@BK, I think your manager was indeed backing you up in a way that, hopefully, would not piss off the rude customer even more. On behalf of all old farts, I apologize for that customer's inappropriate behavior. Perhaps it will at least partially make up for some of the rude comments I have made in the past.
I think part of the reason we get rude as we get older is that we begin to realize we can get away with it now. After all, who would hit a poor defenseless old man. Also, for those who have lost our spouses, we no longer have someone we care about to act as the voice of reason.
Not an excuse, just a possible explanation. ...
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-01T12:56:54-04:00
@CB, indeed after talking to my manager, he let me know that he doesn't think I did anything wrong, and that he was just trying his best to get that guy out the door. I think one of the reasons why it struck me as hard as it did, is truthfully I respect my elders, as I was raised to do, and as I hope will be done from me in my cantankerous years. I can't help but compare to what my experience is, and I think of how my grandfather dealt with the world. Kindness, compassion, humility, those are words that would describe how he acted. I never heard the man swear or name call, ever, my whole life no matter what was happening, no matter how hard things got, or how rudely he was treated. My grandfather represented to me how a christian man lived his life. So when that customer came in and acted so contrarily to my expectation, I was defenseless against it as I wasn't ready for it. Not too often someone can catch me off guard like that. The saddest part to me, is that its behaviour like his, that erodes (and I know the death bell for decency is already ringing loud) civil courtesy, such as respect for elders. None, the less, I won't let it affect how I engage with our senior citizens, one man's actions can not be held against an entire generation.
Well, this is just great...my glasses broke. The frame around the lens, where the arm attaches, actually snapped the metal. I'm trying to keep working with one eye(my manager went to Dollorama to try and get some super glue for me to glue the lens back into place)...but it's damned annoying to work with one eye closed so that I can actually see....
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-01T14:49:07-04:00
Hello, all! I almost have all the kinks in our new testing platform worked out! Huge sigh of relief!
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-01T14:56:36-04:00
BaKhan, I feel your pain. I once had to deal with an extremely rude customer concerning something that wasn't my fault. The worst part of it was that another customer came in while I was helping her, and she said to the other guy something to the effect of, "Be careful doing business with this company. I just had to yell at this nice young man about something that wasn't even his fault."
I sat there for a moment in stunned silence, thinking "B****, if you knew it wasn't my fault the whole time, you had no reason, excuse, or right to treat me like that. Being old does not count as an excuse!"
Of course, I kept it to myself and treated her with kindness and smiles. Returning rudeness for rudeness gets you nowhere. I only hope that when I was kind and professional in the face of rudeness, it made her feel guilty. I doubt it though...
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-01T14:58:41-04:00
And now for something completely different:
I saw this on Facebook the other day: "Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegensvlug" is a sentence that makes complete sense in Dutch.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-01T14:59:11-04:00
It's funny because it's true
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-01T16:19:46-04:00
LZ, I'll do you one better, with english:
`
Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-01T16:27:44-04:00
So it would appear my day got a nice hit of skunk spray too. And I don't mean all the pot being smoked everywhere at the festival downtown today, I mean the shit that hit the fan.
Even though they had someone explaining it in english, I have no clue what was really wrong with my metro ticket, but regardless I was given the privilege of paying a 60 euro fine. As I'm already down on money really hard. In fact, with everything else going on today, I lost almost exactly half of my remaining money in just several hours.
`
Now to do all that work I still have to do. You know, now that it's 10:30 pm. Not that I was downtown partying all day, rather only a couple hours, but I still haven't been able to start on any of the dozen really important things I've had going on because of the other dozen really important things going on.
Just one more day to get through before finally going to Bern (at 4:30 in the morning) for a long weekend and a brother's wedding.
Well...the super glue didn't pan out...ended up taking packing tape(really crappy variety that barely sticks) and just wrapping a strand around the end of the lens and arm to keep them (somewhat) together.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-01T17:55:56-04:00
@GM, sorry to hear about your glasses bro. I hope you can find a solution that works. The only glue I know of that would bond metal to glass is epoxy, but there probably are others.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-01T17:57:10-04:00
@Zem, ouch! I'm trully sorry to hear that! That is a lot of money! Must of been some sort of an issue with your ticket? Hopefully you can get that straightened out?
@BaKHan: The super glue my manager bought does says it works on metal...but no dice. She also brought back some epoxy as well, and that didn't work. The tape is somewhat working(I just replaced it since the first time my hands had fragments of tissue and glues on them so the tape wasn't working as well), but it's annoying because it blocks the view from the corner of my eye more than the edge of the glasses normally did.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-01T19:38:28-04:00
BaKhan, it's sorted. Thankfully it's pretty easy; they followed me right to an ATM. That's the price of a monthly ticket, which is exactly what I was hoping to avoid by using just daily tickets when I needed them. Which I have, I've saved more than that much now, but that obviously wastes a month's efforts.
Whatever the issue was, it wasn't an issue until today. Hopefully it won't be again either.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-01T19:42:26-04:00
GM, that's terrible, I definitely know how that feels! How easy is it for you to replace them? Are they under warranty, or will you just have to buy whole new frames?
And I guess until then you don't have much of a choice but to use the taped ones until then. I hope something holds them together for longer periods of time!
