Working for the man in the 2010's is a different gig than it was in the 60s and 70s. For one thing the "man" is just as likely to be the "woman" and for another the "man" may well not be human at all. I have the great pleasure (insert snarky tone here) to have both things going for me. My immediate supervisor is ostensibly a nice young woman 30 years of age, but in actuality I work for a computer. It tells me when to start, when I can take a break and when I can go home. If I have a temper tantrum at not being able to sign out for break(old man needed to Pee) and happen to drop oh let's say a dozen calls, it rats me out to some pernicious little weenie in the home office that tracks me down, writes me up and gets me fined a week's worth of commission. Ain't corporate life in post recession awesome?
Now to be clear on this I do not object to working for a woman, but I would at least like her to be older than my own children. Seriously, it's like working for your kids here. Secondly if you have to work for a computer then make the thing smarter, faster and more helpful.
Recently a corporate weenie decided a call I answered took too long and wasn't focused enough on auto glass, even though the customer's question was something entirely different. Again there was a write up and another attempt to fine me a week's commission, but this time I objected. We had a meeting with another supervisor up the line, listened to the call and had the warning (a final written one) voided. All this during the week I was the number 5 salesperson (by commission paid that week) in the telephone sales department. There are about 900 people in my position.
I took the opportunity during the last meeting to encourage the management (read people my kids age) to be more positive and uplifting to the employees. We fire or someone quits here almost every day. The turnover is incredible, really outrageous, but due to the economy there is a fresh group every week or two.
Anyway...
Play this weekend consisted of chilling out. My wife had a couple of grandkid's parties to attend and I was still bushed from our trip last weekend. During that weekend we spent the night in the hotel at the Apache Gold Casino in Globe, the next day traveled to Pine Top and then came back Sunday through Payson. The total miles covered during this circuit was 454. Loved the trip with the exception of the new photo speed trap at the entrance to Show Low coming in the main highway. The damned thing flashed me and I await an overpriced ticket in the mail. So this weekend was used for rest and relaxation.
I did watch the Cards win on Saturday. The game started in old style Cardinals fashion, but in the last quarter they pulled in out. I wouldn't have thought to watch, but the young lady who sits next to me at work is the girlfriend of one of the players. Having a personal connection made it more interesting. She is a great young woman and not the kind you'd expect as an NFL players sweetheart. She is shy, hardworking (going to school full time to finish a graduate degree, teaching soldiers in the National Guard on Weekend duty and working 30 hours a week as well). She has impressed me with her independence, drive, and fortitude. Yet the small minds that make up our management at work have failed her miserably. She needs a Monday-Friday schedule starting in September to allow her to perform her national guard duties more fully and they have managed to botch up the effort. It looks like she will find other employment. At that point my personal connection to the cards may evaporate.
Well at least I watched one game.
Things are much the same and then not like anything or any time before. Life goes by faster now and leaves a little less to remember it by. I suppose when fall finally gets here and we can emerge from our air conditioned cocoons I'll cheer up.
RT
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Saturrrrdaaaaaay Afternoooooooon
If you lived through the 60s and have enough brain cells left to remember the Jefferson Airplane and a singer named Gracie Slick, you may understand the manner in which today's blog title is written. If you didn't and you don't, Oh Well!
My better half and her mother are spending the afternoon at my daughter's hair salon, so I've got time to watch a little world cup, a little golf and surf the net for the latest news.
The first thing I found on the Huffington Post this morning was an interview by a high school student of a long time Arizona legislator who chairs the committee on education. Sort of an oxymoron really, I mean education and a committee on education in the Arizona legislature.
Anyway, the boob doesn't know his own voting record and the fact he voted to cut $550 million bucks from the same program he says he supports. You can read the article and see the video HERE.
Then over John Amato's Crooks and Liars is this fantastic video from C-Span of Democratic congressman Sheldon Whitehouse giving a detailed and chilling account of how corporations have infiltrated the very government agencies that are supposed to be regulating them. That article and commentary video(I warn you it's long and windy and full of hyperbole, but still accurate) can be found HERE.
I stopped in at the sight called Hysterical Raisins and found this amusing account of the Republican Senator who felt the need to apologize to BP for being extorted by the Obama administration to pony up $20 billion for a fund to help the victims of the Deep Horizon continued oil pumping. (It ain't a spill folks, they're just pumping 50-75 thousand barrels of oil directly into the Gulf of Mexico.) You can check that out HERE.
