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Friday, February 04, 2005
That annoying doggy thingy
A amusing post by Blake Ross on his blog regarding that annoying dog that appears whenever you do a search in Windows.
One of those moments where you will look back and laugh at it all
Yesterday, I went after work to speak with an executive recruiter who had a possible job lined up for me. I went to her office and introduced myself. Here was the extent of our conversation.
me: "Hi T, we spoke yesterday regarding the part time position."
T: "Oh yes, hi 'Jose,' let me see if I can get the paperwork together. I may have to leave a little early today."
me: "My name is Julio."
T: "Sorry. Julio I remember J calling me saying they're may be an issue with your working hours."
me: "I wasn't aware of that."
T: "Let me call J and see if she's in her office Jose."
Second girl walks in
T: "Hi S, will you be here after five today?"
S: "No, I have to leave early as well. Hi Mohammed J mentioned you would be passing by."
T: "It's, Jose"
me: "No, it's Julio"
T: "Julio spoke with J regarding the part time position."
S: "I was told there was a conflict of interest and that he wouldn't be able to fill the position."
T: Jose, I'm not sure what J said re: the position, but I would confirm with her first. Unfortunately, I have to leave early, I have your resume and if something comes up I'll notify you. Thanks for taking the time come by Jose and I'm sorry things didn't work out."
S: Bye Jose, good luck!"
I drove back home and I wasn't certain if I was upset about not being able to get the job or having to deal with two idiots who can't get Julio and Jose straight.
me: "Hi T, we spoke yesterday regarding the part time position."
T: "Oh yes, hi 'Jose,' let me see if I can get the paperwork together. I may have to leave a little early today."
me: "My name is Julio."
T: "Sorry. Julio I remember J calling me saying they're may be an issue with your working hours."
me: "I wasn't aware of that."
T: "Let me call J and see if she's in her office Jose."
Second girl walks in
T: "Hi S, will you be here after five today?"
S: "No, I have to leave early as well. Hi Mohammed J mentioned you would be passing by."
T: "It's, Jose"
me: "No, it's Julio"
T: "Julio spoke with J regarding the part time position."
S: "I was told there was a conflict of interest and that he wouldn't be able to fill the position."
T: Jose, I'm not sure what J said re: the position, but I would confirm with her first. Unfortunately, I have to leave early, I have your resume and if something comes up I'll notify you. Thanks for taking the time come by Jose and I'm sorry things didn't work out."
S: Bye Jose, good luck!"
I drove back home and I wasn't certain if I was upset about not being able to get the job or having to deal with two idiots who can't get Julio and Jose straight.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Using the Active and Passive Voice
Right now I have my head and phone leaning against my shoulder listening to one of the many instructional telecourse offered through my company. These courses, while good, are a pain if you have to hold a phone to your head for an hour. I don't get much out of these courses apart from a neckache. The course I'm listening to now is "Using the Active Voice and the Passive Voice."
The first ten minutes are spent hearing a sucession of beeps by people in the class muting their phones (*6) or people requesting hand outs that they didn't receive (they're supposed to download it from the intranet themselves before the class). Occasionally you might hear the instructor telling a person to hit *6 since the sound of the person eating over the phone or their heaving breathing is distracting to the class.
Sometimes, I feel like I don't get much out of these telecourses. For instance, how can you learn the rules of grammar in a matter of 45 minutes? The instructor and class review several questions pertaining to a particular topic. We're expected to learn strategies in writing more effective letters to people we deal with in business on a daily basis. If you're a college graduate (a requirement for most positions in the company) shouldn't you know the fundamentals of grammar and writing in the first place? Not being able to communicate or work effectively in an office setting and having to take a course to learn these fundamental skills is like a plumber who has been working in his field for several years having to be taught the basics of his trade when he should have learned it in the first place.
I feel akward at times taking these courses since they give me this feeling that I'm at fault for not being able to work to my best capacity. The only way I can describe it is being back in high school and you're told that you were assigned to the wrong class and that you actually belong in Special Ed. (My apologies for any of you reading this who attended Special Ed. I don't mean to diss you!) These courses make me feel like I'm in the dumb class and that I have to have to keep up with the rest of the class by taking a telecourse.
