Work Thus Far

It's about time I talked about my job. I've been working here for 3 weeks now and I think I can give a fairly good update about things. The environment is pretty nice, everyone is fairly close knit and we joke and laugh at each other all the time. The downside is that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, know about each other.

I mean, I've barely even know any of the drivers who deliver the concrete and yet I'll walk by the break room and get, "Hey, you're the new guy with the University degree!".

How much do they know about me?!

So I'm feeling a bit of pressure not to make mistakes or look stupid. I mean, I am an academic, I should be able to do my job better than most, right? Right?

Well actually if what I'm told is correct, I've moved along faster than most of the people I've replaced. I've learned the programs needed to do my job, the more important mixes of concrete, how to respond to customers and when to redirect them, etc. etc. all within the span of two weeks.

I've actually been on the phone taking orders for concrete on my own for this week and with more practice, eventually I'll be allowed to work in dispatch without supervision. Which would be great because not only is it more engaging, but it also pays significantly better.

Close enough.

Until then, I'll have to be delegated to dealing with orders of concrete. Whether it's taking, modifying, or cancelling them, someone has to be there to answer that phone. That's another perk to this job is that I can't fall asleep. Everyone wants something different, the phone is going off nearly all the time, and my shift goes by quickly.

And I'm pretty sure my coworkers appreciate the help. I remember one day when we only had one guy on the phones. Pretty sure he was there for a 12 hour shift with virtually no breaks, dealing with angry people who had to wait up to an hour to be talked to.

And while most of our customers are pretty nice and even enjoyable to talk to, we have a few notorious people who are absolutely horrid to deal with. One particular example comes to mind with a guy called Jim. The conversation goes like this:

Jim: Hi, so uh. I'd like to move my Thursday order to be on the Friday.
Me: So you want to get rid of the Thursday order and have it on Friday?
Jim: No, I want to uh, have the Friday order be like uh, Thursday, but have it 7 meters uh, instead.
Me: Ok, I can do that.
Jim: Except make it um, more. More like the Thursday one that uh, we're moving.
Me: Sorry? What do you want me to do?
Jim: If you could um have the Friday order more, but have it like uh, the Thursday.

This continues until my supervisor realizes who I'm talking to, grabs the phone from me, and later tells me that Jim is notorious for being like this,

Jim later called to change the order, again.

So asides from that things are good. I'll hopefully be having paycheques rolling in and we can begin to do serious damage to my debt. While I am supposed to just work 8 hours a day, that delicious overtime beckons, and I've been trying to find excuses to stay a bit later to learn dispatching.

That being said, my projects are taking a massive hit. It's hard to find the motivation to learn or write after a 9 or 10 hour shift while running on barely any sleep. I'll have to find a way to accommodate everything somehow.

The End of Summer

I think this is the first time in 2 years that I've been this late for a post. In fact, I just realized that I missed my 2 year blogging anniversary several weeks ago. Oops. So before we begin this post, happy 2 years to me. I fully intend to keep on blogging (when the time permits) and hopefully will be able to keep visiting everyone.

Thanks to everyone who's joined on me on this ride so far. It's much appreciated.

I'm secretly a corgi and I've fooled you all.

There have been two reasons why my blog has taken a backseat this last week. First, I'm no longer able to stay up until 3AM (or later) in the morning checking up on everyone or writing posts. No a problem, just do it before midnight like a sane person would.

And I would, except summer is coming to an end, and with that, it means that everyone who is returning to school in the fall is going to get busy or fly across to the country back to their campus. This is pretty much the last time I can see them again before things get too hectic.

It's really disconcerting actually, considering that for the last 18 years or so of my life, I've been going back to classes in the fall. Not that that's a bad thing. I used to pay to suffer from sleep deprivation and stress, now, I'm being paid to deal with idiots. It's a good trade in my eyes.

A drink after a long day of work is acceptable, not so much for classes.

There was a 5 year reunion recently as well and about a third of my graduating class showed up. That's the great thing about only having 100 classmates I guess, you know everyone and luckily, most of us get along.

It's strange, 1 of us has already gotten married, another got engaged. Someone has traveled the world while many of the others are on their way to becoming successful doctors, engineers, and teachers. A few are even working on their PhD's in the fall. I didn't expect anything less from my peers though I feel like I've fallen a bit short. The Psychologist who has taken some time off to work in an unrelated field.

At least I'll have money and not be in debt.

Went out for many dinners and many drinks. It'll be a while before I see some of these guys again. Maybe in a few years I'll head back to school in the fall but it'll most likely have to be at an out of province University, especially considering that the University in my province announced additional budget cuts.

For anyone wondering about my new job, things are going well and I'm almost done my training. They tell me that I'm amongst the fastest (if not the fastest) learner they've had so far, which is a good thing I think. I already have a few stories to share though it's going to be a challenge, spreading out my evening hours between sleeping, blogging, and my projects.