Feeling so much better now. Nothing like a lunch hour to clear your head. It also helps that I bought a bag of Crispy Minis and am almost done devouring them all 40 mins later. Not that I'm not still bored of course, I'm just not "so bored I'm going to die and no one in this office will save me because they're all under the thumb of the Lord of Accounting and thus live in and with boredom and this is all part of the master plan, isn't it?"
There is hope for distraction! Hooray!
For people who want to learn, grow, get inspired, and stay silly.
So this is the way it's going to be?
I realized something about my dreaded 12:30pm imposed lunch time. Actually, technically a good friend of mine told me and I realized nothing on my own. Obviously the reason my boss told me (that it's less confusing for clients if I take my lunch at 12:30) is bull. Clients will call when they call and will use the automated voice thing if they get it and no one cares. Here's what it's really about (or so it seems): he couldn't keep track of how much break time I was using. I was going for my lunch at random times between 12:30-1:30, depending basically what I felt like doing and if I had to meet up with anyone. So it was much harder for him to know if I was taking long lunches. Now he can track me. Track me like a vampire tracks Bella Swan. *mutters something incoherent but disgruntled*
Etiquette Shmettiquette
Oh clothing, dear clothing... When I started working office jobs my mom took me shopping for appropriate clothing, and since my office is somewhat casual this wasn't the horrendous tailored jackets and colour coordinated slacks one might imagine, but consisted of a few collared shirts, some cute sweaters, and dressy t-shirts (that cover the tummy and cleavage areas of course), and of course some dress pants and skirts. I was instructed to never have bare legs in the office (tights/stockings under skirts or pants worn at all times), never wear jeans, keep my shoulders covered (no tank tops? Boo!), the crappy dirty old canvas flats I love so dearly, and to not at any time wear one of my home-made t-shirts. It was also suggested that part of office attire means wearing more make up than I tend to (meaning more than cover up under my eyes).
The make-up aside, I more or less abided by these rules except for one. As soon as the weather warmed up I shunned tights. I'm considering shunning sleeves too. It's just so warm and unnecessary! It's not like I'm planning on wearing a camisole to work, but come on, a wide-strapped tank top? Who cares? Maybe I'll just change my role here to be the "funky and slightly off-beat" receptionist.
At least I'm not wearing fuzzy yellow track pants, which is more than I can say for one of my coworkers. (HOW the Lord of Accounting let that slip I'll never know!)
The make-up aside, I more or less abided by these rules except for one. As soon as the weather warmed up I shunned tights. I'm considering shunning sleeves too. It's just so warm and unnecessary! It's not like I'm planning on wearing a camisole to work, but come on, a wide-strapped tank top? Who cares? Maybe I'll just change my role here to be the "funky and slightly off-beat" receptionist.
At least I'm not wearing fuzzy yellow track pants, which is more than I can say for one of my coworkers. (HOW the Lord of Accounting let that slip I'll never know!)
Disasters averted
There's nothing more satisfying than a mistake averted. Like when you realize you missed something on a document that you left on your boss' desk to sign and then manage to print off a corrected copy and put it on their desk before they notice. Or, as happened to me just now, when it looks as though you made a huge mistake in invoicing a client, and your boss is the one who brings it up to you (no chance of fixing it without them knowing!) but then you find their file and along with it the evidence that there was no mistake and everything is according to procedure. PHEW! Relief. Satisfaction.
(A swift change in tone)
Hey, that last one was my 100th post! Would you look at that. If this was a network television show or real publication of any kind some sort of celebration would surely follow.
Once more and I'll burst!
Okay, I've tried THREE TIMES to post on here now and it keeps on not letting me! Come on, Blogger, what's your issue??? I'm not even going to try to make this a post of substance now, I am THAT frustrated! I'm not even going to loosely summarize what I tried to say before! Take THAT.
A new way to avoid work!
I've thought of a new way to not work without looking like you're slacking! I've actually been instinctively doing this for a while and just realized it. Eating. It's brilliant. If you've got nothing to do and you're slacking off, when someone is about to walk behind you and you have to go to your emergency "could be legitimate work" screen (you know, the spreadsheet, the Word document, whatever else it is that you do), instead of staring blank-eyed at the screen until they walk away, try a new approach: lean back casually and take a bite of your banana, a sip of your tea, or start snacking on chips.
Think about it! It's not slacking at all to take a moment's break from your work to nurse your hot tea in the morning or have a quick snack. You can lean back and enjoy your life, if only for a moment with this subversive act of resistance! Plus, it's way more interesting than pretending to figure out the numbers on a spreadsheet. It's also tastier.
Think about it! It's not slacking at all to take a moment's break from your work to nurse your hot tea in the morning or have a quick snack. You can lean back and enjoy your life, if only for a moment with this subversive act of resistance! Plus, it's way more interesting than pretending to figure out the numbers on a spreadsheet. It's also tastier.
She's back.
