I don't think I've ever worked for such a disorganized company, at least not one with an actual HR department and policy handbooks and so on. I'm not sure if its a function of the boredom of the job, but the drama involved is pretty off the scale of my experience. So far this week we've had three people leave, and its only Tuesday!!
Yesterday they decided to change our break structure, in response to our request, since we now have longer shifts. But they totally botched the implementation, because we wanted to space out the breaks more, and they moved them closer together!! Then the manager came in and basically told everyone to stop complaining because the decision had been taken "with many factors in mind" and that the change was non-negotiable. Then she slammed the smokers for complaining and said they had to tough it out and learn that the world had changed. When she left Julie just left, and told us not to tell them to see how long it would be before they noticed. (About 4 hours) Then the manager told us that we should take our breaks as we always had today, but then we told her that our usual break was already over!! Shows how much she actually knows what was going on. So then we went to the lunch room at our new time, which was supposedly moved so that there would be fewer people there, but sure enough it was a total mad house, unlike our old break which we basically had run of the room for. So, she's pretty much managed to alienate the entire department in one stroke. I wonder if they taught her that in management school?
The other strange thing is that they've hired a new guy (two, but one quit after one day) and they seem to be intentionally isolating him from the rest of the group. He has different break times, and they've forced him to sit over in the corner far from the established "veterans". So we haven't been able to talk to him in two days. The theory being that Jan, our mid level manager, doesn't want him to start talking to her "enemies" over in the main group of employees. Now it looks like at least three of us are planning on quitting at the end of this week. So much for the plan to claw back the 55,000 page backlog.
And this is a publically traded company!!
On the plus side working there is now better that 99% of today's TV, and the drama factor alone is enough to keep me coming back for more.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Ekostrophic
I decided to give Ekos another chance, on the grounds that I might as well get paid for the first day. Predictably, I wound up regretting that decision. Today they put us on the phones, calling native reserves and asking invasive questions about aboriginal peoples' health. It makes you feel real classy asking women whether they consider themselves to be overweight and whether they continued to smoke and drink while they were pregnant. Plus most of the time people flat out refuse or hang up on you. I'll be glad to go back to the loving embrace back at the Resolve Corporation family on Monday afternoon. I haven't signed up for any more shifts at Ekos.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Second Job
I went in to Ekos to get trained today, and so far that job is pretty underwhelming. I'm seriously considering not going back. We spent the whole morning being read to out of the job manual in a small windowless room. Then we got to practice asking people inane questions in a neutral and non-threatening manner, asking them to distinguish between agreeing "a little" "somewhat" and "very much." Plus, you don't get a real break, and everyone takes their half-assed breaks seperately and all there is to do is stand around in the lobby. They don't even have a lunch room. Right now I vastly prefer my data-entry job, if only because its much more fun socially. Plus they told me that you have to go in 2 shifts a week, when my interviewer specifically said 1, which makes a difference when I'm already working another full time job. Boy what a stinking pile that was.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Toronto
I made it back from a harrowing weekend in Toronto. We saw all the sights, the carwash, the lingerie stores, the don valley parkway, Don Mills, and most importantly the mysterious Ice House. Despite the hype, the ice-house ice wine turned out to be a bit on the disgusting side, so, after some quiet sidling, the plants in the upstairs lounge are now much better watered than before. We should have gone for the vodka. Its still not too late for James and Marie!! As long as that security guard doesn't recognise James again, its should be easy.
Anyway, the restaurants were all good, even Rancho Relaxo where the relaxo referred to the level of service.
Check out the pics from the trip.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Winchester on the Korean street
I've been reading Simon Winchester's book Korea: A Walk through the Land of Miracles and he includes many amusing observations including this one:
"It might perhaps seem, in view of their immense hospitality, rather churlish to remark critically on Koreans' driving. But my strong impression then on the road to Kwangju - and it was an impression that didn't alter very much en route - was that the Korean driver is a very dangerous animal indeed, a beast totally without understanding of speed, pathologically incapable of steering, utterly ignorant of the width of his vehicle, and eternally forgetful of such luxuries as the brakes and mirrors with which his car is invariably equipped. He knows only one device, and this is the horn, on which he seems to spend most of his time sitting, if not standing."
There's a kernel of truth in there, especially about the horn, but maybe they've mellowed out a bit since the mid 1980s.
