuesday free."

I spent most of Monday night playing Ico, but I started getting sleepy around 4am. It was a reasonably warm night, so I tried to sleep with the fan going on beside me. Sadly, the only air conditioner in this house is in the living room, so I have to make do.
At around 4.30, the fan suddenly turned off. I tried to switch on the light to see what had happened - and when that didn't come on either, I realised that we'd had a blackout! (cue scrabbling around my room with my mobile phone, trying to find a reliable torch)

As it turned out, the power failure only lasted an hour, but it blacked out half the town; a couple of other nearby cities also lost partial power. I spoke to someone about it the next day, who said that it was strange driving through brightly-lit streets, only to enter darkness one street over.

Unfortunately, one of the places affected by the power loss was the shop where I work, and clearly the register did not handle the power failure very well.
The next day, when my co-worker came in to set everything up for the morning, he discovered that the register was completely non-cooperative. Apparently, the register's circuits must have either received a shock or not liked the forced shutdown, since nothing he did could coax life back into the thing. After several calls to the tech support, and in between attempts to actually serve people fuel and whatnot, he and the head office staff managed to scrabble together a workable system; basically, everything had to be done manually, just like in the old days before computers were thrown into the mix.

The problem with doing things manually is that they take a lot longer, and it is far easier to make a mistake. Unfortunately, customers have become used to receiving prompt and efficient service, and as such are no longer content to stand around and wait for paperwork to get filled out. So, in order to not inconvenience the customers too much, it would be necessary to have all the staff on site as possible, to make sure evrything went smoothly.

You know where I'm going with this. Phonecall at 9am: "Ben, you're not going to believe this... can you please come in?"

Of course, I couldn't leave people in the lurch; it would have been far worse NOT to go in. It's just annoying that, of the supposed "three-day weekend" that I had lined up, the only actual day I had free I practically slept through (though I did get to play a bunch of cool games with friends, so it wasn't a total washout).

Here's hoping next week works out a little better!

I need to get out more...

Hey constant readers! yeah, both of you

I finally went and collected the painting I bought last month, after about a week of missing contacts and plain forgetfulness. I'll post an image of the artwork once I get permission from the artist - copyright and IP protection, and all that. ;)

While I was there paying for art, we got to talking about how things have been for ourselves. My artist friend has been very busy trying to scratch together enough works of art for her art course and for another showing she's been signed up for... It's so damn hard to come up with good ideas for art, and doubly so when your under the pressure of a deadline. I wish her all the best.

But it also made me realise why I've been so unhappy with my output lately. I have been working quite a bit for the past few months, as my family and friends are sure to point out if you ask them. The problem is, work is ALL that I've been doing.

If you were to ask me how I've been, or what I've been doing, I'd probably say, "Oh, I've been busy working". But if you asked me what else I'd been up to, I'd probably draw a blank. And that is not good.

I think the problem lies in that I can only really focus on one particular project at a time. Multitasking seems totally beyond my powers. I can do it, but only if the tasks are related and I'm not literally doing them at the same time.
When I first started my job in retail, I was also doing a course of WFTD painting murals (a slightly different arrangement from the one I've been talking about earlier in the blog). And what I discovered was that it was a freaking nightmare.

Imagine doing something like painting, which is like meditation in a way - you are focused solely on the task before you, in a quiet and distraction-free environment (or at least it ought to be). Now, imagine that you have to step out of this environment, and suddenly find yourself in a chaotic, multi-directional place like, say, behind the register of a service station. At any given moment, you could find yourself worrying about four or five different tasks, and each of them could be interrupted by something else.

It's a bit like participating in a triathlon, or that sport where you have to do some cross-country skiing and then try to shoot at a target with a rifle. Oh, that's a biathlon, apparently. I was close.

After a few months of trying to keep all the threads together (and learn a new job in the process), I eventually decided to stick with just the retail thing since it was the part that was actually paying me. I hated giving up on the art stuff, but at that point my job was too important to screw up, since I hated being unemployed.
Since then, I've done some painting stuff in the meantime, but only the parts for the mural that I've already described in this blog and that was only incidental; I originally only went to the studio for a social visit and got roped in to helping out - damn, she's persuasive. Aside from that, not much else has happened with my art.

