Parking

I work in parking, and you have no idea how satisfying this comic is. (Image doesn't fit, click to see full.)

From XKCD.com

-iRob

Customer Service

(ring ring)
Me: "Thank you for calling (my company name). (my name) speaking."
Customer Support Representative: (long pause) "....hello?"
Me: "Hello, (my name) speaking?"
CSR: "Yes, hello. This is John calling from (cell phone company) customer service. I'm calling to do a customer satisfaction survey. Is (former co-worker's name) there?"
Me: "I'm sorry, he hasn't worked here in over a year."
CSR: "Oh, O.K. ...Is there a better time to call back?"
Me: "He hasn't worked here in over a year."
CSR: "Oh, O.K. Thank you for your time."
Me: "Goodbye."
(click)

-iRob

EDIT - I wish, I WISH I had said:

Me: "I'm sorry, he hasn't worked here in over a year."
CSR: "Oh, O.K. ...Is there a better time to call back?"
Me: "Try one year ago."

Damn. That's going to haunt me.

Go track something.

During my last week at Dell, I had finished all of my main projects and my work had been entirely transitioned to the rest of my team. Unless they had a question I didn't really have anything to do, and they didn't have many questions.

This was not as much fun as you might imagine. People with actual work to do were less than receptive to my wandering up and trying to chat. So I decided that I needed a hidey-hole to quietly wait out my sentence.

We had about 18 bankers boxes of old files that we were sending into deep storage, but they weren't really in any sort of order, and the contents weren't always known. No-one really cared much, but everyone agreed that in a perfect world we would know which files were in which box in case we ever needed them again. (They were terminated employee files. You need to keep them but you never actually need them.)

So I 'volunteered', which I will admit was pretty slick. I managed to turn watching DVD's on my laptop in my own private office into 'working hard getting things in order' before I left. To be fair I actually did make a spreadsheet and sort all of the boxes, and I did a good job. But I also watched about 30 movies in between playing air hockey in the break room.

To read this comic at the end of that week was pretty amusing. (Click to enlarge.)









DILBERT ©Scott Adams/Dist. by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

-iRob

I've got class!

License-wise, anyway.

Something came up yesterday that made one thing obvious - My life at work will be a lot easier if I'm able to drive our shuttle bus in an emergency or for maintenance.

Apparently that requires a Class 4 license.

So, I went yesterday on my lunch hour and got the right books from a local registry. I read them once and returned there, wrote the test and aced it. (Woot.) I booked a road test for today, and then went to a walk-in clinic for a medical, which is required.

I passed everything just fine, although I did flunk parallel parking. I'm a little embarrassed about that, so, you know, keep it to yourself.

Oh - and if you ever need someone to drive your commercial vehicle for hire, taxi, bus, or ambulance, I'm all over it.

-iRob

"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others."
-Groucho Marx

Settling in

Hey,

So I've been keeping more or less busy at my new job. The work is interesting and I'm learning a lot, but I don't have a permanent home just yet. I'm still being sent where they need me, which is fine.

I've invested some time and money in the Star Wars Starship Battles Miniature game, and it's really fun. It has a short learning curve and a huge range of possibilities for variation. I have enough pieces for two player games, so if anyone is interested in learning or playing, give me a ring.

Cheers,
iRob

"What if this weren't a hypothetical question?"
-Anonymous

Down Time

Hey,

I've been kickin' it with Dr.Haggis and Veritate, and working a lot. Have been learning a lot about facility management, and having some fun.

Today was the first day I was on my own. I'm covering for another person on leave, and the person who was originally covering and training me is now on vacation, so it's just me. It was a good day, as I more-or-less know what I'm supposed to be doing, but there are a few things I'm not sure of yet. That's O.K. as there are other managers at other sites I can call and they are always pretty helpful.

Been pretty tired lately and will try to start posting again soon.

iRob

"A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled."
-Sir Barnett Cocks

iWork

Hey.

So I had my first day today, which went well. The job isn't exactly what I expected, but that's not totally bad. It's less people and more hands-on work, but that's fine at my stage in things.

It's pretty hectic, but considering what I'm used to that's not even a small concern. My office will be near my responsibilities, meaning my office is underground in the parkade, but that will be O.K. After all, between the fluorescent lights and the lack of windows, my old cube may as well have been underground anyway. The dust will take getting used to, but I will get an air filter or something.

