You know the day is not going to go well when the issues start before you have even managed to have your breakfast!
I am very much a creature of habit, and every morning before I have my breakfast I put away the dishes from the night before. So I picked up all the cutlery and headed for the cutlery drawer, no sooner was the drawer opened when I heard a noise from the dish rack behind me. Clearly the dinner plate had decided enough was enough as using all its efforts jumped off the dish rack and shattered on the kitchen floor. I didn't even have a chance to attempt a rescue mission before it went to pieces.
I got all the bits cleared up, and carried on with my morning routine and things seemed to be going well until I got to the motorway and was almost crushed between a car transport lorry and a shell petrol lorry. Thankfully due to my manoeuvring skills I managed to escape death and got to work in one piece.
Now my day generally feels like a struggle due to the people I have to work with. Neither of my team have the ability to think for themselves or the function of common sense so I spend half my day doing their jobs for them as well as having to fit in what I am supposed to be doing myself. A prime example of this is we use City Link to deliver our equipment to customers and every day this needs to be booked by 3pm and all parcels bagged and labelled to go out at 4pm. Well we had 5 parcels to go and by 3.40pm not one of them had been packaged up or registered with City Link, hence a mad rush between me and Trudy to get this done while the driver patiently waited in his van. Yet more stress for me to deal with.
So when a call came in at 5pm from a customer advising his broadband wasn't working and he wouldn't be able to steam the Man U v Chelsea game I kindly picked the ticket out of the queue to help. It turned out that the customer had changed the equipment on site and the information we held did not match what they had. I tried, as politely and professionally as possible to explain to the IT guy at site that this was the case and I would need to investigate what had happened, however by this time he had become both rude and patronising. Now I have the ability to cope with people like this I have been working in customer services for long enough now but sometimes you cant help but get angry. I put the phone down and through nothing more than anger cried at my desk thereby breaking my cardinal rule of never crying in public.
Thankfully the crying wasn't sobbing like a 5 year old with snot bubbles but it was still enough to end up with puffy eyes and a red nose. Certainly not attractive. This was made worse by the fact that all the men in the office started being nice. When I am crying I don't need sympathy I need to be left alone to recover. At this point I decided the best course of action was to head home and write off the day in a hope that today would be better.
The evening went smoothly, I had my dinner watched the footy and went to bed. I got up this morning and everything was on track for a good day until I got to work.
I hadn't even started work and was being bombarded by questions, answers to which were right in front of Natalie had she decided to do what most grown ups do and read. I then when into a meeting for an hour and a half and I am pretty sure that through out this time both Natalie and Trudy just talked. It resorted in my having to tell them to stop chatting and get on with some work because the voices were going straight through me. This then resulted in huffing from both of them. I don't mind having a chat and on some occasions even I will maybe go too far but I do know when enough is enough and I certainly would not huff at being told to be quiet.
Maybe it is the responsibility of being in charge and the fact that they are more used to me being one of the team rather than manager that they feel I am being unfair, however Natalie is really pushing her luck. She asked me yesterday if she could leave at 4 today and work through her lunch to make up for it. I agreed so imagine my surprise when at 12.55 she asks to go for a fag break. We are not allowed fag breaks any smoking is to be done in the lunch hour so if you don't have a lunch you don't have a fag. Now she is stropping about this.
Thankfully on a positive note my job hunting appears to be picking up speed so fingers crossed something will come up sooner rather than later and I can leave this place before it sinks from underneath me!!
Dream job - I don't think so!!
Here's hoping things can only get better!!
xoxo
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Being an adult
I am convinced that between me and my brother I have always been the sensible practical sibling, he is more of a "fly by the seat of your pants" type.
On a number of occasions I have been referred to as having "an old head on young shoulders" this could be interrupted as meaning boring but I choose to look at it as knowing how to be an adult.
Don't get me wrong I love to have fun and I especially love to cause trouble but where is concerned I appear to have a very old fashioned view of what is acceptable and what isn't. For instance I believe the do's and dont's to ber:
1) If you aren't ill go to work (unless you have pre-booked holiday)
2) Don't be late unless you have a valid reason to be
3) Always give 100%
4) Don't take the piss
5) If you don't like your job look for a new one but still put in 100% while doing the current job (unless you are being made redundant in which case screw 'em)
In the last few weeks it has come to my attention that my brother does not think this way.
