Thursday, January 31, 2008

What a Difference A Nap Makes

Yesterday I slept for 15 hours.

Given, that sleeping time was broken up when I fell asleep at 8ish, woke up at 11 p.m, brushed my teeth and had another good lengthy snooze until noon the next day...but then I had another good nine/ten hour sleep this morning and I felt...I felt good. I didn't have a headache, I wasn't feeling vaguely dizzy from lack of sleep. I felt fine and dandy.

In fact, I was really quite disgustingly chipper. I even felt sorta cheerful about my 8 1/2 hour shift. That was, of course, until my very young, very immature assistant manager decided to walk out on the job at 1 p.m and not come back.

Don't ask me why. I guess she was in a snit or something, because her mother came in to discuss her hours with my boss (who sends their parents in to negotiate work times?!) Or maybe it was for personal reasons. Whatever.

So they left me in charge. Left me in charge from 6:30 p.m- 9 p.m with ONE lone casual. And a whole lotta customers.

Gaaaargh.

See, the casual who was working with me is very patient. He is such a nice obedient young man that people take advantage of him and completely monopolize his time, which means that I was pretty much stuck by myself facing looks of pity from customers going, "Are you the only one on duty? Your poor thing."

It was at this point that I seriously started re-evaluating why I put up with $12.23/hr for this kind of thing.

I recently applied for a job as a audio transcription typist, and got a call back today for the screening process- they mentioned their rates, which ranged from $19-$27 depending on whether you can hit 100 wpm (my average is 92 wpm with 96% accuracy.) The hours are a bit demanding, and they're probably unlikely to accept me since I probably can't fit it in around uni, and not to mention how INSANELY BORING it must be to just sit there and type all day...and the fact that I'll probably develop Carpal-Tunnel syndrome or the most hideous RSI in the history of RSIs....but I just thought of the money and the fact that I wouldn't have to deal with customers.

Take Douchebag #1:

D/B: I need help with a rechargeable battery.
Me: Sure. How can I help?
D/B: I have an old amplifier.
(At this point, he hefts a small and ancient amplifier up on the counter.)
Me: Yes....?
D/B: It takes rechargable batteries.
(The batteries in question are two large black boxes situated at either end.)
Me: OK...looks like they're 6V sealed lead acid ones...
D/B: I already KNOW that.
Me: So what did you want to know?
D/B: There's a DC port here. I want to know if it will recharge the batteries when I plug it in.
Me: Well, I'm guessing so. Considering you have rechargeable batteries and a DC plug.
D/B: Can you be sure?
Me: Well, no...there's a probability that it will.
D/B: I don't want a PROBABILITY. I want to know if it WILL.

(It's YOUR equipment you moron. Surely in the bazillion years you've had it, you never thought TO REMOVE THE ADAPTOR AND SEE WHETHER IT FUNCTIONS OFF TWO 6 VOLT BATTERIES?!)

D/B: Does anyone else round here know?
Me: I'll ask my manager...

(D/B repeats the question to my manager)

Manager: Well, it probable that it will. Being rechargeable batteries.
D/B: So you don't know?
Manager: No.
D/B: Can you test it?
Manager: No.
D/B: Why not?

(BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU PAY TECHNICANS FOR, YOU TIGHT-ARSE. WE SELL BLOODY LABEL-MAKERS AND CD SPINDLES!)

Manager: Because we don't do that kind of thing here.
D/B: So you can't tell me for certain if it will charge?
Manager: Look sir, there is a very strong probability that it will charge.
D/B: I don't want a PROBABILITY. I WANT TO KNOW FOR CERTAIN.
Manager: Yes, but I can't really say for certain.
D/B: Oh, I see. So obviously SOME people at *insert company name here* are technically-minded and OTHERS are JUST SALESPEOPLE. *scoffs*

At this point, the Douchebag snapped out at me, "Thanks for nothing!" and left.

You might think that this was mostly a normal exchange, but this guy was extremely rude and dismissive in the way he treated us, and the fact that he was trying to get us to do what trained electricians are paid for was ridiculous. You wouldn't take a piece of crap like that to the laptop section at Myers and expect them to be able to test a piece of equipment that wasn't even bought from them in the first place. Let alone the last decade.

After he'd left, my manager said to me, "If I had a bloody degree in electronics, do you think I'd be working here getting paid nothing?"

And that was a very fair point.

