Monday 24 June 2013

Performance, Parties and Postings

The word of the week is enthuse.

June 17 - What's Next?

How's everyone doing out there? Thanks for visiting.

The thing about blogging is, well, that it's singular.

Not solo, as you might have thought I'd say. No, what I mean is: this blog is my set of small signals to the world about what I'm up to, but it's a transmitter, not a receiver.

To tune into the lives of my friends and family from way out here in BC, I've had to turn to Fbook, for the most part. But as you may already know, that's a selective slice of life that people choose to share and some say very little, sadly. So it's hard to know what people are up to in any given week, let alone day, with the busy lives we all have. Especially since Fbook can take up so much TIME of a day for some!


Something else is going to emerge to replace Fbook.

What that is, or when it will arrive, is anyone's guess. If I had to speculate, I'd have to say it'd be some kind of automatic logger-app run on one's mobile device that would keep track of your day. Where you’d been, who'd you met, what you'd done, what photos you'd taken… all that and a lot more I can't think of right now. Said service would roll everything all into one easy-to-use package and present it to the world, or at least those people you'd want to share it with.

For now, for me, this blog serves such a role very well… and I wish more people I knew had time for one!

June 18 - Closing Copy


I've still got a lot to learn.

In Copy, that is. Internalizing the prices, products and production details of the job is proving VERY challenging. All I can do is put in the time and effort to learn them as I go along.

Tonight, I closed Copy solo, though I wasn't really on my own until the last hour and a half, as a Copy staffer kindly stayed later to ensure I wasn't overwhelmed with all the orders we'd taken in today. Thanks and whew!

Self-serve is funny and a time-sink both. I'm learning to be concise in a friendly way and to sum up answers simply for people. Which, if followed by even more questions and requests, will turn into "Well, if you want said copies done that way at that size, I'd be happy to set up a job order for you, which will be ready at X time." Cue disappointed / annoyed look, which doesn't faze me much, as I'm used to people trying to get a lot for a little in customer service. The phrases "It's only a few copies" or "Could you just help me adjust this?" are already very familiar to me as covers for "Can you do this copy job for me on the cheap, right now, while I stand back and watch?"

Overall, I know I did well, losing myself in the job details and not sweating that I was flying solo. The department is fairly well-organized and getting better with a new manager, so consistency is a wonderful thing when you're new to the job like I am.

Better yet, I'm starting to know what I'm talking about, which is the tipping point!

June 19 - IT Training

Let's talk tech training. Specifically, the CompTIA+ course online I'm taking with a friend right now.

So far, we've worked through the first of the three courses of modules. It's been educational for me and rather a stretch for them, as many of these terms are g33k-speak to them. However, I'm VERY proud of the efforts they've put in to focus and learn the tech language. We've both made a lot of progress learning together and I think I'm doing a decent job as a teacher-interpreter when needed, so that the online teacher's assumptions don't steamroller my friend under in a torrent of technobabble...


I'm hoping that by the end of the summer, we'll be finished the course and well into a second round of learning to become Microsoft Office Certified. With both that and the CompTIA+ certification, sending out resumes to the local IT industry should be a much more fruitful endeavor by the end of the year. From all accounts, the local IT scene is thriving and once we have these qualifications, we'll have taking a big step past many other job-seekers towards the front of the hiring line.

By then, I should know exactly where I'm heading at my day job.

June 20 - Motivation

It's hard right now for me, some days, to enthuse.

What I mean by that is I'm feeling a reciprocity from Phoenix: the joy of my release there has turned softly to a cushiony coasting that is going nowhere fast.

Staying positive and keeping perspective is something I'm reminding myself of daily right now.

Mainly, the day job is taking a lot of my energy, just getting through intact is draining. Like any job dealing with customers, said folks don't care if you're new or not: they just want their stuff Done Right, On Time. It's frustrating to be capable of so many things, yet the condescending and irritated looks I get all day from people expecting instant correct answers is wearing. I counter that with professionalism, a pleasant manner and patience when people throw their little fits and do the best I can, then a little bit more.


I can't tell them that I'd rather be writing my novel's third draft, or doing any of a dozen other things than smile when they reiterate how I'm delaying their Important Business by not Knowing My Job Perfectly… and a glance at my 'In Training' Badge doesn't reassure them.