@Zem: I've had them for almost 4 years, and I was planning on getting new glasses later this year(August or September was when my appointment was going to be...this just slightly escalated the timeline). I made an appointment with the optometrist for tomorrow afternoon(early day for me! WOO!!!) to get a new prescription, then going to find somewhere that will sell cheap(but well built) glasses...and hopefully have them fast.
I also have my old pair at home....somewhere....so I will likely be using those(and being half blind) until the new ones come in.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-01T21:24:47-04:00
Zem, I was familiar with that one before. The benefit of the one I posted doesn't require an understanding of esoteric definitions of words. They're common, everyday words strung together in a creative way. It translates to "If flies fly after flies, flies fly really fast" (vliegensvlug is interpreted as really fast, but translates directly to as fast as a fly).
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-02T08:18:20-04:00
Morning kittens.
I had a nice surprise yesterday evening. I was looking for a place to grab a quick bite to eat after work and stumbled upon a restaurant that was having a soft opening. I was able to secure a seat at the bar and enjoy the menu all for the low low price of FREE. The food was great and the cocktails tasty. A nice treat that I needed. I'm going back on Friday when they officially open since they weren't expecting tips for the servers and I want to thank them for the nice time that I had.
@Geist: The best food is always free(unless it's fish...then that can go rot in the ninth pit of hell >.>)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-02T09:24:34-04:00
Morning kittens.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-02T09:25:18-04:00
@Geist, well bully for you! That sounds awesome, and just what the doctor ordered tbh! Yay! Huzzah for free tasty food!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-02T09:34:52-04:00
@GM: Fried catfish is delish. So is snapper. I grew up eating that on Fridays with my great grandmother. Broiled flounder and cod is tasty if it isn't cooked too much.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-02T09:49:56-04:00
@Geist, GM is allergic to fishes.... so like me with my nut allergy, would like to see them just gone forever... ;)
Mike Kabala 2018-05-02T10:06:23-04:00
Morning kittens. @Geist, glad something went right for you for a change. I am having more interviews this week. Still no offers tho.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-02T10:30:15-04:00
@BaKhan: Ah. I forgot that he can't have fish.
More fried fish for me!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-02T10:32:09-04:00
@CB: Glad you are getting some interviews. I really should be sending out more resumes but I just don't have the stomach for it. As I was telling someone yesterday, I'm afraid to go somewhere else because I don't feel like going through another layoff.
So, I know there is going to be a MASSIVE shit show and yelling from an employee the SECOND that he sees his pay stub, but because my manager is too stupid to understand this shit, I need to make it so that the guy is ONLY getting paid for 10 hours of the 175 that were submitted...I can't wait for him to take legal action because she is going to sign off saying she told me to do that and I am not liable for it.
Oh, and it all stems from him having been double paid 165 hours from a previous adjustment.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-02T10:51:42-04:00
@CB, glad to hear that you have some interviews lined up! Best of luck man!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-02T10:55:28-04:00
@GM, yikes! Doing that is one thing, doing that without explaining it to him is a totally different thing. Even though, he should totally be aware that he was overpaid by 165 hours, I doubt he has budgeted for a 10 hour paycheck... Let the shitstorm explode! I hate so much that communication is the number one failing in business! Just fricken talk to people!!! >.>
@BaKhan: He knows about it, since he was the one who actually brought it to our attention in the first place. The way my manager is having me do this(which I am 1,000,000% against) is give him an advance for the net of the overpayment, then deduct 1/6 of it a pay until we recover that amount. Since those overpaid hours should NOT be there, that's why he is only getting(and being taxed on) 10 hours total.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-02T13:58:55-04:00
I'm a little confused about the explanation there. Is he getting close to a full paycheck, but only for 10 hours of work?
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-02T14:40:30-04:00
Isn't it funny how some people who are managers make the dumbest decisions but get higher pay and title? I swear I'm doing something wrong with my life.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-02T15:08:49-04:00
GM, I'd think that the one thing you'd like less than fish is really rotten fish from hell! ;)
`
Also, it would be weird if that guy was upset. He should know he already got the money last time, though yeah, it would be way better if he were told about this in advance, if that's the problem here.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-02T16:25:54-04:00
Well, at least now all that hassle from this week is over. Just got maybe 6 hours until 4:30 am here, when I get on a train for Bern, Switzerland for my brother's wedding and a nice long weekend!
`
First time in Switzerland! Last of my family there, though, because my little brother flew there as a surprise. So now our entire family is here for the first wedding of one of us four!
Also my first time in a country I haven't yet visited since coming here in January!
Mike Kabala 2018-05-02T17:54:35-04:00
Dang it! I had another one of those "tech screens" and they lied about the format so I wound up getting screwed again. The instructions clearly stated that it would consist of a single question with a five-minute time limit, so i took my time answering it. Instead of that ending the quiz though, it presented me with another question, then another before turns out the quiz was actually 15 questions long. I scored only 13% because I took too long! I immediately complained to the recruiter and they're trying to reschedule it.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-03T07:17:40-04:00
Morning kittens.
Next week the company that I'm temping at is having a retreat so I don't have to come in that day. I'm thinking of spending it. going to some of the area community colleges and seeing what types of course I can take. The last layoff took a toll on me emotionally and I'm so damn sick of working this that I need to see if I can make this happen. I have a nugget of an idea so I'm hoping that it leads to me moving forward to school and a new job.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-03T07:19:04-04:00
@CB: Sorry that happened to you dude. Did you let the recruiter know that the information about the test that you were suppose to take was wrong? I think you have a legal right to take it over.