"It might perhaps seem, in view of their immense hospitality, rather churlish to remark critically on Koreans' driving. But my strong impression then on the road to Kwangju - and it was an impression that didn't alter very much en route - was that the Korean driver is a very dangerous animal indeed, a beast totally without understanding of speed, pathologically incapable of steering, utterly ignorant of the width of his vehicle, and eternally forgetful of such luxuries as the brakes and mirrors with which his car is invariably equipped. He knows only one device, and this is the horn, on which he seems to spend most of his time sitting, if not standing."
There's a kernel of truth in there, especially about the horn, but maybe they've mellowed out a bit since the mid 1980s.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Working Stiff
Travelling Thor
After two months of over the top relaxation, I 've now been drafted into the exciting world of processing corporate tax returns. Oh no, not the whole tax return, not the juicy details, just the first couple of pages declaring the names, positions and addresses of all the officers. I now know how truly boring the names of suburban business parks across Ontario truly are. Industrial Road, Boundary Road #15, Urban Road, or to spice it up, edgeware road. And then half of these companies don't even have names!! They're just numbers. Anyway, its only for a month, and I now have another interview with Andrew's crowd down at Ekos research, which could potentially be more intersting. (I know its a stretch)
After two months of over the top relaxation, I 've now been drafted into the exciting world of processing corporate tax returns. Oh no, not the whole tax return, not the juicy details, just the first couple of pages declaring the names, positions and addresses of all the officers. I now know how truly boring the names of suburban business parks across Ontario truly are. Industrial Road, Boundary Road #15, Urban Road, or to spice it up, edgeware road. And then half of these companies don't even have names!! They're just numbers. Anyway, its only for a month, and I now have another interview with Andrew's crowd down at Ekos research, which could potentially be more intersting. (I know its a stretch)
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Mark's List
Here's Mark's list of 82 ways to know you're Korean...
You know you're Korean When:
1) You're 12-years old and you don't go home until 10 pm.
2) And yet when you're unmarried at 25, you have to be home by ten.
3) You wrap kimchi around your rice before eating it.
4) You stare like a blinded deer in headlights at anyone different.
5) You attempt to go into the subway or elevator before the people get out.
6) If you ain't chewing and slurping your food at a loud volume then you obviously ain't enjoying it.
7) You "slightly disregard" traffic rules. Like stopping at crosswalks for those pesky pedestrians.
8) You go home and everything smells bad.
9) You think having 4 seasons is really special.
10) You describe any girl over 110 pounds as "fat."
11) Your closet is full of black, brown, and grey clothes.
12) You suddenly want to go to Prague or Bali because you saw them on a Korean drama.
13) You drive out of a blind alley at 60 km/h.
14) you're an "expert" at making ramyen noodles.
15) You try the doorknob instead of ringing the doorbell or knocking first.
16) You eat more off your friend's plate than your own.
17) You answer the phone with a loud warbling Wieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee????????
18) Your favorite teacher is the one that beats you the hardest.
19) The national hero you admire most is the one who has a nuclear bomb pointed at you.
20) You watch "Planet of the Apes" and you really identify with the apes or it hits too close to home. Either way, deep down you don't like the movie.
21) You appear to be thinking you look quite dignified while drinking your shooter of 2 cent booze after noisily slurping octopus.
22) You're dropping a log in the squatter and spit on the floor in front of you, thus clearing two orifices at once. Korean multi-tasking.
23) You jump out of the shower at the local gym and stand naked in front of the mirror blow drying your family jewels.
24) You grab the communal toothbrush at the gym and take it into the shower with you!
25) Even though you weigh 120 you have to try and out bench the 190 pound guy, because he's a foreigner.
26) You think that your mom's kimchi can cure your grandma's halitosis and your grandpa's cancer.
27) Your cell phone has more than 20 pictures stored on it...of yourself.
28) There's more toilet paper in your dining room than your bathroom.
29) You believe that flushing toilet paper down the toilet will clog up the plumbing so instead, throw your shitty paper in a bin next to the toilet.
30) You are no longer bothered by the old Korean lady (ajumma) shoving a mop between your legs as you stand at the urinal.
31) You view the handicapped-ramped crosswalks as a perfect place to jimmy your car into at an angle. Pedestrians and handicapped people be damned- you need to park!.
32) You hang a plastic glove filled with water in the window because you believe mosquitoes and flies are scared of their reflection.
33) You look at thin blonde women and assume they are Russian hookers.
34) You open all of your windows in the middle of winter and crank up the heat.
35) You're standing in the shower at the Sauna and offer to scrub a total stranger's back.
36) You don't think it's at all weird to share a hot tub butt naked with a grandfather and his two grandsons.