After a sudden onset of bussing-to-work-on-Monday-morning-I-swear-I-was-actually-sick-and-not-prolonging-the-weekend illness that has been remedied with hours of daytime sleep, internet episodes of Sex and the City and Friends, yoga, and (once the stomach settled) cookie dough, I am back! Being just sick enough to miss work but not so sick I was miserable in bed was lovely yesterday, and I highly recommend everyone tries it once and a while.
In my absence there has been one major change to the office: air conditioning! Well, sort of. We have one of those stand-alone air conditioners now and it kind of work except that it's not very strong and is in the corner of the office where the photocopier and fax machine lie (which will make the use of those machines slightly more bearable). But still, cool air is sort of being pumped into our stuffy office, and this is a nice thing.
In my absence there has been one major change to the office: air conditioning! Well, sort of. We have one of those stand-alone air conditioners now and it kind of work except that it's not very strong and is in the corner of the office where the photocopier and fax machine lie (which will make the use of those machines slightly more bearable). But still, cool air is sort of being pumped into our stuffy office, and this is a nice thing.
Look at me, Ma, no wires!
Okay, so I've joined the marketing team for this new thing called Energi to Go, which is a battery-powered charger for your iPod that you can take with you wherever you go. If this is not self-explanatory, the idea is that when your battery dies on your commute or what-have-you, you won't be stuck with the horrors of no music/videos until you get home. You just flip on the Energi to Go and your iPod charges while it plays. Technology at its finest.
I just got mine in the mail. Actually, it got couriered to my office which made me feel really special because I never get anything couriered to me, let alone at the office. It came in this really big box too, which probably made me look very important (or wasteful of office space, but whatever).
First impressions: not very impressed with Energizer (makers of this product) for their packaging. The product's packaging is fine. It's a little box with barely any extraneous plastic used to hold the slightly-bigger-than-your-average-iPod-sized charger and batteries. But like I said, they sent it to me in this huge box. While there is the upside of looking impressive when I sign for it, it was so FREAKING wasteful. And why did they send it to me in a huge box? Because they gave me a ridiculous Energizer Bunny along with it. I seriously don't know what to do with this thing because I sure don't want it. They could have sent this thing in a shoebox for Pete's sake. I am rolling my eyes and wagging my finger at you, Energizer! I guess I'll wait and see how the product fares before final judgement, but so far, not so hot.
I just got mine in the mail. Actually, it got couriered to my office which made me feel really special because I never get anything couriered to me, let alone at the office. It came in this really big box too, which probably made me look very important (or wasteful of office space, but whatever).
First impressions: not very impressed with Energizer (makers of this product) for their packaging. The product's packaging is fine. It's a little box with barely any extraneous plastic used to hold the slightly-bigger-than-your-average-iPod-sized charger and batteries. But like I said, they sent it to me in this huge box. While there is the upside of looking impressive when I sign for it, it was so FREAKING wasteful. And why did they send it to me in a huge box? Because they gave me a ridiculous Energizer Bunny along with it. I seriously don't know what to do with this thing because I sure don't want it. They could have sent this thing in a shoebox for Pete's sake. I am rolling my eyes and wagging my finger at you, Energizer! I guess I'll wait and see how the product fares before final judgement, but so far, not so hot.
I just can't let it go.
Still annoyed.
It's not helping my state of annoyment that my current task is to enter the bank statements for my boss' other very profitable company. So I get to see another way he's just pulling in the cash, all while paying me a not-good wage and controlling when I take my lunch.
What-ever.
It's not helping my state of annoyment that my current task is to enter the bank statements for my boss' other very profitable company. So I get to see another way he's just pulling in the cash, all while paying me a not-good wage and controlling when I take my lunch.
What-ever.
*grumble*
Just got back from break. Still annoyed. Stupid forced break times and stupid crowds on stupid Granville Island where I went to get greasy fries with which to drown my annoyed-ness and then got more annoyed because of the crowds and pigeons.
Break this!
Well, the Lord of Accounting has struck again. I'm peeved. One of the tiny bits of control I had over my life here at work is no longer. My boss told me that I always have to take my lunch at 12:30pm from now on. Boo! Why? Apparently he thinks it will be better for when clients call (because I'm sure it's very difficult for them to have to listen to the automated voice-thingy to get to his desk phone than to have me do it for them). I know this isn't necessarily a huge deal, and I am reacting far more negatively to it than maybe I should, but still, what the EF? Who really cares when I take my lunch? I just really liked taking my lunch later in the day. It was better. The afternoon went faster and I was getting to make a choice.
Stupid Lord of Accounting. Yes, you have won this one. My spirit has been crushed--but just a smidge. But I will find a way to get you back... Somehow!
Stupid Lord of Accounting. Yes, you have won this one. My spirit has been crushed--but just a smidge. But I will find a way to get you back... Somehow!
My desk is nobodies desk but mine, you can touch your desk and I will touch mine!
