Apparently I am following my own blog. I do not know how I managed to do this, but I also do not know how to un-follow myself. For the record, I really only have two followers for this blog.
A lot of people sleep in the airport. I assume they are either waiting for their flight, have a lay-over, or are really tired. I'm surprised they are actually able to get some rest. I don't think I could sleep in the terminal: all those lights, noises, the potential of someone stealing your bag.
I saw a couple meeting at the car wash across the street. I don't know why the car wash was chosen as the destination of their rendezvous, but to each his or her own. I know this was a lover's reunion because the lady pulled into the car wash like a mad woman, got out of her car, and immediately run-jump-hugged the man. It was kind of sweet. I imagine they were forbidden lovers and the car wash was the only way they could meet each other.
It's so relaxing to not have to work seven days a week. I'm feeling a little confused as to what I should do with all this extra time. I did laundry on Sunday after work. Yesterday I did some shredding and actually cooked myself dinner. Today I think I might lounge about because I can. Actually, I've got a project to finish, as well as updating my Netflix queue. It's such a hard life...
Official date of commencement for seeing the American originals is in two Sundays. I think that would by Sunday, September 12. Going to see the world's largest frying pan, followed by the world's largest squirting clam, and returning home in time to see the season finale of True Blood.
Though others disagree, I think this season of True Blood is taking the most creative liberties from the book it is meant to follow. In fact, I think I am most correct because these last two episodes are not even plot lines in any of the books! Also, the book series is far more violent than the television show, and the show has had exploding heads and people getting their faces punched into oblivion.
I'm pretty bummed that this summer only resulted in a total of seven days of hot weather. It's been a very cold summer here in Portland.
Apparently I provide great humor to my coworkers. I got really excited that we had paper towels to bring up to the ticket counter and they laughed. I was beyond confused that the time clock wasn't working the other day, and the confusion inhibited my abilities to form complete sentences. I've always got a song in my head, but that's nothing new. From what I understand, I am funny because I do not say things in a way that another person would say them. It's hard to explain. You will have to be present for such a situation in order to understand, unless you know me, in which case you know. It also helps when I mean to say something in complete innocence, but due to modern society's mind being in the gutter 89% of the time it can be interpreted as inappropriate to others.
One day at work we found what appeared to be a dirty love letter. Someone had written a poem by E.E. Cummings inside a card. We didn't know what the poem was, but when I was asked to read the poem aloud by another crew member I told him it would not be airport appropriate. He agreed after he began to read the poem over my shoulder, and we were both relieved to not have the passengers of PDX hear the dirty words someone did not intend to leave the hands of the recipient.
Today is the last day of August. There are only four months left in the year. When did that happen? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was getting interviewed by Elise the recruiter for a job? I cannot believe the year has moved this fast. Perhaps it moved slower when I was unemployed because I had nothing else to do but watch the days slug by. Now I focus on making sure I know my work schedule and planning ahead for vacations.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Complaints department
I'm sorry for the tirades, y'all. I swear, I'm trying not to complain too much. A few things have irritated me, therefore I needed to get them off my proverbial chest, and my blog is closer than my paper journal.
I think things will be more cheery in a couple of weeks. I plan on starting my tour of the world's largest next month, as well as a trip to Nashville. I will also be catching up on my sleep and resting my feet some more, so hopefully I won't be such a crabby old lady.
Also, there hasn't been too much excitement or novelty, and I can only blog about that which I encounter on a daily basis.
I think things will be more cheery in a couple of weeks. I plan on starting my tour of the world's largest next month, as well as a trip to Nashville. I will also be catching up on my sleep and resting my feet some more, so hopefully I won't be such a crabby old lady.
Also, there hasn't been too much excitement or novelty, and I can only blog about that which I encounter on a daily basis.
On a day when I am angry
This doesn't happen very often. I blame today's anger on a combination of factors, not least of which is exhaustion. The other factors would be greedy self-centered Customers and stupid idiots (yes, I do realize that is a redundant thing to call someone).