37) You open the window a crack when your fan is running, just in case because you think running fans can kill you!
38) You've traveled to various places in the world and when asked about whether you liked the food or not, you say, "I don't know." "Did you try the food?" "No. Well, only the chicken. The only food I ate in Germany was chicken."
39) You dial a wrong number, proceed to yell at the people on the other end of the line for not being the people you were trying to call, hang up on them in a huff......and then hit redial.
40) You do exactly what your boss tells you to do, no matter how stupid and idiotic.
41) You would never dream of asking to get paid extra for the overtime worked.
42) You feel well rewarded for the long hours and sacrifice if you get taken out for sam-gap-sal (Pork BBQ)and a few hours in a singing room once or twice a year.
43) You sleep under a piece of oversized gauze and call it a sheet.
44) You put sweet potato on pizza.
45) You think picking your teeth or nose in public isn't polite...unless you oh so discreetly do it with one hand covering up your activity.
46) You push, claw, and elbow your way to position yourself to be the first to exit the subway car, and then right after you exit, you walk at a snail's pace.
47) You go on a nice beach vacation, where you sit under the beautiful shade of your huge umbrella fully clothed, wearing a Darth Vader visor, covered in sun tan lotion, refusing to go near the water.
48) You eat dog because it supposedly gives your four thrusts instead of three.
49) After going to the washroom, you wash your hands for 1 second under ice cold water and dry them in your hair.
50) You open up a new business with an arch of balloons and two dancing girls.
51) You proudly adorn your new business with a sign that reads:
"SINCE 2005"
52) You close the business two years later after realizing there were already ten nearly identical businesses on the same block.
53) You would rather park on the sidewalk than the huge parking lot 5 feet away.
54) You drive for 5 hours to spend 30 minutes at some over crowded tourist trap.
55) You order a side of kimchi to go with your steak.
56) You ask the foreigner next to you if he can use chopsticks, while he is eating with chopsticks.
57) You deny that Koreans still eat dog, after the foreigner next to you has just said, "Last night I went out for dog with some Korean friends, it was better than I thought it would be!"
58) You think eating eel will give you a hard-on, but eating bean sprouts will make you lose it, and the reasoning behind both is: "the shape".
59) You correct the pronunciation of the American in the back of your cab, by saying: "Ahh...you meaneuh Joji Bushi..."
60) You think your foreign co-worker's fridge is full of coca-cola, burgers, ready-made sandwiches and spaghetti.
61) You think the messages of the Buddha and Jesus are perfectly compatible with the statement: "Koreans are a superior race."
62) You base that superiority on being a descendent of a bear that ate garlic.
63) And you claim the above is only a myth, but you believe it. And that makes sense to you.
64) No one in your country has AIDS, but "kimchi" can cure it.
65) You are a young man who really believes in a future Asian revolution, after which you, as a Korean, will be administering an Asian dominated autocracy in which Chinese labor and Japanese technology are under your boot. But whitey is way under that, and Africa and Southeast Asia have somehow disappeared. You perform self-love to this fantasy daily.
66) You laugh at your foreign co-worker's "Brooseuh Williseuh" shaved head, while pressing down your comb-over with a hand covered in your own saliva.
67) Your students try to convince you that Catholics are NOT Christians.
68) Your students tell you that they are devout Catholics but don't know who the Pope is.
69) You order pizza and it comes with corn and mayonnaise as well as a side serve of pickles to put on top.
70) You think that smoking in a crowded restaurant (with a no smoking sign) or any other place is perfectly acceptable behavior for men but woman who smoke in public are clearly prostitutes.
71) Your students are convinced that music by The Beatles is hard core rock'n'roll.
72) You see a flashing green walking man in the distance indicating that pedestrians may cross...and you run at full pelt, as though you were running away from a T-Rex, to cross the road. God forbid having to wait 2 minutes until the next one.
73) You think that the sink in the bathroom/public toilet is for fixing your hair and appearance and NOT for washing your hands after going to the toilet.
74) You have a terrible cold and it doesn't occur to you that coughing in other people's faces and food will make them sick too.
75) You honestly believe foreigners care about whose island takashimi/dokdo is!
76) You think an ambulance with a siren blazing is just another car. Therefore, you need not make way.
77) You hear the monthly air-raid sirens you are totally unfazed and go about your business.
78) You stick a needle in your thumb to relieve indigestion.
79) You wear an undershirt with a t-shirt.
80) You own a cell phone with a built-in breathalyzer.
