Another observation as a student of human nature...
They say you can measure a man's worth by the friend's he has. It seems that we also measure a man's success by the work he does. I'm fascinated by worth and success lately. I feel, for the most part, the jobs I've had have been very worthwhile. I felt that I was successful at most of them. Yet when you look at potentials and possibilities I don't know that I could be said to be successful.
I find it interesting that some people can do a job that makes them happy, and as long as they are happy no one says much about how successful they are. How much money do they bring in? How far up the 'ladder' have they made it? It doesn't matter. They are happy doing what they do.
Does age matter? If you are closer to retirement and puttering around a few jobs that make you happy... as opposed to being fresher out of college and doing the same kind of puttering... Is one more acceptable than the other?
At some point, did being happy in what you do quit mattering?
I posted this @ 7/09/2008 05:12:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
4/08/2008
WILDFLOWERS
Perhaps I'm just picky. Perhaps I'm just not satisfied. Perhaps it's a bit of professional ADHD. I highly doubt the latter. A few years ago I was in a relationship where I was severely unhappy. While trying to find a new job, a friend had told me about where she worked. It sounded like a good idea. I could work overnights. I could work longer hours, but get my hours in few days. It sounded like a great idea. At the time, the ex was having none of it, for various reasons, but that's not my point.
I ended up finding a different job. One that was admittedly very cushy. No one would try to convince you otherwise. Eventually, that job came to an end. Again my friend and I talked about where she worked. The grass certainly seemed greener. It was a job. It was good pay. It was seemingly good hours. I jumped at the chance.
I got the job. I like the pace of the job. I like my coworkers that I sit next to for 12 hours a day. Those two things right there are super important. But there are down sides. Some odd business practices. Not being able to take an official lunch break away from my desk. Being on call 2-3 days out of the month, plus coming in for meetings. The prospect of being moved to other hours or shift at any given time.
Perhaps these are common place in many companies, but it's not something I'm accustomed to at all. I'm a creature of habit. Especially when it comes to a job I like to have a routine. It keeps me on time. There are certain instabilities that just make it more stressful for me.
I shouldn't have to worry about my khakis having to many pockets and being sent home for it. I shouldn't have to feel like I'm being treated by a grade schooler. Yet I do. And this is just the tip of the iceberg for oddities.
Just a warning to anyone looking for greener pastures... They aren't always.
I posted this @ 4/08/2008 04:43:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
3/12/2008
UNDER PRESSURE
My job is stressing me the fuck out... There are days that I realize that I asked for this. Some days, I realize that I could have done better. Everyday, I realize that I can. One day, I will.
I posted this @ 3/12/2008 05:51:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
2/26/2008
I'M A SURVIVOR
I've been a fan of the reality television show, Survivor, since it first began. They are on their 18th season. You can say what ever you want about the show. Love it or hate it, I think you could admit that there are some very interesting social dynamics that go on when you put a group of people together and ask them to basically turn on one another. It's an bizarre concept that has been turned into a TV show for our entertainment. I watch it think how silly some of the people are for falling for their competitions lines of bullshit, and why they can't see the backstab coming.
But that's TV Land. Not the real world... Real world Survivor sucks. People's feelings get hurt. You stand a good chance to running into the people again. I used to joke about "Work Survivor" at my old job. We had a photo that was taken 5 of us celebrating a co-workers birthday. As the research grant drew to a close, one by one we all left. I 'won' that game of Survivor since I was the last one from the photo to find another job.
In a less funny situation when co-workers are 'forced' to decide who you're going to sell out and 'vote off the island'... it sucks. There is no way that it should be our responsibility. After two days of Work Survivor, I realize I'm not cut out for 'real' Survivor. I'm too much of a nice guy...
I posted this @ 2/26/2008 05:30:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
2/06/2008
HERE IT GOES AGAIN
So the stupidest thing (in my opinion) happened the other day and again today. This whole conversation harkens to the days of wondering if khakis was a color of pant or a kind of pant or both...