I am a very intelligent person. I may play dumb, and I may be oblivious to some things, but when it comes down to it I am pretty smart (even quick witted on occasion). When I'm tired from seven days a week of work, my brain may not operate on the same level it usually does, but I can still formulate coherent sentences and express my point clearly.
Annoyance number one: Customer is trying to check-in at the kiosk, and it's not working. "Could someone come here and help me?" she asked in a not-nice tone. I go over to see if I can help. "You know, if you're dropping off bags you should get in line anyway because you'll need to come and get your bags tagged by us." "Well," she said, "can you bring someone up here to work on this problem?" Seriously? "Well, we're a smaller station so we don't have a tech department here to help, but like I said, if you'd just get in line we'll take care of you." At no point was the invitation to come to the front of the line offered, bypassing all the other Customers waiting to check-in for the same flight. "Ma'am, I said for you to go to the back of the line. These people have all been waiting to check-in and drop off bags." "Well, I just need to drop off my bag and the kiosk wasn't working." "Yes," I said, " but I told you to go get in line. These..." I got cut-off by her incessant yapping. "Listen, I'm only going to do this one time," I begin, my tone stern and unconcerned with her present situation. "I'm going to check you in and take your bags, but you need to know that these other people have been waiting in line to do the same thing, for the same flight that you are trying to check-in for." I continue to check the woman and her daughter, who has a dumbfounded look upon her pre-teen face, and they refuse make eye contact with me. As the gentleman checking in next to them said, "She knows what she's doing." Making a fool of herself, and showing the rest of the people who will be spending 2 1/2 hours in a confined place with them angry at the two of them, in case you were wondering what he meant by that statement. Before the mother and daughter team leaves my counter, I reiterate to them, "In Portland, we check in at the kiosk and then get in line, like everyone else, to drop off our bags, like everyone, because everyone is trying to get to the same flight."
Now, if the line wasn't already beginning to wrap around to the other airline space, and if we didn't have to check these people in within thirty minutes , I would have made her go to the back of the line. Having worked with this type of person before, I knew that trying to argue with her and trying to get her to go to the back of the line would take more time than I had at that moment. I made the executive decision to check her in though I didn't want to reward her behavior. In fact, I wanted to drag her to the back of the line myself. I apologize to those Customers who had been waiting in line much longer than she and were not happy about her. I hope they saw the woman as the person to blame and not me. But they probably blame me for appeasing her childish behavior. I probably would have blamed me in their position. But I'm blaming this woman for putting me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. However, I did enjoy lecturing her in front of so many people, like shaming a puppy, though she wasn't as cute as a puppy.
Annoyance number two: Every year before school starts up, students on campus prepare welcome signs for incoming freshpeople to see on their approach to the University. It's something the halls do to make these people and their parents feel special, and is NOT by any means a publicity stunt, even though the signs are entertaining. Apparently the Marketing department thinks these signs are intended for the latter purpose. And apparently the person in charge of heading up these signs is an idiot. The boss and I met with the idiot and his crony a few weeks ago and expected certain things to transpire as a result of the meeting. Apparently they thought we were indifferent to the whole thing. Idiots. When we say, "the RAs do not have the time to be part of an organized effort to make signs," it literally means that the RAs don't have the time to go off their schedule. And when we say, "these signs are an organic development that the students felt their was a need for," it does not mean you can hire a bunch of students to do a craft chore. Basically, Marketing thought we didn't do a good enough job and took that "chore" away from us.
Point about the RAs: they are not student workers but employees of the University that go through an extensive training. They do not get to be bossed around by a different department that doesn't understand a thing we do in Residence Life. Point about the signs: they are not a chore. They are the efforts of students on campus who know what it feels like the see their residence hall's name on the drive in to campus. Making a bunch of generic signs like a chore you've been tasked with is not the same as putting some soul into the welcome; If you don't get that, you never will. P.S.: You should really listen to what people are telling you instead of just doing WTF you feel like. I don't know how many times "the RAs cannot come together to make signs not because they don't want to but because they don't have the time" can be said before a person realizes they are being a jerk.