I guess the reason why telecourses work so well (apart from being cheap for the company) is that the person taking the course can't see you and you can't see them thus hiding your identity and your shame for not being the perfect worker. Also, wouldn't it be uncomfortable if you had to walk into a room and sit next to your fellow employees knowing that they're looking back at you knowing you have a particular issue when it comes to being effective in the office?
Imagine you finished attending a class and horrified, you notice someone points you out to their friend in the cafeteria. The one thing you can make out from reading their lips is "he has problems in organizing his work." Business-wise, that's the equivalent of "he can't get it up."
There's some courses that I have no idea what they're about. Courses like "Think Like DaVinci" or "Think Like Einstein" are vague but sound enticing . Perhaps I''ll sign up for them.
I finally hung up the phone ten minutes ago seeing that most of the questions asked were "How do I access the site again" or "Why don't I see the telecourse handouts for March?" You can tell some people are embarrased taking these courses when they start whispering their question over the phone so that heaven's forbid they're fellow cubicle members don't become aware that they can't put together a simple sentence together. I should know, I was guilty of this in a prior class.
I thought I would learn something new but I heard pretty much what I knew already and that's the problem with these courses. Ok not really a problem but I guess people who do take these courses hope some new revelation to make them more productive as workers. Perhaps if we spent more time reviewing what we wrote before e-mailing it, or if we took the time to file things when we receive a document, we wouldn't be so concerned in taking such courses.
I'll let you know how "Think Like ____" is next time it rolls around. Hopefully I won' t be so ashamed.
The first ten minutes are spent hearing a sucession of beeps by people in the class muting their phones (*6) or people requesting hand outs that they didn't receive (they're supposed to download it from the intranet themselves before the class). Occasionally you might hear the instructor telling a person to hit *6 since the sound of the person eating over the phone or their heaving breathing is distracting to the class.
Sometimes, I feel like I don't get much out of these telecourses. For instance, how can you learn the rules of grammar in a matter of 45 minutes? The instructor and class review several questions pertaining to a particular topic. We're expected to learn strategies in writing more effective letters to people we deal with in business on a daily basis. If you're a college graduate (a requirement for most positions in the company) shouldn't you know the fundamentals of grammar and writing in the first place? Not being able to communicate or work effectively in an office setting and having to take a course to learn these fundamental skills is like a plumber who has been working in his field for several years having to be taught the basics of his trade when he should have learned it in the first place.
I feel akward at times taking these courses since they give me this feeling that I'm at fault for not being able to work to my best capacity. The only way I can describe it is being back in high school and you're told that you were assigned to the wrong class and that you actually belong in Special Ed. (My apologies for any of you reading this who attended Special Ed. I don't mean to diss you!) These courses make me feel like I'm in the dumb class and that I have to have to keep up with the rest of the class by taking a telecourse.
I guess the reason why telecourses work so well (apart from being cheap for the company) is that the person taking the course can't see you and you can't see them thus hiding your identity and your shame for not being the perfect worker. Also, wouldn't it be uncomfortable if you had to walk into a room and sit next to your fellow employees knowing that they're looking back at you knowing you have a particular issue when it comes to being effective in the office?
Imagine you finished attending a class and horrified, you notice someone points you out to their friend in the cafeteria. The one thing you can make out from reading their lips is "he has problems in organizing his work." Business-wise, that's the equivalent of "he can't get it up."
There's some courses that I have no idea what they're about. Courses like "Think Like DaVinci" or "Think Like Einstein" are vague but sound enticing . Perhaps I''ll sign up for them.
I finally hung up the phone ten minutes ago seeing that most of the questions asked were "How do I access the site again" or "Why don't I see the telecourse handouts for March?" You can tell some people are embarrased taking these courses when they start whispering their question over the phone so that heaven's forbid they're fellow cubicle members don't become aware that they can't put together a simple sentence together. I should know, I was guilty of this in a prior class.