@LZ: It works out to be about what he should get, but if the calculator I used online is correct, he's being underpaid this pay. Since he had 175 hours submitted, and we are reversing out 165(already paid earlier accidentally), then paying him an advance of the net amount of the overpayment and deducting from that 1/6 the total until we recover the amount. According to my calculations, we are under paying him around $200-300. I understand where my manager is coming from with it, where those hours should NOT be in there in the first place(normally Wells Fargo voids the payment if it's caught in time, but this one was done so late we can't guarantee it would work out properly).
So in total, this pay he is getting paid(and taxed on) 10 hours, then receiving 5/6 of the overpayment amount as a non-taxable reimbursement.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-03T09:34:35-04:00
Morning kittens.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-03T09:37:37-04:00
@CB, dang, that had to of been frustrating! I hope you're able to find something soon, and get back to kicking butt doing the work, and less of this mamby pamby recruiting bs. I wonder how any company could have faith in the work that they do, considering how badly they've dealt with you!
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-03T09:38:17-04:00
@Geist, that sounds like a capital idea! I think it will be fun, and personally quite rewarding for you! Go go go!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-03T10:37:21-04:00
@BaKhan: Pity I'm too old to participate in college keggers. ;-) You won't find me at spring break with the other young folks.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-03T12:04:05-04:00
@Geist, lol, too old, mmmyeah, right! You'd break those kids! lol!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-03T13:49:29-04:00
I can just hear myself now:
"You youngsters have it easy! I remember when we had to walk to college in the snow, BARE FOOT. 12 miles each way! And we had to make our own rot gut hooch out of pencil shavings, wild berries and potato scraps. And there was no INTERNET. We had to make up our mischief."
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-03T14:59:57-04:00
lol! In my day we did handstands on the keg you bunch of p***ies! And we liked it, we loved it! ;) hahaha! And where's the beer bong!?!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-04T07:13:01-04:00
Morning kittens. Friday at last and I'm starting the day out with a headache. This company has a big medicine cabinet that has everything but aspirin.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-04T09:08:13-04:00
Morning kittens.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-04T09:09:01-04:00
@Geist, you should try to drink lots of water, often it can help better with a headache than pills. Hope you feel better soon!
@Geist: At least they have a medicine cabinet with stuff in it(even if it is missing aspirin). That's something we don't have around here, so we have to bring our own stuff in(I keep a bottle of Tylenol in my desk drawer in case I need it).
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-04T09:33:47-04:00
@BaKhan: I'm going to try that. I hate headaches, even small ones.
@GM: I'm fairly sure that offices are suppose to have some sort of medicine box but since this company is in the business of building homes, they have a medicine box with everything except surgical tools.
@Geist: First aid box(Band-Aids, gauze, alcohol wipes to clean cuts - that type of stuff) , yes. Anything that could be considered a drug, no.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-04T10:05:30-04:00
So here it is, 8:03, and I've already been at work for 3.5 hours.
I had to come in disgustingly early today because a friend is getting married this afternoon. I wish it were this evening
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-04T10:06:11-04:00
@GM: This First Aid box has a bio hazard bag, different types of burn ointment, tourniquets, Band-Aids of every type and more. I'm thinking its a bit of overkill to have all of that for an office environment.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-04T10:07:02-04:00
@LZ: Well if it's for your friend's wedding, that is different. Besides, it gives you something to look forward to.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-04T10:12:21-04:00
Indeed, it does. It'll be nice to leave early and get a jump on the weekend with an awesome event like this. My friend and his bride are super geeks. It's not a coincidence that they're getting married on May the Fourth
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-04T11:07:59-04:00
@LZ: It's wonderful when two people who have so much in common fall in love. As for the date, I knew there was a reason why I choose to wear this shirt today.
I have a friend who got married on May 4th, in Disneyland. Aside from how one of the servers at the place we went to for drinks before treated us...it was a nice place(he wouldn't accept our Alberta IDs, but everyone else we talked to would have).
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-04T12:34:54-04:00
@GM: That's odd. That person must have been a newbie. A passport from any country usually works when you are using it to see if you are of drinking age or not.
A Disneyland wedding has got to cost big bucks. Then you have the Florida heat.
I'd love to have my wedding in the fall, in some haunted woods somewhere.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-04T12:44:59-04:00
I wanted a Halloween wedding. Maybe not on the day itself, but definitely during October so I could have the Halloween theme. My wife didn't want to wait that long. We got married in June, instead.
@Geist: It was our driver's licenses. He even admitted that he would accept Mexico ones, but not ours. And Disneyland is California. ;)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-04T13:39:58-04:00
@GM: I've never been to the California one. I always think of the one in Florida when I think of Disney. One of these days I'll visit.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-06T14:34:13-04:00
There are only two bad things about going to Switzerland: the prices are insane, and you have to leave. And I didn't have to pay for anything, being there with my family for a wedding.
I miss it already.
`
LZ, haha, I went to a wedding on friday too, and when I asked my brother if it was then because of May the 4th be with you, our mother's birthday, or all of the above just to make the date easier to remember in the future, he just replied "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-07T08:00:10-04:00
Morning kittens. I really can't wait to get the automated phone call I'm supposed to be getting this week...no more broken glasses after the call comes in.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-07T09:17:20-04:00
Morning kittens!
Mike Kabala 2018-05-07T11:11:24-04:00
Morning kittens. How was your weekend?