81) Your main purpose of going to the office everyday is to persuade your colleague(s) into a night of drinking.
82) Low cut, v-neck, floral print, pink t-shirt, shiny jeans, and Paris Hilton-esque sunglasses are perfectly acceptable items for a heterosexual man to wear for a night on the prowl.
83) You put corn on/in any kind of Western food.
84) You warn your visiting friends/family about how hot ALL Korean food is... and check to make sure they can eat it when they're half done.
85) You understand why prior to a given date there will be no heat and after a given date there will no longer be heat, regardless of the weather.
86) You cover your mouth when you laugh or smile but not when you cough or sneeze.
87) In the winter (-10 degree weather), you wear short skirts, but in the summer(in +40 weather) you cover all skin with jeans and a sweater because that’s the fashion.
88) You don’t wear deodorant because ‘Koreans don’t sweat.’
You know you're Korean When:
1) You're 12-years old and you don't go home until 10 pm.
2) And yet when you're unmarried at 25, you have to be home by ten.
3) You wrap kimchi around your rice before eating it.
4) You stare like a blinded deer in headlights at anyone different.
5) You attempt to go into the subway or elevator before the people get out.
6) If you ain't chewing and slurping your food at a loud volume then you obviously ain't enjoying it.
7) You "slightly disregard" traffic rules. Like stopping at crosswalks for those pesky pedestrians.
8) You go home and everything smells bad.
9) You think having 4 seasons is really special.
10) You describe any girl over 110 pounds as "fat."
11) Your closet is full of black, brown, and grey clothes.
12) You suddenly want to go to Prague or Bali because you saw them on a Korean drama.
13) You drive out of a blind alley at 60 km/h.
14) you're an "expert" at making ramyen noodles.
15) You try the doorknob instead of ringing the doorbell or knocking first.
16) You eat more off your friend's plate than your own.
17) You answer the phone with a loud warbling Wieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee????????
18) Your favorite teacher is the one that beats you the hardest.
19) The national hero you admire most is the one who has a nuclear bomb pointed at you.
20) You watch "Planet of the Apes" and you really identify with the apes or it hits too close to home. Either way, deep down you don't like the movie.
21) You appear to be thinking you look quite dignified while drinking your shooter of 2 cent booze after noisily slurping octopus.
22) You're dropping a log in the squatter and spit on the floor in front of you, thus clearing two orifices at once. Korean multi-tasking.
23) You jump out of the shower at the local gym and stand naked in front of the mirror blow drying your family jewels.
24) You grab the communal toothbrush at the gym and take it into the shower with you!
25) Even though you weigh 120 you have to try and out bench the 190 pound guy, because he's a foreigner.
26) You think that your mom's kimchi can cure your grandma's halitosis and your grandpa's cancer.
27) Your cell phone has more than 20 pictures stored on it...of yourself.
28) There's more toilet paper in your dining room than your bathroom.
29) You believe that flushing toilet paper down the toilet will clog up the plumbing so instead, throw your shitty paper in a bin next to the toilet.
30) You are no longer bothered by the old Korean lady (ajumma) shoving a mop between your legs as you stand at the urinal.
31) You view the handicapped-ramped crosswalks as a perfect place to jimmy your car into at an angle. Pedestrians and handicapped people be damned- you need to park!.
32) You hang a plastic glove filled with water in the window because you believe mosquitoes and flies are scared of their reflection.
33) You look at thin blonde women and assume they are Russian hookers.
34) You open all of your windows in the middle of winter and crank up the heat.
35) You're standing in the shower at the Sauna and offer to scrub a total stranger's back.
36) You don't think it's at all weird to share a hot tub butt naked with a grandfather and his two grandsons.
37) You open the window a crack when your fan is running, just in case because you think running fans can kill you!
38) You've traveled to various places in the world and when asked about whether you liked the food or not, you say, "I don't know." "Did you try the food?" "No. Well, only the chicken. The only food I ate in Germany was chicken."
39) You dial a wrong number, proceed to yell at the people on the other end of the line for not being the people you were trying to call, hang up on them in a huff......and then hit redial.
40) You do exactly what your boss tells you to do, no matter how stupid and idiotic.
41) You would never dream of asking to get paid extra for the overtime worked.
42) You feel well rewarded for the long hours and sacrifice if you get taken out for sam-gap-sal (Pork BBQ)and a few hours in a singing room once or twice a year.
43) You sleep under a piece of oversized gauze and call it a sheet.
44) You put sweet potato on pizza.
