Videogames Live!

You know, not having the paper really sucks. Or watching the news, not that I'm sure it would've been announced on the local news. The concert started at 7:30, and we got there about 7:30, thinking we were 1/2 hr early but thinking "Where the hell is everybody?" Missed part of the Classic Arcade Medley, but caught the rest. Nothing beats having stuff played by a live orchestra b/c you can feel everything. I believe they were also miked b/c you could hear people cough. Although some of them weren't at the correct distance b/c some people were a bit quiet. And I couldn't even hear Tommy play the guitar during the Halo 3 theme. Hard to say which my favourite was. WoW was excellent, along w/ Medal of Honor. Metal Gear Solid was really good too, along w/ Civilization 4 and Zelda. One-Winged Angel was great, although the choir seemed to have problems coming in on Liberi Fatali. Mind you, Liberi Fatali is one of my favourite songs, so I know it really well, so I might be a bit harsh. I really liked when the pianist Lee Ann Leung did the Mario theme. She didn't have her hair tied back when she was playing the Final Fantasy soundtrack, so she had to brush her hair bit, but definitely corrected for Mario, which I think allowed her to play more freely. Sonic the Hedgehog wasn't bad, but I think the one which caused my mind to wander. But it was worth the $55.65cdn.

Yeah, so anyways, as expected the guys were late, but we still managed to have supper. Finally had my mackeral. *slurp* It's soooo good. And they don't put ginger on it, just green onions. Also had a chop-chop temaki and Futo maki. Yesterday for my birthday, I also had some sushi, but b/c I went to one of those chain restaurants they only had the standard stuff. So I just ordered a sushi bento (which came w/ 1 salmon nigiri and 1 tuna nigiri) w/ chicken teriyaki, rice, bean sprout salad and egg roll. It was filling but not very satisfying.

Yeah, my birthday. Huh, definitely not memorable in the sense of how much fun I had. I'd applied for the Redhat position, which is floor support for the reps. Which is technically a step down from my current position as Senior Lead Rep. So why apply for something lower? Well aside from the fact that they treat us like dirt, we don't get much respect, and it's a surprise when my SLR TL says hi to me, the only time we get a top-up pay now is when we're filling in for TLs. Which won't be happening soon I imagine b/c they want to revamp the program (so we get stages of training we need to pass, instead of the previous tossing us to the wolves), which mean unless we complete the program, we don't get to be acting TL. Even though some of us have taken over teams for months. Even during Xmas, they said unless a TL was gone for more than 2 weeks, we couldn't take over. So whatever, for the last few months I've been on the phone. And had to teach my TL how to use the systems b/c he docked me for not leaving notes. Which as several people can tell you, the easiest way to find my notes is to look for the essay. So after I showed him how notes don't transfer with accounts, I got full points as usual. Yeah, I hardly see my TL which isn't too bad, except when Quality docked me for something completely stupid, which happened over a month ago, but b/c he didn't tell me about it, I didn't find out until weeks later when I check my Quality score.

Oh yeah, what I was writing about? Oh, right my B-day. So anyways, I filled out the quiz and expression of interest for the Redhat, and then they ask me to come in for an interview. I'm like "Dude, it's the first day of my vacation and on my freaking bday." But they're like it'll only be for 1/2 hr. So yeah, I went into work on my f!cking bday to do their stupid interview. And no, I didn't bother preparing b/c it'll be questions I've answered before, and really, considering I've done it before, unless I curse them out, I should get it regardless if I show up hammered. Not that I was. Yeah, so they called me later that day and told me I got it. Heh. Yeah, I know a lotta people would be scratching their heads if I didn't.

Anyways, after my interview, I went shopping for my neice's bday present. Her birthday's on ...damn, I don't actually know when. I never wrote it down. Well sometime close to mine. Actually I have another neice...well technically my cousin's daughter...so I guess that's still neice, and her birthday's on 24th. Which since she lives in Australia means I'd better send her a card. Even though she's only a year old. Anyways back to the neice I actually can visit w/o a plane ticket, although considering the amount of times I've gotten to see her she might as well be in another country, I ended up getting her a foam mat that you can draw on w/ water and also had cut outs so she can practice tracing. Safe toy and suitable for when you have a 1 yr old running around too. Wait, how old is she anyways? Oh well, whatever, I got a gift receipt so they can return it if they want.

Uhhh, before I got distracted again, so as I was shopping at ToyRUs, I got Pokemon Trozei for $20. Everywhere else it was like $40-45 so it's a really good deal. And I'm freaking addicted. All I've really played is Endless mode....which means I'll be playing it for like 2 hrs before I die. Gotten up to level 45. My ass and hand have died and I'm still playing. It's bad. I also found Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue for $15. It was used, but booklet was in good shape, so another great deal. However instead of getting Bulbasaur, I'm more of a Squirtle (among my least favourite non-bug type pokemon), Totodile (not too bad but slightly annoying), Pikachu (well, he is actually pretty smart and dependable but somewhat tempermental) and Skitty(I do not chase my tail all the time...although this post is pretty everywhere. I blame it on the late hour). But since I'll need to learn new controls, and I have Pokemon Ranger(finished in 22 hrs! and now to get every Pokemon) and Pokemon LeafGreen (evolved to Venusaur already but stuck in Pokemon Tower and don't have Silph Scope), I think I'll play Mystery Dungeon later.

Really I will be getting non-Pokemon games for my DS. Capcom vs SNK Card Fighter is coming out, and Cooking Mama seems interesting. Wonder if I could learn to cook? Can't seem to find Trauma Center though. Phoenix Wright seems interesting too. I'm so sad that Angelique isn't out for the DS.

So the next few days will be spent...playing Trozei or something. My computer is also going kaputz, think the CMOS batt died. *sigh*

Stupid sites and their stupid logins

So yet another site has my freaking information. And I have another damn login and password to remember. And why do they ask for your birthday when they never send you anything on your birthday?! Heh, if anyone creates a program that automatically sends out birthday cards on people's birthday, I declare that it was my idea first and I want royalties!

Anyways, I'm trying to d/l programs that I'll need when I move over to WinXP. Yes, I'm still using Win98. And I'd still be wanting to use it if some programs would keep supporting it! *cough*ZoneAlarm*cough* All viruses there were written for it have been blocked, and no one cares about it. I guess kinda like Linux (just kidding! I really know nothing about Linux except it's user-created, which is fab but also creates a lotta probs troubleshooting. Just ask my roommate). So I'm trying to d/l Sonique file, which is a kickass prog but was bought up by Lycos. So it tells me that I have to sign up to Lycos to d/l the prog. I'm like "Fine, grumble grumble." Only to find out some @sshole has picked Ravencat. WTF??!! That was my handle for like 10 years! Sure I had retired it for a bit when I was totally disconnected from the Internet. I was sooooo pissed. Anyways, make up another handle, and get booted to Lycos homepage. Ooookay, well I'll just go back to Sonique's page. And I can't find the link to d/l the prog b/c it just keeps redirecting me. I was soooooo p!ssed. Lycos YOU SUCK!! Anyways, eventually got the prog and a few others from Tucows. Tucows rules. Although they say they review a prog, but you can't find the review. WTF?!

So today was my day off. It was above freezing so I walked over to Chinatown. Stopped by library to pick up some blank applications. But they renovated the upstairs too, so I didn't know where the hell to go. So I ask these 2 women who were waiting for the elevator and they act all smarmy and tell me that I can d/l the form and print it out., I'm like "I'm aware of that, but where can I find the paper form?" Bah. Stupid people. Anyways ended up buying absolutely nothing from Chinatown. They'd renovated Lucky 97 a bit (which they'd fix their damn website. Completely seizes up the computer every time I try to look @ their sales), and got rid of the electronics. It'd been steadily growing smaller, but I was hoping for some DS lite stuff. And I was looking for replacement utensils for my bento box b/c I'd broke the chopsticks, and the spoon didn't take well to going in the dishwasher. But nada.

So went to T&T, and they had a mystery lunchbox. Was discounted to $2.99 from $5.99, and was one of those big 10"styrofoam containers w/ a soup on the top. So having a silver stomach (handles most foods pretty well but can react to some things), I just picked it up. Turned out to be breaded shrimp, pickled carrots and cabbage, rice, sweet & sour pork, miso soup. Sweet!!! That's a good investment. I'm kinda lazy now, in that I'll pick up a lotta stuff instead of making it. But I did make a pot of my meat sauce. But I forgot to pick up tomato paste (ketchup was a poor substitute) so it's quite sweet. Also added the garlic a bit late, so wasn't cooked to translucency. Is sprouting garlic edible?