And that's the problem.
By investing my time mostly with work, I've been neglecting all the other stuff that makes live endurable. I've become slack in my free time, and instead of visiting friends, doing fun things and generally having a life, I spend my days off mucking around at home, and sleeping.

I think I need to alter my priorities a little. Just a bit.

Of course, the other thing is that my employers have recently altered my working situation. I am now working a guaranteed five days a week, ensuring I have 30~ hours spread over two sites, with casual rates. Everyone who's heard about this seems to be happy for me. But. I'm not entirely sure I think this is good news.

I don't know why I'm reluctant about this, since it's mostly work that I'm familiar with, and there are a lot of people who would really enjoy being in a position like mine. I know for sure that the job environment is not going to be any better anywhere else.

I think my problem is that I'm treating this job as an end in itself, when it really ought to be the means. After all, who of us can say that their job is their entire life and say that they are happy with it?
I need to make sure that I'm doing all of this for a reason, and not just a self-contained one (ie. I'm doing it because they need me to). I need to remember that all this money I'm earning doesn't just have to go to the bills and food and stuff. I need to remember that I do have other skills than knowing how to give correct change, and which brand of beans is canned or frozen.

Put simply, I need to get out more.

At any rate, this is something I need to work on (no pun intended). I need to organise something with my friends before the end of the month, so that ought to be a good starting point.

Stay tuned.

Neb's Sole Post For June

I have no real idea why I haven't posted anything for this month. It's not as if I didn't do anything exciting! Just being lazy I suppose.

The family went to our cousin's engagement party last week. The theme for the event was "Op Shop" clothing, the idea being that you had to come in the least appropriate outfit conceivable.

You can only imagine what some of the other guests wore.

As for me, I went dressed in a fetching white jacket and pants, which looked like they had been in storage since 1976 - lovely white mottled Crimplene or some synthetic material - good lord, that means they're probably going to look like that forever.
It was teamed up with a summer-type shirt and a lurid tie. We actually found uglier ties in a department store, and those were brand new. They also cost $10, which was a bit much for a tie I'd likely never wear again.

I also went to Lakes Entrance with my Ma, which is a two-hour drive from our place. Ma was driving, but was reluctant to make the trip on her own ever since she buggered up her arms - that was why I was going with her, to drive the car in case she got too tired.
Fortunately, we stopped the car a few times on the way up and back, so she was able to make it on her own after all. Well done, Ma!

We had to go to Lakes to collect Nanna for the previously mentioned engagement. The weather up there was surprisingly good, after driving through fog and clouds on the way up. It made me wish we were staying for a lot longer than two or three hours, especially since I hadn't been up to her place for at least five years. Meh, we didn't even get time to hit the Esplanade, but oh well, I'll get to go up there some other time.

Work is still work. I am still getting on average five days a week, so at least I get two days free to do other stuff. Illness is running through the staff - again! - and some of the staff who were assigned to relieve other people had to go home sick as well...

There's been lots of talk about the dreaded Swine Influenza, and a lot of people are worried about getting it and spreading it around. Our state has been marked as one of the worst hit areas outside of the Americas - in fact they think it might have been well-established here before they even raised the alarm in Mexico!

The only thing is, so far it's turned out to be no worse than the regular 'flu that runs around the country every year. There have only been two deaths attributed to the virus so far in Victoria; most other people who have contracted the virus have only suffered from mild symptoms and recovered. In other words, it hasn't been the End Of The World scenario that the doomsayers would have expected.

Also... Liquid Desire has opened up at the National Gallery of Victoria, and I will do what I can to go and see some Surrealist art before it finishes up in October sometime. I want to go up with my friends, whom I haven't been with for a long time I haven't seen them at all this year! My bad and a trip to the city would be an excellent way of catching up.

That's all. See you in July!

Mmm... Candy...

Only popping in to say two things:

1. My job will improve once we get the new register system up and running properly. OHMYGOD we had some really big problems this week -
   
   but, this blog is not the place for those sorts of things. I have to draw the line somewhere, after all...
   
