Winter Hell

It's not yet winter but damn it's already so cold! The temperature here in Edmonton is now single digits. I can't bare to imagine how life will be where the temperature will be below 0.

I have wished before when I was back home in the Philippines that I can see and feel snow. But now I take it back and I don't ever want to get near any snow at all. I just want to stay at home during winter and I don't even want to set foot outside. Maybe I'll just order groceries online... but then if I don't work how can I afford it? Hmm... we should really get a car soon.

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Photo credits to FreeFoto.com

I Don't Want to Work Mornings

You know what? I have gone through hell and back when I was working 11 pm to 7 am and now they once again are giving me morning shifts (7 am to 3 pm). What's so bad about morning? Well I work from 3 pm to 11 pm then I go to work the next day at 7 am in the morning. It's ok if it was school I can deal with it but no, it's work where I am pushed to the limit being forced to work faster and where I have to serve some cranky customers who hadn't have their daily dose of caffeine.

I'm going to tell my manager again today that I don't want to work morning shifts. But this time I will work the 2 days she gave me without even asking my consent if I want to work morning (what am I? a slave?). I'll tell her that I can't work the weeks after because it will be in conflict with my second job (which I wished I had so I can quit this one).

If she gets mad and fires me then she's actually doing me a favor. Geez! I was hired to work at 3-11 and I am comfortable with that shift and I work great in this shift so leave me alone and let me do my job. Geez.

Computer Gone Berserk

I don't know what is happening to my computer. It has a powerful Quad processor and an incredible 6 GB RAM but it is slower than my laptop which only has a single Intel Celeron processor.

Oh well, at least I was able to do something for it like bringing it to the Geek Squad so that it will be fixed. Who wants a very slow computer right? Well I have done everything to fix the problem by myself including reformatting it and restoring the factory image but to no avail it is as slow as a snail.

I really hate it when technology fails... because i then feel helpless...

Well at least I still have my old and trusty laptop to keep myself company as my PC will be staying at the Geek Squad shop for a week or so. I just hope it gets fixed soon.

Finding My Happiness

My managers know that I hate working night shift (11 pm to 7 am) but they still made a schedule for m saying that I'll be working 11 pm to 7 am for 4 straight days!

I am quite unhappy with this situation and I know why this has happened to me... I don't know how to say NO! to people. That is why they take advantage of me. They think I'm the kind Filipino guy who they can boss around well they have another thing coming.

They must not know that I am not a contract worker and I can quit anytime I want. There are less stressful jobs out there and I am very unhappy with my job.

A saying goes once said that if you're unhappy with what you're doing then don't it. It's counterproductive to the job, it's counterproductive to yourself, and it's counterproductive to everyone else involved.

I believe that my employers are abusing me. Imagine, today they're sending me to another store location just like last week. But the thing is why only ME?! Why can't they send anyone else? Well the answer may be because others don't want to be sent to other stores and they refused. Well I will refuse too... I will say NO!

And if they don't respect me and my wants, and they don't give me my happiness back... I will QUIT! No regrets at all... just a sense of relief that my stress from my job is finally over.

Gaming a Waste of Time

As much as it hurts me to say this but I have found playing PC games and PS3 games a complete waste of time... well the thing is I actually don't have time to play games and stuff. This is pretty hard to believe from someone who don't study for midterm exams just to play gameboy games hehehe.

Oh well, maybe I'm just saying this because I'm frustrated that Playstation 3 can't play Playstation 2 games. I'm mad at Sony for being such a money hungry corporation. I know that their reason for not allowing the PS3 to play PS2 games is that it would cause their PS2 to be outdated and no one would buy them anymore and they didn't want this because they still have a surplus on PS2 consoles. I also hated it when I have to pay them to upgrade my Sony Ericsson media manager in order for me to transfer videos to my Sony Ericsson W960i. Like that is completely robing me of my money, of course I didn't pay them. I'd rathe buy a new phone like Nokia whose phones are more user friendly and they won't have to make me pay extra to transfer videos to my phone.

But my love for games has not completely vanished. As soon as I quit my job there will be plenty of time for me to play games hehehe.

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Picture credits to tikirobot.net

Why Can't I See My Website?!