Am I wrong in thinking that in an office your desk is your little domain? It's like your mini-home, right? It's personal property? You wouldn't just go rummaging around in someone's desk, just like you wouldn't rummage around their bedroom (unless of course you were looking for something that you were really sure was there and you put everything back so that they couldn't tell what you were doing), right? I understand that the reception desk is mildly less private than everyone else's desk, being that things are kept here that aren't kept elsewhere (stamps, scissors, the PENS EVERYONE STEALS)... But is it too much to ask that you put things back the way you found them? For example:
Stamps. We get them on those rolls of 50 and I am a little anal retentive and don't like having big loose rolls of stamps in my drawer. So I keep the little sticker thingy that the roll comes with and I use it. Proper use involves pulling the loose end of the roll until it's tight, wrapping the remnant around and affixing the sticker, possibly ripping off excess paper. Improper use involves not using the sticker at all or affixing it without tightening anything so it's still loose and useless! Come ON people!
Pens. We've all hear about the pens. They get stolen. I get angry.
Elastics. All the extra elastics from holding together files, etc., end up on my desk eventually. I put them in a drawer and keep them in a somewhat organized ball so they don't spill all over everything. When you take an elastic, is it really necessary to rip them all apart? Can't you just take one and leave the rest? Do you need therapy for your destructive tendencies?
My freaking STRAW. I feel like this has gone too far, because this is MY straw, not the company's straw. You see, I drink a Coke Zero (et al.) pretty much every day in warm weather. I need the caffeine and the bubbles make me feel like I can get through the day. However, to keep at least one part of my body (my teeth) from getting discoloured and corroded from this practice, I use a straw. I keep it here, I rinse it after use and once and a while replace it. Neurotic, sure. Mine, YES. Why would someone steal/throw this away? I had it tucked in my drawer, not lying out like a piece of trash!
Geez.
Stamps. We get them on those rolls of 50 and I am a little anal retentive and don't like having big loose rolls of stamps in my drawer. So I keep the little sticker thingy that the roll comes with and I use it. Proper use involves pulling the loose end of the roll until it's tight, wrapping the remnant around and affixing the sticker, possibly ripping off excess paper. Improper use involves not using the sticker at all or affixing it without tightening anything so it's still loose and useless! Come ON people!
Pens. We've all hear about the pens. They get stolen. I get angry.
Elastics. All the extra elastics from holding together files, etc., end up on my desk eventually. I put them in a drawer and keep them in a somewhat organized ball so they don't spill all over everything. When you take an elastic, is it really necessary to rip them all apart? Can't you just take one and leave the rest? Do you need therapy for your destructive tendencies?
My freaking STRAW. I feel like this has gone too far, because this is MY straw, not the company's straw. You see, I drink a Coke Zero (et al.) pretty much every day in warm weather. I need the caffeine and the bubbles make me feel like I can get through the day. However, to keep at least one part of my body (my teeth) from getting discoloured and corroded from this practice, I use a straw. I keep it here, I rinse it after use and once and a while replace it. Neurotic, sure. Mine, YES. Why would someone steal/throw this away? I had it tucked in my drawer, not lying out like a piece of trash!
Geez.
Back troubles
I think my back has started to protest my job. It's been agitated for two days now. I've tried every kind of sitting: straight as a board, slouching forward, leaning back, trying to find that neutral space following the natural curve of the spine, propped up on my sit-bones, sitting cross-legged, legs crossed, legs extended, legs resting on top of something, ankles crossed under the chair... to no avail! The soreness reigns supreme.
Maybe this is the final weapon in the Lord of Accounting's attempts to subdue/break me into a submissive machine of boringness.
Maybe this is the final weapon in the Lord of Accounting's attempts to subdue/break me into a submissive machine of boringness.
Craigslisting
Lately I've taken to looking up stuff on Craigslist while at work. Mostly I look at the free stuff. It's really entertaining to see what kind of things people will try to use Craigslist to unload. Mostly it's couches and desks and TVs other such things that are old and crappy and not worth selling because back in the olden days you would have just dropped it in front of the nearest thrift store and walked away. But there are some fantastic gems and interesting contrasts between the stuff listed here.
For example:
-A set of martini glasses that you could probably get for a few dollars at Ikea
-Old, used plant pots
-A freaking FREE CAMPER!!! (I want this I really do, but there is the slight problem of having nothing to tow it with. But imagine owning a camper! How fun! How freeing! Drive wherever you want and sleep in parking lots!)
-Cloth diapers??? hmmmm... it says they're clean but I'm just mildly suspicious of this.
-a Brita container.
-and finally.... legal-sized file folders. Because it's just too hard to recycle those.