   
2. I am really liking this: CandyBlog , though I can't for the life of me imagine why... drooool
   I really shouldn't be looking at confectionery I'll probably never be able to try, but it's just soooo gooood... And you can tell that the owner of the blog really enjoys their work.
   

That's all. Oh, and hello to my Ma if she's still tuning in. I haven't forgotten when your Birthday is, either. Grin.

Work? Don't Talk To Me About Work...

Ahhhh.... Work is crazy, as per usual.
We still haven't upgraded our system yet at my usual haunt, but we've had a few problems of our own over the past week. Unfortunately, I don't feel like talking about them right now. Let's just say: someone quit over the weekend; half the staff are too ill to come in; and it will all be better soon - I hope!

I received my $900 Stimulus Payment last week, so I figured I should spend some of it.
I went and bought three new games for the collection:

• Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
  
• Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - which is awesome! I spent three hours playing it yesterday, and though the new control system takes some adjustment, it is mega fun!
• Super Paper Mario (Wii)
  

I am trying to think of other ideas for using this money productively. I really don't fancy having nothing to show for this but a handful of games and toys and other rubbish!

Oh, and I forgot to mention earlier that I now also have Wario: Master of Disguise (DS), which is typical Wario treasure-grabbing fare. Lotsa fun!

...and Hello!

An explanation for the previous post is overdue...
and here it is! Along with some extra news:

1. For those of you who did not get the hidden message in the last post, Please Read It Again. Admittedly, I posted it a few days late. But no, I have not decided to suddenly get a life and quit blogging. Yep, there will be more mundane postings to come!
   
2. Things are crazy at work at the moment. We are in the process of changing our cash registers to a new touch-screen interface. So far, only one site has made the upgrade, and they have been having LOADS of issues with it. Like f'rinstance, when they installed the central control unit - the first time they tried it out, it worked perfectly. But when they tried to install it permanently, it threw sparks, and caused about 80% of the petrol pumps to blow their circuits! YIKES.
3. The other thing that worries me about the new system is that, although I am experienced enough to know how this one will work (because it's very similar to the old system we had when I started working here) I am worried that all of the new staff who have arrived in the meantime will look at this thing and PANIC because they have no idea what to do! I can see myself becoming very busy over the next few months...
4. Well, I guess I know that I'm wanted. I'm a wanted man! Look out!
5. Other stuff. We had another earth tremor about a week after the last one I mentioned, but I was outside sitting on the ground at the time and didn't feel a thing. Apparently it affected the same area it struck last time, and of course everyone in the City was freaked out by it, as if they were the only ones who felt it, but never mind.
6. Last week, I was serving a customer when I heard this strange creaking sound coming from one of the aisles. I look up, and sure enough, tiles were starting to bulge up and crack out of the floor! O_O Very strange stuff. It took about an hour for the damage to stop, and at the end, we had about a 2 metre long run of cracked and shattered tiles. Why did they do this? I'm not 100% sure, but I think it may have been all of the rain we've suddenly been getting. (Most of the town is built on clay, and it's been a long dry summer. A day's worth of rain ought to make all the clay swell up, and then, things start moving about...)
7. Easter is coming, and I've done all the shopping I need to do. Now I just have to visit everyone and give out all the gifts and things I've been holding on to for too long... I still have Chrsitmas gifts to give out, for crying out loud! slack slack slack
8. Aaaand... Krys and Andrew are in a play together, involving nudity. Well, imitation nudity - I've been told that the "nude" cast will actually be wearing modesty garments and those flesh-coloured lycra things that give the appearance of nudeness, so it won't be a total shock when I invite my polite 50-ish friend to come along with us to see it. :D
   

That's about it. And no, I haven't got a Twitter account yet. ;P

Sleepy Limbo

...caught in the space between...

Right now I am in between two opening shifts at work. I seem to be getting a lot of opening shifts recently... and they are a lot harder than I thought they would be.
I'm still working under the limit of 30hrs a week (it's a regulatory thing - I guess if we worked any more hours it would cost our employers too much). But... I'm really NOT a morning person, and my sleeping pattern is totally mucked up because of this.