Well that's enough political claptrap for me this week. The weekend is way too short to start off with, so there's a limit to how much time I'm willing to devote to contemplating the seemingly unstoppable decline of our society and nation.
The summer doldrums are upon us here in Phoenix, with temps each day over 100 degrees, so the best thing you can do is hang out at the pool or inside in the AC or make the trek up north on weekends to escape the heat.
I wish you well
RT
My better half and her mother are spending the afternoon at my daughter's hair salon, so I've got time to watch a little world cup, a little golf and surf the net for the latest news.
The first thing I found on the Huffington Post this morning was an interview by a high school student of a long time Arizona legislator who chairs the committee on education. Sort of an oxymoron really, I mean education and a committee on education in the Arizona legislature.
Anyway, the boob doesn't know his own voting record and the fact he voted to cut $550 million bucks from the same program he says he supports. You can read the article and see the video HERE.
Then over John Amato's Crooks and Liars is this fantastic video from C-Span of Democratic congressman Sheldon Whitehouse giving a detailed and chilling account of how corporations have infiltrated the very government agencies that are supposed to be regulating them. That article and commentary video(I warn you it's long and windy and full of hyperbole, but still accurate) can be found HERE.
I stopped in at the sight called Hysterical Raisins and found this amusing account of the Republican Senator who felt the need to apologize to BP for being extorted by the Obama administration to pony up $20 billion for a fund to help the victims of the Deep Horizon continued oil pumping. (It ain't a spill folks, they're just pumping 50-75 thousand barrels of oil directly into the Gulf of Mexico.) You can check that out HERE.
Well that's enough political claptrap for me this week. The weekend is way too short to start off with, so there's a limit to how much time I'm willing to devote to contemplating the seemingly unstoppable decline of our society and nation.
The summer doldrums are upon us here in Phoenix, with temps each day over 100 degrees, so the best thing you can do is hang out at the pool or inside in the AC or make the trek up north on weekends to escape the heat.
I wish you well
RT
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Random Sunday Thoughts
BP OIL - How about some criminal charges for those who knew they were risking disaster and proceeded anyway? And while we're at it, what will the Gulf of Mexico and the rest of the world's Oceans connected to the gulf by currents look like with MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL in them?
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE LEAK - slow, inept and let's face it, quite impotent. It becomes clearer and clearer that regardless of the party or leader in office that corporations run our planet with minimal oversight.
ARIZONA'S IMMIGRATION BILL - It's hard to believe it will have any significant effect on the amount of illegal aliens in our midst. It has however sparked debate on what we are willing and able to do about our ever changing demographic. And of course it reinforces the idea that we here in Arizona are backward, illiterate racists.
FIREWORKS, GUN LAWS AND GUNS IN BARS - Though this is old news it still bugs me that our state legislature is able to spend time on these laws but can't find the time or smarts to help with our state's fiscal issues.
JOHN MCCAIN AND WHAT'S HIS NAME HAYWARD - This dude (Hayward not McCain) has always reminded me of the cartoon character that said "and now for the Norts Spews." Whatever their party comes up with will be immaterial to me and many other voters.
THE NEXT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE - Since the selection of George Bush by the court is has become more and more important to get someone on the court who is even slightly liberal. This is why the republicans fight so hard on these appointments.
THE DEFINITION OF CONSERVATIVE - I have long wondered what exactly is supposed to be conservative about a party that abandons the middle class, worships the wealthy and powerful and wreaks havoc on the few protections given to the common man. Two wars (at least one totally uncalled for) billions wasted on killing people and worsening our position in the world and these people call themselves conservative. Sounds extremely radical to me.
THE ECONOMY - For some reason the markets have been surprised that jobs have not bounced back. These are the same folks that oversaw the exodus of manufacturing during the last 3 decades in search of better quarterly results. Really? Now you're surprised?
BEING A HOCKEY FAN IN ARIZONA - Each year I look forward to the NHL playoffs and the Stanley Cup. I don't follow the rest of the season because I don't have cable and I don't care till the playoffs. This year NBC carried the first two games and will carry the 5th game today. We were able to see game 4 over at the clubhouse here in our development while enjoying the buffet so that worked out great. It took me a while to get over the way the Coyotes played in game seven against the Red Wings, but I'm back to rooting for the underdog in the Cup finals.
