I no doubt refer to myself with this title.
Here I am, sat in the cold confines of a working hotel castle (the room that used to be a gym I'm reliably informed by an alcoholic alumini guest a few weeks ago) not knowing exactly what to do. Instead I thought I'd use my time to write about how frustrating it is being on the other side of the counter.
My mother yesterday was irrate when she contacted a company regarding our boiler breaking down. She was affronted that the person who was coming out to do the annual check was unable to do it because there was a fault with the machine rather than the routine check he expected. Instead he told her that an engineer will be with us shortly who will know more about what to do with the problem. My mother couldn't comprehend why the guy that does the routine checks and is meant to pick out suspected faults, couldn't manage a little leak. And this got me thinking. We expect such a high level of competency from businesses and we're annoyed when they can't do the job they're being paid to do. Then this got me worried, because no matter what job I do, no matter how long I've been at it, there's always something that I don't know, something that I need someone else to help with.
For instance, innocently covering a lunch time shift the other day, I was asked a question that I'd spent the last month trying to work out an answer to - what do I do if a customer asks for a print. All I got from everyone I asked was 'play it by ear'. And that day, 10 minutes before the end of my shift someone wanted a print. Nightmare. This caused 10 minutes of humming and harring and 'would it be possible to come back in 10 minutes time?'. The queue was mounting up and the woman behind this customer looked much put out by the wait. This simply is not fair. I wasn't given the information to deal with the customer no matter what length I went to even before the situation arose. And plus I'm only casual staff popping in every so often so it's quite hard to keep a grasp of things. In another scenario, I thought my life had been made easier by a till update on items instead of spending 2 minutes endlessly searching criteria just so someone can have a 50p postcard only to find out the option on the til wanted me to charge £2.50!! "Dear me, all this for one postcard!" exclaimed an old man, but all I could do was plaster a sympathetic smile on my face and wait for the till to get a move on. This is what technology has brought us, reliant on machines to the point that when it goes wrong we're actually helpless. Forget about robots it's already controlling us. Working in a customer environment all we seem to get is complaints and 'why can't you just answer my question' - it's simply because I don't know or we don't know, or we're not even paid to do that.
Therefore, to end my rant, I have utter sympathy with the man that my mother spent the rest of the evening blasting about that he can't do his job. We are, afterall, only human. Next time a retailer has problems ringing up your product or they don't have the answer to your question, relax, you were in that position once.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
The Unconventional News - 8/4/2012
The Titanic memorial ship is launched - to follow route followed by Titanic 100 years ago. How time has changed (and hopefully when they say they're 'Unsinkable' they mean unsinkable).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17649500
(Man at the end is worth a listen to!)
Oh the Tory government haven't escaped the mockery that Labour has in their power...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17650230
"It's his laptop I'm worried about" - a bad day at work much?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17649105
A few LOL's on the BBC1's Odd Box this week
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/17392661
Always makes me smile when a flashmob goes to plan
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17649950
And finally some clips to put a smile on your face :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv_gOBi8Wpk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT--h2GjaAU
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17649500
(Man at the end is worth a listen to!)
Oh the Tory government haven't escaped the mockery that Labour has in their power...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17650230
"It's his laptop I'm worried about" - a bad day at work much?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17649105
A few LOL's on the BBC1's Odd Box this week
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/17392661
Always makes me smile when a flashmob goes to plan
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-17649950
And finally some clips to put a smile on your face :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv_gOBi8Wpk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT--h2GjaAU
Sunday, April 8, 2012
The Striking Thing About The Titanic
As you will all be aware of, no doubt if you've turned on your TV or ventured out to buy a paper or browsed on the internet, is the impending 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking.
The Titanic sunk on 15th April 1912. The gigantic vessel was the largest moving thing on the plant and was dubbed as 'Unsinkable' and yet it now lies deteriorating rapidly in it's cold watery grave somewhere on the Atlantic sea bed. It was the news that shook the western world as reports filtered through that more than 1500 of the 2200 passengers on board had met their demise out in the middle of an ice field in the early hours of the morning. It was a set of unfortunate coincidences that made the highly praised masterpiece strike it's final agreement with death: the forgetting of the binoculars in the crow's nest; the ignored ice warnings from surrounding ships; the want to get to New York in record time (possible myth); the ice sheet dumping the giant icebergs into the water at an unexpected time; the lack of lifeboats (20 lifeboats to be shared among 2200) and countless others.
We are all aware of the extraordinary events that happened that night; the dazzling array of famous First Class passengers that lost their lives or cheated their way to safety whilst the steerage and Third Class were plunged into the icy water; the band that played until the end; the engineers that sacrificed their lives to do what they could; Captain Smith watching his livelihood crumble before him; women and children only and the distress call S.O.S.. But nothing is more remarkable than what happened afterwards - the countless artistic impressions of the sinking ship.