Watched Getbackers while eating sushi. That show is soooo yaoi and slash-friendly. My favourite still is seeing Shido in cat-form and Ban teasing him w/ a cat toy. Next to my KOF and Saiyuki yaoi doujinshi, I'd definitely get Getbackers doujinshi. *heads off to read some Getbackers fanfic* Oh yeah, now I remember why I'd disconnected from the Internet. Just got sick of all the whining, poor grammar....and now I'm guilty of it all. Oh well.

I've been obsessively checking the gaming sites on DS games. I'm sooo tempted to order the Japanese Pokemon Diamond/Pearl b/c I'd get it. And when I was checking out the screenshots on the Pokemon.com site, all the dialog was in hiragana or katakana. Which means that I could technically read it. Make sense of it might be different matter. Even changed my language on my DS to Japanese. Just for fun. Well, really to practice. Finally kicked my tush and worked on my Japanese again. I'm not sure if I'm scared of finished Gr1 kana or something. I don't know why I have so much trouble writing the kana for "sensei". I can read it, but can't seem to remember the character that well. I do have to expose myself to more varieties of how the characters are written. "So" and "N" in katakana are so similar in print, and I think I mix up "Ra" and "U" sometimes.

Word of Mouth

Everyone must know that saying about if you get a bad experience you tell 10 people, but if you have a good experience you tell 3 people. Well, was just emailing w/ a friend who's no longer employed at the same place as I am, and he was telling me that when he was job hunting, our place of employment has such a bad rep now that if it were for his other experience, he wouldn't have gotten interviewed. Ouch! Man, I'd better look elsewhere before the reputation tanks even more! *sad laugh* Actually I remember a time when we were snatched up b/c the training we recieved was superior to elsewhere. But I have a feeling that w/ all the people the management has chased away, that it's now known as a seething pot of discontent. Really, the management is truly something. Never know if the praise they give you is something they're told they're supposed to do in seminars of Effective Management and then they'll fire your @ss b/c you're dead-weight.

Anyways, time to watch Mythbusters!

Bah upgrades

Yeah, so for the last few months, Blogger has been telling me to upgrade to the version supported by Google Accounts. And all I can think about it, there's going to be more frigging passwords to remember, and more ads to avoid. And another site that has my information. Yeah convenience. Do I had the fact that I've lost a few posts b/c it wouldn't upload properly. Hell yeah! But geez, I'm too frigging lazy to read thru all the crap about Google accounts, so I'm not going to do it. Not unless they force me too.

And then I get notice that C&L is closing their points program this month. Argh! I have so few points, but it's enough to buy a DVD. But w/ the cost of the s/h, it's almost not worth it!

Speaking of which I got a desk set from my brother and his gf. Has the desk blotter, mousepad, notepad paper holder, cup holder etc. And I so do not need it. First off, I have everything except the desk blotter. And there's not frigging room either on my desk. Even if it was completely cleaned off.

Got money from my dad. My other brother wasn't able to find my dvds on time, so he's going to try for my bday. I got perfume and a dvd so far from my friends. Still expecting stuff. And I got myself a DS Lite.

And it is sooooo sweet! I got Polar White, b/c pink would so suck. I have Pokemon Rangers and Pokemon Leafgreen right now. Kind wierd that GBA games don't come w/ a case to store them in. Accessory marketing? Anyways, I need to get headphones and a case for it so I can take it out my apt, but no one sells decent headphones. Just those damn earbuds. And they never stay in my ear, so I hates them! But I did find some Pokemon ones online. From Japan of course. *sigh* there was another site that did imports: Lik-sang, but Sony closed them down. So sad. I'm very tempted to order the headphones and a case. And soooo many choices! And why is Angelique only avail on PS?!?! I get a region-free console and it's not avail!!!!

And alas, my PS2 is dead. Again. And committed suicide the same way. Yes, the dreaded static shock. Won't even turn green. Completely dead. If I recall, it was about $90 to go thru warranty. From EBgames, it'd be $109 for a used slim model. For brand new it's $130. *sob sob* At least I have my DS lite. I should name him....Hmmm, actually I think a lot of things I have could be a him. My computer's Gilliam. Although I feel my TV is a her. As for my PS2? I don't get any vibe. Could be b/c it's dead. *waaaahhhhh* And it's too soon to get a PS3. If there were any available to buy. The bugs haven't been worked out of yet. Must design an anti-static shield for the PS2. Cause seriously, I can discharge it on the fireplace and a minute later, I'll have built up enough static to feel another shock. Curse you Static!

Quiz: The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

...Yup, I'm Bert. Smart-ass, easily bored by most conversations, my roommate will testify that I'm pretty neat (well in the shared space anyways. My room's...lawfully messy), pretty evil (he actually tried to show off to his wife how fun it was to wave his hand in front of me like teasing a cat. I swatted it alright, into his head, broke his nail, and left some scratches on his hand. And then he complained that I didn't hit like a girl. Dude, there is a reason why I liked spike serving when playing volleyball). And I definitely have my odd passions *cough* Pokemon, KOF, Angelique, seiyuu *cough* I did always feel sorry for Bert, I liked Ernie but I definitely shared his frustration when Ernie was being annoying. I was wondering if I would get Snuffleupagus. Funny, T and I were talking about Sesame Street today too, and how kids won't appreciate it.

Problems w/ Calendars already

Nothing like having a dozen calendars for 1 year. Have a couple from the charities I donate too, some from charities that want my donations, a Mouth/Foot Painters one, one produced by the Milk Council (turned into my work schedule calendar b/c it fits into my bag and I don't care what happens to it), and one from Shojo Beat.

Last year's Shojo Beat calendar was nice. It was pretty desk calendar, displayed 2 months at once and had a nice pic of the various titles appearing that year. It was a little wonky on how the week started (which would always throw me off), but it worked well on top of my computer tower. But this year's calendar sucks. It's the standard wall hanging calendar. Now I understand that the wall hanging calendar's probably easier to produce since you just need to staple in the middle, instead of having the cuts exact so it stands correctly, folding to make a slip, and having little slips of paper inside, but it doesn't fit on my computer! I can't pin a calendar to my computer! And yes, that's about the only place that has room that I can regularly look at. So I've taken to modifying the new calendar. To fit into the old calendar sleeve. It's a bit of snipping, and looks a little off b/c things aren't centered. But dang it, I've made it work.

Incidentally, their "Beat Girl" is hideous. She's on the November/December month and I seriously thought they chose it b/c they had some contest and that was the winning entry. Then I looked thru Shojo Beat, and they actually commissioned a published manga-ka to draw it. I'm sorry, but that's a horrible representation of the readers. For one thing, most of us don't look like frogs. Wide thin-lipped mouth, tiny little nostrils w/ no evidence of a bridge, huge bulging eyes...it's just horrible. Clothes are okay, I'll give her that, but seriously. Ugh! I can and have drawn better. I have many friends who draw better than that. I'm hoping that she's a great writer b/c I wouldn't publish her art.

Urgh, Xmas isn't about reciprocity

Today was very much a "chicken w/ its head cut off" day. I forgot my Xmas cards @ home, so I had to run back in the middle of my shift to get them. And then I forgot to bring T's present to H back w/ me. And I forgot T's card @ home b/c I was up until 5am working on it, and didn't put it w/ my stack of cards. And it was superwarm in the afternoon, so I didn't need both my jackets, so I could have brought one home when I headed back. On the other hand, it was really windy and cold when my shift was over, so maybe that wasn't so bad. And then when I was fussing over people being on vacation so I couldn't give them their cards, JR says, "well just put them in their folder." So instead of thinking of the folders that we drop off our timecard changes into, I thought of the private folders and was all confused. Yup, JR and John laughed @ me. But I've only gotten 1 card and that was from JR. X( Although b/c I did calligraphy (w/ the real metal nib and pot of ink), Tanya kept the envelope too, and Kristen remembered my card from last year b/c I use calligraphy.

And waited waaaay too long to pick up tickets for Videogames Live, so the seats aren't so great according to the online Ticketmaster site. I'm going to have to go to an outlet to see if there's something better. And I have to talk to my bank so they don't "re-invest" my GIC. Only earned $22 bucks on $1000. That's not even prime!!