Twice I've been told that my khakis are not proper dress attire. My first response was one of mockery. I thought I was being joked with. How are khakis now proper dress attire. I was told that it was because they are cargo pants, not khakis. Now... Put aside whatever Project Runway fashionista side you might have. Is it really THAT big of a difference? They are khaki colored. They aren't jeans. My work environment is not suit and tie. Which is good because I don't wear ties. BUT... I also don't have the cash to go out and buy new khakis because of an extra pocket on my pants. That's bullshit...
I was told it was small thing put into the handbook. Ok. Fine. So it's there, but in the big scheme of it all if someone is going to send me home to change over that... WOW! Seriously, unclench. WTF?
I posted this @ 2/06/2008 05:28:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
1/15/2008
MAMMA MIA
I hadn't been home from a super shitty day at work when I get a message from Bryan.
Bryan: it's a little early in the night to be spanking it, isn't it? Cris: fuck you Cris: i'll whip it out if i want too. Bryan: which is why you can't go back to Kohl's
That was exactly that type of laugh that I needed to really stop me from seeking out someone to exact my revenge. Tho most likely it would be orc-like creatures on WoW, but what can you do.
And no... I wasn't "spanking it."
No kind of bad day that can't be perked up by listening too ABBA!
I posted this @ 1/15/2008 04:47:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
10/23/2007
...AND ALL THE WORLD WILL LOVE YOU, JUST AS LONG AS YOU ARE
So as you can imagine the new job has been on my mind lately. It's been a little over a week since I've been on my own taking my own calls. Which is to say, no trainer sitting with me. But I do have plenty of people around me that I can ask questions of. This is good. I've been getting quite a few compliments as far as how well I am doing. The only issue is I'm not sure how justified or sincere they are.
Scratch that. I don't question the sincerity in most cases. But it's like this... I know I'm new. I know that I make mistakes. Compared to those that have been there longer than me, I have no clue what I'm doing. Which is fine. I know that comes with time. But when someone says I'm doing well.. I don't know how to take it. Because I don't have anything to really compare it to. So the compliment is lost on me.
Now Brenda... I know you probably have $.02 in on this. And do know that blogging about anything on my mind work related is kind of odd since I know you both in and out of work. Plus... don't read this at work. :P
But really... I wonder how much of it is, just being nice to the new guy, and how much of it is sincere. I don't really have a good read on the situation and all the people yet to determine how much I can believe what they are saying.
Personally? I feel that very comfortable talking to Doctors who have their various issues and egos. I have no problem grabbing the bull by the horns and saying this is what I need to do to take charge. No whether when I do that, it's the right course of action... Well... that's still up in the air. But I'm not timid to do so at least.
All I have that I could compare to are the other people that went through training with me and I don't work the same shift as them.
While, it's nice to hear that you did a good job... I feels... odd at this point.
I posted this @ 10/23/2007 05:33:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
9/27/2007
TALK TALK TALK ABOUT IT. TALK AS IF YOU CARE.
I suppose I should talk about my new job. I start a new job and then don't really say much about it. Can't have people thinkings this is a bad thing.
I started my first 12-hour shifts this week. Not too mention, I actually have to work now. No more two hour lunches. No more rolling in around 9 and taking off around 3. To go from a 4-hour day to a 12 hour day... Whoa...
Yeah... it's a bit of a shock. The hours I'm working I think I'm pretty fortunate to get. I've worked all different shifts at previous jobs and 2nd shift is the worst. Day hours still allow me a social life. Which I'm sure Mark appreciates.
The shift goes by pretty fast as long as we are steady/busy. It's nice to have some days off during the week. It is an adjustment having to work every other weekend tho.
Sorry babe.
I'm not a morning person... getting up at 430am sucks ass! It'll suck worse in the winter when I won't see sun for those days I work. Blerg...
The job itself is pretty stressful. I'm kind of freaked out. It's weird... I can talk a person out of killing themselves, but to talk to doctors (who think they are God anyway) has me a bit flustered.
There is SOOO much that I need to remember. The people that are training me seem to have it all down. I don't doubt that I will too at some point. Yet it's still kind of freaky. I don't feel 'ready' at all.
I posted this @ 9/27/2007 07:07:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
9/12/2007
TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT
The title comes off harsher than I mean it, and is in no way a reflection on my current job.