But I do my job anyway, knowing that even if they don't care to care… then I do. And that's enough.

June 21 - Netflix

Old TV shows in bed are great!

That is, watching them on my ASUS tablet in bed is perfect before bedtime.

I'm not a binge-watcher, where you plow through an entire TV series in the course of a day or two. Sure, I'll watch a couple of episodes at a time, but I can't binge, it's just not in me to devote that much time all at once.

You should also remember that watching a bright moving TV image right before bed is a bad thing, as the light fools your brain into thinking it's NOT nearly time for bed. I've found an Android app called ScreenFilter that give you total control over your screen's brightness independently of the device, for no cost. I usually set it for a bout 40% bright, which is perfect.


Right now, I'm watching Red Dwarf, a sci-fi comedy series from the 1980's that I loved back then and I've found I still do now. The humour is sharp, the writing not so much… but the cast and concept lend themselves towards episodic entertainment where you simply have no idea what's going to happen next, OR how the crew of Red Dwarf is going to deal with it.

Much like life, I'd say, and laugh!

June 22 - Solo And Party

Today I closed Copy solo again, which was… interesting.

What I find most amusing is that 'Self-Serve' should really be renamed 'Assisted Copying' as every other person who ostensibly goes there to save time and money by ducking our wait times still asks for help.

Which, me being me, I give to the best of my ability, though at a cost to my job performance. 

Today, that meant I spent well over an hour over in Self Serve, assisting people in their copy tasks which, for a variety of reasons, they couldn't do themselves. Not understanding the technology is a big reason, as well as being budget-conscious( ie. cheap )or time conscious( they can't / won't wait hours behind people who booked copy jobs ahead of them )and yet they still expect instant service from Copy CSR's. Who should drop the jobs they HAVE to have ready for set times to rush over to assist people who wander randomly through the door late in the day.

Points for trying though. Tonight, I closed as best I could, thankfully with assistance from another CSR who saw how I had been constantly dragged away from my needful tasks. Thankfully, I didn't leave too much for the morning person to finish and was done my shift almost on-time, if a little breathless.

I had time to recover in the car though, on the way to a co-worker's birthday party in Sooke!
Not having been out to any parties recently, I was blown away by the amazing evening I had. 

The place was a lovely eclectic home on a tall hill, with a spectacular view of the water and the sunset from the back deck:


There were more than a few people from work there, as well as many others, including my ride who was a former MMart co-worker. I had a total blast while I was there, chatting up quite a few folks and seeing sides of people I work with now that I hadn't been sure were there. One and all, they're lovely and interesting people and I was tickled that so many of them said they were thrilled I was there tonight. Stuffed with food, ice-cream cake and a sense of triumph from winning a close bocee match, I rode home feeling quite relaxed despite my tiring workday… it was fantastic.

June 23 - Reflection Day

Sundays for me used to be about gaming.

When I was younger, in grade school and even high school, Sundays were quite often the day when I'd spend many hours at a friend's place. We'd play boardgames like Axis&Allies, or have a DnD session or, more rarely, play video games. In later years, during university, we'd switched over to playing Halo and DnD almost exclusively… and almost always on a Sunday, as we all had school or work or both. But eventually that tapered off from every other week to once a month, then eventually never. In my case, Sundays usually meant hours spent playing Neverwinter Nights online with my friends, at least until the last couple of years.


Now it seems that for me, Sundays are days for reflection: literally, a day of rest for the mind and body.

In a recent Fbook posting, I talked about my experiences in Phoenix last month. They were very moving for me and I shared them with my friends. Due to the vagaries of Fbook, I'm not sure how many have actually read it; they may have 'seen' the posting title, but not read the post itself.

A few people have commented on the post and their feedback has been extremely positive. I'm humbled that my words managed to move them, especially as the post has the power to move me if I re-read it; no surprise, as I was there to experience those emotions. Those powerful feelings flowed through me and out through my writing, something that I hope to experience again, for it was as though my Muse took my hand and penned each word entire. It was as close as I've ever felt to pure, truthful writing.

That's my reflection for today.

Another full week's ahead for me. Lots to do and we'll see if I can get it all done!