I thought I would learn something new but I heard pretty much what I knew already and that's the problem with these courses. Ok not really a problem but I guess people who do take these courses hope some new revelation to make them more productive as workers. Perhaps if we spent more time reviewing what we wrote before e-mailing it, or if we took the time to file things when we receive a document, we wouldn't be so concerned in taking such courses.
I'll let you know how "Think Like ____" is next time it rolls around. Hopefully I won' t be so ashamed.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
12:15 am
I arrived home two hours ago. I spent most of the night staring at my computer screen at work, not doing work, but looking for a job. After awhile, I grew tired of clicking on job links that were mainly advertisments to mislead you into believing that your dream job lay just a link away. Most jobs offered "Amazing opportunities" or "Immediate openings now!" I applied to a few hoping that perhaps somewhere, a human resource manager will weed through the thousand e-mails he/she receives and will stumble across mine.
By 8:30 I went to the parking lot and stepped into my car not to drive home but to drive anywhere but. There are those moments when you don't wish to go directly back home seeing that you spent most of your day behind your desk at work. I need to justify it by driving aimlessly at night hoping that I will stumble across something interesting.
In Jersey, there aren't many interesting places to see, particularly at night. Most people go indoors by 6pm having no place to go apart from a neighbors home or cozying up on your own couch in your own home to watch the evening news. I've been cooped up in my house for the past few weeks. It's been too cold to go just about anywhere and you hope the weather will warm up so you can at least take the dog out for an extended walk instead of ushering him out to the backyard to do his business.
Tonight though was a suprisingly warm night (40 degrees) and I wanted to see people and the only place you see people at this time of night is in urban neighborhoods like Paterson or Newark. I drove down Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. wondering what makes people inclined to stand in front of the corner grocery store in thirty degree weather. Driving by, they gave me the eye telling me with their look that I don't belong there. I eyed them back, giving them the look that that I was warm in my car.
There are several streets named after promiment African-Americans like MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks (Ave.) which is lined with little private houses and several unidentifiable factories where garbage is strewn around. Turning back onto MLK Jr. Blvd. I passed a White Castle. It has a drive thru with several cars lined up. By the pick up window, what appeared to be a homeless man stood next to it hoping that a sympathetic driver would donate one of their small burgers but unfortunately for him he didn't luck out.
Driving back home, I can't help thinking about White Castles and start singing this little song going to the tune of Frosty the Snowman:
I sang this several times changing the verses occasionally, seeing what sounded the most silliest in order to occupy the time driving back home. Now that I think about it, I've been sitting in front of a computer monitor for about 13 hours.
Suprisingly, this post took me an hour to write (its now 1:10 am). I'm going to bed and tomorrow I'll stare at my screen some more.
Nighty nite (or good morning).
By 8:30 I went to the parking lot and stepped into my car not to drive home but to drive anywhere but. There are those moments when you don't wish to go directly back home seeing that you spent most of your day behind your desk at work. I need to justify it by driving aimlessly at night hoping that I will stumble across something interesting.
In Jersey, there aren't many interesting places to see, particularly at night. Most people go indoors by 6pm having no place to go apart from a neighbors home or cozying up on your own couch in your own home to watch the evening news. I've been cooped up in my house for the past few weeks. It's been too cold to go just about anywhere and you hope the weather will warm up so you can at least take the dog out for an extended walk instead of ushering him out to the backyard to do his business.
Tonight though was a suprisingly warm night (40 degrees) and I wanted to see people and the only place you see people at this time of night is in urban neighborhoods like Paterson or Newark. I drove down Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. wondering what makes people inclined to stand in front of the corner grocery store in thirty degree weather. Driving by, they gave me the eye telling me with their look that I don't belong there. I eyed them back, giving them the look that that I was warm in my car.
There are several streets named after promiment African-Americans like MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks (Ave.) which is lined with little private houses and several unidentifiable factories where garbage is strewn around. Turning back onto MLK Jr. Blvd. I passed a White Castle. It has a drive thru with several cars lined up. By the pick up window, what appeared to be a homeless man stood next to it hoping that a sympathetic driver would donate one of their small burgers but unfortunately for him he didn't luck out.
