Talyesin's Tales

In my haste and joy I neglected to explain what I was talking about yesterday. I interviewed with an architectural firm to be one of their new draftsmen. I'll be using AutoCAD to implement designs of cell phone towers. Better money, benefits, cool new offices in the heart of downtown. Yay!

I just received my Quebec Pension Plan Contribution Summary, which details how much I've made per year since I began filing, and how much I've contributed to social security for my retirement at 65 (in 29 years, oy). I started working in 1986 for $3/hr.

In my entire life, I've made less than Tiger Woods made in ONE DAY IN 2006.

For four years.

http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20070521.html

It's funny because it's true.

Occasionally freelancing really sucks.

Especially when you're told your skills are inadequate to the job.

If anybody cares, I'll be in Azeroth until further notice.

Layoffs at work today. Not me, thank whoever, but a couple of guys, including the one with the most seniority.

Kind of a sucky downer to end the week. And was told that these layoffs are probably not the last. Gah.

But, then I had a date, went very well, so that made up for the downer.

The good news: I got to see ringthebells today!

The bad news: I got a ONE HUNDRED AND TEN DOLLAR FINE (a day and a half's wages) for not having the right kind of bus pass. So now my options are spend an extra twenty bucks a month to buy the right kind of bus pass, or not take the train. Fuck them right in the ear, I say - they're not getting $240 a year more out of me. The 191 is fine.

The good news: The job, itself, is pretty much dead fucking easy. It's more a machine shop than a warehouse, but the principle is the same. It causes me a certain amount of introspection bordering on bemusement that two generations - nearly a century - and a buttload of education later, there's still a St. Martin working in a machine shop in Lachine.

The better news: I get paid in two weeks!

The less good news: It will only be for seven days' work, since I took Monday off to get my life in order, next Monday is a holiday (unpaid since I just started) and next Friday I'm going to TorontoTrek.

The bad news: The bus I planned to take home DOESN'T RUN IN THE AFTERNOON. Geniuses, the fucking lot of them.

Meh.

( Talyesin's Daily 500 )

You know, it's rather discouraging when even your supervisor is openly and actively talking about finding another job.

So my boss is back from vacation at work, and quite frankly, she can have the reins once more, and welcome to them. Although I seem to have inherited the "assistant boss" ... um... mantle. Because people are bringing me stuff they need a decision on if they can't find her.

Anyhow. She has one more week of vacation (seniority has privileges at the Bank, not least of which is five years service = three weeks vacation... there are some folks with forty years service. O.o) and next time I'm going to ask that it be Officially Me that is placed in charge.


...

That sentence was very Lt Cmdr. Galloway, wasn't it?

Hmmm....

Today I wore my Superman tshirt to work. It's Friday (Casual Day) and dammit, after the week I had, I earned it. Besides, all day long all I heard was what a great job I was doing, and thanks for doing such a great job, and suchlike and so forth. They realized I had a hell of a lot on my plate all week, and appreciated and thanked me for doing such a good job.

Doesn't mean I actively like the job, but recognition for a job well done is something I've seldom received, so it meant a lot.

Last night I dreamed I was at work. This stressed me out so much I woke up, and couldn't get back to sleep for an hour, on that only after I had closed the windows, door, and put on some Enya.

Today after working two hours of overtime I went to sandman7's to pick up the final episodes of Utena, and when I left I experienced a... I dunno what to call it - that is, for no apparent reason my heart starting pounding, hard and fast, for two or three minutes (although it felt like ten or fifteen). I sat down on a bench and focussed on just breathing.

To that end, given that I seem to be experiencing symptoms of extreme stress, I'm giving myself a break from the Talyesin's Daily 500s, probably until next week... or more reasonably, after Gathering.

I'm also going to start taking it a lot easier from now on.

Sorry folks. Health comes first.

( Talyesin's Daily 500 )

( Talyesin's Daily 500 )

I had a long week. Like, this week was about nineteen days long. I woke up Wednesday convinced it was Saturday, and I assure you, that was like six days ago. And today, today was the worst. It was three days long and just about everyone in my department was so stressed they wanted to quit and even I - me, the guy they call the Calm One - exhibited signs of extreme stress and dissatisfaction.

But thank all the gods for the Weekly World News. No, I'm serious here. Without the Weekly World News, how else would we know that...

ESKIMOS LIVE ON MARS.



I burst out laughing when I read that on the newsstand. Literally, laughter burst through my closed lips and had me stop in my tracks as I struggled to regain my composure.

( Talyesin's Daily 500 )

I have reached an opinion.

Everyone who works in the banking/mortgage industry is an idiot.

Including me, for staying at a job I clearly dislike. A good day sucks less than a normal day, but still sucks. Erg.

That is all.

So today it was announced that next year our department could expect a 300% increase.

THREE.

HUNDRED.

PERCENT.

*jaw drops*

So yeah. California's looking MIGHTY TEMPTING.

Work update:

The more I deal with mortgages the more I think they're a sucker's bet. You get $140,000 to buy a house at 7% over 7 years. You pay about a grand a month for 84 months and at the end, you've paid $84,000.

And you've taken maybe $25,000 off your mortgage capital.

WTF?! If I pay $84,000 for something, I want $84,000 to show for it!

Sweet jesus...

Oh, by the way? Anyone looking for a mortgage? GO TO A MORTGAGE BROKER. If your Bank says "No, we're sorry," the mortgage broker will FIND YOU A BANK THAT WILL SAY YES.

They say making mistakes is how we learn.

Let's just say, in my new job? I'm learning a LOT.

The learning curve is more of a rocketship-trajectory for escape velocity sort of deal, here...

Because my department deals with the rest of Canada, namely, Ontario, we are needed to work on June 24th, which is St-John-the-Baptist Day in Quebec, also called La Fete Nationale ("The National Festival") even though it's only celebrated here in Quebec, which was all part of the whole Nationalist agenda to make French Quebecers feel distinct and superior to the rest of Canada.

ANYHOW!

So working on a Provincial Holiday for the Bank equals (get this, are you ready for this?) DOUBLE TIME AND A HALF.

FUH

KIN

SWEET!!!

Half a week's pay for one day of work? Yes please!