Blog For Free!
Archives
Home
2005 June
2005 May
2005 April
2005 March
2005 February
2005 January
2004 December
2004 November
My Links
Fever Dreams
marijane24's blog
Silently Screaming
tBlog
My Profile
Send tMail
My tFriends
My Images
Sponsored
Blog
|
| "I deserve" consumerism |
| 06.10.05 (3:30 am) [edit] |
Frankly, I am beginning to be fed up with this whole notion people have, that they "deserve", or are "entitled" to all sorts of things.
We found out about two weeks past, that we have a couple of seats open in one of our classes. We figured then, that we will do something nice for our customers, and open those seats for people with a valid subscription – for free.
We send a quick fax to our subscribers list, and we fill every vacant seat within 24 hours. When we had no more tickets to give, that's when the shit had hit the fan.
I think I spent hours on the phone, trying to get this person to understand that we have no more seats. He is yelling at me, telling me that I have damaged him, by preventing him from coming to a class others get for free. That he deserves to come for free, that, in fact, everybody deserves to come for free, and that if we have run out of places, it is only obvious that we must open another class just to accommodate everybody and anybody else who wants to come.
Here we were, trying to do something nice for our customers –not as a promotion drive but just as something nice that we can do to our more devoted customers - and for free, no less! And this guy demands that we spend money and effort and time to extend this deal to everybody else, at our expense.
So if we take what he says and put it to use, we have to take damages every time we want to do something nice. Isn't it funny?
Ok here is another example. We have a couple of deals here, that when you buy a couple of things together you get a cheaper price. We give a customer who changes his mind about not taking the deal 10 days, during which if he wants purchase additional products he will be entitled the benefits of whatever deal he's purchased.
I sometimes sell 50 dollar products for under 10 this way. A deal's a deal, no?
A guy bought a couple of things under a special discount. He was also offered our subscription at cost, at the time, as part of the purchase deal. He didn't want. Half a year later, he calls, saying that he wants the subscription. So we tell him the price, and he starts yelling and shouting that we promised it at cost, and that we caused him a grievous injury and that he is damaged by our gross misconduct.
I mean the nerve! You knew the terms of the deal, you didn't want it! What makes you think you can go back on your word and the deal's still going to be on the table? Stick to your word, and eat it too!
But no, he wanted to have his shouting contest, calling us liars and all sorts of names.
I am done ranting.
|
|
|
| |
| Regurgitation blogs |
| 06.04.05 (3:00 am) [edit] |
Something that I have recently noticed as I was checking the blogs today, is that so many of those - mainly those who are forms of activism (religious, political, animal rights, et cetera) - are merely collections of stuff pasted from somewhere else.
I must say that I am dissapointed. So many people revert to using taken words in order to get their audience. Get your own content, thieves!
And get yourself an oppinion too. I will not debate with anybody who uses another's words and another's thoughts. Such do not merit referance.
|
|
|
| |
| A short review |
| 06.02.05 (10:11 pm) [edit] |
|
It has been a hellish week, for me. I am simply glad that it is over.
I like to be active, as a person. Do go from one thing, to another. But somehow, this week I feel as if I am doing nothing at all, and being asleep like this is draining on me like nothing else.
In other news, I have a couple of things on the fire, cooking away; I hope to reap the fruits of my labor there.
Also, I have been thinking of going into writing. Some positive responses might help sway me one way, or another.
|
|
|
| |
| The Story Manifest |
| 05.28.05 (9:47 am) [edit] |
|
Once upon a time, I think it was a year back I wrote a short story in my mind, about a new dog in the family. It was not a very long story, mainly because I never got further than the exposition... but it had a bit of wonder and magic in it... A kind of dark, sci-fi feel to it.
It is odd, though. My neighbor got herself a new dog, and that dog is showing all the signs that my original character had - from appearance, through behavior, to her background, where she grew up, and how she came to the household.
Strange, isn't it ?
|
|
|
| |
| Translations |
| 04.29.05 (7:19 am) [edit] |
One of my side gigs is that I do translations of articles from time to time – mainly for students, but also for larger bodies. It so happens, that when I was at a sci-fi convention last week, I came across this starting author last week, who complained about having troubles with translations for her new book {who's name I shall not disclose here due to reasons following}. We conversed a bit, and I offered to have a go at it and translate a short segment for free, so that I can evaluate my work.
It came to her giving me a free copy of her book {although, by the looks of it, it didn't really sell that well at the convention}, which I am now reading.
Would you believe it? I am actually ranting about having to read a book? That is just so far-fetched. But there it is, here I am.