And have been trying to check out the flyers for the Boxing Day sales. No one's put anything up so far, so I'll probably have to buy the next few days paper to get the flyers and stuff. Argh! I want to get a Nintendo DS Lite. I don't need it. But I want it. I wanna play my Pokemon and try out Nintedogs. They recently had Pokemon Ranger vs. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon on Review on the Run, and they complained about the graphics, sound...well pretty much everything. And yeah, the graphics and sound could've been updated, but there's still a nostalgia factor. Not to mention since the DS is multi-regional, the Pokemon have different names in other languages. But I wouldn't mind seeing my Bulbasaur(Fushigidane)in 3D. Heh, we had a Secret Santa for the SLR potluck, and the girl who got me asked Kristen what I liked, and Kristen's like..."uh, Pokemon, stuff from Warp". She must've thought I was totally wierd. ^_^

A pretty good day

Was changing my beta fish Akao's water, and usually what I do is pour as much as I can of the old water in to the margarine container and the retrieve him w/ the net. However when I poured this time, he actually jumped from the jar into the container!!! I was so shocked and happy. He can now jump just over 1 cm out from the water surface to graze my finger. What a good boy!

Anyways, my bud H came back from Hicksville, and we had a really good time. H can tell stories like only H can. Ah do declare that H is trying to set me up w/ anyone. Even mentioned that I should go out w/ D's brother b/c I like videogames and anime like he does. After we had welcome back party (which unfortunately lots of people didn't show), H said I should go out w/ either or both TT and S and do them both. Anyways H has a much higher libido than I do (her partners go into double digits, and that's after she was married), so I don't take it too seriously.

However the bummer of the day was that H told me and T about something and it was something bad. And it made us really disappointed in her b/c she knows better but she still did it anyways.

But onto nicer things. I was telling H and D that I didn't care about working Xmas eve or Xmas day b/c my family does nothing, even when I was living w/ them. So they invited me to their families' Xmas celebrations. However I've done that before, and it feels kinda awkward. Sorta like charity. Which is of course what Xmas is about. Well I have yet to see if I work that day. But I am definitely getting Boxing Day off. No ifs ands or buts. Must have it off!

And when I was @ Warp1 I successfully read a Japanese title using kanji and hiragana. It turned out to be Hana Yori Dango. Which means that I'm almost finished Gr. 1 for Japanese kanji. Yep, I'm almost ready to graduate from Gr. 1. Which isn't too bad I suppose, since I've been learning it in between calls at work, and it's been about...3 months. Still have to learn grammar, which I guess means I still don't know the language according to linguistics. Kinda hard to learn grammar when I listen to mostly songs...and that's poetry. Need a script of some anime. And I guess to actually go over all those language books I've photocopied and language CDs. Heh.

It was fun up until the end....

Got to see my neices today. Yaaaaahhhh! I guess that blue moon has come by again. It was my brother's office party, so we went as guests. Got to colour w/ the twins, and I saved the colouring b/c we all did it. Got them to sign it too.

Then they came over to the house to decorate the tree. We haven't had new ornaments since...well I made the paper ones out of the wrapping paper samples so since they complained about the lack of ornaments, compared to the other tree they got to decorate, my bro went to pick some more up. And in the meantime we developed a new game. My brother has one of those balls that's covered w/ suction cups, so we were kicking it around on the linoleum floor. Definitely helps w/ foot coordination. Jada called it "stoccer". And then we had a few rounds of leprachaun. I had to help my brother plug in all the tree lights (wasn't very observant). And the twins wanted to play Monopoly but when I made them do the math for change (I was banker of course!), they wouldn't buy property unless they had the exact amount and didn't have to do any subtraction. So sad.

Anyways, I'd brought a huge whack of bags of presents (yeah for gift bags!), and I'd also bought them Disney's Robin Hood b/c we loved it when we were kids. Well I don't know who's idea it was to open it right away when they got home, but we got a call shortly after that they wanted Disney's Little Mermaid instead. And then my sister-in-law came on too, and said that they didn't want some other DVD (which I'd gotten them ages ago, but b/c they sometimes don't come over when they're supposed to, there's serious delay on giving them the presents). Yeah, so I got the DVD back. So the debate is, to cave in and get them what they want and spoil them and set the expectation that they can ask for whatever they want? Or to just take it back (or just keep it b/c it does have an alternate ending) and not give them anything. Not like they'd probably remember anyways. Or as my bro suggested and burn a copy of Little Mermaid for them, maybe the Chinese version b/c I saw it at my Gran's place when I was there. But seriously I think that sis-in-law encourages them to misbehave towards us. Probably spits on whatever we give her. And whenever she wants the kids to go home (usually like 2 hrs after they arrive), she'll talk to the older one and harangue her into coming home. She talks loud enough I can hear her tone. Yeah, and I got her another f*ing HBC $40 gift card. I'm tempted to give her the $5 minimum, but gotta keep it civil.

Anyways, got a new 17" monitor from the trip. Well not really new. It was made in 2000, and was my brother's old monitor that he doesn't use much anymore b/c he has a laptop. But it's still newer than my old 14" one(which was also a hand-me-down) which was made in...*runs to look* 1996. And worked pretty good still too! Too bad my roommate also has a monitor for his 2ndary computer. Which may never be used b/c he still hasn't fixed his computer and is still using his sister's laptop.

Anyways b/c the monitor is so much bigger (and is much harder to carry when you're stuffed full), I have to rearrange my figures on my monitor, and my danglies from the shelf above where my monitor sits. Yep, really getting to it.

My spirits have been sufficiently trampled

So I'm on the phones today. As usual. And my Team Leader comes up to me w/ a list for a team potluck next week, and he's like "We'll try not to miss you for this meeting." He's a nice guy so I don't take it any other way, like oh say "we want more people to bring food". Anyways, after much thought, and the possibility of a SLR potluck in December also, I decided to put down the easiest thing, which is soya chicken, which is currently in the freezer. It's a whole unchopped chicken, so they won't be able to tell. Not that I think it'll matter for authenticity. Anyways b/c I'm on the phone, I can't run over to give it to him. So one of the Operation Managers walked by, so I go to him in a joking manner, "Hey, can you deliver this for me?" He gives me this look and keeps walking past. So like whatever, I got a wandering Team Leader to give it to my Team Leader.

Later on, another Team Leader comes up to me w/ an envelope and then quickly backs off. I open it up, and there's a PFO letter. In other words "Please F*ck Off". As in a rejection letter for a position I'd applied for. Completely qualified for, but didn't even get an interview. The position went to a bunch of Team Leaders. While my pride is slightly assuaged by the fact that no regular reps got it, it seems w/ the turnaround time between the posting and announcing of who got the position(less than a week), that it was a load of horsesh!t for any kind of competition. And the other thing that pisses me off is that another TL came up to me in the washroom and said that previously mentioned OM was looking for me earlier. Well he was the same OM who signed off on the PFO letter, and certainly didn't approach me later when he knew where I was sitting. So basically the coward handed off his bag of dog poo to someone else to deliver. Knowing that I wouldn't shoot the messanger.

So basically I've been telling everyone about my PFO letter. I was talking to another TL (who came up from Floor Support level) about it, and he's like "it's probably b/c they didn't want to pay an extra person a salaried wage, so you should apply to be a Team Leader." So I tell him that I didn't bother to apply for the last opening b/c my spirits have been sufficiently trampled by the managment there. And he agreed that there's a lot of spirit trampling there but that I'd make a good Team Leader. Which I appreciate, but man, I'd rather be on the phones for the simple reason that I can study my Japanese characters and chat w/ my friends.

Read this article on Japan Today. I highly doubt a scam like that could work in North America or Europe. Quite frankly most of us have so many fake email accounts that we'd just switch to another one and abandon the one that got the threatening email. Or we'd call the cops or get an attorney. I think the Americans would go the attorney route easily. You don't wanna know how many times the caller's told me that they're going to get a lawyer. And maybe 0.000001% of them have any possible case for legal action. The rest are blowing smoke, or that their case is that they were too mentally incompetent to have understood the T&C they agreed to. Guy today was screaming at me saying that Cingular had put a product into his computer w/o his permission and he was gracious enough to agree to an ETF for $125 when he didn't want to use the wireless internet anymore. When I told him that the ETF is $175 and he misheard the other rep and that's what's stated in the T&C, he freaked. Apparently he also doesn't understand that he didn't need to buy the computer w/ a wireless card and svc offered by Cingular. He also didn't seem to understand or want to understand the analogy that it's just like buying a TV w/ the package that offers satellite TV. Well whatever. His own fault for not reading the paperwork. That's usually what most of the customers are, just won't admit to their own screwups and take responsibility for them.