It is rather an odd thing to point out and it had most certainly escaped my attention for the whole 16 or so years that I've been intrigued by the historic event. But the depiction of the sinking on postcards, on mantle piece artwork, and more remarkably, the graves and memorials of the passengers and stewards that had lost their lives on board the Titanic is quite an odd thing to grasp. It is the sinking of the finest ship ever made at the time; it is also the sinking of 1500 people; it is one of the greatest remembered disasters of all time. And this image has been used as art.
I may not be putting my point across here well, but what I'm trying to say is that, would you have a print of 9/11 with the Twin Towers coughing out black smoke and the planes flying around it? Would you have a picture of the tsunami hitting Japan in 2011? Would you have these on your wall? I highly doubt it. Yet for some reason this was acceptable in 1912 and probably still is now. There are so many digitalised or artistic paintings of the Titanic floundering and a lifeboat full of people in the foreground watching the dismal scene. I find this very odd. This is not to say that I find it outrageous, I just find it odd that I have never noticed how candidly it's used especially when we are considering that we are effectively admiring 1500 people dying!
But that is the striking thing about the Titanic, it is a story that ticks all the boxes. It was a remarkable twist in a story of legend. That the ego's of the ship builders and manufacturers were trashed that their unsinkable ship had actually sunk. That technology wasn't as infallible as suggested. That this great liner had almost signed it's own death warrant before even leaving the harbour with it's lack of life boats. It was a lesson to the world. We are not as indestructible as we think. And hidden within this legend is the individual stories of the 2200 people on board that continue to inspire movies and books. It has it's heroes and it has it's villains. And it will always capture the world's imagination and hearts. And this is probably why we accept the image of the sinking ship.
Articles of interest:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17511820
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/titanic/building-titanic-interactive-timeline/?source=link_TW_02
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17649557
The Titanic sunk on 15th April 1912. The gigantic vessel was the largest moving thing on the plant and was dubbed as 'Unsinkable' and yet it now lies deteriorating rapidly in it's cold watery grave somewhere on the Atlantic sea bed. It was the news that shook the western world as reports filtered through that more than 1500 of the 2200 passengers on board had met their demise out in the middle of an ice field in the early hours of the morning. It was a set of unfortunate coincidences that made the highly praised masterpiece strike it's final agreement with death: the forgetting of the binoculars in the crow's nest; the ignored ice warnings from surrounding ships; the want to get to New York in record time (possible myth); the ice sheet dumping the giant icebergs into the water at an unexpected time; the lack of lifeboats (20 lifeboats to be shared among 2200) and countless others.
We are all aware of the extraordinary events that happened that night; the dazzling array of famous First Class passengers that lost their lives or cheated their way to safety whilst the steerage and Third Class were plunged into the icy water; the band that played until the end; the engineers that sacrificed their lives to do what they could; Captain Smith watching his livelihood crumble before him; women and children only and the distress call S.O.S.. But nothing is more remarkable than what happened afterwards - the countless artistic impressions of the sinking ship.
It is rather an odd thing to point out and it had most certainly escaped my attention for the whole 16 or so years that I've been intrigued by the historic event. But the depiction of the sinking on postcards, on mantle piece artwork, and more remarkably, the graves and memorials of the passengers and stewards that had lost their lives on board the Titanic is quite an odd thing to grasp. It is the sinking of the finest ship ever made at the time; it is also the sinking of 1500 people; it is one of the greatest remembered disasters of all time. And this image has been used as art.
I may not be putting my point across here well, but what I'm trying to say is that, would you have a print of 9/11 with the Twin Towers coughing out black smoke and the planes flying around it? Would you have a picture of the tsunami hitting Japan in 2011? Would you have these on your wall? I highly doubt it. Yet for some reason this was acceptable in 1912 and probably still is now. There are so many digitalised or artistic paintings of the Titanic floundering and a lifeboat full of people in the foreground watching the dismal scene. I find this very odd. This is not to say that I find it outrageous, I just find it odd that I have never noticed how candidly it's used especially when we are considering that we are effectively admiring 1500 people dying!
But that is the striking thing about the Titanic, it is a story that ticks all the boxes. It was a remarkable twist in a story of legend. That the ego's of the ship builders and manufacturers were trashed that their unsinkable ship had actually sunk. That technology wasn't as infallible as suggested. That this great liner had almost signed it's own death warrant before even leaving the harbour with it's lack of life boats. It was a lesson to the world. We are not as indestructible as we think. And hidden within this legend is the individual stories of the 2200 people on board that continue to inspire movies and books. It has it's heroes and it has it's villains. And it will always capture the world's imagination and hearts. And this is probably why we accept the image of the sinking ship.
Articles of interest:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17511820
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/titanic/building-titanic-interactive-timeline/?source=link_TW_02
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17649557
With age becomes the meaning of self?