I seriously felt like punching someone after that second situation. I don't get angry very easily. Few things set me in a bad mood. One of those things happens to be greedy rule breakers. Another one of those things is when people take a sweet tradition and turn it into a corporate project. I wanted to scream at both culprits, but I had to reign in my anger and try not have my signs of frustration heard.
I also blame the fact that I haven't had a day off since July 28 and won't have a day off until August 30. That is going to be one beautiful day off.
For future reference, do not make me angry when I am exhausted. It's not pretty. You'll be lucky if I keep my temper in check. I'm Portuguese - we don't hide our emotions easily. And for future reference, if you know you're wrong or you know you're an idiot, I'd much rather you admit it and do what's right.
And I'm usually such a lovely, bubbly person!
I am a very intelligent person. I may play dumb, and I may be oblivious to some things, but when it comes down to it I am pretty smart (even quick witted on occasion). When I'm tired from seven days a week of work, my brain may not operate on the same level it usually does, but I can still formulate coherent sentences and express my point clearly.
Annoyance number one: Customer is trying to check-in at the kiosk, and it's not working. "Could someone come here and help me?" she asked in a not-nice tone. I go over to see if I can help. "You know, if you're dropping off bags you should get in line anyway because you'll need to come and get your bags tagged by us." "Well," she said, "can you bring someone up here to work on this problem?" Seriously? "Well, we're a smaller station so we don't have a tech department here to help, but like I said, if you'd just get in line we'll take care of you." At no point was the invitation to come to the front of the line offered, bypassing all the other Customers waiting to check-in for the same flight. "Ma'am, I said for you to go to the back of the line. These people have all been waiting to check-in and drop off bags." "Well, I just need to drop off my bag and the kiosk wasn't working." "Yes," I said, " but I told you to go get in line. These..." I got cut-off by her incessant yapping. "Listen, I'm only going to do this one time," I begin, my tone stern and unconcerned with her present situation. "I'm going to check you in and take your bags, but you need to know that these other people have been waiting in line to do the same thing, for the same flight that you are trying to check-in for." I continue to check the woman and her daughter, who has a dumbfounded look upon her pre-teen face, and they refuse make eye contact with me. As the gentleman checking in next to them said, "She knows what she's doing." Making a fool of herself, and showing the rest of the people who will be spending 2 1/2 hours in a confined place with them angry at the two of them, in case you were wondering what he meant by that statement. Before the mother and daughter team leaves my counter, I reiterate to them, "In Portland, we check in at the kiosk and then get in line, like everyone else, to drop off our bags, like everyone, because everyone is trying to get to the same flight."
Now, if the line wasn't already beginning to wrap around to the other airline space, and if we didn't have to check these people in within thirty minutes , I would have made her go to the back of the line. Having worked with this type of person before, I knew that trying to argue with her and trying to get her to go to the back of the line would take more time than I had at that moment. I made the executive decision to check her in though I didn't want to reward her behavior. In fact, I wanted to drag her to the back of the line myself. I apologize to those Customers who had been waiting in line much longer than she and were not happy about her. I hope they saw the woman as the person to blame and not me. But they probably blame me for appeasing her childish behavior. I probably would have blamed me in their position. But I'm blaming this woman for putting me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. However, I did enjoy lecturing her in front of so many people, like shaming a puppy, though she wasn't as cute as a puppy.
Annoyance number two: Every year before school starts up, students on campus prepare welcome signs for incoming freshpeople to see on their approach to the University. It's something the halls do to make these people and their parents feel special, and is NOT by any means a publicity stunt, even though the signs are entertaining. Apparently the Marketing department thinks these signs are intended for the latter purpose. And apparently the person in charge of heading up these signs is an idiot. The boss and I met with the idiot and his crony a few weeks ago and expected certain things to transpire as a result of the meeting. Apparently they thought we were indifferent to the whole thing. Idiots. When we say, "the RAs do not have the time to be part of an organized effort to make signs," it literally means that the RAs don't have the time to go off their schedule. And when we say, "these signs are an organic development that the students felt their was a need for," it does not mean you can hire a bunch of students to do a craft chore. Basically, Marketing thought we didn't do a good enough job and took that "chore" away from us.