I thought it was a discussion, not a trial

So I finally got my Performance Appraisal. Approximately 6 months after it was supposed to be delivered. In fact, I'm supposed to get my next PA also.

We had the SLR potluck dinner, and only 3 of us actually made something. Everyone else bought theirs. And not a single person commented on my chive decoration. Food heathens!
Anyways, before after getting stuffed, my SLR TL told me she wanted to talk to me for 10-15 min afterwards. So it's like okay, probably about PA. And after everyone cleared out, she's goes we'll wait for the SLR OM. Uh... alright.

And then they turned off the main lights in the room and left only the potlights on, so we were in semi-darkness. Shoulda also brought in a bright light to shine in my face b/c then they started basically guessing on why I got a Quality Plus Contributor rating. ( It's just one step down from Key Contributor, which is the highest rating.) They started off by saying that it wasn't good that I was in my OM's cubicle crying b/c I couldn't handle how my team was doing or negative feedback. When I started to say that I was just upset b/c of the stress that I was going thru, they suddenly stopped me and said that they didn't need to know b/c it was personal. Then they started to say that I had problems handling my team when I was an Acting Team Leader and that must've been why I was upset in my OM's office, which I told them was bullpatties b/c I did better than the TL I took over from and maintained the results. Then they said that maybe it was b/c I had problems receiving feedback from my OM, which I told them was also bullpatties b/c my OM did provide useful feedback and basically addressed the problems that I already knew about. Well at this point, they were really digging for anything, so they said that I had a couple of complaints in my journal. So of course, I go "like what?" So they bring up the HR incident (see Nov 16/05 for account), and by this point the methane is building up so much, this was the spark that was going to set it off. And I'm not even bothering to maintain the yes-man mask, and I just lean back in my chair and go "...ok". So of course they go thru the rehash of what happened, and unless I said Bitchpoo flipped me off in her cubicle which is why no one else saw, they were just going to listen to see where they could nail me.

Which they did. On the comment that when I told Bitchpoo that I couldn't wait around for my stuff b/c I was on my break, I should've instead phrased it as "I'm sorry but is it possible for me to drop by later when I'm on my lunch break?" Aside from the fact that my lunch is around 6 pm when HR is closed, like WTF?! That is the most stupidest shit I've ever heard. I'm supposed to apologize for their incompetence? And while I didn't directly tell them that, my attitude definitely said it and all I said was *sideways glance* "...all right." Although it would've been fun to just laugh in their faces.

Anyways I think after about 15 min of this farce, they switched tactics and asked me why I thought I got a QPC rating b/c I did previously mention that I expected it but just wanted to be sure on the scoring. So we went into how a TL is evaluated, and that went by lot better. They still gave some cockamamy answers but some of them were reasonable. But I still insisted on seeing the actual scores. Which meant a trek to her computer, where I proceeded to question the 75% for Knowledge. Which they said teamwork was part of the score, so w/ the HR crap and July 29/06 incident (which wasn't on that PA but will inevitably come up on this current one) lowered my score. But she was stretching again. Heh, just thinking of when she commented that I have a problem dealing w/ authority. I don't have a problem dealing w/ competent authority, but I treat people like the idiots they prove themselves to be.

Anyways, the rest of the extremely slack day (it's nice to work on an American holiday) was spent chatting w/ my friends, trying to help T w/ his Japanese, getting a Brit who's as dumb as an American but much more polite about it, and getting a girl in trouble b/c of some secret d/ls that ran up her parents' bill.

Also ended up watching "The Quick and the Dead" and "The Elephant Man" tonight. Q&D is one of those movies you laugh at b/c of the cliches, camera angles and takes (thank you Sam Raimi!), and pretty much enjoy for the pretty fluff. I wonder how she stuffed so many clothes on her horse. Leonardo was so cute and had the most personality. I like the scenary and art direction in Elephant Man. And yes, I looked up the Elephant Man on Wikipedia. Looking at his skull is very scary b/c it's so completely unlike all the other skulls I've worked w/. It's completely covered w/ knobs and protrusions, and must've been so heavy. His skeleton is also quite interesting.

Quiz: What Flavor Pocky Are You?

You Are Strawberry Pocky

Your attitude: fresh and sweet Comforting, yet quirky ... quietly hyper You always see both sides to everything

What Flavor Pocky Are You?

Sweet. Strawberry Pocky is tasty goodness. I like to grind down my pocky. Or let it sit in my mouth until it's kinda soggy, nip it off, and then move the next section in. Strange how tiny breadsticks became so obsessive for people.

Today will the be SLR potluck. Myah kept asking me what I was bringing b/c she had to put together the list, and I was like Salmonella! Tapeworms! Plain White Rice! Anyways, I'm bringing rice w/ chicken, tomatoes and mushroom. Added too much pepper though so it has more bite than I like. Anyways, broke a stick of chives over it so it'll look pretty. Hah! Guess who watches the Food Network! Anyways, b/c I only use the meat from the drumstick, I cooked the thigh in the rest of the tomatoes. Amazing how much fat comes from the skin. Literally the oil was popping up so hard it was covering the pan lid like steam. Scary. Put it on a bed of rice, and surrounded the rice w/ the squash/carrot/broccoli dish I made last night. And topped it w/ a chive. It was pretty. And the chicken was sooo good.

Yeah, I'm so not bragging when I say that I can get better food at home. I don't know why D would think I was referring to his cooking when I was telling him that I said that to everyone who wanted to know why I wasn't going to the Gala. Although my wrists aren't tough enough. I had to chop off the rind of the squash, and b/c I was using a butcher's knife, my wrist and hand were so sore w/ only 1/4 the squash I had to stop and rest. So sad. Must build up my stamina for cooking. Graaaaahhh!! Was watching the Food Network Challenge, and it's just amazing the chefs will spend 7 hrs working on sugar sculptures. Although overall I think I need to work out or something. My back is so stiff. I can hear my sternum crack when I stretch.

Clean Desk= More Figures

Well over my vacation I ended up cleaning up my desk. Gone are the piles of paper (tossed into recycling/shredding container(which is a UPS padded envelope that was taped just right to stand up by itself)), bags of candy (moved to top of computer), unopened mail (lots went into previously said recycling) and layer of dust. Fixed the base of Saito so he should stand up for more than a few days. Reorganized my IKEA CD wood shelf so Beast is being admired by the KOF women. And of course, this also meant that I found new areas to put figures.

So I bought an already built figure of Iruka for $5. I think it came from those random figures sets that you can buy. But whoever built it glued all the pieces together, and the prob is they didn't make sure all the seams were tight. So it's a bit of a pain to see gaps (I'm not a huge figure freak (just ask my 2 still unbuilt Level 1 figures) but I'm pretty detail-oriented), but oh well. So now I have 2 Naruto things, my Iruka figure and Iruka mousepad (which is more where I put my glasses so I can find them in the morning).

Anyways, I think b/c I go grocery shopping every week, I just don't feel like shopping anymore. Went to WEM and it's like blah. Really was trying to look for Xmas stuff. My brothers and dad will probably get gift certificates. D asked me what I wanted (since I got him a guitar pedal), and I'm like, geez, probably the usual: books, games, DVDs. Guess that's kinda sad that I'm so materialistic.

5 days vacation

Is actually about the right amount. I was getting so burnt out at work, ready to pick a fight w/ the stupid customers. (the ones that were genuinely clueless were okayish) Yeah, I argued w/ the idiot on why the company can't put how much he'll pay in taxes on the website when he looks at plans. Oh, and someone else who was arguing over getting $20CR every month for 2 years and I hadn't even finished looking over the notes. I think the guy knew that if I went further in the notes, he'd get everything removed.

Anyways, now I'm not bored to be at home(w/ PS2 and computer games, DVDs, massive amounts of manga and comics) but I'm not totally at the point of eating spoiled food when thinking of going back to work. It also helps that I only go back for 2 days and then get another day off.

I do need to be more diligent on my Japanese. On my vacation, it's been limited to reading my grammar book while watching wrestling, and reading the sound effects in my manga. *sweatdrop* I know that's sad. Should be reviewing my kanji. I've gotten to about 60 kanji I should know. I repeat "should know". Some I'll know the Chinese and Japanese word for it, some I'll just remember the meaning, and some is like..."it looks familiar?".