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-07T11:46:56-04:00
@CB, not too shabby. My knee has decided to seize up on my again, started kicking on Friday. So I wasn't able to get out and do the yard work that I wanted to. But we did go see a movie on Saturday night. We went and saw A Quite Place. It was actually fairly decent, if you didn't worry too much about the logic issues... ;) Even still, not a bad flick. Hope you had some fun this weekend too!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-07T11:57:36-04:00
@CB: I met up with a former co-worker and his brother to see an exhibit at the Air and Space Museum. https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/2001-space-odyssey-immersive-art-exhibit It was so much fun. Since it was Cinco de Mayo, we went bar hopping. They are both so funny that if laughter was the best medicine, I will live to be 150. 4 beers and margaritas later, I didn't get home until 2:40 am so I was really sleep deprived when I went to work 3 hours later. Well worth it though.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-07T12:05:50-04:00
@Geist, glad to hear you had some much needed fun! Huzzah!
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-07T12:24:00-04:00
@BaKhan: I agree with you about A Quiet Place. Decent flick but the creatures look like cousins of the ones in Stranger Things.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-07T18:08:22-04:00
You guys talk about new movies in theaters all the time, and then there's me, who's behind even several of the Marvel movies and still hasn't seen Star Wars 8.
Actually, pretty sure since I started college almost 4 years ago (oh God why, I'm too young for time to move this fast without my consent!) I've only seen about 4-5 new movies in theaters.
Not sure what the last one was. Pretty sure there's been one in the meantime, but it could even have been Star Wars 7. No, there was definitely one in the meantime. Just one.
Actually, the last Avengers one I saw was Guardians 2. Yeah... I have a long list, but no time.
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-08T06:54:50-04:00
Morning kittens.
I experimented today by trying to get to work entirely by bus. It can be done and it's much cheaper than going by subway each way. I wouldn't want to do it going back home because the traffic would be awful.
Once I finish this day, I will have Wednesday off. Will be jumping around, visiting lots of different places that I can't during the week day. I'm suppose to be meeting a former co-worker to hang out with at Dave & Busters. Not sure why I'm doing this since I don't consider her a "friend" like the guy I hung out with this Saturday. If I'm your friend, I'll give you the shirt off my back if it will help you. Sadly, after so many years, I've found few people who would do the same for me and this woman follows that pattern.
Morning kittens. Another day, another attempt to not sneeze and have to redo the tape holding my glasses together(I've hit a new record - 3 days without having to change the tape).
Kevin R. 2018-05-08T15:38:17-04:00
I don't even remember the knick I was using during the campaign. (Memory is getting worse and worse.) Was fun being in the crew. (I was the one with the crazy name - yeah, that one - whatever it was. It's all a blur - a warm fuzzy blur, but a blur none the less. ^=^
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-08T15:47:52-04:00
Welcome back Kevin. If you were part of the KittenCorps, you are always welcome.
Kevin R. 2018-05-08T16:07:34-04:00
Oh, that's right - I remember that I had a piratey name, McVittles something something, with a Pallas cat as my avatar. Somehow, being that we were a crew, I affected that pirate persona and that pirate influence mutated into a sub, being that it rhymed with cub. ;)
Kevin R. 2018-05-08T16:16:40-04:00
Thank you Geist. ^=^
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-08T16:35:10-04:00
McVittles! I love that name. Welcome back. There are a few of use left who come in to chat now and we've had 2 KittenCons since the campaign ended. We talk about anything here. Like how Pabst is short for "gross beer from Satan" and how I can get my hands on all the yummy Canadian maple syrup when I visit next.
Not really but you get the general idea. :-)
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-08T16:45:03-04:00
@McVittles, welcome back! Good to see you kitten!
Kevin R. 2018-05-08T17:20:17-04:00
Hey, Bakan! Gah, I supported both the EK and BvB campaigns, both having some familiar faces between. I've confused this with the other one. It's all the same party, anyways. ;)
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-08T17:39:04-04:00
@McVittles: How has life been treating you?
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-09T08:44:04-04:00
Haha, I remember the pirate thing! Hey, how've you been?!
Why do glasses take so long to finish being made? I want my new ones already. >.<
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-09T10:31:26-04:00
GM, should have payed that extra $29.99 for the Super Crazy Ultimate Deluxe Platinum Package, complete with lazer-accurate face measurements for a supreme comfort fit, 3 unlimited lifetime warranties, and overnight drone delivery!
`
... man, now I want to shop wherever you get your glasses!
@Zem: I got them from Costco. Paid for them last Wednesday, and now waiting for them to call and have the automated(according to the lady who works there) message saying "Come get yo' glasses!".
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-09T11:13:34-04:00
@GM, well I guess thats the price a person pays to save a few bucks eh? My wife normally goes to one of the bigger eye glass places, and gets them in a couple of days I believe. I guess it depends on the complexity of the prescription as well.
@BaKhan: My eyes are -3.5 and -4(not sure which is which, but that's what the prescription said). And I didn't really save much versus going to something like Clearlycontacts.ca, which is where I got my current(broken) pair that cost me about $300(my new ones cost me $320 at Costco).
Oops...I was wrong. I paid $360 through clearly...so I am saving(some) money.