I just love that there are listings for items of true value like the camper (!!!), or the standard ugly-but-functional furniture that's always posted on here, next to a brita filter and file folders. I guess really it's somewhat kind-hearted of these people to want to give all this stuff away instead of disposing of it, and if someone actually does really need cloth diapers it would be nice for them to get them for free instead of buying new ones. Also, it is better for the environment. However, I just can't help but think that this is 90% laziness and that no one's going to drive out to Langley or Pitt Meadows for this stuff, free or not.
Except for the camper. That is awesome and I still want it.
For example:
-A set of martini glasses that you could probably get for a few dollars at Ikea
-Old, used plant pots
-A freaking FREE CAMPER!!! (I want this I really do, but there is the slight problem of having nothing to tow it with. But imagine owning a camper! How fun! How freeing! Drive wherever you want and sleep in parking lots!)
-Cloth diapers??? hmmmm... it says they're clean but I'm just mildly suspicious of this.
-a Brita container.
-and finally.... legal-sized file folders. Because it's just too hard to recycle those.
I just love that there are listings for items of true value like the camper (!!!), or the standard ugly-but-functional furniture that's always posted on here, next to a brita filter and file folders. I guess really it's somewhat kind-hearted of these people to want to give all this stuff away instead of disposing of it, and if someone actually does really need cloth diapers it would be nice for them to get them for free instead of buying new ones. Also, it is better for the environment. However, I just can't help but think that this is 90% laziness and that no one's going to drive out to Langley or Pitt Meadows for this stuff, free or not.
Except for the camper. That is awesome and I still want it.
Bring on the beasts!
I love this. I love it so much. I think all my friends know that I have a huge affinity for stories of the supernatural. I am hopelessly addicted to Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Golden Compass, and the Twilight Series, to name a few. So hopelessly addicted that when the 6th HP book came out and I was working as a housekeeper at UBC I actually would bring my book to work, put the "closed for cleaning" sign on the bathroom, and would sit in the bathroom almost all day to read it. So hopelessly addicted that I feel like I will burst with joy while literally going into convulsions of ecstacy sort of like a much less refined pageant contestant winning Miss America (the fanning of the hands, bouncing/shaking, wide open mouth and faint squeelish noises) when I discover a new installment/recreation of one of these items in book, television, or film form. I think I would pass out if I ever met anyone involved in the creation of these books/tv shows or the movies that are based on them in real life.
Anyways, that's all to say that I love the supernatural and I actually truly wish it were all real: vampires, werewolves, witches and wizards, and anything else you can dig up. Of course, I want it to be real so I can either go to a rad school and learn how to be an awesome witch and save the world, or become intrinsically tied to a benevolent form of one of these potentially monstrous creatures (and then save the world with them). All while getting involved in strange personal dramas, vendettas, and general tomfoolery of course. So local legends about mysterious creatures make me really happy. The Ogopogo is rad, I know someone who says he saw it and I believe him. So are the Loch Ness and the Sasquatch. Now, I have learned that in South Carolina there are Legends of the Lizard Man!
I am so happy.
Anyways, that's all to say that I love the supernatural and I actually truly wish it were all real: vampires, werewolves, witches and wizards, and anything else you can dig up. Of course, I want it to be real so I can either go to a rad school and learn how to be an awesome witch and save the world, or become intrinsically tied to a benevolent form of one of these potentially monstrous creatures (and then save the world with them). All while getting involved in strange personal dramas, vendettas, and general tomfoolery of course. So local legends about mysterious creatures make me really happy. The Ogopogo is rad, I know someone who says he saw it and I believe him. So are the Loch Ness and the Sasquatch. Now, I have learned that in South Carolina there are Legends of the Lizard Man!
I am so happy.
I live to eat.
Lately I have taken to endlessly snacking at my desk. The current snack of choice is Wheat Thins, but the range goes from Sour Cream & Onion Chips to Sour Cream & Onion Crispy Minis to canned peaches (out of the container) to yogurt (out of the container) to actual fresh fruit to Coke Zero (et al.) to cashews to my lunch even though its not lunchtime to essentially anything else I can get my hands on.
I think it's mostly boredom eating, and I try to convince myself I'm being healthy by grazing throughout the day instead of eating large meals with nothing in between even though I'm probably consuming a whole meal's worth of calories each time I open my bag and fish out a snack.
There is, however, a whole extra side to this snacking thing. I'm not sure where this comes from, but it feels like a bit of a rebellion. Like a bit of a "take that Lord of Accounting! I may be at work but that doesn't mean I can't eat chips and dip as if I'm at home watching Buffy with my roommate! See how I flaunt it? See how I force pleasure into my meaningless workday? See how I eat when it's not my lunch break? SEE HOW I'M STILL HUMAN NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY TO DESTROY ME?!???!!!"
(At this point I generally breathe and take a break from the hysteria to swallow my food and answer the phone.)
I think it's mostly boredom eating, and I try to convince myself I'm being healthy by grazing throughout the day instead of eating large meals with nothing in between even though I'm probably consuming a whole meal's worth of calories each time I open my bag and fish out a snack.