Anyways, I should go back to cleaning my bathroom. I spent the first day of vacation as a neko, 2nd as an inu(fetching my manga), 3rd day I went shopping, so I guess that'd be tori, 4th day was actually some housework, so uma. And today...guess I'm a person(jin).

Quiz: Are You More Cat or Dog?

You Are: 20% Dog, 80% Cat

You are are almost exactly like a cat. You're intelligent, independent, and set on getting your way. And there's no way you're going to fetch a paper for anyone!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Ah, kitty. Which might be why having a dog might be better. Last thing we need is both owner and pet ignoring each other. Trust me, if my fish Akao doesn't come by when I hold out my finger for a couple min, it's another 8 hrs before he gets fed.

Actually lately I've been thinking of getting a more...holdable pet. I don't think the building will allow dogs b/c they're too noisy. Cats are $200 deposit. And I don't think I want a gerbil, hamster, rabbit, or guinea pig. A white lab rat might not be a bad idea. Mice would be okay, but too easy to lose. Well guinea pig might not be bad b/c they're big, and edible.

Okay I admit it. I really want to have Beast. Don't need any special diet, scintillating conversation, great pillow/blanket substitue, good at reaching high objects and potty-trained. The fur might be an issue, but he can clean up himself, so it won't be a big deal. Heh heh.

Quiz: What Temperment Are You?

You Have a Melancholic Temperament

Introspective and reflective, you think about everything and anything. You are a soft-hearted daydreamer. You long for your ideal life. You love silence and solitude. Everyday life is usually too chaotic for you. Given enough time alone, it's easy for you to find inner peace. You tend to be spiritual, having found your own meaning of life. Wise and patient, you can help people through difficult times. At your worst, you brood and sulk. Your negative thoughts can trap you. You are reserved and withdrawn. This makes it hard to connect to others. You tend to over think small things, making decisions difficult.

What Temperment Are You?

Yeah, that's pretty much me. That's nothing I like better than to spend a quiet day wandering around town by myself, drifting in and out of my music world. Although on the other hand, I can't stand to just sit there and look at scenery. It just leaves me bored. Same thing w/ sitting in the tub. Erm, I dunno about patient...I think it's more my inner politeness of not interrupting unless I get pretty pissed. And I think I've had enough breakdowns at work to testify to the negative thoughts although the fact I'm still there pretty much also sums up the last sentence. Better to be w/ the devil you know.

My chair is occupied...

Yes, and it's not by my butt. One of my boxes of comics is on it b/c I'm trying to sort thru them. Originally I was going to sort thru the comics I had lying around in bags b/c I'd completely lost track of which ones I've read, what's going on in the storyline etc. I've gotten horribly bad at reading monthly comics. Well they're more like quarterly b/c that's when I end up reading them. The only ones I read right away are X-Factor, She-Hulk, Spider-Girl. The current Carey run on X-men is also what I'm reading. And "The Last Christmas" and Civil War(just the main one). Course I still buy Black Panther, Hellblazer and...actually I'm not sure what else. It's kinda like I buy them, and treat them like TPBs. Which is stupid really b/c TPBs are (fractionally) cheaper, collect entire storylines and are easier to store. Anyways, I'm so totally happy that Spider-Girl is back, although I don't understand why they'd put her on hiatus for only a few months only to relaunch her. Much like She-Hulk really. I guess they like to confuse us w/ all the #1s in our collections. Yup, I had to look at printing years for some of my shorter series b/c I couldn't remember which came first.

So I'm typing on my knees. Which is a bit tiring at times, but I'm a touch typer so it's not too big of a deal . May have to cut my pinky nails though. The rest of my nails are short already. But my stomach's been bugging me for the last while. I've dropped to my knees at times b/c it's like I suddenly get stabbed by a bladebreaker. On Tuesday I could barely move. All my muscles were killing and I was seriously limping. Climbing the hill was torture and I was tempted to grab D's cane before I left. But I hauled my ass in for their stupid SLR meeting, hated everyone for being sycophants to each other and constantly asking the same damn questions that even I, in my delusional state, knew the answers to. Wobbled home, nearly passed out in the bath (which was the only time my muscles weren't numb from pain), and snoozed. Ate a little bit b/c I figured I should, and went to bed early. Good thing Daily Show and Colbert Report were reruns this week. Next day, I went to work despite having a migraine and massive senstivity to everything. And finished the rest of the week. I've gone to work where people across the floor can hear me hacking, and have left huge wads of Kleenex from the sneezing and hacking of phlegm. In contrast to my roommate who comes home b/c he's coughing and his voice cracks b/c of it. I'm sorry, but that job is so easy to phone-in, (ha ha bad pun) he's got no sympathy from me. And of course he doesn't buy anything nutritious to eat despite having a car now.

Even if his sister died last week b/c of ... self-inflicted cause. She was pretty messed in the head, hence the self-infliction, and D asked me to use one of my days off to go to her funeral. Which was no picnic for me b/c I'm an empathic crier. And of course it was one of my days off. But I did it anyways b/c H couldn't be there. Well D got a car and computer out of the whole situation which... is pretty damn morbid.

Anyways, they've come out w/ the Beast Mini-mate, which makes me happy ...except it's packaged w/ that hemorroid-covered, herpes-infested trollop Kitty Pryde. Gah!!! I was so mad. So I still haven't bought him. But I did find the Pokemon: Red Manga at Chapters b/c Warp didn't have it (or the other new Pokemon manga), and I was so excited I started drooling in the store when I saw Venusaur. Yeah, so what?

Well I guess I'd better finish sorting my comics b/c technically it's about 3 now, and I still have comics all over my bed. And my knees are starting to hurt.

I think my brain has been destroyed by work....

I can't remember any of my neices' or nephew's b-days. Seriously. I scoured my blog looking for when they were. And yep, apparently I need to find presents for them. Anyways, trying to remember anything I learned from university is just like impossible. Heck, remembering anything is tough. Am I getting Alzheimer's already?

Trying to learn Japanese. I'm like wierd, I guess. I did the "repeat this sentance", and it was annoyingly boring b/c I didn't understand how the sentence worked together, why the tense is this or that. So I'm going the opposite way. I've bought a book on kanji, a book on grammar and verbs, and a book on particles. Of course w/ kanji, I'll learn some of the characters that I kinda can apply for Chinese too, so...I might end up being able to semi-read Chinese but can't say it but can understand what they're saying; whereas w/ Japanese right now, I can say the romanization, but I don't know what I'm saying. Was that semi-colon right? I can't remember. I did read "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" but...again I can't remember.

Mind you it could be b/c I'm working day 9 of 11. The scheduling f*ckw@d put me 5 days on straight, then 1 day off, and 5 days straight again. At least I get a 3 day weekend.

Farewell...Already

H came back into Canada about 2 weeks ago, and just got a job offer in Quebec. While it is technically in the same country, where she'll be going to teach is so backwater, travel time will be almost the same. And the annoying part is that we haven't even thrown her a welcome back party and she's already going to be flying off next week. It's a great opportunity, she'll get the experience she needs and in the profession she loves...but I'll be selfish here and say that I wish she was around a little bit longer.

So today we went to hang out w/ our friend T, and I really felt like the 3rd wheel. H and T are talking about Harry Potter (again!) and I am totally zoning out. Even though I forced myself to read the books so I know the characters they're talking about, but gawd, I really couldn't care if Remus and Sirus are bump bunnies or just love embracing each other like brothers. They're completely into the fandom, and involvement into fandom in general whether it be Weiss Kreuz or Gundam Wing. While I've read my share of fanfic, and did some participation on boards, mostly for X-Men, it's not like I have a handle that I've maintained or started groups concerning who's shagging whom. Then they started to talk about history and despite being a History major, I don't remember a dang thing from my books. I really do tend to retain information only for about twice as long as I'm going to need it, so I'll still vaguely remember the creation of the Comic Code Authority, but I'm not going to remember when TX joined the USA. And then the kicker was when b/c H began ranting on Harry Potter (again!) and I couldn't hotld it until we got to the mall, so I had to ask T if I could use his bathroom. T didn't want us up there since he hadn't cleaned since...unknown. Since I'd never been in his place for longer than a minute, I didn't know where the light switch was, and was fumbling in the dark, and T was pretty poed that I couldn't just run in and out and had to show me the switch. And yeah, there was clothes and... things everywhere, but meh. Turned out H had to use it too, so T kinda calmed down a bit, but... it was an awkward day. After when it was just me and H, it was all cool and we acted like the otaku that we are. I'm not jealous of H and T focussing on each other since H is living w/ me right now, but ... I'm so freakin' sick of Harry Potter.