Some say that when you reach a certain age in your twenties you begin to get over the angst and complete self-infatuation you had as a teenager and begin to adopt an introspective viewpoint of yourself. You begin to understand that you're not the centre of the universe, your flaws are not unique to you and nor are your strengths. You are in fact a statistic. You also start to think that, yes, you are at a point that you have to choose which direction you are going to travel in. Some psychologists describe development as a ball rolling down a hill; it can follow a channel, and every now and again it will change direction and choose between an intersection which determines which line you will ultimately end up in. Life is nothing but a continuous rolling of never-ending choices, and it's up to you which one you choose. And here I am, supposedly sat in that age of knowing where I'm going but instead sat on the verge of uncertainty.
I mean look at the educational system. From the age of about 3 or 4 you're in a compulsory structure of education. By 16 it's your choice (or was until the interfering government) whether to continue education or to withdraw and go straight into working. I saw only one channel for me; to got to sixth form, to go to university, to come out of it with a qualification that will put me in good stead. But like so many, I failed to plan forward which is why I'm in the predicament of spending a gap year before going back for more education. But I still don't know if teaching is the right profession for me. I just do not know. I am barreling along in life with no set plan, but instead some sort of rudimentary rough draft of what I'm going to do until I decide.
I mean look at the educational system. From the age of about 3 or 4 you're in a compulsory structure of education. By 16 it's your choice (or was until the interfering government) whether to continue education or to withdraw and go straight into working. I saw only one channel for me; to got to sixth form, to go to university, to come out of it with a qualification that will put me in good stead. But like so many, I failed to plan forward which is why I'm in the predicament of spending a gap year before going back for more education. But I still don't know if teaching is the right profession for me. I just do not know. I am barreling along in life with no set plan, but instead some sort of rudimentary rough draft of what I'm going to do until I decide.
So I sighed when I reached 22 on Friday. I feel content within myself and have mature to the point that I could be independent if needed. Yet I still lack introspect on the career side. When one birthday message asked me if I'd gained the introspect and wisdom that the twenties promise people I was left wondering what to reply. After taking a day out for recuperation (it seems what my 22year old body, can do, if lack of introspection, is not do what I could do in student life and party all night!) I replied with this:-
I feel so old that I've taken a liken to staying in on a night and watching documentaries. I was even musing today that I'd quite like to be a lawyer! It appears that being this old still hasn't made me content with where I am/any closer to knowing where I want to be in life.
But I'll still be in ____ next year doing a PGCE and wasting my life until I do know exactly what I want to be! So maybe if you ask that question in a year I can give you a better answer.And that's exactly all I can provide. That I have matured. That I am suddenly aware of all the options out there that I'd never considered. That I'm following some sort of road and I don't know where it's going. And I'm fine with that kind of life, only if you watch enough horror movies as I do, you'll know that actually travelling along a road you don't know can lead to disastrous consequences...
So I'm guessing this time next year when I get asked whether I have wisdom and have deep introspection of life I'll be able to give them a clear answer. But as of yet I can't, and maybe we're never meant to be able to.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The Sound of Laughter
Last night I was struck by this funny noise. A noise that seemingly didn't come from me, but yet I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.
It took me a couple of minutes to realise that in actual fact that noise was laughing. And it was laughter coming from me. I was rocked with the realisation that I'd not heard myself laugh in months. Genuine, unorchestrated laughter. And this saddened me. I remember the days where I never stopped laughing. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep there was always something amusing. Something I could laugh at as I was walking along the street by myself. Something which always meant I had a smile plastered across my face. And something my mother used to be able to be proud of when other mother's said 'Your kid is always happy, always has a smile on her face, wish mine could be as happy'.
It's so sad to think that now my own laughter is unrecognisable.
I miss it! I miss the endorphins. And I can't understand what happened to make the laughter run off, or so to speak. Has it disappeared with growing up? Has the years of studying; stress; trying to find work; having so many decisions on my plate; actually affected my sense of humour? Have I finally become serious?
I genuinely don't know.
And so this is my project - to start laughing again. To turn the forced laughs into genuine laughs. To feel the giddiness and naivete of my youth return - life's just too short for seriousness.
It took me a couple of minutes to realise that in actual fact that noise was laughing. And it was laughter coming from me. I was rocked with the realisation that I'd not heard myself laugh in months. Genuine, unorchestrated laughter. And this saddened me. I remember the days where I never stopped laughing. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep there was always something amusing. Something I could laugh at as I was walking along the street by myself. Something which always meant I had a smile plastered across my face. And something my mother used to be able to be proud of when other mother's said 'Your kid is always happy, always has a smile on her face, wish mine could be as happy'.
It's so sad to think that now my own laughter is unrecognisable.
I miss it! I miss the endorphins. And I can't understand what happened to make the laughter run off, or so to speak. Has it disappeared with growing up? Has the years of studying; stress; trying to find work; having so many decisions on my plate; actually affected my sense of humour? Have I finally become serious?
I genuinely don't know.
And so this is my project - to start laughing again. To turn the forced laughs into genuine laughs. To feel the giddiness and naivete of my youth return - life's just too short for seriousness.
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