More important is that it looks like the work will be interesting, and I like the people I'm going to be working with. I got to meet my boss today (previously had only spoken over the phone) and he seems to be a really good guy. I met my area manager in my interview, and today was paired up with one of my peers, the parking manager for a different building. All of these people are easy to talk to, accepting, and patient. I'm looking forward to my time with them.

All in all I'm still getting used to everything and it will be a learning curve, but it's going to work out fine. By the time I have an apartment down here I will be an old hat at this.

That's it for now, I'm exhausted and need a nap.

-iRob

Hope

So at this particular moment, in addition to being between jobs, I'm also of 'no fixed address'. Woke up early at Dr. Haggis & Veritate's, and have 2 hours 43 min before I'm due to start a job that I have no experience in.

I'm pretty nervous - If for *any* reason this job doesn't work out I'm hooped, but I guess I just have to make sure it works out. I'm usually fairly good at most things I try to do, and I'm going to give this one all I've got.

Wish me luck.

-iRob

"As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."
-Albert Einstein

Unemployed

Hi team,

So for anyone left unaware, I'm currently between jobs. Not in a worrisome way, as I have a new job in Calgary that I start on Monday, but since my last day at Dell was yesterday, it's a bit unnerving.

There is something surreal about leaving a job you've been at for a couple years. People crawl out of the woodwork to tell you how much you will be missed and how enjoyable you were to work with. I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm not going to see most of those people again. Oh - I'll try to keep in touch, but everyone always does. I will be very busy with my new job/apartment/life fairly soon, and it will be weirder and harder to email my old work friends. I know that and so do they. The people I see outside of work are different, and that will be much easier.

So since our apartment is ready in June and my new job starts tomorrow, I'm relying on the charity of many good friends, Dr.Haggis and Veritate, sith@heart and A., Petranef, Laughing Magpie and Dr. Smith, Kr and Sa, Chris, and J's mom, and many others who have all given me extremely generous offers for places to be while I wait and work. Without all of your support this would be a great deal more difficult and expensive.

It will be hard enough with living out of a suitcase and being away from J for these 8.5 weeks. The longest we've been apart was the 3 months when she first came to Edmonton. The idea was that I would stay in Calgary and work, but I (very fortunately) was laid off and came to be with her in Edmonton. She will join me in June when her job starts in Calgary and the apartment is ready.

So I guess I should consider myself fortunate at this point to be between jobs. After all, the new job is very exciting and a great deal more challenging. Besides, after tomorrow I will be of 'no fixed address' (Gah!)

-iRob

"When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken."
Benjamin Disraeli

Yeah, Baby!

w00t!

-iRob

I... Live... Again...

What up?

Filing project is complete. Took part of yesterday off to recover, life more or less back on track. Have many events to report, and will start posting again.

Sneak peeks:

1. New Ride
2. Road Trip of Destiny
3. Random Musings

See you soon.

-iRob

"I have suffered a great deal from writers who have quoted this or that sentence of mine either out of its context or in juxtaposition to some incongruous matter which quite distorted my meaning , or destroyed it altogether."
-Alfred North Whitehead

Love of paperclips

I recently realized something that makes me sad - I no longer love office supplies.

I've always liked office supplies, even when I was little. I thought that paperclips, staples, binders, pens, whiteboards, etc. were pretty cool, even before I was old enough to really understand why they existed. Of course back then the paperclips existed to make cool chains and the whiteboards were for happy faces.

I've joined the rest of the working world: I finally have a desk job that requires paperwork. It has been something that I have been able to avoid up until now. For anyone who doesn't know me let's play a game. Out of these jobs I once held, point to the one I do now. Hint: "Paperwork".

• Jem Cutter
• McDonalds Cashier
• Armourer
• Call center worker
• Dental Tech
• HR Records Administration Specialist

That's right. I now have a huge box filled with clips, pens, whiteout, staples, folders, files, markers, post-its, etc. and they bring me less joy than they ever have before. I even have a person who works at my office, and as far as I can tell her job is to say "O.K. here you go." to the question "Hi, can I have some (insert office supply here)?" So I have unlimited free access to toys.

But they aren't toys anymore. I actually use them for actual boring work. My alligator clips hold my audit sheets together, and I need to use whiteout to correct forms. My files are full of well, files, and I think my binders all have T.P.S. reports in them. They have come to be associated with boredom and pain, and I don't think that can change back.

Anyone else have a little piece of their childhood die because of their job?

-iRob

"Always be smarter than the people who hire you."
-Lena Horne