And then the stupid new Sushi place closed at 6 so we couldn't try it out. Argh. It was only an okay day off.

Personality Test

My Personality

Neuroticism	58
Extraversion	11
Openness To Experience	63
Agreeableness	4
Conscientiousness	51

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report MySpace Codes, MySpace Layouts and hi5 by Pulseware Survey Software

Hmm, that's a pretty good personality test. Anger management? Me? The one who gives the finger to the monitor at work b/c it's so freakin' slow that you sit there and sit there and can't get a thing done while you're on the call? Naw, not me lol. And I never blew up at the b!tch in HR who thankfully isn't there really anymore. Hmm, and I have no morality...oh probably b/c I think there's no absolute right or wrong. And since I don't like to be bothered by people, could be why I broke up w/ JR. Heh, his flowers that he gave for 2 month anniversary (which I didn't keep track at all) are still alive.

Quiz: What Color Green Are You?

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

What Color Green Are You?

That's a nice colour. Can't say I have a lotta stuff w/ that colour though.

Quiz: How Aquarius Are You?

You are 73% Aquarius

How Aquarius Are You?

I don't know what that means. I'm an early Aqarius, so I'm not sure what effect has. I'm not really into that Astrology or Horoscope stuff. Though some of my friends are. They'll tell you me that you're so typical for... you're just like the other dragon-snake I know. Particular when it came to remembering dates.

Why are there so many programs about 9/11 suddenly?! ...Oh

Yes, I actually made that comment. I think it was on Wednesday or something. Seriously, I can't remember what day it is beyond the Monday, Tuesday variety. Anyways, it's hard to believe it's already been 5 years. No really, I can't remember what year it happened in. I do remember where I was when I found out. Sitting at home, flipping the channels and stopping on CBC Newsworld and going "What the hell? How the heck can a plane fly into those huge towers?! What's w/ the pilot?" and then going to work at one of those big box supermarkets, and hanging around the Photo/Electronics dept listening, and thinking "those poor people". When I found out it was terrorists, it made sense. Not in the sense that only terrorists could do such a thing and they're horrible bad bad people! But more like, yup the American policies and attitudes are biting them in the @ss.

Are the terrorists' actions justified? Well I suppose in the same way that governments can justify civilian deaths as collateral damage in wars. B/c for the terrorists it is a war, and it doesn't matter what happens to the other side as long as they win. Long gone are the days when they'd have a set target and once it was achieved, both sides would shake hands and help each other rebuild. Until attitudes about conflict change, it'll just be revenge stacked on revenge. Ha ha, actually if it was run entirely by the military-industrial complex they'd sell weapons to each party but generally equal weapons so the war would perpetuate, and the industrial would reaps loads of money rebuilding, until the damage is too great to rebuild, and which they'll move to another area, so until the entire Earth is devastated, then war might stop... isn't that already happening to a degree? Well I know it's a plot of one of the Ace Combat games. Getting a little off topic here. We're trying to look at the continued aftereffects of 9/11.

So the definition of Terrorism from yourDictionary.com is "The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons. " So the key in this definition is -unlawful-. Of course there's state-sponsored terrorism which really can be called operations (example of failed attempt is Bay of Pigs), or just coalition-led war (Operation Iraqi Freedom which was largely led by US, bit of Brit, smattering of other countries lumped under "Coalition of the Willing) all in the name of ...democracy. (See Global Spread of Democracy Poses New Challenge for the US by Donald K. Emmerson for further hilarity of American "democracy"). The American govt is terrorizing its own people, acting unlawfully and profiting from the circumstances. It is not mere happenstance that they passed the Patriot Act(2001) and in the 2004 US election, 9/11 was trumpeted constantly and Bush won by a landslide. How different is constantly invoking fear by mentioning 9/11 from making broadcasts of planned attacks?

In an article in the Sept 7 Edmonton Journal, Sheldon Alberts discusses how America has changed since 9/11: "the sense of vulnerability caused by 9-11 continues to permeate almost every aspect of American life. It has sustained a national obsession with security, dramatically altered expectations of the country's political leadership, generated deep divisions over foreign policy and produced ongoing suspicion about tthe world beyond US borders." Now, being a HUGE fan of Jon Stewart and the Daily Show along w/ The Colbert Report, they constantly point out how often President Bush and his administration love to trot out 9/11 to justify any decision that threatens civil and human rights. The GOP produced the 9/11 boogeyman and have gotten the American public into a state of constant stress. What do people do when they're stressed? Freak out ("A USA Today/Gallup pool in July found 40% of Americans favoured security rules requiring Muslims, including US citizens, to carry special identification" which makes one remember the Star of David that Jews had to wear in Germany before WWII), miss details (illegality of NSA wiretaps, prisoners -still- deprived at Guantanamo Bay), look for any leadership (Bush's job approval rating is 36% [American Research Group] but 55% approve of his handling of the anti-terror campaign [Chron.com], become paranoid ("The number of Americans expressing positive feelings about the United Nations...has fallen to 48% today from 77% before 9-11") and generally act like jerks thus making the rest of the world get fed up (2005, Pew Research Center)(2006, BBC Poll).

And while Bush may say that all this has led to the USA not having been attacked again in the last 5 years, do the terrrorists really need to? America is increasingly divisive over any issue, spending exorbitant amounts of lives and money in Iraq, despised by more and more countries worldwide, and completely paranoid ("Other surveys repeatedly show the Americans are split 50/50 on whether the country is safer now than it was before 9-11"). Now is the craziness perpetuated by the terrorists or the govt? There's much to be said about how you react to things, and it's certainly isn't being helped by the Bush administration. However the Bush govt has managed to deflect much criticism by citing 9/11, and pushed thru several agendas amidst the confusion. Only recently have they been under sustained attack for its errors, and that was only b/c they could no longer use the "unpatriotic" label to stick to its critics. So while Osama bin-Laden may be on wanted posters, the American govt has to also answer for its terrorizing actions. Which may happen in the upcoming 2006 elections for both the Senate and House of Representatives.

I'm hungry

I hate waking up only an hour before I'm supposed to get up, can't go back to sleep, can't lie in bed. Can't quite eat even though I'm hungry. Seems to be happening a lot after working night-morning-night-morning-night b/c I'm filling in for vacationing TLs.

Yesterday was my last day taking over yet another team. Although in this case, it belonged to another SLR who was in Acting Team Leader role. Who apparently didn't know that she was losing her team when she went on vacation. She took it a bit hard. So it's like, uh...yeah I don't know if any of those disciplinary actions that she was planning for will be followed up on. Not to mention their time punches. Oh well, whatever. Maybe I'll remember to remind her.

And so now it'll be a 4-way choice for who gets to fill in for vacationing TLs, not that there will be much b/c summer's over. And they opened up hirings for the SLR position. And the TL position, but I didn't bother applying. I'm so, I don't care. And then they opened up Quality Evaluator. I might apply for that just b/c to get out the whole thing. But it's still kinda iffy. I printed a whole bunch of my resumes at work.

Really, I think it's time to either go back to school, or find another job. I think both would benefit me psychologically. I wasn't born to work, particularly there. Why are we born? Why is there life? Is it to run the variables? Experiment to discover diversity? I suppose that might be why they invented religion, otherwise it'd be too scary for most people.

Hungry.

Sometimes I love being on the phone...

So after taking over another team on Monday, I was put on the phones on Saturday b/c I had a life on Sunday. No, that's really what happened. The supervisor I was replacing was supposed to work on the Sunday, but my schedule is that I have that Sunday off. So I planned dim sum w/ my friends, and after I was going to watch SummerSlam at Myah's house. But the manager in charge of SLRs got all pissy and said that if I'm going to have Sunday off, then I'm only going to take over the team for as many days as the supervisor requested days off. So since he only requested 4 vacation days this week, I only got paid 4 days at the TL rate, and today I had to be on the phones. Then next week, I run his team from Mon-Thurs and he's back on Friday(which is also when I'm back on the phones). When I explained that to my supervisor, and really everyone else, they were all WTF?