Oh man, that book sucks. Such books are the reason behind editors in publishing houses.
Anyway, until next time,
Cya later, my faithful readers,
Alef0.
|
|
|
| |
| Questionairs |
| 03.11.05 (11:57 am) [edit] |
Forgive me if I am wrong, but I don't like to be 'questioned'. I don't like it when people try to nose into my life and catalog the details.
Sometimes I feel as if my friend Ya is working with a questionaire. He's got a list of questions he wants to ask, and he is asking them one by one. If I don't asnwer one day, he'll be sure to remember me not answering. He'll use textbook method for browsing deeper into every topic, trying to encompass the whole of every aspect of me.
I'm a very open person. I let people know how I feel, what I think, what I want. People around me generally know a great deal more about me than I do about them. But I don't like them to nose around. To try and get to wherever they think is hidden from them. I don't like my friends to think "hmm, he didn't talk about that lately, let's see what he thinks..."
I'll only stand it from the closest of friends. And while it's easy to question me - for someone to try and leech and pry these thigns from me, it's also the easiest way to stop me from being your friend.
ok, i know im ranting. I just needed to bitch for a moment.
|
|
|
| |
| New job |
| 02.05.05 (5:06 am) [edit] |
So I very recently moved into the new office, in my new job. The place is so different than my old place, that it is frightening.
The dynamic workstyle that I was used to is changed into a gruling routine. The pro-sales, pro-communication is now a 'they need us more', 'we don't need to be nice' approach.
I so do not agree.
But then again, I have hte chance of putting some substance in this job, and changing the entire place.
All hail the new marketing manager.
;)
|
|
|
| |
| The dreaming |
| 01.18.05 (5:43 am) [edit] |
|
I feel like waking up,
Another facet of this
faceless dream,
And while I know I can,
I doubt I ever will.
I don't really feel like explaining this, but I might aswell, since I am dropping it on you. I just, feel as if the last week has been a long dream. I crave for awakening, for action, for movement. I have it within me to cause this movement, but reaching in for that strength – it seems so hard right now.
|
|
|
| |
| A question to all you ladies: |
| 01.11.05 (5:23 am) [edit] |
Suppose you're sitting in a concert hall, listening to the local philharmonic orchestra. You're alone, and lost in thought for half an hour. Out of the darkness, a young man, roughly your age, comes to you and says: "Hi. I'd like to get to know you."
What would be your response?
|
|
|
| |
| Happy new year everybody |
| 01.01.05 (9:47 pm) [edit] |
Everybody who reads this,
Have a happy new year,
A merry chrismass,
A light heart.
|
|
|
| |
| The new week - things to do. |
| 01.01.05 (9:45 pm) [edit] |
So here I stand,
On my own again,
The road ahead lies still,
The forest slumbers.
I find myself at the beginning of a new week. The past one was not altogether good, what with me being jobless again and hunting the money my old boss still owes me (and it is a large sum).
It did cheer me up a deal to go hiking with a couple of friends. We went to see the birds, and to hike up the mountains on the border. We managed to get a special permit to walk around there, and managed to stumble across a hidden cauldron of snow, a place completely hidden from view. It was spectacular.
This week begins, and I am tasked again with the money I am owed, and with the job I don't have. Truly, it depressed me to do nothing today, apart from of of-course working the phones and making circles in the newspaper. It is a burden, I suppose.
Then again, I get to choose a new path today, so maybe I can be a little happier.
|
|
|
| |
| jobless at last |
| 12.22.04 (9:26 pm) [edit] |
As expected, my joblessness is final now. So begins my quest for new employment, and for an improvement of my situation.
My (former) boss suggested that I might come up with a new way of co-operation with him, and continue my employment with the firm. If that is the case, I have no doubt that it would be some crazy idea involving me working but not getting paid.
What a load of bull.
Nonetheless, a cooperation with the guy can be fruitful. Some of my ideas require some conference space to go around, and he's got it. It's quite possible that I can partner him to an existing plan for 30% of the loot (in his ideas he'll be getting 90, of course).
But something in me tells me that this is not an optimal idea. It would give him an opportunity – which I am quite certain he will use – to vulture my customers one by one. And than it would again be a one-time 10 per cent, rather than a casual 30.
Anyway, we'll have to see what the day brings.
P.S.: The guy still hasn't paid me for november. I'll have to push him a bit.
|
|
|
| |
| payday - or is it? |
| 12.16.04 (8:48 am) [edit] |
Payday has come up, and it appears to me as if I am going to have to chase my boss for the cheque. This was known to me beforehand, so I am not worried.