I didn't go to Uni, I left college at 18 not really sure what I wanted to do with my life, but found a job and aside from 8 weeks of unemployment due to my first redundancy I have worked hard for the last 9 years. Alan went to Uni, did 3 years studying economics and left with a huge amount of debt and a 2:1 to his name. Not bad some might say. The problem was as he was leaving Uni the economy was going through the down turn but after a lot of perseverance he managed to get a job on the graduate scheme for Zurich dealing with Car Insurance, sure not the fast past high flying life of an economist or investment banker but a job (by this time I am facing my second redundancy but battling through none the less).
After doing the job for a while he decided that he didn't want to do it any more as he didn't like the sales side of it and he didn't like his new boss so while looking for a new job started to skive off work. Big no no as far as I am concerned. If you want a good reference when you leave a job you need to give the employer a reason to write one. But eventually he got a new job as a Customer Advisor at the Natwest and by all accounts really enjoyed. So much so he got arrested at Christmas after his works do, anyway I digress. We moved house and everything seemed to be going well until last month........
He got ill, nothing serious, just ear ache so he took a week off sick. This I don't have a problem with, then came the Monday he was due to go back to work, he decided he still wasn't well so went to the Doctors and they signed him off for two weeks with Vertigo as he kept losing his balance. OK so this didn't fill me with joy, especially as he wouldn't send his sick note in, and my worry being he would get sacked.
The sick note expired on the 28th March but again he didn't go back, now he had decided he didn't like the job, it was too sales based so he was going to quit. He spoke to his boss who arranged a meeting and it was decided that he would go back, even if just for three months and during this time could look for a new job. So yesterday was his first day back.
Well, imagine my surprise on returning from London to find the door bolted because he didn't go it, apparently he just couldn't face it and the update today is he has officially resigned and will not be going back.
I am not saying that I disapprove of his choice, if you are not happy then change is the best solution but my understanding of being an adult is when you have responsibilities you need to take these into account before making rash decision.
I am sure everything will work out for the best as it seems he always lands on his feet but only time will tell. He has until the end of June to have found a job other wise he is facing having run out of savings and we wont be able to afford our rent. I now have everything crossed, tight!!
xoxo
On a number of occasions I have been referred to as having "an old head on young shoulders" this could be interrupted as meaning boring but I choose to look at it as knowing how to be an adult.
Don't get me wrong I love to have fun and I especially love to cause trouble but where is concerned I appear to have a very old fashioned view of what is acceptable and what isn't. For instance I believe the do's and dont's to ber:
1) If you aren't ill go to work (unless you have pre-booked holiday)
2) Don't be late unless you have a valid reason to be
3) Always give 100%
4) Don't take the piss
5) If you don't like your job look for a new one but still put in 100% while doing the current job (unless you are being made redundant in which case screw 'em)
In the last few weeks it has come to my attention that my brother does not think this way.
I didn't go to Uni, I left college at 18 not really sure what I wanted to do with my life, but found a job and aside from 8 weeks of unemployment due to my first redundancy I have worked hard for the last 9 years. Alan went to Uni, did 3 years studying economics and left with a huge amount of debt and a 2:1 to his name. Not bad some might say. The problem was as he was leaving Uni the economy was going through the down turn but after a lot of perseverance he managed to get a job on the graduate scheme for Zurich dealing with Car Insurance, sure not the fast past high flying life of an economist or investment banker but a job (by this time I am facing my second redundancy but battling through none the less).
After doing the job for a while he decided that he didn't want to do it any more as he didn't like the sales side of it and he didn't like his new boss so while looking for a new job started to skive off work. Big no no as far as I am concerned. If you want a good reference when you leave a job you need to give the employer a reason to write one. But eventually he got a new job as a Customer Advisor at the Natwest and by all accounts really enjoyed. So much so he got arrested at Christmas after his works do, anyway I digress. We moved house and everything seemed to be going well until last month........
He got ill, nothing serious, just ear ache so he took a week off sick. This I don't have a problem with, then came the Monday he was due to go back to work, he decided he still wasn't well so went to the Doctors and they signed him off for two weeks with Vertigo as he kept losing his balance. OK so this didn't fill me with joy, especially as he wouldn't send his sick note in, and my worry being he would get sacked.
The sick note expired on the 28th March but again he didn't go back, now he had decided he didn't like the job, it was too sales based so he was going to quit. He spoke to his boss who arranged a meeting and it was decided that he would go back, even if just for three months and during this time could look for a new job. So yesterday was his first day back.