So yeah... Quit one job. Start another the very next day. I'm going from 'working' (and I use that term VERY lightly) 8-hour days to eventually working 12-hour days on a funky schedule. I'm freaking out. Different hours. Different pay. Different people. How will this affect my rock 'n' roll lifestyle? How will this affect my relationship? Someone is all kinds of moving my cheese and it's freaking me out.
I posted this @ 9/12/2007 03:22:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
9/06/2007
YOU TAKE THE GOOD. YOU TAKE THE BAD. YOU TAKE THEM BOTH AND THERE YOU HAVE...
There are times when my job as a clinical researcher (survey/data entry monkey) almost seems glamorous. This was a page from an article in a research journal where a video game was used to educate about STDs and safe sex.
HOW ARE YOU DOING? In that section, there were 2 hotspots, and you have found 0 hotspots. so the sperm gets nearer to the diaphragm
I posted this @ 9/06/2007 02:19:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
ACT NATURALLY
CAUTION: This entry is about pee. You've been warned.
As part of a job interview, I was required to give a sample for a drug screening. I've only had to does this on rare occasions, but it's never been an issue of not passing. I typically have a steady flow of allergy meds in my bloodstream and the occasional antibiotic. So unless there is some weird combination that the two produce... I should be fine.
It was a walk-in occupational medical clinic. Even though I had directions to the clinic this did not stop me from driving past it twice. I was expecting a building. Not four sheets of corrugated metal slapped together with temporary walls on the inside. It was a very professional and cleanly run place... I just wasn't expecting to be run out of a machine shed.
While driving around looking for the clinic, I noticed a peculiar sign on some of the posts. "If you notice a strange ODOR please call 911." Odor was the most prominent word on the sign. The sign itself was reason enough to pique my curiosity. I should add that the clinic was in an area of town where there is a rendering plant. So as your driving down the interstate, and go by the rendering plant your olfactory senses are assaulted with the stench of death and cat food. This makes the sign even more curious. I noticed a strange odor, but I knew what it was... Death and cat food. If there is a strange odor, it might just be because the wind is blowing in the right direction and the neighborhood is getting some fresh breathable air.
Just saying...
So once inside the clinic I filled out the paperwork and took a seat. Waiting, I realized something important. How was I going to pee in a cup when I'd just peed before I left? It was morning. It was out of habit. So as I sit there, bladder empty, I start thinking of ways to somehow to magically conjure urine.
My name was called and I went into a small room with a friendly, but drone-like nurse.
"Empty your pockets."
Ok?
"Wash your hands."
Ok...
"Fill this cup to the line," she says as she hands the specimen cup to me. She takes my pocket belongings and locks them in a little cabinet. Instructs me that I am NOT to flush the toilet and leaves me to my business.
Now again... I'd just peed before I left home. I don't have to go. But let me just say it is amazing what a person can manage when the need presents itself.
I hand the sample to nurse, wash my hands, and take back my belongings. I initial multiple forms in multiple places. Then she has me initial the sample container... and it's still warm.
Whatever... roll your eyes... tell me to grow up. Fine... but still. Eeew!
It's at this moment why I realize the nurse is on auto-pilot and has very little smile or perk to demeanor. She has to handle warm vials of pee all day.
A job that I do not envy. Thank you, Pee Nurse. You've brightened the outlook on my day knowing that, well... things could be worse.
I posted this @ 9/06/2007 08:12:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
8/15/2007
SPLISH SPLASH I WAS TAKING A BATH
If you try the handle to the single occupancy restroom and you are unable to open the door because it appears locked... do not keep trying to open the door. It most likely... is. locked. You can knock if you really feel you must. It's not like there aren't six other restrooms within 20 paces in any direction. (25 paces if you have short legs or are keeping them close together in some form of Pee Pee Shuffle.)
If there was enough space between the bottom of the door and the floor I don't doubt you would've tried to peek in. Perhaps slip in a note? Maybe you were trying to act like my cousin who locked himself in the bathroom at age three. He was stuck in there with his Fischer Price chain saw. He tried sawing his way out. But all we could see was the 'blade' of the chainsaw poking from underneath the door every so often.
Maybe you thought I was in distress. Even after I said, "occupied." I meant the restroom was occupied, not me in particular. I don't select the bathroom as a place to read, smoke, or eat lunch, as some other people in the department are prone to do. Trust me when I say I'll be finished and out of your way as soon as possible.