There is, however, a whole extra side to this snacking thing. I'm not sure where this comes from, but it feels like a bit of a rebellion. Like a bit of a "take that Lord of Accounting! I may be at work but that doesn't mean I can't eat chips and dip as if I'm at home watching Buffy with my roommate! See how I flaunt it? See how I force pleasure into my meaningless workday? See how I eat when it's not my lunch break? SEE HOW I'M STILL HUMAN NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY TO DESTROY ME?!???!!!"
(At this point I generally breathe and take a break from the hysteria to swallow my food and answer the phone.)
OT
On a note completely unbusiness-related (because obviously otherwise everything around here is all professional all the time), I can finally wear my cute new black flats without pain and blistering! Hooray!
Today is a good day.
Today is a good day.
A battle is won.
Score one for me vs. the Lord of Accounting! After I got back from my lunch I realized that I had woefully forgotten to purchase my daily Coke Zero/Diet Pepsi Max/Diet Pepsi/Diet Coke (any of the above in that order of preference), which I only needed to purchase in the first place because I had forgotten to bring from home my daily Coke Zero (et al.)
This would have ensued in such horrible things as me being overly warm, less refreshed, and possibly slightly headache-y from lack of caffeine. Not acceptable, but what's a girl to do when her break has been over for 10 minutes already? I'll tell you what she does: she says "EF YOU!" to the Lord of Accounting and goes and gets one anyways! (Note: "EF YOU!" roughly translates into actual English as saying to the boss "Do you mind if I run to the store and get a drink? I forgot to on my lunch?" Asking this fully takes advantage of the fact that my boss has recently realized that it's summer and the tax season is over and he is a BOSS and thus not subject to the Lord of Accounting's direct rule, and so he can loosen up a bit and wear black jeans with a belt and tucked in polo shirt to work [ha!] and take an extra long-long weekend.)
Phew.
Anyways, I got 10 extra minutes of fabulous joy by being outside in the sun, and I got my Coke Zero. Score one!
This would have ensued in such horrible things as me being overly warm, less refreshed, and possibly slightly headache-y from lack of caffeine. Not acceptable, but what's a girl to do when her break has been over for 10 minutes already? I'll tell you what she does: she says "EF YOU!" to the Lord of Accounting and goes and gets one anyways! (Note: "EF YOU!" roughly translates into actual English as saying to the boss "Do you mind if I run to the store and get a drink? I forgot to on my lunch?" Asking this fully takes advantage of the fact that my boss has recently realized that it's summer and the tax season is over and he is a BOSS and thus not subject to the Lord of Accounting's direct rule, and so he can loosen up a bit and wear black jeans with a belt and tucked in polo shirt to work [ha!] and take an extra long-long weekend.)
Phew.
Anyways, I got 10 extra minutes of fabulous joy by being outside in the sun, and I got my Coke Zero. Score one!
A note to clients who call in:
If I've asked you to repeat yourself on the phone, it's because I didn't hear you, not because I am a developmentally disabled child. You don't have to talk to me like one.
Happy Hump-Day
So far today:
I spilled half my bowl of cereal on my lap this morning and had to change (especially awesome because I was having one of those "stare at all my clothes and can't think of a single way to put them together" mornings, so this took a while).
My bus was late, ergo I was late.
My legs got soaking wet because someone decided it was a good idea to leave their sprinklers running even though its raining out and their sprinklers spray not only their grass but the entire sidewalk. There was no where to go but through it. Sort of like that song from elementary school, "can't go under it, can't go over it, can't go around it, have to go through it!" Remember?
Finally, I sit at my desk, different clothes than I intended to wear (which, I just noticed, don't match well), late (although I was still the first one here), wet-legged, and looking forward to a day of data entry.
I spilled half my bowl of cereal on my lap this morning and had to change (especially awesome because I was having one of those "stare at all my clothes and can't think of a single way to put them together" mornings, so this took a while).
My bus was late, ergo I was late.
My legs got soaking wet because someone decided it was a good idea to leave their sprinklers running even though its raining out and their sprinklers spray not only their grass but the entire sidewalk. There was no where to go but through it. Sort of like that song from elementary school, "can't go under it, can't go over it, can't go around it, have to go through it!" Remember?
Finally, I sit at my desk, different clothes than I intended to wear (which, I just noticed, don't match well), late (although I was still the first one here), wet-legged, and looking forward to a day of data entry.
Minute.
You know, it's kind of funny. While attempting to balance an account (which basically means going over spreadsheets of numbers and making sure they add up, all the fun of data-entry without the hassle of typing!) that's full of multi-thousand to multi-hundred thousand dollar purchases, a purchase for $2.94 just doesn't seem worth the bother. Why even record it? Don't you have at least a couple hundred dollars of error-margin with accounts this big? And if I think an amount of money is negligable, then it really must be, because I am a cheaperella, through and through.
