Things that irk me at work

(yes - usage of the word "irk" is still going strong)

 

So say you send a very polite email to some one at work that occupies a position in the work heirachy that is considerably higher than you. And as they weild far more power over peoples happiness than you do, you are very polite and you ask nicely for what you need. So nicely do you ask that it takes you 20 minutes to type the email that effectively has the complexity.

 

"Dear [Great Ruler of all Creatures great and small]

I am [this person]. I am working on [this task]. I need [this item]. I need it for [this reason].

Thank you,

[Name]"

 

And if you are fortunate enough, you get a response that boils down to "I acknowledge that you have sent me an email."

 

and then.... *nothing*.

 

....not a single word.

 

It sort of says to me, "You are inferior and irrespective of how urgent/important/life threatening/world peace threatening your request is, I have absolutely no interest at all in answering it. Go play in the sand pit."

 

I hate it. I think it is just plain rude. I wouldn't have bothered the royal highness (no one in particular, rather several on different occasions) if I could have solved the problem myself.

 

It's bad treatment of petty-underlings.... which has dilbert-esque unproductive demotivational consequences.... which usually isn't good.

 

Anyway onwards we go with the LOOOMING deadline... (without the item I need)... 

 

Electricians cost....

oh my {Blasphemous Words except then I would be blaspheming} !!!

The plugs weren't working in my new place and so I called in an electrician. They looked at teh wires in my board and checked the plugs in the place and tightened a few screws.

 

Today, the invoice arrived from the electrician.

 

Cost of labour - an acceptable price I guess for two chaps to do their technician thing.

+ cost of one single plug = price to take large family out to dinner at McDonalds including grandparents (I could have done that myself with a R30 plug from GAME)

+ 6 new labels for the Board = a price, which if I were buying the stickers per meter squared, would be equivalent to buying a new 1-series BMW (I could have relabeled the board with permanent marker)

 

 

To add insult to injury, the plugs are still not working all the time. I can hear the switch sparking on cold and lonely nights.

 

Now before you say, "But you are an electrical engineer!!"

 

1. Yes I can also unscrew and rescrew wires in a board however I would have to use a hairclip as a screw driver as I do not own a tool set (well actually my teeny-turner is missing)

 

2. Due to my present work schedule and the fact that I forget to buy groceries, I usually leave early in the morning and arrive home as it's getting dark or after, hence you can't repair a board while keeping it live to keep the lights on.

 

3. The electrician has lots of other nifty tools that they only teach you about in tech school (I however have niftier tools called software.)

 

Sigh... lesson learned. (the price of the materials is the ridiculous bit not the labour rate - bunch of sharks who inflate prices because I live near a larney area...)

Getting my #¿£@! together

... Literally and probably methaphorically...

So I have to now pack up everything (in the invisible boxes everyone promised me that are crowding me out of my room except for a small invisible passage way) and move into my new place. I am generally moving in a counter-clockwise direction around the room and have tidied/packed my CD's, my desk, my stationary and paper desk drawers, my jewellery, and today my dressing table.

I this process so far I have dug up some things that I had lost and or forgotten about and or didn't know I had. Today I found an old photo of a boyfriend. So old I think it was an out dated photo when I got it. It's an old learners licence photo and so the lighting makes his face odd. So odd in fact the photo resulted in my friends giving him a nickname behind his back - The Pretty Boy.

Anyway I pondered upon the photo and what to do with it... For it's existence serves no real purpose other than melancholy thoughts. Perhaps to loose it to find it again and ponder more. Perhaps to stash it for poking fun at The Pretty Boy (TPB) again. Perhaps to burn it and raise my crazy lady status (in fact photo's don't burn well by themselves - I tried it before).

I opted for a boring option and shoved it into a photo album of pictures just as old as it... It is however never to late for the crazy lady option... (until you have actually taken the option... then it's too late to think about poisonous chemicals in burning photograph ink and paper)

I smile and wave at police cars

... And if they could hear me I would shout, "Keep up the good work!"

I have this utopian idea that if we treat police officers like they have an honourable job instead of calling them piggies and flipping the bird, then they may too see themselves as an important honourable people and corrupt cops may be no longer... The eventual goal of course Always being World Peace! :D

(Kinda doesn't work as well when you are waving and smiling while breaking the speed limit zooming past them :/ )

Frankies Travels : Ballito, Durban, KZN

I am on my last evening here in the Dolphin Caravan Park in Ballito (Compensation Road if you must know)

It has been 10 days down on the late summer humid semi-tropical east coast in walking distance to the beach.... Willards Beach... If you must know.

This holiday has been a semi-return to childhood as I haven't been caravanning with my family (or holidaying in fact) for at least 2 years.

I got sick and tired of it and put my foot down and said No More and found excuses to not go for two whole years (basically Final year of varsity and not having leave from work - real difficult excuses there)

I just got tired of the concept and the close small living spaces and the family members annoying personality traits...

However this time I decided to come along as I haven't really had a nice holiday in a while and I was needing a break from work. Incidently this family holiday comes just before the new lease on my new place took effect... So essentially 10 days in a tent and caravan closed space with family and then go home and moving out!

And so overall it's been pretty good. The weather was fine and the sea and sand and surf was reasonable and the bickering and disagreements and annoying traits were perhaps easier to ignore. I actually got to spend some pretty quality time with the siblings.

I will complain that There is SO MUCH gear to set up for this camping concept! It get pretty tired and old pretty fast on the first day after 8 hours of travelling and an early morning start to have to endure the bossing around and hot stuffy tent while we get ourselves set up. Enough tables and kitchens and chairs and tents and canopies already! (one always manages to make me bleed)

I will also complain that Enough with the scratching and adjusting and readjusting and itching and sleeping in loose trousers with legs splayed wide Boys! Sies already!

People smelly funny after a while. And their dirty clothes are containers of distilled portions of that weird smell (eeeeuuuwww!)

That's all :)

PS so overall I am sad to be returning to work in two days. Tomorrow is going to be extreme tiredness of travelling and unpacking. bleeuugghh SO SO not in the mood :) Toyota did not take comfort into account into designing the passenger row of the Venture.... (My legs are gonna wanna die tomorrow)