And after that rather cathartic rant, I have a ten and a half hour shift tomorrow.

I think I need another nap now.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Movie Review- '27 Dresses'

For the first time in probably about two years, I saw a chick flick at the cinema today.

I seriously needed an antidote to the UTTER DEPRESSING-NESS of Atonement, so I thought it might cheer me up. More so than say, Alvin and the Chipmunks. (I heard the Chipmunk rendition of Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" on the radio at work. I thought my head would explode.)

It did actually cheer me up. Mostly because we were getting a nice eyeful of James Marsden, who scrubbed up quite well. OK...he scrubbed up VERY well. There was also the obligatory scene where he appeared dripping wet from a strategically plotted thunderstorm, so I was happy.

As for the plot...it had as much plot as you'd expect it to have (i.e none) but I'd forgotten how good it is to see an utterly pointless movie where you don't have to think.

And did I mention James Marsden?

:D

Unfortunately, I did wake up to the news that Heath Ledger had been found dead in his Manhattan apartment, which was quite a shock. I think that anything I say here is just going to sound trite, so I might leave it at that.

But it's going to be strange watching that new Batman film.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Movie Review: Atonement

I saw Atonement today.

And cried.

It was the most depressing, tragic film I have ever seen, and I sat there for two hours on the verge of tears until the final scenes, when my eyeballs could no longer cope with all the tragedy and I finally caved.

I read the book in my first year of uni, when no one else had really read it despite the fact that it was shortlisted for the Booker- although my criminal law lecturer did make a reference to it when we were discussing statutory rape- and I fell in love with Ian McEwan's writing.

Then I heard that they were making a movie- oh joy- and that they were casting Keira Knightley as Cecilia.

Grrrr.
Oh, I raved for a while over that.

However, she was actually GOOD, as Rosy had told me. And Briony's casting was good. In fact, the casting was excellent all round. And the acting. Except since I knew that the storyline was a total train wreck of tragedy from start to finish, it made the movie even more depressing.

Now I feel like seeing Enchanted. Again. Just because there are birds and princes and vermin that do the house-cleaning to happy songs, and everything turns out peachy in the end and EVERYONE LIVES HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

Happy!!!

The last time I felt this way was after I saw Miss Saigon, where my whole family was in floods of tears the entire way through and it was the most depressing ending to a stage musical ever.

I need something happy. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY....

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

I'm Tap Tap Tap Tap Tapping, Along...

After two weeks of waiting on spare parts, I fired up my PDA for the first time today.

The PDA was my little summer project. It's a little HP iPaq RX1950- I bought it for $49 from work because it had been sitting there naked in the cabinet for TWO YEARS unable to be sold as it had...

...no box
...no packaging
...no BATTERY
...no AC adaptor
...no synchronisation cable
...no instructions
...no CD software

On the upside, it still had a stylus :D

It was still in new condition, it was just that we had no more use for it as the whole box was AWOL. So when my manager offered it to me, I bought it.

What use do I have for a PDA, you say? Erm...not much. It does do video, music and photos, and the screen is actually pretty good for that kinda thing, but the main attraction was the built-in WiFi and the fact that you can store Word files and PDFs on it.

And admittedly, I did buy it for perhaps the most pathetic, dorkiest reason ever...I thought it would be useful for downloading law cases to read in my lunch breaks.

Hey, YOU try hefting a damn Contracts book into work and eating Maccas around the 700+ pages of boredom. This way, I can read legislation and case notes wherever I go! Ooh, the joy!!!

I managed to scrounge up some spare parts by searching eBay- I sourced an aftermarket charging/sync cable and a leather case from Hong Kong, and an aftermarket 1000mah battery from a supplier in Brisbane...all for just over $50 including postage. The lack of software wasn't the hurdle I thought it might be- I just downloaded ActiveSync 4 from CNet and everything was a doddle.

So now I'm tappity tap tap tapping everything with the little stylus just for the sheer fun of it.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap tap tap.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Hip Hop Is Not Dead, Part II

It appears that my ambition to become cool and black has struck yet another hurdle.

Dad: Why are you listening to that crap?
Moi: What crap?
Dad: All that black music with the obscenities-
Moi: Eh? Ohhhh...

Then I remembered that I'd accidentally left my CD with the uncensored version of 50 Cent's P.I.M.P in the car. The G-Mix.

Whoops.