I posted this @ 8/15/2007 09:39:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
7/11/2007
YOUR WHAT? TIIIIIIIIIN ROOF... RUSTED!
Things I Don't Need To Hear Said In The Hallway #8:
"After having four kids, I have to be sure to cross my legs when I sneeze."
Things I Don't Need To Hear Said In The Hallway #9:
"You guys are free to go. The pigs feet are still frozen. I tried to microwave them, but they started to smell. No one is going to want to use that microwave again."
I posted this @ 7/11/2007 01:06:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
6/05/2007
SMOKING IN THE BOYS ROOM
For a hospital I am often amazed at the state the bathrooms are kept. We have a cleaning staff that is there around the clock. While I don't expect perfection, I would expect that a broken fixture would be fixed after several complaints. Hopefully it wouldn't get to the point that a sign warning people of the dangers lurking in the bathroom would need to be used.
But today... this was the case.
After several people had been clobbered by the industrial toilet paper dispenser, someone had the sense to not only put up a sign, but all tape the dispenser closed. This apparently was the decision reached by the Admin Assistants during an impromptu meeting held outside the bathroom.
The sign read "BROKEN. FALLS OPEN. Be careful - falls open + hits you in head")
I posted this @ 6/05/2007 09:17:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
4/20/2007
AND THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS ARE WRITTEN ON THE SUBWAY WALLS
In the recent school I worked in, a motivational speaker had recently been there. A project had been completed wherein the students were to write their names an something they hoped to accomplish or hoped would happen in the future. I was actually quite saddened by what I read. There was obviously a large percentage that had the generic statements of "I want to be successful" or "I want to be a better person."
Then there the percentage of kids who wrote about wanting to be a good father/mother/husband/wife, or model/actress/musician. The combo of world famous brain surgeon/drummer was my favorite 'this or that' goal. Reach for the stars kiddo!
What saddened me was the number of students who wanted to help other people. Help stop abuse... Be a therapist... Be a psychologist... Help drug addicts/alcoholics... because most of those statements included some variation of the phrase, "like my counselor helped me."
Amongst these groups were the occasion... "Hope to stay out of prison" "Wish kids would quit calling me gay" or "find someone who will love me." I thought it was extremely brave for these kids to not only write these things and put them out in the world but to also sign their names so everyone else would see them.
There's nothing I really feel like saying about this. Other than just saying it.
I posted this @ 4/20/2007 09:08:00 AM.............Need a link?..........
3/30/2007
I BELIEVE THE CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE
As part of my job I work with local and area high schools, as I'm sure I've mentioned before. One of the things that I've learned by doing so was where I'd send my child to school. Like most cities, there are good and bad schools. Pros and cons to each school. We have been in a few schools that have had Alternative Schools in addition to their high school. The student make-up is much different for the alternative schools now, than it was when I was in school.
In my small town the school options were the high school or catholic school. If you washed out of one you could go to the other. It was rare in such a small town that people would flunk out of both schools. But that was just it... Alternative schools were for those who flunked out. Not necessarily for behavioral issues. That sorta of thing was dealt with either through in-school suspensions or expulsion if it was really serious.
I was surprised to see kids in the alternative schools for reasons other than academics. Behavioral didn't surprise me... Social issues did. Medical issues did. A teacher said that some students were their because of medical issues such as allergies or diabetes. The reasoning being that the public school wasn't meeting their needs because of their health issues? I was curious. How bad could a persons health be that public school wouldn't meet their needs; but alternative school could?
One teacher reported there was a student who was alternative school because he was ostracized for being gay. What surprised me about this was that a school would see this as an acceptable course of action. He wasn't in danger of flunking out. But because of "social issues" he opted for alternative school. Now this isn't to say that being out and in high school is easy. I have no basis to talk about how hard that might be in high school. I wasn't out until afterward. Yet, even then... I'm surprised a school would choose to allow alternative school as a way to handle the situation.