The past two open shifts have left me very tired. I have noticed that I become very strange when I am on the edge of sleep - I mean, stranger than normal. Yesterday about an hour before the end of my shift I started giggling, and I couldn't stop. It was really embarrassing. I had to pretend I had a bad cough, and kept covering up my mouth.

After work I went straight to bed. Then I got woken up about three times by phone calls (which hung up before I got to the phone)... which only made me even drowsier. It seems that if my sleep is interrupted by something it adds an extra hour to my slumber. Which is why I don't like sleeping during the day...

Also, I'm just starting to get achey in my joints, because I suspect I'm getting that damn virus thing that my Ma has right now.
I am not happy! I know that I'm going to get really sick because my lifestyle has been erratic of late (not just work related stuff, btw, but it hasn't helped). What's more, I have three days off this week, and I know that I'll probably spend most of those in bed. Out of force, not choice...

Must... get... sleep...

Work...?

Uuuaahhh...

Just when I thought I was out of the frying pan...

Work has come back to annoy me again. We're really struggling with the thinly-spread staff at the moment. Long story short, I will be working a lot of hours after this Wednesday.

I hope we get some new staff soon, because I (and most of the others at work) really do NOT want to keep doing this.

Also, we have a house inspection this week. Must tidy, tidy, tidy...
It's probably way overdue. There were some pretty big dust-bunnies under my desk! Eyeww.

...work (end)

Yay!
I'm finished with work - for the time being!
I have two days off now!!!
PHEW!

(seriously, some of my regular customers were starting to look at me funny.)

...work, con't.

More work to come... mutter grumble...

Last weekend was, um, fiascotastic. Turns out I had to work a bit longer than expected, but it also meant that I got to leave work and go straight to sleep, instead of having to go home and then back.
I did an eight hour close on Saturday, and an eight hour open on Sunday... with ten minutes sleep under my belt. And I was getting really worried because I noticed myself making really stupid little mistakes, like not giving customers the right change (though luckily it only happened twice, and I picked it up both times).
I was waiting for a co-worker to show up to relieve me, but she got delayed at her other job... which meant that she was working a FULL day as opposed to my eight hours. So I make no complaints, even though I'm still working nearly a solid two weeks.

When I eventually got home on Sunday, I slept for eighteen hours.
I woke up just in time to make my next shift... o_o

In other important news: Hawthorn won! Family happy! PS. Must call Dad.

Also: Noticed that Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood is now available... Want, but not just yet (will wait until next payday). Hopefully my next post will tell you all about it.
And I still can't find a copy of The World Ends With You anywhere around here, though I keep looking...

...work, garbage, holes in my teeth

Ugh. Busy couple of weeks coming up.

I have volunteered some time over at one of the other service stations for the next couple of weeks, which equals twenty-five hours over five days.
Okay in itself, except that I also have to fill in another sixteen hours over the weekends at my usual haunt. No weekends off. I get no days off until mid-October.
mutter grumble...

I bought myself another CD today, Garbage's self-titled album. I bought their Absolute Garbage compilation a few months ago, and so now I wanna get the back catalogue. (Well, I've run out of Beatles' albums to collect, so I gotta switch to something else.)

Also, I re-jiggered the colour scheme of the blog because my Ma thought it was all purpley, when it was supposed to be blue... not that it really mattered to anyone but me.

Oh, and the dentist found a hole in the wisdom tooth I mentioned in the last entry, but he couldn't do anything because his sterilising unit was out of action. He put in a temporary filling in the meantime, but it fell out three days later... and I won't be able to see him again until October sometime. mutter grumble...

That's all for now...

When Workers Attack

Hey Folks!
I haven't updated this thing for a little while, so I decided to post loadsa stuff all at once. I just hope the net connection won't drag while I'm doing all of this.

First cab off the rank:
Click this link to watch a movie of someone having a REALLY bad day at work.

http://view.break.com/513310
Watch more free videos

PS. I would have just embedded the file on this page but it didn't fit properly in the display. Right-click on the link and select "Open In New Window (or Tab)" to see it direct at the site, without moving away from this blog.