WORK HAS CHANGED - I'm working as a troop these days, just one of many, many others. It is a daily lesson in humility. I've fought for a decent lunch hours (yes, one that falls somewhere in the actual time you eat lunch) and won due to a doctor's note. Now I'm in a similar battle over a decent work station that doesn't cause the arthritis in my neck to incapacitate me after a day's work. Again a doctor's note has been required to get even minimal action. I will be bringing in a footstool to help mitigate the pain caused by the replacement chair that gives me enough height to work the keyboard, but denies me the ability for my feet to reach the floor.
WEEKENDS ARE WAY TOO SHORT - Enough said!
RT
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE LEAK - slow, inept and let's face it, quite impotent. It becomes clearer and clearer that regardless of the party or leader in office that corporations run our planet with minimal oversight.
ARIZONA'S IMMIGRATION BILL - It's hard to believe it will have any significant effect on the amount of illegal aliens in our midst. It has however sparked debate on what we are willing and able to do about our ever changing demographic. And of course it reinforces the idea that we here in Arizona are backward, illiterate racists.
FIREWORKS, GUN LAWS AND GUNS IN BARS - Though this is old news it still bugs me that our state legislature is able to spend time on these laws but can't find the time or smarts to help with our state's fiscal issues.
JOHN MCCAIN AND WHAT'S HIS NAME HAYWARD - This dude (Hayward not McCain) has always reminded me of the cartoon character that said "and now for the Norts Spews." Whatever their party comes up with will be immaterial to me and many other voters.
THE NEXT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE - Since the selection of George Bush by the court is has become more and more important to get someone on the court who is even slightly liberal. This is why the republicans fight so hard on these appointments.
THE DEFINITION OF CONSERVATIVE - I have long wondered what exactly is supposed to be conservative about a party that abandons the middle class, worships the wealthy and powerful and wreaks havoc on the few protections given to the common man. Two wars (at least one totally uncalled for) billions wasted on killing people and worsening our position in the world and these people call themselves conservative. Sounds extremely radical to me.
THE ECONOMY - For some reason the markets have been surprised that jobs have not bounced back. These are the same folks that oversaw the exodus of manufacturing during the last 3 decades in search of better quarterly results. Really? Now you're surprised?
BEING A HOCKEY FAN IN ARIZONA - Each year I look forward to the NHL playoffs and the Stanley Cup. I don't follow the rest of the season because I don't have cable and I don't care till the playoffs. This year NBC carried the first two games and will carry the 5th game today. We were able to see game 4 over at the clubhouse here in our development while enjoying the buffet so that worked out great. It took me a while to get over the way the Coyotes played in game seven against the Red Wings, but I'm back to rooting for the underdog in the Cup finals.
WORK HAS CHANGED - I'm working as a troop these days, just one of many, many others. It is a daily lesson in humility. I've fought for a decent lunch hours (yes, one that falls somewhere in the actual time you eat lunch) and won due to a doctor's note. Now I'm in a similar battle over a decent work station that doesn't cause the arthritis in my neck to incapacitate me after a day's work. Again a doctor's note has been required to get even minimal action. I will be bringing in a footstool to help mitigate the pain caused by the replacement chair that gives me enough height to work the keyboard, but denies me the ability for my feet to reach the floor.
WEEKENDS ARE WAY TOO SHORT - Enough said!
RT
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Memorial Day this Year
I have often griped in the past about not having a veterans day off. It went on like that for more than 3 decades since my release from active duty. For some reason every time it came around I had to work. It has not been the same with Memorial Day. This year will be the first in my memory, going back at least 30 years or so, when I WILL be working on Memorial Day.
I should be thankful that I have a job and believe me, I am. It's just that this year I was drafted to work on what would otherwise be a paid holiday. It doesn't feel like much of a Holiday if you're working does it? Oh well, that's life in the post recession corporatocracy we like to call the good Ole USA.
Many of my fellow employees are in the same boat. We will spend 4 hour shifts tomorrow answering calls about auto glass pricing and scheduling. It seems our busy country and populace require instant auto glass gratification. So while you are basking in the sun on the beach or considering the plane, train or auto ride home from the memorial day trip, I will be there for you if a rock dings your windshield or a vandal or thief breaks your drivers door glass and makes off with your Garmin.