Anyways, most amusing call I had is that a guy called in to cancel his svc b/c of the NSA wiretapping program and that Cingular cooperated. So being Canadian and anti-Bush (b/c they're not the same thing lol), it was really hard not to waive his ETF and start talking politics. However I think I gave him the impression that I was totally agreeing w/ him. Anyways, I transferred to the cancellation dept and when I told the rep the reason, you could tell that's she either doesn't keep up on politics (like she said) or that she's one of the Bush-supporters braindead people. The customer had a very Anglo-Saxon last name, so she started saying that it's unlikely that he's getting targetted by the program, and did he suspect that his records were being released... and I'm like "Look, the govt has been ruled to be breaking the law, and the customer is cancelling on matter of principle b/c he's not going to do business w/ a company that'll release records when there hasn't been a warrant." And yes, I was giggling the entire time, b/c it's so hilarious. I'm not sure if that agent still understood it, but she took the call anyways. But seriously, like I told that agent, I was wondering when we'd start getting calls from customers who wanted to cancel for that reason. And I hope all the company cronies who agreed to release the records all lose their customers so that they'll learn that the govt money lining their pockets doesn't justify breaking the law. Can't believe that the govt would try to appeal it, hello! it's just common sense. The situation that America's in isn't what anyone'd call wartime and therefore justify breaking their constitutional laws.

Yeah, so I'm going to try to get to bed early so that I can go to the museum and get half-price admission. D's off picking up H, so it's lovely having the apt to myself. I can leave the door open and enjoy the A/C. Never mind the walking around in my underoos. I can understand why T'd want to leave alone.

Quiz: What Gender Is Your Brain?

Your Brain is 53% Female, 47% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

I actually thought I'd be more male b/c I'm not "emotional" often, and I tend to think things logically. which either means a lotta stuff is stereotypical, or that it's a result of having grownup in a strictly male household for...20 yrs.

Quiz: What Superhero Are You?

You Are Batman

Billionaire playboy by day. Saving the world by night. And you're not even a true superhero. Just someone with a lot of expensive toys!

What Superhero Are You?

Cool, I'm Batman. So I suppose that's supposed to mean I have a dual personality or something? Well I guess that could be true, although I always thought I was relatively straightforward. Willing to take on street justice?! Oh yeah, fear me you sidewalk-spitters! Bat's among the few DC char I don't despise. Especially when he has such cute sidekicks. Heh heh heh.

Don't bite the hand you want to help you

So I'm still a bit steamed at JR. On Friday, I was only finished w/ about 28 monitors, and the I still had about 2 more days to do monitors, so technically I only needed to do another 2 and I'd be finished. However JR was short by about 4 and it was his last day of the week to do them. So he asked me if I'd wanna do monitors for him, and it's like "nope, do 'em yourself. *lol*" Anyways, later on when everyone'd gone home, and we were talking to V about the shortage of Floor Support and how the TLs are being dragged into doing it. JR started going about how he's always the one the Floor Support goes to have things done, how some TLs have to be told to do provide Floor Support while he spends most of his time helping agents, and then he looks at me in a somewhat joking way. So I'm like whatever, I do help when I see agents who need help. And then JR goes "yeah but you always have your head down when you're monitoring." And I'm As if, whatever, I don't really give a sh!t, it's not like I'm TL next week. Well he goes to me "well you'd better change your attitude or you're going to be on phones all the time." Yeah, well that totally pissed me off. 1) he brought up an incident that he knew was a sore point for me 2)he was the one that asked for help w/ monitors 3) I used to be Floor Support before I was SLR and the only reason why they don't go to me is b/c they don't know if I'm being a TL or stuck on the phones from day-to-day.4) the reason why he doesn't have as many monitors is b/c he's not as efficient as I am. So I think V knew I was p!ssed off after that (b/c I don't usually swear out loud at work), and when I went home that night, I didn't say bye to JR even though he's my bf. And then over the weekend I turned off AIM just in case he was going to go on. And today, I got a SMS from saying that it's my fault that he's sick now (I got sick after LL and SM's wedding on 7th) and he had a "lol" on it. I'm thinking, "Well that's just the gods' wrath for arguing w/ me." For a personal who doesn't belong to any religion I do believe in gods. More for fun and to explain inexplicable things, but yeah, I'm still poed.

And I suppose the same situation is at work. Hence my work-to-rule policy. Yesterday I was supposed to be off b/c it's supposed to be that TL's Sunday off, but I didn't know, so went in. Which I didn't care much after I found out. Better to be paid another day at TL level than at rep level. Ended up surfing the web, printing out all the crap I needed when I'm on the phones, entered monitors and updated journals. Stuff like that.

Quiz: Your Wonderful Pirate Life!!! UPDATED!!! Wonderful Results!

.:MR. GIBBS:.Captain Jack Sparrow: Thinks you are a great friend, but he wouldnt die for you or anything like that...(like he'd die for anyone)William Turner: He thinks you are a wonderful person and a wonderful friend to haveElizabeth Swan: You and her are close, sharing secrets and helping each other out.Mr. Gibbs: Loves you. He thinks you are the most beautiful woman on earth and a wonderful person. He would die for you...wow.Norrington: Thinks you a beautiful and loves you as a friend.Davy Jones: Doesnt really know you, but plans to kill you anyway. Its just how he works.Bootstrap Bill Turner: Doesnt really know you that well, but he thinks you are a great person and prettyJack (the monkey): Loves you because you play with him when the others cant, and defend him from Jack at times..:STORY:.You sigh, taking another swig of rum in the mess cabin, enjoying a small party with your crew mates. You noticed that many of them had been eyes you, but you stayed by Gibbs...he had always protected you. Shivering slightly as one of the crew attempted to touch your leg, you walked over to Gibbs, who had seen this and was glaring at the young man. You slid into his arms...he was your best freind...and stayed there the rest of the night, finally falling asleep against his chest.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
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Did this one just to see the results. And I actually thought Mr. Gibbs was either the guy w/ the wooden eye or his buddy. But Mr. Gibbs wouldn't be a bad choice really. Nice bloke. Hasn't managed to drink himself into a stupor despite working for Jack. lol

Quiz: Your life at Hogwarts(GURLS ONLY)

Your life at Hogwarts(GURLS ONLY).

Your House: GF.Your bf: RonYour friends: everybody in gf.what you look likeLYou have waist length golden curly blonde hair and baby blue eyes. You are about 5'1". You are slim, but still have ebough curves to make Ron salivate over you. You are a classic beauty. You are just about, everyones friend, even the slytherins kind of like you.What your friends think of you:Ron: She's the love of my life. I still can't belive she's mine. I'm head over heels in love with her.Hermione: Im a bit envious she got ron, but she's still my friend.Harry: She's beautiful, but I know she's rons. Besides, I got my own love.Ginny: I love her like a sister. I wish she and ron would get married so she would be my sister.Thw twins: Think yor okay. Prefer their own hottie.How it happened:-D :You were sitting up in a tree when suddenly you were pushed out. When you were able to regain your senses you saw that malfoy had pushed you out. Now he was walking toward you. He grabbed your waist and pushed his mouth on you. She tried to get away, but he was too strong. You made al the noise you could, flailing your arms and legs. Suddenly you were pulled apart by ron. He shouted at Draco, "what the hell are you doing?" Malfoy tried to answer but Ron was too quick he used a curse on him that made the word: Harrasser appear all over his skin. Malfoy got up and ran to the hospital wing. You were alone with ron. He sat down and you uttered thanks saying you would do anything for him. He thoght about it for him, then he looked at you. His face grew softer, than he pulled you closer to him, till you were almost in his lap. Then he kissed you.It was a gentle kiss, but passionate. Colors exploded in your head, and fireworks went off. You broke apart and he said, "_____Will you be my girlfriend?" "Yes",you replied,"I'd be glad to". Then you smiled. He pulled you into another kiss, a bit rougher, and you kissed back. Soon you were in his lap. I wont go into more details.Please rate! This quiz took me a long time. I'm not making you, but will you please?
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I don't mind the result ie. getting Ron as my bf, but gah! The whole scenario and what "I look like" is so lame. Definitely written by someone just hitting puberty. Ron'd be the dependable but slightly exasperating bf. I was leaning towards the twins b/c they're hilarious, but I'd probably pull my hair out half the time, and chasing after them on the broom LMAO in the other. Cedric's a bit too perfect. Harry was also a possibility, and at least he's not a main character I hate. Draco...can I beat him? No really. Just for fun. Make him into my slave.