Point about the RAs: they are not student workers but employees of the University that go through an extensive training. They do not get to be bossed around by a different department that doesn't understand a thing we do in Residence Life. Point about the signs: they are not a chore. They are the efforts of students on campus who know what it feels like the see their residence hall's name on the drive in to campus. Making a bunch of generic signs like a chore you've been tasked with is not the same as putting some soul into the welcome; If you don't get that, you never will. P.S.: You should really listen to what people are telling you instead of just doing WTF you feel like. I don't know how many times "the RAs cannot come together to make signs not because they don't want to but because they don't have the time" can be said before a person realizes they are being a jerk.
I seriously felt like punching someone after that second situation. I don't get angry very easily. Few things set me in a bad mood. One of those things happens to be greedy rule breakers. Another one of those things is when people take a sweet tradition and turn it into a corporate project. I wanted to scream at both culprits, but I had to reign in my anger and try not have my signs of frustration heard.
I also blame the fact that I haven't had a day off since July 28 and won't have a day off until August 30. That is going to be one beautiful day off.
For future reference, do not make me angry when I am exhausted. It's not pretty. You'll be lucky if I keep my temper in check. I'm Portuguese - we don't hide our emotions easily. And for future reference, if you know you're wrong or you know you're an idiot, I'd much rather you admit it and do what's right.
And I'm usually such a lovely, bubbly person!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Seven days a week
What was I thinking when I signed up for this? I apparently decided that working seven days a week was going to be no big deal.
Let's just say I'm really looking forward to September...
I work five days at JetBlue and five days at Res Life. Wednesday through Sunday I work at the airport; Monday through Friday I work at Res Life. I don't know if you caught on, but the overlap does not work in my favor. I work at least 10 hours a day three days out of the week, which probably wouldn't be so bad if it was all in one place and also if I wasn't up at 3:20 am.
Saturday and Sunday I get home from JetBlue and just relax. I sit on the couch for a while, with my feet up, taking in some television entertainment. Monday and Tuesday I sleep in and get back the hours of sleep I lose the rest of the week. I show up in the Res Life office a little crazy with all the rest I got the nights before. But those three days in the middle are pure torture.
I keep forgetting what day of the week it is. For the record, today is Thursday. I'm afraid at some point I will forget to show up at one of the two jobs.
I did do this to myself. I picked up Sundays at the airport because we are short staffed and need the help, and I don't mind getting a little extra cash to be honest. I said yes to helping in Res Life because they are my buddies and asked if I'd be willing to help out in August - the busiest month of the year - since there are no student workers and the AHD usually there is busy with training. I guess I didn't realize I was setting myself up for an entire month without a weekend.
For future reference, one cannot fully rest nor maintain one's house or refrigerator when one does not have enough time to do so. Also, one becomes very good at squeezing errands into smaller time frames as a result of one's overindulgence in work.
The perk to working the second job is that the month's worth of work will pay for my car insurance coming up next month, as well as the badly needed work shoes I purchased today for the airport.
Vacations and adventures must be postponed until next month is the only bummer. I could have really used a trip to Hawai'i this month, too. Darn.
Let's just say I'm really looking forward to September...
I work five days at JetBlue and five days at Res Life. Wednesday through Sunday I work at the airport; Monday through Friday I work at Res Life. I don't know if you caught on, but the overlap does not work in my favor. I work at least 10 hours a day three days out of the week, which probably wouldn't be so bad if it was all in one place and also if I wasn't up at 3:20 am.
Saturday and Sunday I get home from JetBlue and just relax. I sit on the couch for a while, with my feet up, taking in some television entertainment. Monday and Tuesday I sleep in and get back the hours of sleep I lose the rest of the week. I show up in the Res Life office a little crazy with all the rest I got the nights before. But those three days in the middle are pure torture.
I keep forgetting what day of the week it is. For the record, today is Thursday. I'm afraid at some point I will forget to show up at one of the two jobs.