Disastrous consequences approach
I get it. I get it now! Everyone else in the office is waiting to see what will crack the thin veneer of complacency I so desperately hold onto at this job by forcing me to use the crappiest pens in the office.
If this continues the result might be me explaining to a police officer in a desperate voice, "I was just trying to get my pen to work, I swear. Just trying... all I wanted was... penspensPENS!"
Ed. note: I found another good pen, for now disaster has been averted.
If this continues the result might be me explaining to a police officer in a desperate voice, "I was just trying to get my pen to work, I swear. Just trying... all I wanted was... penspensPENS!"
Ed. note: I found another good pen, for now disaster has been averted.
Phone Etiquette Follies
Today I decided to look up etiquette rules (after I decided to write to the government about stupid things they do), and I found something that must be a relic of an older generation... or something.
Okay, so the first few paragraphs (and by the by, I think this author needed to learn "writing etiquette", because there's this whole idea that every sentence does not require its own paragraph, especially when they are continuations of the same thought) are no big deal, be polite and courteous, don't think the person can see you making air quotes with your hands while you say something sarcastic, etc. I can get behind that. However, what's all this business about the horrors of voicemail and answering machines.
Is this 1993? I do remember, circa that time, people making a big deal about how impersonal it is to have to deal with these phone trees (and yes, that is what it's called when you call a company and have to press numbers to get options you want, so you can stop laughing at the silly word now), but haven't we gotten over that now? Haven't we accepted that companies get a lot of phone calls and it's way cheaper for them to just have a machine filter out useless enquiries? Haven't many of us gotten to the point where we'd rather deal with a machine than a human because humans are awkward?
Oh, wait, maybe that's the bad thing that everyone was worried about?
Telephone etiquette means being respectful to the person you are talking with, showing consideration for the other person's limitations, allowing that person time to speak, communicating clearly and much, much more.
Your voice must create a pleasant visual impression over the telephone. Good telephone etiquette is important because we cannot see the facial expressions and body language of the other person and they cannot see us.
We must compensate by choosing our words carefully and using much more tone inflection to convey our message than if we were face to face.
Yet billions of dollars are spent annually on the various means of excluding the human factor from communication.
We regularly have to deal with impersonal recorded messages on voice mail that direct us to select a number from a menu or to leave a recorded message.
This is becoming standard business practice and a challenge to good phone etiquette when we are finally able to talk to a person.
We also encounter an ever increasing number of answering machines. These are a useful adjunct to the telephone and used judiciously will enable us to augment our telephone manners.
We get desperate to talk to a real live person and when we do find a human being we are dismayed to find the person lacks the basics of good telephone manners.
Okay, so the first few paragraphs (and by the by, I think this author needed to learn "writing etiquette", because there's this whole idea that every sentence does not require its own paragraph, especially when they are continuations of the same thought) are no big deal, be polite and courteous, don't think the person can see you making air quotes with your hands while you say something sarcastic, etc. I can get behind that. However, what's all this business about the horrors of voicemail and answering machines.
Is this 1993? I do remember, circa that time, people making a big deal about how impersonal it is to have to deal with these phone trees (and yes, that is what it's called when you call a company and have to press numbers to get options you want, so you can stop laughing at the silly word now), but haven't we gotten over that now? Haven't we accepted that companies get a lot of phone calls and it's way cheaper for them to just have a machine filter out useless enquiries? Haven't many of us gotten to the point where we'd rather deal with a machine than a human because humans are awkward?
Oh, wait, maybe that's the bad thing that everyone was worried about?
Activist and Receptionist?
I've decided to start using some of my free time here at work to write letters (and by letters I mean email, because who writes letters anymore? .... *sigh* ... letters were nice, weren't they?) to government-types about issues. I figure, why not? I care about stuff and I've got loads of free time with a keyboard in front of me. Maybe this will be a better use of my time than reading about weird things that Koreans like that are only really weird because of our cultural perspective but still, weird right? Plus I keep getting invited to all these activist-y facebook groups, and I'm selective about which facebook groups I join because, you know, that says a lot about me as a person. But I still want Stephen Harper (and Gordo and everyone else) to stop being a-holes.
So I started today by writing to the senate and some Conservative people (got the email addresses from a facebook group, natch) about Bill C-10 which is stupid and I don't like it because it's basically censorship at the hands of the Conservatives. For a more concise and level-headed description, check here or here, or if you want to see it from another angle: try this.
Just so you know, I don't really want to pay for porn or excessive violence with my theoretical tax dollars (I haven't really paid taxes yet), however none of us have yet because there are already regulations in place by an independent third party (Telefilm) to prevent that undesirable event. Geez! Stop being an A-Hole and get it together Stepho!
So I started today by writing to the senate and some Conservative people (got the email addresses from a facebook group, natch) about Bill C-10 which is stupid and I don't like it because it's basically censorship at the hands of the Conservatives. For a more concise and level-headed description, check here or here, or if you want to see it from another angle: try this.