Rod "BaKhan" Mitchell 2018-05-09T11:43:51-04:00
@GM, I don't even know what that means! ;) I know that my wife probably pays through the nose for her glasses, as they are typically fancy brands and such. She normally goes to the physical store to get them, can't remember the name... something something optical I think. ;)
@BaKhan: Yeah, the stores(LensCrafters, Pearl Vision, Crown Optical, etc) are always pretty expensive. Sometimes they can get you your glasses in under an hour, but to be honest, the price is what kills it for me. I can wait(even with broken glasses - 4 days without changing the tape now WOOO!) a week or so for my glasses that cost roughly 1/2 of what people pay at the other stores.
Lord Zombitten 2018-05-09T12:30:06-04:00
Glasses are a real racket. I've had the same frames since I was 13 because the it costs less than $20 to replace the lenses. New frames are at least $100 after the insurance allowance of whatever it is
Geist de la Muerte Gatito 2018-05-09T12:30:28-04:00
Afternoon kittens. It feels so good to not have to work. The weather is perfect and I'm feeling more relaxed. Got one of my goals done but the second one will take a bit more work to accomplish.
Micah "Zem the Mattress" Philson 2018-05-09T13:01:01-04:00
LZ, even though I don't wear my glasses much more than just at night after taking my contacts out, I get new frames every year because our insurance covers it completely every other year or something like that!
Hola gatitos. How's the week coming?
Morning kittens.
@BK, I think your manager was indeed backing you up in a way that, hopefully, would not piss off the rude customer even more. On behalf of all old farts, I apologize for that customer's inappropriate behavior. Perhaps it will at least partially make up for some of the rude comments I have made in the past.
I think part of the reason we get rude as we get older is that we begin to realize we can get away with it now. After all, who would hit a poor defenseless old man. Also, for those who have lost our spouses, we no longer have someone we care about to act as the voice of reason.
Not an excuse, just a possible explanation. ...
@CB, indeed after talking to my manager, he let me know that he doesn't think I did anything wrong, and that he was just trying his best to get that guy out the door. I think one of the reasons why it struck me as hard as it did, is truthfully I respect my elders, as I was raised to do, and as I hope will be done from me in my cantankerous years. I can't help but compare to what my experience is, and I think of how my grandfather dealt with the world. Kindness, compassion, humility, those are words that would describe how he acted. I never heard the man swear or name call, ever, my whole life no matter what was happening, no matter how hard things got, or how rudely he was treated. My grandfather represented to me how a christian man lived his life. So when that customer came in and acted so contrarily to my expectation, I was defenseless against it as I wasn't ready for it. Not too often someone can catch me off guard like that. The saddest part to me, is that its behaviour like his, that erodes (and I know the death bell for decency is already ringing loud) civil courtesy, such as respect for elders. None, the less, I won't let it affect how I engage with our senior citizens, one man's actions can not be held against an entire generation.
Well, this is just great...my glasses broke. The frame around the lens, where the arm attaches, actually snapped the metal. I'm trying to keep working with one eye(my manager went to Dollorama to try and get some super glue for me to glue the lens back into place)...but it's damned annoying to work with one eye closed so that I can actually see....
Hello, all! I almost have all the kinks in our new testing platform worked out! Huge sigh of relief!
BaKhan, I feel your pain. I once had to deal with an extremely rude customer concerning something that wasn't my fault. The worst part of it was that another customer came in while I was helping her, and she said to the other guy something to the effect of, "Be careful doing business with this company. I just had to yell at this nice young man about something that wasn't even his fault."
I sat there for a moment in stunned silence, thinking "B****, if you knew it wasn't my fault the whole time, you had no reason, excuse, or right to treat me like that. Being old does not count as an excuse!"
Of course, I kept it to myself and treated her with kindness and smiles. Returning rudeness for rudeness gets you nowhere. I only hope that when I was kind and professional in the face of rudeness, it made her feel guilty. I doubt it though...
And now for something completely different:
I saw this on Facebook the other day: "Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegensvlug" is a sentence that makes complete sense in Dutch.
It's funny because it's true
LZ, I'll do you one better, with english:
`
Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo.
So it would appear my day got a nice hit of skunk spray too. And I don't mean all the pot being smoked everywhere at the festival downtown today, I mean the shit that hit the fan.
Even though they had someone explaining it in english, I have no clue what was really wrong with my metro ticket, but regardless I was given the privilege of paying a 60 euro fine. As I'm already down on money really hard. In fact, with everything else going on today, I lost almost exactly half of my remaining money in just several hours.
`
Now to do all that work I still have to do. You know, now that it's 10:30 pm. Not that I was downtown partying all day, rather only a couple hours, but I still haven't been able to start on any of the dozen really important things I've had going on because of the other dozen really important things going on.
Just one more day to get through before finally going to Bern (at 4:30 in the morning) for a long weekend and a brother's wedding.
Well...the super glue didn't pan out...ended up taking packing tape(really crappy variety that barely sticks) and just wrapping a strand around the end of the lens and arm to keep them (somewhat) together.
@GM, sorry to hear about your glasses bro. I hope you can find a solution that works. The only glue I know of that would bond metal to glass is epoxy, but there probably are others.
@Zem, ouch! I'm trully sorry to hear that! That is a lot of money! Must of been some sort of an issue with your ticket? Hopefully you can get that straightened out?
