Last night I attended work, as usual. It was bloody hot as our air conditioning doesn't work (and head office refuses to replace it), it's been a nightmare all summer.
I was stacking glasses in the glass washer and in the process of separating two pint glasses that were a little stuck - but not very, which makes this really weird - the bottom glass exploded in my hand, slicing my ring finger open. Much swearing, screaming and crying ensued. Being stood at the sink already I thrust my hand under the cold tap and a friend working in the cafe came running. She began swearing and ran to the phone, calling the manager/first aider who appeared with first aid kit. There was rather a lot of blood, the cut was pretty deep, all plastered up I went to sit down in the staff room for a minute to calm down.
After fifteen minutes the pain was even worse so I was told to go to casualty to check for glass. Andy came to pick me up from doing the shopping, so we swang home to put frozen goods in the freezer. We took the plaster off to have a look, it was pretty gross but we decided to call our dear Dr friend rather than go sit in A&E for four hours.
He poked around, it hurt, it makes me cringe to remember. But he said he couldn't see any glass and said he wouldn't recommend stitches because it was on the side of my finger and they don't usually put stitches there as it's an awkward spot. So no A&E, but this afternoon I'm off to my doctor for a tetnus jab :-/
So, in short, work is further demonstrating its annoyingness!
27 July 2006
21 July 2006
Work
In time honoured tradition, I am using my blog to rant about work once again - remember back in the early days of this blog I was bitching about my insurance call centre job? That was before they figured out that allowing access to this site was perhaps an error and made it a banned site.
Well, for those who don't know, I now work behind the bar of a bowling alley. I keep reassuring myself that it is only temporary, until I finish my degree, because it is underpaid, unstimulating, sweaty work that I do not enjoy. Most of my colleagues are illiterate youngsters, I'm the same age as half of the manglement team, older than one guy (he's 20 ffs!).
So the mangler who does the rota is in the habit of giving people the wrong number of hours and hours they can't do. This one girl that I get on with really well, in large part down to our shared hatred of the manglement, she has another job that she works on Wednesday and Saturday nights, in her first few weeks at the Bowl they only gave her Wednesday and Saturday nights and then tried to put her on disciplinary for not turning up! With me, she (the mangler) keeps giving me around 3-4 hours short of the minimum I need to cover my share of the bills.
Last week they put out a memo telling us all that we cannot swap shifts except in an emergency and even then any swaps have to be approved by her or this one other mangler who is just as anal. The memo even said that there has to be give and take and that they do all they can to ensure everyone gets a fair rota. It also said that the rota goes up in plenty of time for us to say if there is a problem with our shifts. But they also reserve the right to change the rota without telling or asking us up to the first day of the week concerned.
This week my shifts got changed twice before the start of the week. At first I had Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Then Friday was added in accordance with me making a fuss that I wasn't getting enough hours. Then when I turned up on Sunday tonight's shift had been taken away, leaving me with 3 again, but one was the one I only agreed to do as an extra. To make matters worse, we had training on Sunday and tonight. When I was given shifts on both these days I was actually quite impressed that they'd worked it so that I didn't have to make an extra trip out there for the sake of one hour's training. But no, tonight's shift was taken from me and I had to go in especially for this training - which was a bunch of arse. SO there is no give on their part, we can't change our shifts but they can change them for us. It's so hypocritical.
Every time Andy takes me to work and picks me up it triples his mileage for the day. So tonight we made a point of him sitting in the bar with a book while I was in training, so as to reduce it to double for the day. On the way home we joked about him taking a second job there so that we can actually see each other occasionally, bring home some extra money and reduce the mileage on the car (be default making the mileage more worthwhile). We were just joking, but by the end concluded that it was actually a damn good idea!
It would also mean that Andy would be in a position and totally free to say all the things to manglement that we would each like to say and it wouldn't matter if he got fired because it'd only be a crappy second job anyway that need never go on his CV or anything.
SO now I'm working tomorrow night, I'm also working Sunday, so Andy and I get another fun-filled weekend in each other's company. Married people shouldn't see each other as little as we do.
Well, for those who don't know, I now work behind the bar of a bowling alley. I keep reassuring myself that it is only temporary, until I finish my degree, because it is underpaid, unstimulating, sweaty work that I do not enjoy. Most of my colleagues are illiterate youngsters, I'm the same age as half of the manglement team, older than one guy (he's 20 ffs!).
So the mangler who does the rota is in the habit of giving people the wrong number of hours and hours they can't do. This one girl that I get on with really well, in large part down to our shared hatred of the manglement, she has another job that she works on Wednesday and Saturday nights, in her first few weeks at the Bowl they only gave her Wednesday and Saturday nights and then tried to put her on disciplinary for not turning up! With me, she (the mangler) keeps giving me around 3-4 hours short of the minimum I need to cover my share of the bills.