Y'know, that song that goes, "I ain't that nigga trying to holla cause I want some head/ I'm that nigga tryin' to holla cause I want some bread..."

Eh heh heh heh...I love that line...

So yes, my mag-ni-fah-cent pimp-ing didn't go down so well...and thus, I will have to wait until I move out to achieve my dream of becoming cool and black.

Sigh.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!

I figured I'd blog now, because:

(a) it's way too hot to sleep...(today was meant to be 42 degrees!!!)
(b) I also figured that I might as well sort of my New Year's Resolutions right now

For New Year's Eve, I went out for dinner with my family (which included two uncles, my aunt and my younger cousin) to this restaurant in Fitzroy famous for its Peking Duck. It was good duck, even though the waiter who carved it at the table seemed to be extremely hyper or extremely high- "Anyone here a Peking Duck virgin? No one? Who wants a leg? Who wants the bottom? If you want another just ask, we've got plenty of arse to go round...NO YOU CAN'T PUT TWO SPRING ONIONS ON ONE PANCAKE, IT IS STRICTLY ONE CUCUMBER AND ONE SPRING ONION IN A 3:15 POSITION!!!"

I am NOT kidding.

He actually threw a rather melodramatic fit upon seeing my cousin's sprig of spring onion matching the cucumber angle in a 12:00 position instead of 3:15.

Of course, it was all an act, and it amused me somewhat, but I didn't quite feel comfortable in reaching for the mandarin pancakes whilst he was waving the giant chopper around, slicing and dicing with a lot of gusto.

After the duck (in which we had Peking Duck, then the leftovers were stir-fried with bean sprouts, then the bones were made into soup) we tramped back to our place for the countdown.

Earlier in the day, I worked from 11 a.m to 6 p.m, although I was officially the acting manager between 3:30 and 6:00 p.m, which I personally found hilarious because as a youngest child, I'm extremely bad at giving orders or taking any kind of responsibility. It didn't go too badly either, although I'm sure my boss will arrive on Wednesday morning and find out that I've done something really stupid.

Anyhow, I'm going to post up my New Year's Resolutions here, and watch with a kind of detached amusement at how long it takes me to break them:

Daphne's New Year's Resolutions for 2008

1. I will make an effort to actually catch up with people

See, I suck at this. I really really suck. I'm sick of exchanging 'we have to catch up' - it should be we WILL catch up, and I haven't seen some of my La Trobe friends for...well, a year. Since I left. Anyhow, I will also be a better texter...I issue an apology for anyone who has received one of my '24-hours-after-you-sent-your-message' texts...my phone memory caps at 150 messages and I have to delete them all one by one manually.

GAAAAAARGH

I need a new phone.

2. I will actually do the readings for uni

Hah.

HAH.

Let's see how long THAT one lasts...

3. I will exercise

This, friends, is partly why I spent $100 on getting Dance Dance Revolution for the XBox 360. It has a Workout mode and a Calorie counter, so I can dance dance without the pain pain.

Supposedly.

4. I will stop eating crap. Or at least, spending ridiculous amounts of money on food.

This is a pretty important one. Stoopid attractive food court at work! Oh, and that coffee addiction!!!

5. I will not dress like a tramp

I will make an active effort to dress nicely.

Gaah.

This will probably involve sorting out my wardrobe and spending ridiculous amounts of money on clothes. Sigh.

6. I will keep track of my spending

Take note, Point 5.

7. I will be grateful for what I have

I think a lot of useless energy is spent comparing one's self to the status quo, which just breeds discontent. I'm living a life of privilege while others in the world are suffering. I have nothing to whine about.

8. I will keep my room clean

My mum recommended this one, not me.

9. I will be more pro-active.

I'm not quite sure what I meant by this, but I suppose it could be taken to mean that I need to muster more enthusiasm for whatever it is that I'm doing. Like studying. Or work. Or cleaning the house.

10. I will be more culturally-minded.

Xia, if you're reading this, I look forward to more mad dashes to the MSO. My Llama-like fishbowlin friend, I think it's time I set foot in a proper arthouse theatre with a proper arthouse movie that no one but the director can decipher. I'm also going to read all those books I've always wanted to read. (Loui, I shall make that one of my next posts.)

So yes...let's see how those all pan out.

I hope you all have a fantastic start to 2008, and best wishes for the New Year!!!

Thanks muchly for reading, btw :D