@BaKHan: The super glue my manager bought does says it works on metal...but no dice. She also brought back some epoxy as well, and that didn't work. The tape is somewhat working(I just replaced it since the first time my hands had fragments of tissue and glues on them so the tape wasn't working as well), but it's annoying because it blocks the view from the corner of my eye more than the edge of the glasses normally did.
BaKhan, it's sorted. Thankfully it's pretty easy; they followed me right to an ATM. That's the price of a monthly ticket, which is exactly what I was hoping to avoid by using just daily tickets when I needed them. Which I have, I've saved more than that much now, but that obviously wastes a month's efforts.
Whatever the issue was, it wasn't an issue until today. Hopefully it won't be again either.
GM, that's terrible, I definitely know how that feels! How easy is it for you to replace them? Are they under warranty, or will you just have to buy whole new frames?
And I guess until then you don't have much of a choice but to use the taped ones until then. I hope something holds them together for longer periods of time!
@Zem: I've had them for almost 4 years, and I was planning on getting new glasses later this year(August or September was when my appointment was going to be...this just slightly escalated the timeline). I made an appointment with the optometrist for tomorrow afternoon(early day for me! WOO!!!) to get a new prescription, then going to find somewhere that will sell cheap(but well built) glasses...and hopefully have them fast.
I also have my old pair at home....somewhere....so I will likely be using those(and being half blind) until the new ones come in.
Zem, I was familiar with that one before. The benefit of the one I posted doesn't require an understanding of esoteric definitions of words. They're common, everyday words strung together in a creative way. It translates to "If flies fly after flies, flies fly really fast" (vliegensvlug is interpreted as really fast, but translates directly to as fast as a fly).
Morning kittens.
I had a nice surprise yesterday evening. I was looking for a place to grab a quick bite to eat after work and stumbled upon a restaurant that was having a soft opening. I was able to secure a seat at the bar and enjoy the menu all for the low low price of FREE. The food was great and the cocktails tasty. A nice treat that I needed. I'm going back on Friday when they officially open since they weren't expecting tips for the servers and I want to thank them for the nice time that I had.
@Geist: The best food is always free(unless it's fish...then that can go rot in the ninth pit of hell >.>)
Morning kittens.
@Geist, well bully for you! That sounds awesome, and just what the doctor ordered tbh! Yay! Huzzah for free tasty food!
@GM: Fried catfish is delish. So is snapper. I grew up eating that on Fridays with my great grandmother. Broiled flounder and cod is tasty if it isn't cooked too much.
@Geist, GM is allergic to fishes.... so like me with my nut allergy, would like to see them just gone forever... ;)
Morning kittens. @Geist, glad something went right for you for a change. I am having more interviews this week. Still no offers tho.
@BaKhan: Ah. I forgot that he can't have fish.
More fried fish for me!
@CB: Glad you are getting some interviews. I really should be sending out more resumes but I just don't have the stomach for it. As I was telling someone yesterday, I'm afraid to go somewhere else because I don't feel like going through another layoff.
So, I know there is going to be a MASSIVE shit show and yelling from an employee the SECOND that he sees his pay stub, but because my manager is too stupid to understand this shit, I need to make it so that the guy is ONLY getting paid for 10 hours of the 175 that were submitted...I can't wait for him to take legal action because she is going to sign off saying she told me to do that and I am not liable for it.
Oh, and it all stems from him having been double paid 165 hours from a previous adjustment.
@CB, glad to hear that you have some interviews lined up! Best of luck man!
@GM, yikes! Doing that is one thing, doing that without explaining it to him is a totally different thing. Even though, he should totally be aware that he was overpaid by 165 hours, I doubt he has budgeted for a 10 hour paycheck... Let the shitstorm explode! I hate so much that communication is the number one failing in business! Just fricken talk to people!!! >.>
@BaKhan: He knows about it, since he was the one who actually brought it to our attention in the first place. The way my manager is having me do this(which I am 1,000,000% against) is give him an advance for the net of the overpayment, then deduct 1/6 of it a pay until we recover that amount. Since those overpaid hours should NOT be there, that's why he is only getting(and being taxed on) 10 hours total.
I'm a little confused about the explanation there. Is he getting close to a full paycheck, but only for 10 hours of work?
Isn't it funny how some people who are managers make the dumbest decisions but get higher pay and title? I swear I'm doing something wrong with my life.
GM, I'd think that the one thing you'd like less than fish is really rotten fish from hell! ;)
`
Also, it would be weird if that guy was upset. He should know he already got the money last time, though yeah, it would be way better if he were told about this in advance, if that's the problem here.
Well, at least now all that hassle from this week is over. Just got maybe 6 hours until 4:30 am here, when I get on a train for Bern, Switzerland for my brother's wedding and a nice long weekend!
`
First time in Switzerland! Last of my family there, though, because my little brother flew there as a surprise. So now our entire family is here for the first wedding of one of us four!
Also my first time in a country I haven't yet visited since coming here in January!
Dang it! I had another one of those "tech screens" and they lied about the format so I wound up getting screwed again. The instructions clearly stated that it would consist of a single question with a five-minute time limit, so i took my time answering it. Instead of that ending the quiz though, it presented me with another question, then another before turns out the quiz was actually 15 questions long. I scored only 13% because I took too long! I immediately complained to the recruiter and they're trying to reschedule it.
Morning kittens.
Next week the company that I'm temping at is having a retreat so I don't have to come in that day. I'm thinking of spending it. going to some of the area community colleges and seeing what types of course I can take. The last layoff took a toll on me emotionally and I'm so damn sick of working this that I need to see if I can make this happen. I have a nugget of an idea so I'm hoping that it leads to me moving forward to school and a new job.