Is it me or am I the only one who can't see my own freaking website? The whole world can see it but I can't! I can't open www.EdgarVincentBautista.com. But my friends can and so can my hosting company Technographx. But I can't seem to open my website as well as my web hosting company's website.

If anyone else in this world can't open my website please do tell me, that would really be such a help. Thanks!

Oh yeah, in case you're wondering, I can't access my control panel either. If any one can help me with this problem it would really be appreciated. I've tried flushing the DNS, tampered with the MTU, refreshed, cleared the cache, checked the security settings, but nothing seems to work.

Nasty People

I don't know why some people could be so nasty. Why can't people be more civilized and be more human when they deal with other people. What is it with people who live in western countries that they stop thinking of other people and be very selfish and only think about what they want every single day.

I have dealt with rude and disrespectful customers at my work and I showed them that they can't step on me. Don't they think that I'm just some poor Filipino contract worker who will take their crap because I'm afraid to lose my job. Because I will really take them on!

But there are also very nice customers who are kind, understanding, and patient so I'm not always on the guard putting up my I'll-Kill-You face. As I have gained experience with dealing with people I have learned not to displace my frustrations to my kind customers.

I've learned to treat people the way they treat me in a case-to-case basis. If you treat me with respect, I will respect you. if you don't, then go to hell, I won't take your crap.

Imagine a world where people will think of other people's feelings before their own... if they have feelings to begin with that is.

RESPECT: A Two Way Process

I really don't appreciate it when customers raise their voice or try to belittle me thinking that I'm inferior to them because they are the customer and I am the lowly servant. Well they should think again. I don't anymore bother calling them "ma'am or sir" because here in Canada only a few does. Why? Because every one here are equal. No one is above the other.

People like me who work in the customer service department are here to help them and we are not here to be trash talked to or abused. So if they want respect from me then they should give it too.

But the kind of customers that really bug me are the Indians. They don't speak clearly and they get mad when you ask them to repeat what they said because their English is not only bad but their pronunciation of the words are all wrong. But I don't say that all Indians are arrogant and self-absorbed. It's just that there are these people who think that Filipinos are inferior to them and that we are only here in Canada as contract workers. Excuse me but I happen to be a permanent resident here in Canada and in 3 to 5 years time a CITIZEN of CANADA. Besides, even if I was a contract worker, I still deserve respect.

There are some rude and nasty customers who come into our store each day but I don't let them get their way because I always show them that I am not the person they should mess with. But there are also times that I'm tired and I just don't care anymore. But when I am in the heat of the moment and ready to fight back, well... they should watch themselves.

Oh well. We can't really say that the world is a perfect place. But we should also remember not all other people are as rotten as some people out there. The point is even if a nasty customers try to ruin my day, I still smile and treat the next customer with respect. But if that customer is like the previous nasty one then I switch the way I relate to them appropriately too.

Oh my... why am I ranting again? Sorry about that guys, just releasing some steam.

I'm Tired of Being a Parent

I have written an entry somewhere in this blog or my other blog about me trying to teach my brother to be responsible and independent. My brother is 16 years old and yet he is very irresponsible and care free. I wasn't like that when I was young.

I'm trying to teach him to clean up after himself. I mean pick up his tissue or clothes from the living room and sometimes even share and help with the house chores. But all of these are in vain because I seem to get no support from my parents.

Hell. My parents spoil him that's for sure. Just this day my mom told me to wash the dishes during lunchtime and I did. I told my brother that he should also have a share in the dish washing chores and do the dishes later after dinner. But guess who washed the dishes? My mom. I told my self that they should do something about this. I'm tired of doing all the cleaning in this house and looking after my brother who is old enough. If he's old enough to use drugs and have a girlfriend surely he's old enough to help around in the house or at least be responsible enough to clean up his own mess.

I don't know what is wrong with my parents... especially my mom. My dad doesn't care about rearing us and being our role model ever since so there is no need for him to do anything. But my mom on the other hand is doing more damage than harm. I mean please! Do you really want your own son growing up dependent and a dysfunctional individual?

I mean before she had lots of excuses why I had to do all the work. One, he's asthmatic so he shouldn't do any work. Two, he's still too young. And three he won't do it anyway. So my counter would be, one: if he's asthmatic why do you allow him to smoke? Two: Too young? Please he leaves home during the middle of the night ad come homes at the break of dawn... you call that young? Three: That's why do something about it so he will be responsible enough.