Driving back home, I can't help thinking about White Castles and start singing this little song going to the tune of Frosty the Snowman:
White Castle burgers
they are so fun to eat
they feel good in my tummy
they are such a tasty treat
White Castle Burgers
they're only eaten by the finer class
if you decide to eat in McDonald's
your burgers will be laced with glass
White Castle Burgers
they have such amazing food
no other place can beat them
from suburbs to the hood
Oh, those burgers are so great
and the waiting tickets are so cool
if they pass your number its too late
boy, don't you feel like such a fool?
White castle burgers
they come in value meals
with some burgers, soda, and some fries
the price is just a steal
White castle burgers
they must be heaven sent
I observe the burger all year long
particularly when its Lent
White castle burgers, White Castle Burgers
you are so divine
White castle burgers, White Castle Burgers
get your hands off them bitch, they're mine!
I sang this several times changing the verses occasionally, seeing what sounded the most silliest in order to occupy the time driving back home. Now that I think about it, I've been sitting in front of a computer monitor for about 13 hours.
Suprisingly, this post took me an hour to write (its now 1:10 am). I'm going to bed and tomorrow I'll stare at my screen some more.
Nighty nite (or good morning).
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Happiness is a Hotpocket
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
I've taken it upon myself to start taking a more positive approach to living out in the burbs. So far, the few comments that I got here along with those I received in person is that its a bit of a downer reading my post. People find them depressing, they are quick to point out grammatical errors, and they don't get the obscure references in my humor. When I attempt to explain my humor, I'm further questioned on the use of the reference to the relevance of it in the joke.
Why the obscure reference to Hotpockets? I just like them.
Moving right along:
So I took the initiative of working on my house today with my wife so I can get in touch with my suburban self. I took pride in removing the mold from the ceiling of my bathroom and made sure that I found a special place in my cabinet for my Windex with vinegar. This was one of the several different varieties of Windex alongside the Fantastick that you can find in Pathmark which had a special in their circular and thankfully I had my Pathmark Savings card! These little purchases with this card will some day get me a free turkey. Just $195.00 more to go.
I'm also coming to terms with driving out here as well. You do get this twisted sense of power when you're driving on a shitty day and as you wait on the red light you can't help but feel your life is so much better than these poors bastards waiting at the bus stop for a bus that will never come. Ok, maybe that's not a good example.
Clothes shopping is fun in the "Jerz" (yes, I've picked a pet name for my new hometown). My idea of shopping back in Queens was going to the city and checking out a few stores before settling with Old Navy (I'm cheap that way). Kohls is now my new best friend right off of Route 17 North. There's nothing wrong in driving 15 miles to get a great pair of Hanes briefs.
Yep, me and the burbs are getting along just swell. Yeah. Jerz. Mm hmm...
Accentuate the positive. Accentuate the positive.
Word of the day
Word of the day is:
Used most notably by Randy Jackson on American Idol when he told a young contestant to put on his false gold teeth.
"C'mon man, put your crunk on!"
More words to come.
crunk
Used most notably by Randy Jackson on American Idol when he told a young contestant to put on his false gold teeth.
"C'mon man, put your crunk on!"
More words to come.
What does a Mexican drinking a Corona, watching Al Jazeera on his Sony TV all have in common?
Apple has been labeled most influential brand by a survey of 2,000 people.
What I find interesting is the list of influential brands from other parts of the world. Asia, for instance has Sony, Samsung, LG, and Toyota as some of the popular brands with consumers. Central and Latin America on the other hand, has Cemex, Corona, Barcardi, Bimbo, and Vina Concha y Toro on their list.
Isn't it amazing that three out of the five items are alcohol? (The other two are cement and bread.) What does that say about us as latinos? That we spend our days drinking (and mixing cement)?
That's right papi! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!
What I find interesting is the list of influential brands from other parts of the world. Asia, for instance has Sony, Samsung, LG, and Toyota as some of the popular brands with consumers. Central and Latin America on the other hand, has Cemex, Corona, Barcardi, Bimbo, and Vina Concha y Toro on their list.
Isn't it amazing that three out of the five items are alcohol? (The other two are cement and bread.) What does that say about us as latinos? That we spend our days drinking (and mixing cement)?
That's right papi! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!
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