@CB: Sorry that happened to you dude. Did you let the recruiter know that the information about the test that you were suppose to take was wrong? I think you have a legal right to take it over.
Morning kittens.
@LZ: It works out to be about what he should get, but if the calculator I used online is correct, he's being underpaid this pay. Since he had 175 hours submitted, and we are reversing out 165(already paid earlier accidentally), then paying him an advance of the net amount of the overpayment and deducting from that 1/6 the total until we recover the amount. According to my calculations, we are under paying him around $200-300. I understand where my manager is coming from with it, where those hours should NOT be in there in the first place(normally Wells Fargo voids the payment if it's caught in time, but this one was done so late we can't guarantee it would work out properly).
So in total, this pay he is getting paid(and taxed on) 10 hours, then receiving 5/6 of the overpayment amount as a non-taxable reimbursement.
Morning kittens.
@CB, dang, that had to of been frustrating! I hope you're able to find something soon, and get back to kicking butt doing the work, and less of this mamby pamby recruiting bs. I wonder how any company could have faith in the work that they do, considering how badly they've dealt with you!
@Geist, that sounds like a capital idea! I think it will be fun, and personally quite rewarding for you! Go go go!
@BaKhan: Pity I'm too old to participate in college keggers. ;-) You won't find me at spring break with the other young folks.
@Geist, lol, too old, mmmyeah, right! You'd break those kids! lol!
I can just hear myself now:
"You youngsters have it easy! I remember when we had to walk to college in the snow, BARE FOOT. 12 miles each way! And we had to make our own rot gut hooch out of pencil shavings, wild berries and potato scraps. And there was no INTERNET. We had to make up our mischief."
lol! In my day we did handstands on the keg you bunch of p***ies! And we liked it, we loved it! ;) hahaha! And where's the beer bong!?!
Morning kittens. Friday at last and I'm starting the day out with a headache. This company has a big medicine cabinet that has everything but aspirin.
Morning kittens.
@Geist, you should try to drink lots of water, often it can help better with a headache than pills. Hope you feel better soon!
Morning kittens.
@Geist: At least they have a medicine cabinet with stuff in it(even if it is missing aspirin). That's something we don't have around here, so we have to bring our own stuff in(I keep a bottle of Tylenol in my desk drawer in case I need it).
@BaKhan: I'm going to try that. I hate headaches, even small ones.
@GM: I'm fairly sure that offices are suppose to have some sort of medicine box but since this company is in the business of building homes, they have a medicine box with everything except surgical tools.
@Geist: First aid box(Band-Aids, gauze, alcohol wipes to clean cuts - that type of stuff) , yes. Anything that could be considered a drug, no.
So here it is, 8:03, and I've already been at work for 3.5 hours.
I had to come in disgustingly early today because a friend is getting married this afternoon. I wish it were this evening
@GM: This First Aid box has a bio hazard bag, different types of burn ointment, tourniquets, Band-Aids of every type and more. I'm thinking its a bit of overkill to have all of that for an office environment.
@LZ: Well if it's for your friend's wedding, that is different. Besides, it gives you something to look forward to.
Indeed, it does. It'll be nice to leave early and get a jump on the weekend with an awesome event like this. My friend and his bride are super geeks. It's not a coincidence that they're getting married on May the Fourth
@LZ: It's wonderful when two people who have so much in common fall in love. As for the date, I knew there was a reason why I choose to wear this shirt today.
https://www.thinkgeek.com/product/9722/
@Geist, lol, wrong franchise! ;)
@BaKhan: True but I was pointing out the fact that I'm wearing something geeky on this particular day.
I love being a geek.
I have a friend who got married on May 4th, in Disneyland. Aside from how one of the servers at the place we went to for drinks before treated us...it was a nice place(he wouldn't accept our Alberta IDs, but everyone else we talked to would have).
@GM: That's odd. That person must have been a newbie. A passport from any country usually works when you are using it to see if you are of drinking age or not.
A Disneyland wedding has got to cost big bucks. Then you have the Florida heat.
I'd love to have my wedding in the fall, in some haunted woods somewhere.
I wanted a Halloween wedding. Maybe not on the day itself, but definitely during October so I could have the Halloween theme. My wife didn't want to wait that long. We got married in June, instead.
@Geist: It was our driver's licenses. He even admitted that he would accept Mexico ones, but not ours. And Disneyland is California. ;)
@GM: I've never been to the California one. I always think of the one in Florida when I think of Disney. One of these days I'll visit.
There are only two bad things about going to Switzerland: the prices are insane, and you have to leave. And I didn't have to pay for anything, being there with my family for a wedding.
I miss it already.
`
LZ, haha, I went to a wedding on friday too, and when I asked my brother if it was then because of May the 4th be with you, our mother's birthday, or all of the above just to make the date easier to remember in the future, he just replied "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
Morning kittens
Morning kittens. I really can't wait to get the automated phone call I'm supposed to be getting this week...no more broken glasses after the call comes in.
Morning kittens!
Morning kittens. How was your weekend?
@CB, not too shabby. My knee has decided to seize up on my again, started kicking on Friday. So I wasn't able to get out and do the yard work that I wanted to. But we did go see a movie on Saturday night. We went and saw A Quite Place. It was actually fairly decent, if you didn't worry too much about the logic issues... ;) Even still, not a bad flick. Hope you had some fun this weekend too!