Just so you know, I don't really want to pay for porn or excessive violence with my theoretical tax dollars (I haven't really paid taxes yet), however none of us have yet because there are already regulations in place by an independent third party (Telefilm) to prevent that undesirable event. Geez! Stop being an A-Hole and get it together Stepho!
It's Fan Time
Hey we're getting a new fan! Theoretically one that doesn't sound like a helicopter. So exciting!
Top 5 Awesome Things About Data Entry
I've been doing a lot of data entry for the past two days. And by "a lot", I don't really mean that I've had a lot of data to enter, but that it's all of done when I'm actually working. There are a few things that get me excited in a very nerdy way while I'm doing this.
-When the amount I'm entering has consecutive numbering. Eg: $123.64 (note how if you inversed the last two numbers it would just be missing the 5 for perfectness)
-When the amount I'm entering is similar to the number of the cheque it came from. Eg: $204.94 from cheque number 204!!!! It's insane!
-When consecutive amounts I enter are eerily similar. Eg: $148.49 $184.78 $184.78 $184.78 $184.96 $185.33 $208.08 $408.48 (Do you see it?!? DO YOU SEE IT??!!!?)
-When (as sort of seen in two of the numbers above) consecutive amounts are mirror images of each other. Eg: $148.39 $184.78
Do I need to get out more?
The correct answer is: yes.
-When the amount I'm entering has consecutive numbering. Eg: $123.64 (note how if you inversed the last two numbers it would just be missing the 5 for perfectness)
-When the amount I'm entering is similar to the number of the cheque it came from. Eg: $204.94 from cheque number 204!!!! It's insane!
-When consecutive amounts I enter are eerily similar. Eg: $148.49 $184.78 $184.78 $184.78 $184.96 $185.33 $208.08 $408.48 (Do you see it?!? DO YOU SEE IT??!!!?)
-When (as sort of seen in two of the numbers above) consecutive amounts are mirror images of each other. Eg: $148.39 $184.78
Do I need to get out more?
The correct answer is: yes.
Tech Support
One of my coworkers is in my boss' office trying to teach him how to use a new program. Excellent. They could be in there for hours!
*PS: Just realized how this post could be misconstrued in a horrible, sexual misconduct kind of way. Oops.
*PS: Just realized how this post could be misconstrued in a horrible, sexual misconduct kind of way. Oops.
Blogger oddities
This has been kind of bugging me for a long time. Whenever I go to write a new post on here, the page to compose my post in doesn't fully load until I click in the text box. It's so weird. The toolbar (you know, with the bold, italics, add a link, etc. functions) is absent until the moment I click.
Maybe Blogger is trying to make me feel like I'm in control? Like it really is a completely user-activated tool? Maybe it's working? Maybe I'll soon get drunk off the modicum of power surrendered to me until I start showing up for work at erratic hours, wearing whatever clothes I darn-well want, and saying things like "Type that letter yourself, what's wrong, did you hurt your fingers as well as your foot?", or "I can't answer the phone right now, can't you see I'm Facebooking my cousin about the upcoming M-Dolla concert?" (This change, would of course be a stark contrast to my current "scuttle into work just barely on time, wearing the office-appropriate clothing my Mom bought me because I didn't have any of my own, spend half my day doing personal things online but quickly closing the window whenever someone walks by to avoid getting caught" attitude)
Maybe Blogger is trying to make me feel like I'm in control? Like it really is a completely user-activated tool? Maybe it's working? Maybe I'll soon get drunk off the modicum of power surrendered to me until I start showing up for work at erratic hours, wearing whatever clothes I darn-well want, and saying things like "Type that letter yourself, what's wrong, did you hurt your fingers as well as your foot?", or "I can't answer the phone right now, can't you see I'm Facebooking my cousin about the upcoming M-Dolla concert?" (This change, would of course be a stark contrast to my current "scuttle into work just barely on time, wearing the office-appropriate clothing my Mom bought me because I didn't have any of my own, spend half my day doing personal things online but quickly closing the window whenever someone walks by to avoid getting caught" attitude)
*read this whole blog in a whispered voice*
It's so quiet in here. So sooooooo quiet. My boss isn't in today, which I thought would be awesome and kind of is because I don't have to pretend to work quite as much, but seriously. It's really really really quiet. I think the silence is seeping into my brain. I think this is the kind of silence that drives people first to be overly irritable, and secondly to start twitchign, and thirdly to slowly poison their coworker's tea every time she goes to the bathroom. So now the real question is, do I bring my tea with me when I go to the bathroom?
Back to the grind
Now that the busy accounting season is over, I'm back to data entry. DATA ENTRY!!!! Sitting and entering numbers into spreadsheets and then checking to make sure that I entered all the numbers correctly and then spending hours going over every cell and every equation within every cell to find the one number I got wrong, even though it was in the 100th decimal space. It still matters. Yip-- oh I can't even muster a sarcastic "yipee." This is sad.