Why aren't you doing anything about him being a good for nothing slob? Why don't you do to him what you did to me? Like I still remember asking you what the meaning of a word is when I was in grade school and you told me to check the dictionary. My brother? You spoon feed him. You even do his own freaking assignments when he was in high school! Me? Well you sent me away to study when I was in high school and I had to feed myself and learn to budget my measly allowance. My brother? You give him what ever he wants! You even allow him to drink to think he's a minor too.

I'm tired of doing anything to help him. And you know what my brother told me that really irritated me? He said why don't I clean up his mess when I already see it. I should clean it because I see it already. Like what?!

But I'm tired of trying to help my brother. From now on I will stop cleaning after him and I won't do his laundry. Let him do his own laundry once in a while. I won't pick up his mess in the living room. Let's see how this will affect my mom. If she tells me that I should clean the mess up I am going to go insane!

The Attack of the Talk-a-ter!

I have shared an incident HERE about a customer who was always yapping on and on with his life and work. Guess what? He attacked me again with his very long autobiography of his life and work. I was shocked when I saw him at the counter because I thought that he would start again with his Talk-a-thon (my new word for talking marathon) but he didn't. I was already excited to go home from a day of hard work when all of the sudden someone approached me when I was about to ride my bike. I turned around and it was HIM!

Oh my God, I cursed so much in my head but I still was courteous and flashed a little fake smile (evil little me). This time he showed me his certificates and cards of all the construction courses he took and he once again repeated everything he talked about the other night and I was like "Hehehe... wow... that's nice..."

Aah! I swear! If I see him again tonight I'm going to sneak out the back door so that I won't have to stay out late out there in the cold listening to him yap and yap. Oh my... my dilemma. Guess I can categorize this person to the irritating customers list.

Messy House = Messy Life

Aah! I am so tired of trying to clean things up and make our house look neat and decent but it seems that my parents (especially my brother) doesn't give a damn on how our house looks like. It's not that I want our house to look extravagant or anything, I just want to come into a home that is clean and decent looking because no one wants to come home tired from work and see dirty dishes lying on the sink and papers and trash scattered everywhere in the living room.

Well I thought that my own room would be immuned to all the clutter and mess because it's my personal space but it's not. It's as equally cluttered and messy as the rest of the house. At least my bed is clean and neat so I can sleep comfortably.

Do you know how it is to live with someone who has a "Sayang" or "Such a Waste" Mentality? Well it may be good in some occasions but keeping trash and use them for decoration is not. My father has a habit of collecting junk and hiding it. He hides new stuff and uses junk because using new items would be such a waste. This is what he did back in the Philippines so when we moveed to Canada all the things that we never used were left behind and who benefited from those items? Definitely not us.

It's so hard living with clutter bugs... grrr!!!

I'm Going to QUIT

Well I'm not going to quit at my job at Tim Hortons anytime soon. But I am sure tempted to do so. There are so many reasons for me to quit but there are only a few reasons for me to stay (how melodramatic hehehe).

Ok here are my reasons to leave:

• I was placed at night shift (11 pm to 7 am) and the pay is bad (no premiums for me) and I'm the only one at the storefront and I do everything from sweeping, mopping, throwing away the garbage, dishes, restocking, and for again a bad pay. Why do I say bad? Well I used to work at 3-11 pm and I'm only assigned one task and there are more of us on the job so I could afford to goof off during my breaks.
• Morning is hell! There are so many nasty, cold-hearted, cocky, and hard-to-please customers! I honestly broke down and cried (but I hid of course).
• There's a job for me that's nearer to where I live with a higher pay and the job is less stressful.

Reasons for me to stay:

• I was "highly recommended" by a Filipino supervisor that's why I landed the job immediately.
• I love my co-workers during my 3-11 pm shift.
• I need to last longer so that this could serve as a good "Canadian Experience" for me.

But I have weighed things around and I have decided that if they still will place me on night shift next week even after my several talks with my manager showing my extreme discontent and unhappy self then I will quit.

I know that I should persever more and all but I love my self to much to go insane from working to hard! Imagine, whenever I fall asleep all my dreams includes working at Tim Hortons and serving customers. I have to remind my self several times that this is just a dream and there is no Tim Hortons at our house...