I did do this to myself. I picked up Sundays at the airport because we are short staffed and need the help, and I don't mind getting a little extra cash to be honest. I said yes to helping in Res Life because they are my buddies and asked if I'd be willing to help out in August - the busiest month of the year - since there are no student workers and the AHD usually there is busy with training. I guess I didn't realize I was setting myself up for an entire month without a weekend.
For future reference, one cannot fully rest nor maintain one's house or refrigerator when one does not have enough time to do so. Also, one becomes very good at squeezing errands into smaller time frames as a result of one's overindulgence in work.
The perk to working the second job is that the month's worth of work will pay for my car insurance coming up next month, as well as the badly needed work shoes I purchased today for the airport.
Vacations and adventures must be postponed until next month is the only bummer. I could have really used a trip to Hawai'i this month, too. Darn.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The helicopter parent
We have long known about these parents who are too involved in their child's everyday activities. They hover over their son or daughter, waiting for the moment when they will need mommy or daddy to solve the problem for them. It's all about insecurity, mostly on the part of the parent, and for those of us who have been involved in education it's getting a little old.
We no longer call them the helicopter parents, hovering over their beloved babies and making sure the kids never have to fend for themselves; the helicopter has become the bulldozer.
The bulldozer parent. It's very appropriate for today's world. This new breed of parent pushes their way into every situation to make sure that everything goes just as they planned... and by "they" we're talking about the parent, not the kids (the kids frequently don't really care). Bulldozer parents even push themselves into situations when nothing is wrong yet.
I spent 20 minutes today talking with one such mother. Nothing I could say would make her feel better about the situation. It wasn't even a situation warranting immediate attention. In summation of our conversation, her fear is that her son's roommate is too outgoing and won't help her very shy son adapt to college life. She thought it was a "red flag" that the roommate might not like video games as much, and she wondered who in their right mind was responsible for this situation. I had to explain to her the other side of the situation, and possible reasons why the future roommate did or said something, not the least of which was that maybe he wants to have some say in what goes on in their shared living space. I should have said, maybe it's a good idea that your son has someone that's more outgoing to show him a different side of life.
Seriously? First, your son hasn't even met this other kid, so hold off on assumptions. Second, your son is going to be living in the room, not you. And finally, you're going to have to let go at some point, and now is a good time to start.
I'm going to be blunt with all the parents out there in a panic that their child's first college experiences aren't going to be perfect: YOUR CHILD'S FIRST COLLEGE EXPERIENCES AREN'T GOING TO BE PERFECT. There is no way to plan for every situation. Half of the fun of college is experiencing new things. It's called a learning experience because you have to make accommodations when things don't go how you expected them, and you learn new things about yourself. If you expect it to be perfect you're going to be sorely disappointed. And the fact that they aren't perfect experiences now will make them great stories in the future when he or she is looking back on college.
And for the record: We get phone calls like this all the time. You're situation is not unique. And please stop making yourselves crazy. You are making us crazy as a result. We do note when crazy parents or students call the offices so we can keep an eye on you.
We no longer call them the helicopter parents, hovering over their beloved babies and making sure the kids never have to fend for themselves; the helicopter has become the bulldozer.
The bulldozer parent. It's very appropriate for today's world. This new breed of parent pushes their way into every situation to make sure that everything goes just as they planned... and by "they" we're talking about the parent, not the kids (the kids frequently don't really care). Bulldozer parents even push themselves into situations when nothing is wrong yet.
I spent 20 minutes today talking with one such mother. Nothing I could say would make her feel better about the situation. It wasn't even a situation warranting immediate attention. In summation of our conversation, her fear is that her son's roommate is too outgoing and won't help her very shy son adapt to college life. She thought it was a "red flag" that the roommate might not like video games as much, and she wondered who in their right mind was responsible for this situation. I had to explain to her the other side of the situation, and possible reasons why the future roommate did or said something, not the least of which was that maybe he wants to have some say in what goes on in their shared living space. I should have said, maybe it's a good idea that your son has someone that's more outgoing to show him a different side of life.