More funness!
Oh yes, and I've found another web comic to pass the time. Don't bother going to the beginning, it really sucks for the first while. But I guarantee some entertaining time-wasting if you start with the newest one and go backwards. It's called xycd.
*Note: Guarantee only applicable if you have a slightly twisty sense of humour like myself and at least 2 other people I can think of.
*Note: Guarantee only applicable if you have a slightly twisty sense of humour like myself and at least 2 other people I can think of.
Superman does his taxes too.
We have a client who's name (which I won't actually reveal because I'm sure it would be some kind of confidentiality issue) sounds a lot like an actor who once played Superman's name. It's fun. I pretend I'm filing Superman's financial information, or that Superman just sent me a fax.
Oh Superman.
So cool.
When are they going to make another Superman movie? What with all the superhero movies being made and re-made, as well as the potential for awesome darkness to be woven into his tale (expelled from his home planet, mysterious adoptive parents who are really far too wholesome, all the broodiness that comes with keeping your impervious skin a secret, all the Buffy-like isolation that comes with constantly saving the world, there is SO MUCH potential for dark secrets in both his and Lois Lane's pasts!)
Revision: Okay, so a quick Google search has reminded me that they made Superman Returns in 2006. Which leads me to ask a new question: When are they going to make an AWESOME Superman movie that's not completely forgettable?
Oh Superman.
So cool.
When are they going to make another Superman movie? What with all the superhero movies being made and re-made, as well as the potential for awesome darkness to be woven into his tale (expelled from his home planet, mysterious adoptive parents who are really far too wholesome, all the broodiness that comes with keeping your impervious skin a secret, all the Buffy-like isolation that comes with constantly saving the world, there is SO MUCH potential for dark secrets in both his and Lois Lane's pasts!)
Revision: Okay, so a quick Google search has reminded me that they made Superman Returns in 2006. Which leads me to ask a new question: When are they going to make an AWESOME Superman movie that's not completely forgettable?
Faxed Time
Interesting. Recall, if you will, my Battle of the Dinosoars from a while back where I pitted the old, cronkly fax machine against the old, cronkly photocopier, and the fax won the honour of Worst and Most Freaking Annoying Piece of Office Equipment to Use, pushed over the edge mainly by its unbearable slowness that I had guesstimated at 1 minute per page where the user is forced to stand and watch to prevent paper jamming and fax lossages.
Well, today I had the pleasure of sending a few faxes, on 32 pages long and one 13 pages long. Oh yes. I timed them, just for fun. The 32 page fax took 17 minutes, a time well below my 1 min/pg estimation-of-pain, but still really really freaking long. Just to throw a loop in the whole thing, however, the 13 page fax ALSO TOOK 17 MINUTES! I am thrown. I am perplexed. I am grrrred. However, I am also slightly relieved. Now I understand. The fax machine will always take 17 minutes, no matter how many pages need be faxed (or maybe for faxes above the 5-page count, because I definitely would have noticed 17 minutes for 5 pages, as I've sent 5 pagers relatively frequently). Now I my seething anger and frustration need not mount to Level Red: Danger/Lethal because I now know what to expect.
*sigh*
Well, today I had the pleasure of sending a few faxes, on 32 pages long and one 13 pages long. Oh yes. I timed them, just for fun. The 32 page fax took 17 minutes, a time well below my 1 min/pg estimation-of-pain, but still really really freaking long. Just to throw a loop in the whole thing, however, the 13 page fax ALSO TOOK 17 MINUTES! I am thrown. I am perplexed. I am grrrred. However, I am also slightly relieved. Now I understand. The fax machine will always take 17 minutes, no matter how many pages need be faxed (or maybe for faxes above the 5-page count, because I definitely would have noticed 17 minutes for 5 pages, as I've sent 5 pagers relatively frequently). Now I my seething anger and frustration need not mount to Level Red: Danger/Lethal because I now know what to expect.
*sigh*
Dropsy Daisy
Who was it that just spilled tea all over everything? Oh that's right, it was me! I love "morning hands", which is the name I just made up for being clumsy in the morning. Gotta love it when it happens in the office, though. And you're filling up your tea cup with hot water and then for no reason whatsoever you drop it and it not only soaks the floor (which to be honest you don't really care about), but also gets on some clients' documents that you need to give back to them. Hey everybody, three cheers for morning hands!
I'm back!
The office is open and the receptionist is back at her desk. Oh how depressing this morning was after 4 whole days off! Oh how I literally completely forgot what I was supposed to say when I picked up the phone for the first time, awkwardly mumbling the name of the company.
Woohoo!
I am posting from home! And I will not be posting again until Monday! Why you ask? Apparently after the madness of Tax Season, the Lord of Accounting rewards its followers (and the receptionists being dragged by their coattails) with two whole days off! The office is closed.
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