Well, imagine my surprise on returning from London to find the door bolted because he didn't go it, apparently he just couldn't face it and the update today is he has officially resigned and will not be going back.
I am not saying that I disapprove of his choice, if you are not happy then change is the best solution but my understanding of being an adult is when you have responsibilities you need to take these into account before making rash decision.
I am sure everything will work out for the best as it seems he always lands on his feet but only time will tell. He has until the end of June to have found a job other wise he is facing having run out of savings and we wont be able to afford our rent. I now have everything crossed, tight!!
xoxo
LonDon & Laughing
Sunday was the day, London was the place and Laughing was on the menu!!
I must in part thank Lynne for without her I would not have had the opportunity to go to London to see the one and only Peter Kay.
I met Emily at the ferry just after 12o'clock on Sunday afternoon and after a lift from Jay we boarded the train from Havant station London bound for Waterloo. The journey was very smooth and the time past just as quickly as the view outside. Thankfully the shock from the cost of the ticket subsided rather swiftly and did not ruin the trip, but I must say train companies these days certainly know how to mug you off!!!
We arrived at Waterloo just after 2pm and headed for the underground. I will admit I was a little apprehensive as I have only ever once been on the London Underground but having conquered the Subway in New York this was going to be easy. Plus to aid our quest Emily was armed with an app of the lines on her Iphone, we therefore had to be on to a winner. So we purchased our all day rail cards and headed confidently(ish) to the Northern Line. We hadn't travelled more than two stops when were notified by the tannoy that the Northern Line was closed. God Damn it planned scuppered at the first. So after consulting the map we headed off in search of the next best option to get us from Charring Cross to Kings Cross. Eventually after multiple changes we made it. However to add further confusion to the issue the entrance that Emily knew was closed and we ended up on the other side of the station feeling rather bemused and slightly lost, not helped by my Iphone who was trying to make us go the wrong way. Finally we managed to get round to the front of the station and things started to become familiar to Emily.
It didn't take too long to get to the hotel, which I will admit certainly wasn't the Ritz but was a step or two up from the hostel in New York, we go checked in and headed to the room for a fast change and refresh before heading back to train station to get to Covent Garden as we had arranged to meet Emily's friends Paul and Jack.
After meeting them we plotted a course to Nandos and once again my Iphone tried to get us lost, but with some quick thinking we managed to work out where we needed to be. Nandos Covent Garden is far nicer than Nandos Gunwharf Quays, and while I don't want to dis my regular eating establishment the truth must be heard. The food was good, the service was fast and the company was very funny. After consuming scrummy Nandos we headed back through Covent Garden to the Porterhouse for a drink.
I have to say this pub was great. It was all dark and mysterious. It is the type of place you could lose a day in. We chatted for an hour of so about all kinds of things and had a good laugh. Then sadly it was time to say goodbye and we left the boys to walk down to Leicester Square to again hop on the tube to the O2.
The journey didn't take long at all when we got there it was packed (not surprisingly). We decided to have another cider and nearly fainted to find that a small bottle of brothers cost over £4. You can get 3 pint bottles for £5 in adsa!! What a rip off!! We found out seats which were level 4 row R seats 890 and 891, needless to say very high up indeed but thankfully were right over the stage we had a pretty good view. The highlights of the show for me were Mums cooking roast dinners, the thick table (let the thick see the table), Sky Plus and the double shovel at the end.
Due to the high volume of people in the O2 queueing for the tube was a little longer than normal but it wasn't too bad and we were still able to swing by Maccy D's on the way back to the hotel for supper. We did almost get lost on the way back as we missed the turning but managed to get back on track. By this point though due to all the working my feet were killing me and I now have a number of blisters to show for me weekend in the big smoke.
Monday morning arrived with a bit of a bang, I dont understand why hotels say check out is at 12 and then cleaners start banging on your door at 9.30. If you know the room is occupied wait until after 12 before you start knocking, this interruption did not go down well and I think they might have realised when I snapped "WHAT" as I answered the door. She beat a hasty retreat and then at 11.30 someone else came back with the same agenda, by this time we were up and ready so decided to depart and head back to Waterloo to go for lunch.
We walked from Waterloo Station round to the Embankment and went to Giraffe for lunch. The food was lush and once again we remarked how much nice the establishment was to the one in Gunwharf. We had lunch and caught the train back to Portsmouth. By the time I walked home from the ferry I was shattered and god did my legs hurt.