Last week they put out a memo telling us all that we cannot swap shifts except in an emergency and even then any swaps have to be approved by her or this one other mangler who is just as anal. The memo even said that there has to be give and take and that they do all they can to ensure everyone gets a fair rota. It also said that the rota goes up in plenty of time for us to say if there is a problem with our shifts. But they also reserve the right to change the rota without telling or asking us up to the first day of the week concerned.
This week my shifts got changed twice before the start of the week. At first I had Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Then Friday was added in accordance with me making a fuss that I wasn't getting enough hours. Then when I turned up on Sunday tonight's shift had been taken away, leaving me with 3 again, but one was the one I only agreed to do as an extra. To make matters worse, we had training on Sunday and tonight. When I was given shifts on both these days I was actually quite impressed that they'd worked it so that I didn't have to make an extra trip out there for the sake of one hour's training. But no, tonight's shift was taken from me and I had to go in especially for this training - which was a bunch of arse. SO there is no give on their part, we can't change our shifts but they can change them for us. It's so hypocritical.
Every time Andy takes me to work and picks me up it triples his mileage for the day. So tonight we made a point of him sitting in the bar with a book while I was in training, so as to reduce it to double for the day. On the way home we joked about him taking a second job there so that we can actually see each other occasionally, bring home some extra money and reduce the mileage on the car (be default making the mileage more worthwhile). We were just joking, but by the end concluded that it was actually a damn good idea!
It would also mean that Andy would be in a position and totally free to say all the things to manglement that we would each like to say and it wouldn't matter if he got fired because it'd only be a crappy second job anyway that need never go on his CV or anything.
SO now I'm working tomorrow night, I'm also working Sunday, so Andy and I get another fun-filled weekend in each other's company. Married people shouldn't see each other as little as we do.
18 July 2006
Politics & Religion
Ok guys, the time has come to take part in British politics. I've pretty much emailed everyone about it so all I will say here is: take part in huge virtual conference this autumn and have your say about how you want our country to be governed. Go here: http://www.takingpower.org/index.html
On to my other point, religion. As many of you know, I am currently studying for a degree in Religious Studies and Philosophy. The current topic is new age spirituality and a core reason for me taking this particular module. As most of you also know, this is where my own spiritual inclination lies. I am finding it particularly challenging to read about my own beliefs from an academic standpoint and feeling a bit of a dope for thinking so much of myself that I would be able to be critical and objective!
What it has made me realise though, is that I need to persevere, in fact I need to read more widely on the subject. I've always adamantly believed that people should be critical of their faith, they should allow it to be challenged and I am no exception. So I have decided to read a book that I had been desperate to read for a couple of years, but on seeing the author quoted in my course material in an unfavorable light had recently sworn never to read another thing by him. I'll let you know how I get on!
Now, clicky clicky.
On to my other point, religion. As many of you know, I am currently studying for a degree in Religious Studies and Philosophy. The current topic is new age spirituality and a core reason for me taking this particular module. As most of you also know, this is where my own spiritual inclination lies. I am finding it particularly challenging to read about my own beliefs from an academic standpoint and feeling a bit of a dope for thinking so much of myself that I would be able to be critical and objective!
What it has made me realise though, is that I need to persevere, in fact I need to read more widely on the subject. I've always adamantly believed that people should be critical of their faith, they should allow it to be challenged and I am no exception. So I have decided to read a book that I had been desperate to read for a couple of years, but on seeing the author quoted in my course material in an unfavorable light had recently sworn never to read another thing by him. I'll let you know how I get on!
Now, clicky clicky.
13 July 2006
Extradition Treaty
Wow, I only just found out about this appalling treaty we have had with the USA since 2003. Basically they can extradite British citizens whenever they like, they don't have to press charges or produce evidence, nothing. Whereas we have to go through all the traditional procedures to extradite US citizens. This Labour initiative was presumably agreed to under pressure by Bush and it's an absolute travesty.
Yesterday the House of Commons voted on repealing this treaty and thankfully the vote went the way of human rights. Only 4 Labour MPs voted to keep the treaty!
Now we just have to write to the Solicitor General to ask him to back the vote. Please help return the rights of all British citizens, take some of the domination out of the USA, they have no right to trample all over the rest of us in this way!
Write to him at:
Mike O'Brien
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Yesterday the House of Commons voted on repealing this treaty and thankfully the vote went the way of human rights. Only 4 Labour MPs voted to keep the treaty!
Now we just have to write to the Solicitor General to ask him to back the vote. Please help return the rights of all British citizens, take some of the domination out of the USA, they have no right to trample all over the rest of us in this way!
Write to him at:
Mike O'Brien
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
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