Seriously? First, your son hasn't even met this other kid, so hold off on assumptions. Second, your son is going to be living in the room, not you. And finally, you're going to have to let go at some point, and now is a good time to start.
I'm going to be blunt with all the parents out there in a panic that their child's first college experiences aren't going to be perfect: YOUR CHILD'S FIRST COLLEGE EXPERIENCES AREN'T GOING TO BE PERFECT. There is no way to plan for every situation. Half of the fun of college is experiencing new things. It's called a learning experience because you have to make accommodations when things don't go how you expected them, and you learn new things about yourself. If you expect it to be perfect you're going to be sorely disappointed. And the fact that they aren't perfect experiences now will make them great stories in the future when he or she is looking back on college.
And for the record: We get phone calls like this all the time. You're situation is not unique. And please stop making yourselves crazy. You are making us crazy as a result. We do note when crazy parents or students call the offices so we can keep an eye on you.
Friday, August 6, 2010
World's biggest... strawberry?
I have plans for an epic adventure.
Here is the background on the situation: Back in the 1990s, a John Travolta movie took a fallen angel on a road trip across the country with a bunch of reporters and a beloved pet. Travolta danced and smelled like cookies, Andie McDowell sang about pie, and I think the beloved pet might have died... Well, that movie was "Michael," and if it wasn't already one of the best movies I've ever seen, what makes it even better is the fact that Michael insists they visit the world's largest ball of twine and an collection of other "world's largest" sculptures on their trek across the country. Thus inspired my goal of doing the same (because who wouldn't want to see the world's largest ball of twine?!).
When I went home a couple of weekends ago my mom had this clipping waiting for me with... you'll never believe it... that's right! It was a clipping of "American originals," large sculptures from every state inspired to bring tourism to the farthest reaches of our country. I took this to be a sign that my adventures should begin as soon as possible.
I have decided my tour of these American originals, including the world's largest strawberry, will begin next month at the latest. I have apparently gone more crazy than usual and decided to work seven days a week during the month of August, finding it difficult to plan an adventure to see the world's largest cowboy boots in Seattle amid the shifts I work at the airport and my afternoons spent in the Office of Residence Life. But know that these adventures will begin soon, and they will be epic.
In fact, I believe that there is a percentage of people that are interested in achieving the same goal. When looking for more than just one of the world's largest in each state, I came across this: http://www.worldslargestdoc.com/. Apparently they are making a documentary about the efforts of small towns to attract tourists by building these monuments.
I wonder if there is a book on these landmarks...
Here is the background on the situation: Back in the 1990s, a John Travolta movie took a fallen angel on a road trip across the country with a bunch of reporters and a beloved pet. Travolta danced and smelled like cookies, Andie McDowell sang about pie, and I think the beloved pet might have died... Well, that movie was "Michael," and if it wasn't already one of the best movies I've ever seen, what makes it even better is the fact that Michael insists they visit the world's largest ball of twine and an collection of other "world's largest" sculptures on their trek across the country. Thus inspired my goal of doing the same (because who wouldn't want to see the world's largest ball of twine?!).
When I went home a couple of weekends ago my mom had this clipping waiting for me with... you'll never believe it... that's right! It was a clipping of "American originals," large sculptures from every state inspired to bring tourism to the farthest reaches of our country. I took this to be a sign that my adventures should begin as soon as possible.
I have decided my tour of these American originals, including the world's largest strawberry, will begin next month at the latest. I have apparently gone more crazy than usual and decided to work seven days a week during the month of August, finding it difficult to plan an adventure to see the world's largest cowboy boots in Seattle amid the shifts I work at the airport and my afternoons spent in the Office of Residence Life. But know that these adventures will begin soon, and they will be epic.
In fact, I believe that there is a percentage of people that are interested in achieving the same goal. When looking for more than just one of the world's largest in each state, I came across this: http://www.worldslargestdoc.com/. Apparently they are making a documentary about the efforts of small towns to attract tourists by building these monuments.
I wonder if there is a book on these landmarks...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