Of course the real meaning and purpose of Memorial Day usually gets lost in the drive to maximize vacation time and leisure. If you're interested in the genesis of this holiday, then please go here. The official date of inception is May 30th 1868. A union general named John Logan declared this day as a time to put flowers on the graves of union and confederate soldiers.
So................ Whether you're working tomorrow, finishing your holiday or just hanging at your house, please take a minute and contemplate why we honor the millions of soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines who gave their lives fighting battles in the name of our country.
RT
I should be thankful that I have a job and believe me, I am. It's just that this year I was drafted to work on what would otherwise be a paid holiday. It doesn't feel like much of a Holiday if you're working does it? Oh well, that's life in the post recession corporatocracy we like to call the good Ole USA.
Many of my fellow employees are in the same boat. We will spend 4 hour shifts tomorrow answering calls about auto glass pricing and scheduling. It seems our busy country and populace require instant auto glass gratification. So while you are basking in the sun on the beach or considering the plane, train or auto ride home from the memorial day trip, I will be there for you if a rock dings your windshield or a vandal or thief breaks your drivers door glass and makes off with your Garmin.
Of course the real meaning and purpose of Memorial Day usually gets lost in the drive to maximize vacation time and leisure. If you're interested in the genesis of this holiday, then please go here. The official date of inception is May 30th 1868. A union general named John Logan declared this day as a time to put flowers on the graves of union and confederate soldiers.
So................ Whether you're working tomorrow, finishing your holiday or just hanging at your house, please take a minute and contemplate why we honor the millions of soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines who gave their lives fighting battles in the name of our country.
RT
Thursday, April 1, 2010
What I like about spammers
It seems that a couple of dweebs out there among the vast intertubes of the overnet think that blogs are just places for them to post their crap.
Not so much really.
So; to those who continue this pernicious pastime, let me just say this.
Someone was passing around the rumor that you eat shit and run rabbits.
I disabused them of this falsehood by telling them outright that you don't like rabbits.
As on my other blog, comments will now be moderated.
RT
Not so much really.
So; to those who continue this pernicious pastime, let me just say this.
Someone was passing around the rumor that you eat shit and run rabbits.
I disabused them of this falsehood by telling them outright that you don't like rabbits.
As on my other blog, comments will now be moderated.
RT
Saturday, March 27, 2010
False Economy
As I watch Butler and Kansas State battle it out for a place in the final four, I thought I'd post today on the cost of our Walmart based economy.
The idea of cheap (not inexpensive but definitely CHEAP) Chinese imports dominating our domestic retail economy hit home once again today when I filled our Hummingbird feeder. Yes we did cheap out and buy the least expensive one at Lowe's and yes we knew there was a good possibility that Hummingbirds would be less attracted to it than other more costly ones. What we didn't count on was that it would leak.
After the first filling of the feeder and the resulting red stains on my patio, I moved the offending item to a tree a few feet into the yard. Now each time we fill it we must take precautions against the incessant leaks.
The awful truth about this is that even should we go back and buy a higher priced one, it may well leak as well, due to shoddy engineering, poor manufacturing and general cheapness.
There was a time in this country when we made things. Americans produced socks, shirts, pants, shoes, toasters, TVs, lamps, cameras, furniture, and thousands of other sundry items we use each day in our lives. While the highest quality items of domestic origin were pricey, there were still plenty of lower cost options made in the good Ole USA. Not so much now.
Have you tried to find a reasonably priced pair of shoes that wasn't made in China, Pakistan or WhereEvertheFuckistan lately?
The most heavily advertised and purchased brands like Nike, Sketchers and others are made everywhere but the US. The manufacturers say it's too expensive to make them here. What they don't say is that the profits made from using cheap foreign labor are just too tempting to pass up. That's the real bottom line.
The almighty buck, as witnessed by the recent bailout of the despicable financial sector, is all we've been about for since at least WWII and maybe waaaay longer than that. I yearn for the time when converse lowtops were made here and our Levi bluejeans were still a domestic product.
In my humble opinion the only thing that the advent of massive cheap imports has done for this country is burden our landfills with millions, perhaps billions of pounds of cheap crap hardly worth buying in the first place.
If and when I replace the defective feeder, I will force myself to attempt to find one made somewhere else than China. If I get lucky, I might even find one still being made in my own country.
Wish me luck.