When you work part time as a freelancer you get to have a different perspective of cash-flow. You get to appreciate the need to get paid one time, and the simple fact that you never are. A part time worker where I am is completely furious about not getting her money on the clock - a simple symptom of being used to big firms that pay their people through proper channels - I know, though, that I'll get it eventually. So I have no worries, apart from knowing what is mine, and to chase it with everything I've got.
On the other hand, and this is a good thing, my boss is offering me a free course for managers. Granted, this was actually in my contract, getting free stuff off the firm (see "rotten deal" below) but I admire not having to badger him for it. Besides, I was caught up in life for a while and simply forgot.
|
|
|
| |
| Again, a not so pleasant talk with the boss. |
| 12.13.04 (12:28 pm) [edit] |
We both like each other, so I allowed myself to be frank. He is not happy with my performance, and I am not happy with my performance. So we talked about that for a while.
I still need to learn how to sell and negotiate. I suck at it – and it is the core of what I need to know for the future. Despite past promises, my poor performance apparently means that I will not get to learn this in the two weeks that I estimate remain while I am at this job.
|
|
|
| |
| placement |
| 12.12.04 (3:46 am) [edit] |
As I see it now, sitting at my home because the boss said he did not find anything for me to do, this is the beginning of the end for me, in my job. It's not that I am useless, but I have far from managed to attain the independence that was needed of me. That, above all, seals my faith at my workplace.
As I have before said, I do not mourn this. We all must move on, and I will remember the lessons of the day. I think that the constant search for work, is first and foremost among them.
Anyway, such is life, and I have already contacted the placement firm I like to begin my journey onwards. I have been a bit confused on the phone, so maybe it is good that I define my goals – as far as career goes (because they seek mainly teleservice people and I have to politic them to make them give me interesting offers).
|
|
|
| |
| the rotten deal |
| 12.08.04 (6:08 am) [edit] |
About ten days ago, I was offered a rotten deal – a pay cut, but alongside it a good profit percentage and a string of busyness courses – one by one. I took it, and so far I am not sure that the risk is paying itself.
The last days in the office were slow ones. I closed two deals, but I am unsure if they count as far as my commission goes. My responsibilities, which were growing, are shrinking, and generally I feel that my dismissal is close at hand. There will be o hard feelings, though, and I will earn more at the next job.
Nonetheless, I enjoy my work so far, and I would not like losing it, before I manage to get the hang of salesmanship. It is a glimpse to a world which, more and more, I believe will be my own one day.
Not for me is the future of safe employment, of doing your job for a wage and damn the world. I have none of this in my blood. Mine will be rough waters and storms, a constant pursuit of clients and sales. That is how I see myself, ten years from now.
|
|
|
| |
| Power in my Hands |
| 11.30.04 (12:26 pm) [edit] |
For the past few days, I have been plagued by a strange and slightly annoying phenomenon. Whenever I come into contact with something metallic, I get zapped by static shock. This had happened not once or twice, but 10 to 15 times altogether during the past three days.
I open the door to my home today, and when I insert the key into the lock, a rather visible spark shoots from the key into the cylinder. This had all been only an oddity if it were not for the pain it causes here and there.
Odd, don’t you think?
|
|
|
| |
| nothing going on at the office |
| 11.28.04 (12:05 am) [edit] |
i know I will bitch and rant about my work a lot, but eventually i do like to work.
I am sitting here, and my task-list is almost empty. Everything that I have to do either requires the attention of other workers - namely the boss - or is shceduled to be done at some other later date.
So I am sitting here, doing nothing at all - which is something I really don't like.
Now, I know that there is a task or two that I can do in such times that I am simply untrained for. I want to be able to do them, to go and work the phones on them or something like this - but at my present state of training, I will probably cost my boss clients, rather than gaining them. So I sit here, and do nothing.
when he's going to come in, im gonna ask him how to get to a point where I can work the phones without him and market stuff. That way, I will be worth several times my own weight, rather than just be another to-do'er.
did I mention I don't like to sit and do nothing?
'lef out.
|
|
|
| |
| feeling |
| 11.23.04 (9:18 pm) [edit] |
|
I feel now that there is something I need to do. It's important, and urgent, but I can't seem to remember, to know, what it is.
I wonder.
|
|
|
| |
| tBlog's javascript PW |
| 11.23.04 (8:55 am) [edit] |
I had the misforutne to run across one of the 'passworded' journals here on tBlogs, simply by clicking the wrong link in the directory by accident.