On the way back from a school the other day my coworkers and I were discussing where we'd want our kids to go to school. A couple people said they were opt for private schools over public school. Some preferred the quieter more affluent schools. My option was for a more diverse setting for a school. Whether that is diverse in education or population I'm fine with both or either. Part of my concern would be a child with gay parents would have a difficult enough time. Kids can be cruel. I wouldn't want a school environment where he or she might be ostracized because of his home life. Based on the schools that I've seen so far I think that is less likely to happen in a more diverse environment.
Going to the alternative school really made me think. I feel for the kids. I honestly do. Some people may not have the best choices made for them when they are too young to make their own choices. Then to grow up and continue to make poor choices because that is all you know... it'd rough. I'm glad there are schools out there that are willing to handle anyone that may come in their doors.
I posted this @ 3/30/2007 12:06:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
3/28/2007
WE ARE THE WORLD
Perhaps I'm naive or blindly optimistic or too much of a dreamer... but it surprises me when faced with blatant racism and other prejudices.
The other day, as we were walking to lunch, we walked passed a construction site on campus. My job is a very international place with lots of medical students from all around the globe. During lunch it isn't uncommon to find table of people speaking a language that isn't English. Anyway... heading the other direction passed the construction site were two gentlemen with wearing the headwraps of some Middle Eastern country. A construction worker leaned out of the cab of his crane and yelled. "Where's your bomb? D'you gotta bomb?! Where's your bomb?"
The two men continued to walk on. I don't know if they didn't hear him... didn't understand him... didn't pay attention to him or what. Either way, it was crazy to think that someone could be so overtly offensive in such a public manner.
We stopped. Watching the scene play out. A co-worker took it upon himself to inform the construction worker that his actions where uncalled for an highly inappropriate. Taking a step further, he called the construction company to speak to the guys boss about his employee's behavior. Even without a name the boss said he knew who my co-worker was talking about.
A couple of things I thought... 1) Did the boss know who he was talking about because of past complaints? 2) Have their been past complaints and yet the guy is still working there? 3) Does being a racist not matter in job world?
I have a feeling the guy won't have much happen other than a "talkin' too" by the boss or some supervisor. It's sad that on such a ethnically diverse campus that anyone would have to put up with people like that. I think it reflects poorly on the institution as a whole. Even tho it was a hired construction worker and not a campus employee.
I posted this @ 3/28/2007 01:49:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
3/15/2007
WAS I OUTTA MY HEAD? WAS I OUTTA MY MIND?
I've been going crazy today. I just want some silence. My brain is a noisy place today I just need some peace and quiet.
Let me give you a bit of Office Geography before I continue. As you look down the hall there is a fire alarm on the wall towards the ceiling. Then my office door. Then a secuirty panel. Then a heavy fire door leading to next department.
FIRE ALARM --- OFFICE --- SECURITY PANEL --- FIRE DOOR
EVERYTHING was making noises today. First of all the fire door is broken. It has a hydraulic box attached to it that normally would slow down the closing of the door. This part is broken so the door has been slamming shut all day. On top of that, everyone that walks through the door commments that the door is broken.
SLAM!!! "Oh wow! That needs to be fixed. That scared me."
How do you think I feel!?
Next... The security panel has been chirping and buzzing today. In the 2+ years that I've worked at the hospital it has occasionally sounded off as though there was an issue with it. Someone would call maintainence and/or security. They would look at it. Go flip a couple switches somewhere else and it would stop. They woudl say they would 'fix' it, but it's never happened. They just shut it off for a while. Til the next day when things have all been shut off at one point and reset for secuirty reasons. This noise is loud and obnoxious. Because it is a security alarm. It is meant to get your attention.
Lastly is the fire alarm. The way our building is set up, if a fire alarm is triggered somewhere in the department (which spans the whoel floor of our specific building) then all the fire alarms go off in on that floor of the building. Rather than in just that department. In the event of an actual fire, there is logic... But in the event of a false alarm, it is a loud annoying noise that just adds to the symphony of sound I've been experiencing.
Humorously enough when someone came to check out the security panel, they thought it was going off because of the fire alarm. Good assumption, but no...
I now have the largest headache this side of the Missouri.
I posted this @ 3/15/2007 02:40:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
I'm a 30-something student of human nature. A music-lovin', groove-shakin', laugh-inducin', dish-cookin', gossip-slingin', type of guy. This is my diary of sorts...