RT
The idea of cheap (not inexpensive but definitely CHEAP) Chinese imports dominating our domestic retail economy hit home once again today when I filled our Hummingbird feeder. Yes we did cheap out and buy the least expensive one at Lowe's and yes we knew there was a good possibility that Hummingbirds would be less attracted to it than other more costly ones. What we didn't count on was that it would leak.
After the first filling of the feeder and the resulting red stains on my patio, I moved the offending item to a tree a few feet into the yard. Now each time we fill it we must take precautions against the incessant leaks.
The awful truth about this is that even should we go back and buy a higher priced one, it may well leak as well, due to shoddy engineering, poor manufacturing and general cheapness.
There was a time in this country when we made things. Americans produced socks, shirts, pants, shoes, toasters, TVs, lamps, cameras, furniture, and thousands of other sundry items we use each day in our lives. While the highest quality items of domestic origin were pricey, there were still plenty of lower cost options made in the good Ole USA. Not so much now.
Have you tried to find a reasonably priced pair of shoes that wasn't made in China, Pakistan or WhereEvertheFuckistan lately?
The most heavily advertised and purchased brands like Nike, Sketchers and others are made everywhere but the US. The manufacturers say it's too expensive to make them here. What they don't say is that the profits made from using cheap foreign labor are just too tempting to pass up. That's the real bottom line.
The almighty buck, as witnessed by the recent bailout of the despicable financial sector, is all we've been about for since at least WWII and maybe waaaay longer than that. I yearn for the time when converse lowtops were made here and our Levi bluejeans were still a domestic product.
In my humble opinion the only thing that the advent of massive cheap imports has done for this country is burden our landfills with millions, perhaps billions of pounds of cheap crap hardly worth buying in the first place.
If and when I replace the defective feeder, I will force myself to attempt to find one made somewhere else than China. If I get lucky, I might even find one still being made in my own country.
Wish me luck.
RT
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Old Dog, New Tricks
I got a job!
Believe it or not, it may be possible for an old dog to learn new tricks. I successfully completed my first week of training at my new company. This training week consisted of classes, computer use and a smidgen of role playing for handling incoming calls.
I was happy to score 100% on 4 of 5 incremental tests, with a score of 95% on a computer navigation segment (old dog, new tricks, right?) and on the final I got a 99%. Not bad for a guy who is perhaps the oldest employee at this location.
Anywho....
Next week the rubber meets the road. My class and I start our shifts (they vary in starting times and length) with mine being the 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM shift. I feel blessed to have a full time job with a great company (Safelite Autoglass) and the potential to grow with the new location.
My job is that of a Customer Service/Sales representative. The operation of which I am a part handles calls from all over the US and we are able to quote prices, schedule work and handle the logistics of service and install from a central location. The organization and attention to detail required to move thousands of pieces of auto glass around the nation on a daily basis is truly amazing. I admit to feeling pretty good about being a part of a company that is well run and efficient.
On top of all this my commute is short. I filled the Civic with gas on Saturday and calculated my daily commute costs at less than $2.75 a day. Sweet!
Now I just need to relax and do the work. Wish me luck.
Oh and to all you folks out there still looking for work; don't give up hope. If I can do it then you can too.
RT
Believe it or not, it may be possible for an old dog to learn new tricks. I successfully completed my first week of training at my new company. This training week consisted of classes, computer use and a smidgen of role playing for handling incoming calls.
I was happy to score 100% on 4 of 5 incremental tests, with a score of 95% on a computer navigation segment (old dog, new tricks, right?) and on the final I got a 99%. Not bad for a guy who is perhaps the oldest employee at this location.
Anywho....
Next week the rubber meets the road. My class and I start our shifts (they vary in starting times and length) with mine being the 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM shift. I feel blessed to have a full time job with a great company (Safelite Autoglass) and the potential to grow with the new location.
My job is that of a Customer Service/Sales representative. The operation of which I am a part handles calls from all over the US and we are able to quote prices, schedule work and handle the logistics of service and install from a central location. The organization and attention to detail required to move thousands of pieces of auto glass around the nation on a daily basis is truly amazing. I admit to feeling pretty good about being a part of a company that is well run and efficient.
On top of all this my commute is short. I filled the Civic with gas on Saturday and calculated my daily commute costs at less than $2.75 a day. Sweet!
Now I just need to relax and do the work. Wish me luck.
Oh and to all you folks out there still looking for work; don't give up hope. If I can do it then you can too.
RT
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