@CB: I met up with a former co-worker and his brother to see an exhibit at the Air and Space Museum. https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/2001-space-odyssey-immersive-art-exhibit
It was so much fun. Since it was Cinco de Mayo, we went bar hopping. They are both so funny that if laughter was the best medicine, I will live to be 150. 4 beers and margaritas later, I didn't get home until 2:40 am so I was really sleep deprived when I went to work 3 hours later. Well worth it though.
@Geist, glad to hear you had some much needed fun! Huzzah!
@BaKhan: I agree with you about A Quiet Place. Decent flick but the creatures look like cousins of the ones in Stranger Things.
You guys talk about new movies in theaters all the time, and then there's me, who's behind even several of the Marvel movies and still hasn't seen Star Wars 8.
Actually, pretty sure since I started college almost 4 years ago (oh God why, I'm too young for time to move this fast without my consent!) I've only seen about 4-5 new movies in theaters.
Not sure what the last one was. Pretty sure there's been one in the meantime, but it could even have been Star Wars 7. No, there was definitely one in the meantime. Just one.
Actually, the last Avengers one I saw was Guardians 2. Yeah... I have a long list, but no time.
Morning kittens.
I experimented today by trying to get to work entirely by bus. It can be done and it's much cheaper than going by subway each way. I wouldn't want to do it going back home because the traffic would be awful.
Once I finish this day, I will have Wednesday off. Will be jumping around, visiting lots of different places that I can't during the week day. I'm suppose to be meeting a former co-worker to hang out with at Dave & Busters. Not sure why I'm doing this since I don't consider her a "friend" like the guy I hung out with this Saturday. If I'm your friend, I'll give you the shirt off my back if it will help you. Sadly, after so many years, I've found few people who would do the same for me and this woman follows that pattern.
Morning kittens. Another day, another attempt to not sneeze and have to redo the tape holding my glasses together(I've hit a new record - 3 days without having to change the tape).
I don't even remember the knick I was using during the campaign. (Memory is getting worse and worse.) Was fun being in the crew. (I was the one with the crazy name - yeah, that one - whatever it was. It's all a blur - a warm fuzzy blur, but a blur none the less. ^=^
Welcome back Kevin. If you were part of the KittenCorps, you are always welcome.
Oh, that's right - I remember that I had a piratey name, McVittles something something, with a Pallas cat as my avatar. Somehow, being that we were a crew, I affected that pirate persona and that pirate influence mutated into a sub, being that it rhymed with cub. ;)
Thank you Geist. ^=^
McVittles! I love that name. Welcome back. There are a few of use left who come in to chat now and we've had 2 KittenCons since the campaign ended. We talk about anything here. Like how Pabst is short for "gross beer from Satan" and how I can get my hands on all the yummy Canadian maple syrup when I visit next.
Not really but you get the general idea. :-)
@McVittles, welcome back! Good to see you kitten!
Hey, Bakan! Gah, I supported both the EK and BvB campaigns, both having some familiar faces between. I've confused this with the other one. It's all the same party, anyways. ;)
@McVittles: How has life been treating you?
Haha, I remember the pirate thing! Hey, how've you been?!
Morning kittens.
Morning kittens.
Why do glasses take so long to finish being made? I want my new ones already. >.<
GM, should have payed that extra $29.99 for the Super Crazy Ultimate Deluxe Platinum Package, complete with lazer-accurate face measurements for a supreme comfort fit, 3 unlimited lifetime warranties, and overnight drone delivery!
`
... man, now I want to shop wherever you get your glasses!
@Zem: I got them from Costco. Paid for them last Wednesday, and now waiting for them to call and have the automated(according to the lady who works there) message saying "Come get yo' glasses!".
@GM, well I guess thats the price a person pays to save a few bucks eh? My wife normally goes to one of the bigger eye glass places, and gets them in a couple of days I believe. I guess it depends on the complexity of the prescription as well.
@BaKhan: My eyes are -3.5 and -4(not sure which is which, but that's what the prescription said). And I didn't really save much versus going to something like Clearlycontacts.ca, which is where I got my current(broken) pair that cost me about $300(my new ones cost me $320 at Costco).
Oops...I was wrong. I paid $360 through clearly...so I am saving(some) money.
@GM, I don't even know what that means! ;) I know that my wife probably pays through the nose for her glasses, as they are typically fancy brands and such. She normally goes to the physical store to get them, can't remember the name... something something optical I think. ;)
@BaKhan: Yeah, the stores(LensCrafters, Pearl Vision, Crown Optical, etc) are always pretty expensive. Sometimes they can get you your glasses in under an hour, but to be honest, the price is what kills it for me. I can wait(even with broken glasses - 4 days without changing the tape now WOOO!) a week or so for my glasses that cost roughly 1/2 of what people pay at the other stores.
Glasses are a real racket. I've had the same frames since I was 13 because the it costs less than $20 to replace the lenses. New frames are at least $100 after the insurance allowance of whatever it is
Afternoon kittens. It feels so good to not have to work. The weather is perfect and I'm feeling more relaxed. Got one of my goals done but the second one will take a bit more work to accomplish.
LZ, even though I don't wear my glasses much more than just at night after taking my contacts out, I get new frames every year because our insurance covers it completely every other year or something like that!