Geez, I can't believe I'm doing Harry Potter quizzes. I'm onto the 5th book...uh...what's the title? Order of the Phoenix. So far it's the most interesting. We all must have an Umbridge in our life. I have a feeling that Rowling wrote the teachers based on several people. As a series, it's not bad. The characters were largely 2 dimensional until this book. It's not a "I must have it for my own" series (I'm reading H's) but it's entertaining enough for me to read in the tub w/o drowning. Wouldn't mind seeing the movies though.

Prophecy? or some wierd symbolism?

This morning (cause I sleep till noon) I had a dream that someone at my workplace died. Not died there, or in front of me, but she got into a vehicle accident and died. I know who she is but I'm somewhat neutral towards her. Yeah, she got the supervisor position instead of me, and was only a rep when she got it, but I think she's a nice girl. But yeah, so I dreamed that she died, and people who knew her were all upset and wanted the entire centre to be closed so that they could go to her funeral and then wanted everyone's journal w/ the death. I think I was acting supervisor in the dream, and I was acting sympathetic but realistic. There was no way in hecked they'd close the centre, and there's no way I'd update 400+ journals. Yeah so I hear about the death, and I was all "I'm so sorry to hear that. Oh you want a day off, oh okay, but it'll have to be unpaid"

Yeah, so I have no clue what that was, but it happened. I've had dreams which included people I went to elementary w/ and we'd just sorta meet in the street or what have you. But I'm sleepy now.

Quiz: How Brutally Honest Are You?

You Are 52% Brutally Honest

Honesty is important to you, but generally, you try not to be brutal about it. You'll sugar coat the truth when you need to... and tell a white lie when necessary.

How Brutally Honest Are You?

Heh, one of the questions was "has your mouth ever gotten you into trouble", and it's like Oh yeah. Do I lack tact? Yup. Ah, quizzes good when you're about to pass out.

Bitterness is my state

So I open my email on Saturday to find out that I'm not taking over the specialized team. They decided instead to let the other TL take over both teams. Why? Oh, b/c the vacationing TL was able to do it for a month, so the other TL should be able to do it. Coincidentally enough, the OM for the specialized team also happens to be the one that reamed me out the other day, and had the nerve to say "if you want to be a TL..." Yeah, so basically as long as those 2 OMs are at the site, I probably won't ever be hired as a TL.

Yeah, so it was just great to find out in email. Apparently the assignment supervisor tried to call me on Friday, but b/c I don't have Caller ID, I didn't know who it was. But he didn't bother to leave a VM. Probably got too scared of my VM greeting. It's ... unique. Well it's very serious and all proper for the beginning, but then there's a little twist at the end. And then when he called me on Saturday when I was at work, I was like steel on the phone. "Yes, I read the email." "Uh huh." "Okay." "Bye." At this point, I don't particularly care if I get to fill in for other TLs. Unless it means taking over teams that have friends or acquaintances on it, it's like "whatever. I get paid more."

*nod nod* Excellent job in retaining employees as usual. *heavy sarcasm* At least while I'm on calls I can read or color or something. I haven't for a while b/c it's just such a chore to find or do anything in their dumbass systems that I don't have time during the call to do stuff b/c it's all so slow. Spend half the time watching the hourglass. Or maybe I'm just trying to convince myself it won't be that bad. It's still quite the slap in the face to be tossed back on the phones when they were bitching about not having enough SLRs to cover all the vacationing TLs.

Which may be why I'm still up when I should be sleeping b/c I'm so tired. I have a tendancy to do that. If I know the next day is going to suck, I'll forestall it anyway I can. Technically that doesn't actually happen, but since when I sleep, I don't notice any passage of time, it's like time fastfowards when I'm sleeping. So it's a bit of a paradox, but it makes sense in my little world. Oh, I guess I should check when I work...huh 1:30. Bah. Still haven't gotten my fckng Performance Appraisal, 2 months after they were supposed to be delivered.

Okay, well I'm getting a headache from being up at 7:30 (after turning over when it was 6:30 and I was supposed to get up at 6:45) and thus having to eat my breakfast at work since I'm supposed to work at 8. All this after getting home from watching Pirates of Carribean at 1:00a, and getting to be at around 2.

I'll try writing a review of the movie another time. But the short version of it is...it sucked.

Work To Rule

Yes, another "I hate my job" post. We'll start w/ the most immediate impact. I hate my job b/c they don't have consistent hours. The bastards decided to start at 8 on weekdays, 10 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday. Like WTF? So of course I forgot it's Saturday (well not technically b/c I set the VCR to program my cartoons), so I drag my @ss outta bed and start walking to work. And at least realize half a block later, I coulda slept for another 2 hrs. And I'd be taking a nap on the futon if it weren't that I'm recording Pokemon right now, and I want the TV to sleep to.

Anyways, last night I stayed up late to pose my Pokemon plush to form a picture for my camera phone. ...What?! It's not easy to make static objects appear that they're alive. I also have a few of my other plush toys, and it makes me happy.

So back to that hellhole, b/c of mismanagement of resources, they don't have enough floor support so they're pulling the supervisors to fill in instead. Which means we can't meet our deliverables. And it wouldn't be so bad if every supervisor was doing it, but of course there's a bunch that're slackers, and everyone knows about it. So after losing my 3rd official monitor, I ask the OM when they're going to put more floor support on, and she gives me a cock-n-bull story, so I'm like "fine, whatever" toss off my headset and dispose of the monitor sheet (b/c of customer privacy and all the crap) by ripping it. W/ this OM, she won't directly talk to you about it. Instead you hear about it a couple hours or days later, and she'll take offense over anything. Once I told her that "I felt I was being punished for something that happened that was no fault of my own" (I was asked to go on a trip but b/c of their system error, they couldn't create an expense account, and after I worked on it for about 4 hours of my own time, they said they chose someone else b/c they couldn't wait), and so she tells me that she's sorry I feel that way. And then a day later I hear from my supervisor that she felt I was acting unprofessionally. And you couldn't tell me this yourself?! So anyways, again, she tells my OM this, and so he pulls me aside and basically tells me to cover up for their asinine decisions and put on a happy face b/c the reps are watching. Oh, and that "monitors will happen." Sure they do, especially if I were to make them up. But no, he faults me for having a rep listen to his call, while I try to listen to another rep's call and enter monitors at the same time, and accuses me of not efficiently using company time. When during while I was doing that, another OM walked by and said "That's some multitasking!" So I'm just sick of this bull and it's work to rule time.

And I was told my assignment supervisor to take over a specialized team(which had a lotta my friends on it), and I was happy. And when I go to the soon-to-be-vacationing TL that (who shoulda known by now), she's like "oh, uh really, let me check w/ the OM" and didn't look to pleased. And I'm like "WTF?" and was pretty hurt b/c I thought we were on very good terms. The place is a viper pit. No, actually I'm insulting the vipers.

Yeah, so anyways, I had taken over a team on July 19 for another vacationing TL, and he's supposed to be back on Monday, which is when I'm supposed to take over that other team. Oh, and after my OM reamed me about about my professionalism and how I won't get TL if I keep it up, he just goes "that's all I wanted to talk to you about." Nada thing about how I'm doing w/ the team. So I ask him directly, and he goes "oh that team's pretty good." So in other words, any improvements or maintainment of stats is purely due to the team, and not me. I've seen other SLRs lose their teams b/c they messed up the management, so he's basically insulting my abilities. Me bitter? What for?

My vacation ended on July 12, and I got all sick from handling money at animethon, so I didn't get to go walking in the river valley. Although I did play a lotta ps2 and watch dvds. I was so sick, I could barely walk the block to the bank to pay my bill. And I was hacking and sneezing stuff up. I wanna go back on vacation.

Okay, vcr's fini, I'm going to sleep. For the hour. oh well.

Quiz: What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

Your Personality Is Like Acid

A bit wacky, you're very difficult to predict. One moment you're in your own little happy universe... And the next, you're on a bad trip to your own personal hell!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

Cool, I'm acid! H did some acid, and told us about it. It was hilarious what happened to her. I think most people would agree that my mood is very mecurial, and if I'm on a bad "trip", it's hard to get me outta it.

Quiz: What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English

20% Yankee

15% Dixie

5% Midwestern

5% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

And I have no idea what that means b/c I'm Canadian. Of course w/ the amt of american programming that I've grown up w/, there's no doubt why I'd have American in there. I think only twice has a caller asked if I was canadian b/c of my accent. I think it might be b/c of the way I say route which rhymes w/ out. But I could be wrong. I have no idea why the Americans find "about" so interesting.