45) You think picking your teeth or nose in public isn't polite...unless you oh so discreetly do it with one hand covering up your activity.
46) You push, claw, and elbow your way to position yourself to be the first to exit the subway car, and then right after you exit, you walk at a snail's pace.
47) You go on a nice beach vacation, where you sit under the beautiful shade of your huge umbrella fully clothed, wearing a Darth Vader visor, covered in sun tan lotion, refusing to go near the water.
48) You eat dog because it supposedly gives your four thrusts instead of three.
49) After going to the washroom, you wash your hands for 1 second under ice cold water and dry them in your hair.
50) You open up a new business with an arch of balloons and two dancing girls.
51) You proudly adorn your new business with a sign that reads:
"SINCE 2005"
52) You close the business two years later after realizing there were already ten nearly identical businesses on the same block.
53) You would rather park on the sidewalk than the huge parking lot 5 feet away.
54) You drive for 5 hours to spend 30 minutes at some over crowded tourist trap.
55) You order a side of kimchi to go with your steak.
56) You ask the foreigner next to you if he can use chopsticks, while he is eating with chopsticks.
57) You deny that Koreans still eat dog, after the foreigner next to you has just said, "Last night I went out for dog with some Korean friends, it was better than I thought it would be!"
58) You think eating eel will give you a hard-on, but eating bean sprouts will make you lose it, and the reasoning behind both is: "the shape".
59) You correct the pronunciation of the American in the back of your cab, by saying: "Ahh...you meaneuh Joji Bushi..."
60) You think your foreign co-worker's fridge is full of coca-cola, burgers, ready-made sandwiches and spaghetti.
61) You think the messages of the Buddha and Jesus are perfectly compatible with the statement: "Koreans are a superior race."
62) You base that superiority on being a descendent of a bear that ate garlic.
63) And you claim the above is only a myth, but you believe it. And that makes sense to you.
64) No one in your country has AIDS, but "kimchi" can cure it.
65) You are a young man who really believes in a future Asian revolution, after which you, as a Korean, will be administering an Asian dominated autocracy in which Chinese labor and Japanese technology are under your boot. But whitey is way under that, and Africa and Southeast Asia have somehow disappeared. You perform self-love to this fantasy daily.
66) You laugh at your foreign co-worker's "Brooseuh Williseuh" shaved head, while pressing down your comb-over with a hand covered in your own saliva.
67) Your students try to convince you that Catholics are NOT Christians.
68) Your students tell you that they are devout Catholics but don't know who the Pope is.
69) You order pizza and it comes with corn and mayonnaise as well as a side serve of pickles to put on top.
70) You think that smoking in a crowded restaurant (with a no smoking sign) or any other place is perfectly acceptable behavior for men but woman who smoke in public are clearly prostitutes.
71) Your students are convinced that music by The Beatles is hard core rock'n'roll.
72) You see a flashing green walking man in the distance indicating that pedestrians may cross...and you run at full pelt, as though you were running away from a T-Rex, to cross the road. God forbid having to wait 2 minutes until the next one.
73) You think that the sink in the bathroom/public toilet is for fixing your hair and appearance and NOT for washing your hands after going to the toilet.
74) You have a terrible cold and it doesn't occur to you that coughing in other people's faces and food will make them sick too.
75) You honestly believe foreigners care about whose island takashimi/dokdo is!
76) You think an ambulance with a siren blazing is just another car. Therefore, you need not make way.
77) You hear the monthly air-raid sirens you are totally unfazed and go about your business.
78) You stick a needle in your thumb to relieve indigestion.
79) You wear an undershirt with a t-shirt.
80) You own a cell phone with a built-in breathalyzer.
81) Your main purpose of going to the office everyday is to persuade your colleague(s) into a night of drinking.
82) Low cut, v-neck, floral print, pink t-shirt, shiny jeans, and Paris Hilton-esque sunglasses are perfectly acceptable items for a heterosexual man to wear for a night on the prowl.
83) You put corn on/in any kind of Western food.
84) You warn your visiting friends/family about how hot ALL Korean food is... and check to make sure they can eat it when they're half done.
85) You understand why prior to a given date there will be no heat and after a given date there will no longer be heat, regardless of the weather.
86) You cover your mouth when you laugh or smile but not when you cough or sneeze.
87) In the winter (-10 degree weather), you wear short skirts, but in the summer(in +40 weather) you cover all skin with jeans and a sweater because that’s the fashion.
88) You don’t wear deodorant because ‘Koreans don’t sweat.’
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