I am now truly convinced that when Muller did the adverts for their yogurts and explained the pleasure / pain theory they may have been on to something because for all the pleasure I got from the laughing and the company I suffered with the pain from the walking.
So that is the second comedian of the year now, bring on John Bishop and Lee Evans if they are anywhere near as funny as Peter Kay 2011 is going to be an absolute scream!!
xoxo
I must in part thank Lynne for without her I would not have had the opportunity to go to London to see the one and only Peter Kay.
I met Emily at the ferry just after 12o'clock on Sunday afternoon and after a lift from Jay we boarded the train from Havant station London bound for Waterloo. The journey was very smooth and the time past just as quickly as the view outside. Thankfully the shock from the cost of the ticket subsided rather swiftly and did not ruin the trip, but I must say train companies these days certainly know how to mug you off!!!
We arrived at Waterloo just after 2pm and headed for the underground. I will admit I was a little apprehensive as I have only ever once been on the London Underground but having conquered the Subway in New York this was going to be easy. Plus to aid our quest Emily was armed with an app of the lines on her Iphone, we therefore had to be on to a winner. So we purchased our all day rail cards and headed confidently(ish) to the Northern Line. We hadn't travelled more than two stops when were notified by the tannoy that the Northern Line was closed. God Damn it planned scuppered at the first. So after consulting the map we headed off in search of the next best option to get us from Charring Cross to Kings Cross. Eventually after multiple changes we made it. However to add further confusion to the issue the entrance that Emily knew was closed and we ended up on the other side of the station feeling rather bemused and slightly lost, not helped by my Iphone who was trying to make us go the wrong way. Finally we managed to get round to the front of the station and things started to become familiar to Emily.
It didn't take too long to get to the hotel, which I will admit certainly wasn't the Ritz but was a step or two up from the hostel in New York, we go checked in and headed to the room for a fast change and refresh before heading back to train station to get to Covent Garden as we had arranged to meet Emily's friends Paul and Jack.
After meeting them we plotted a course to Nandos and once again my Iphone tried to get us lost, but with some quick thinking we managed to work out where we needed to be. Nandos Covent Garden is far nicer than Nandos Gunwharf Quays, and while I don't want to dis my regular eating establishment the truth must be heard. The food was good, the service was fast and the company was very funny. After consuming scrummy Nandos we headed back through Covent Garden to the Porterhouse for a drink.
I have to say this pub was great. It was all dark and mysterious. It is the type of place you could lose a day in. We chatted for an hour of so about all kinds of things and had a good laugh. Then sadly it was time to say goodbye and we left the boys to walk down to Leicester Square to again hop on the tube to the O2.
The journey didn't take long at all when we got there it was packed (not surprisingly). We decided to have another cider and nearly fainted to find that a small bottle of brothers cost over £4. You can get 3 pint bottles for £5 in adsa!! What a rip off!! We found out seats which were level 4 row R seats 890 and 891, needless to say very high up indeed but thankfully were right over the stage we had a pretty good view. The highlights of the show for me were Mums cooking roast dinners, the thick table (let the thick see the table), Sky Plus and the double shovel at the end.
Due to the high volume of people in the O2 queueing for the tube was a little longer than normal but it wasn't too bad and we were still able to swing by Maccy D's on the way back to the hotel for supper. We did almost get lost on the way back as we missed the turning but managed to get back on track. By this point though due to all the working my feet were killing me and I now have a number of blisters to show for me weekend in the big smoke.
Monday morning arrived with a bit of a bang, I dont understand why hotels say check out is at 12 and then cleaners start banging on your door at 9.30. If you know the room is occupied wait until after 12 before you start knocking, this interruption did not go down well and I think they might have realised when I snapped "WHAT" as I answered the door. She beat a hasty retreat and then at 11.30 someone else came back with the same agenda, by this time we were up and ready so decided to depart and head back to Waterloo to go for lunch.
We walked from Waterloo Station round to the Embankment and went to Giraffe for lunch. The food was lush and once again we remarked how much nice the establishment was to the one in Gunwharf. We had lunch and caught the train back to Portsmouth. By the time I walked home from the ferry I was shattered and god did my legs hurt.
I am now truly convinced that when Muller did the adverts for their yogurts and explained the pleasure / pain theory they may have been on to something because for all the pleasure I got from the laughing and the company I suffered with the pain from the walking.
So that is the second comedian of the year now, bring on John Bishop and Lee Evans if they are anywhere near as funny as Peter Kay 2011 is going to be an absolute scream!!
xoxo
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