I am not going to go into details here (no, i didn't read it, and no, im not going to tell who was it), but I will issue a simple warning to anyone wishing to use this kind of simpelton script to protect themselves -
a crappy script is more an invitation, to some people, than no script at all. If you want to forbid people from reading your stuff, you should pick out something more elaborate than a simple PW script.
at least pick something that takes more than 5 seconds to crack, willyou?
|
|
|
| |
| daze |
| 11.22.04 (10:46 am) [edit] |
Today has been completely wierd, going by almost in a daze.
I felt odd from the moment I got to the office - but what could I do? I had to work. So I tried as hard as I can, forgetting the beginning of my sentences and trying very hard to even understand notes I've written not half an hour sooner.
It must have been obvious. At the end of the day the boss tells me to go see a doctor. As if I didn't already, for this flu - but that's besides the point.
Anyway, I hope I'll feel better tomorrow, and I just killed an hour listening to music when I should have done something more productive with myself.
|
|
|
| |
| rants about the office |
| 11.20.04 (8:32 am) [edit] |
I get a call from the boss a couple of minutes back, asking me to meet with him on the morrow, telling me he'll have to give me a couple of tasks to do before I go to the office. That's fair, but I hope he won't be upset if I start billing him for my work-hours from before I get to the office.
After all, I [i]will [/i]be at a busyness meeting, no?
Anyway, he also asked about a couple of calls I might need to do tomorrow. Now, I'm not all that certain which calls I need to do and why – firstly, because I left my notes at the office, and secondly, because I thought I was done with them.
I don't know, should I be zeroed in on my work 24/7? I mean, knowing what needs to be done at the office tomorrow is, I suppose, quite necessary for one to be efficient about it – but I suppose I can leave notes and catch up on them on the morrow, rather than carry the office in my memory all the time. Plus, I'm not at work now, and I am not getting paid globally – so why should I be concerned with office tasks when I am not at the office?
I suppose these are two approaches, and both will have to be reconciled with each other to some extent.
|
|
|
| |
| a day in the office |
| 11.18.04 (4:01 am) [edit] |
more or less ok day in the office, doing nothing really interesting but at least keeping busy.
I need to work on my closing technique, i think. Maybe I should plot a couple of conversation diagrams or something before I go to start my next important conversation. The last one went alright, but I doubt I made good PR and in any case i wasn't very good.
This is the ending of the first week in this new job. I feel as if I am learning something - but I suppose I'll have to see what I can get out of it.
|
|
|
| |
| a day in the office |
| 11.15.04 (9:51 am) [edit] |
Today went a lot better than yesterday, though the tasks on my to-do list were easier by far.
To tell you the truth, my hopes from my new job were that I would eventually ascend to areas of responsibility. However, in my first day, I was completely at lost – I hope that this would not impede me from eventually assuming the role of more than a secretary. This is something I believed possible in this new firm.
I suppose we shall see. Nobody can do everything right the first time, and obviously I have to learn this a bit until I can cope with it confidently.
We live and learn, my friends. We live and learn.
|
|
|
| |
| About the global economy - here is a rabid thought |
| 11.11.04 (10:39 am) [edit] |
Most of the richer economic systems nowadays benefit from the usage of cheap labor – either imported cheap labor, or labor outsourced to some cheaper country. I look at the shows I wear, and it says "made in Vietnam" – I can find such label on almost half the things at my house.
We consumers are very much price-minded. I mean, I could have bought an 80 bucks shirt, but I buy most of mine on the market for 5-10. How many of you give up local produce because foreign stuff is half as pricy? I bet you – or whoever sold you the stuff - do it without even knowing it.
So of course it's a known trend that whichever country gets the contracts for the cheap labors gets developed and its people want more and more to become "high economy" "white collar" "high income" workers, and they eventually get it - mainly because they can invest in a better economy now that you've given them some money with your contracts. So they – and you too, since you still want cheap labor and they just got pricy – find another third world country and import from there.
For the existence of cheap goods, a society where life is very cheap and basic is required. A place where you can pay someone 1 dollar a month and he'll be happy with it is just what you need to get your 19.95 in order.
What happens when the last of those is done with? When there are no more places where people live in huts with no electricity and where the only place that's any fun is the steel mill? How will we – and we will – still demand our cheap stuff?
Will this mean that the blue collar jobs are going to get further and further away from the white collar stuff? Are we going to have a situation where electricity is too expensive for our poor?
|
|
|
| |
|
|
