I'm really bummed that I didn't get to do tutoring this semester. Especially now that others are doing it for the first time and loving it.
Somehow my application didn't work in the system, which I didn't follow up on until too late because I got a confirmation email that it had worked. Instead it didn't work, and and my application didn't get considered. Especially bummed since I was encouraged and pushed into doing it, and once I had decided to was really really excited. I have always wanted to be a teacher (among other things) and I was super excited that I was going to be able to try it out.
Grump over.
Showing posts with label grump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grump. Show all posts
Bushfires + work = not compatible
I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, and the ones I am most interested in are people's musings on the world around them. I feel nerdy enough in my work, so I'm not that interested in spending more time submerging myself into nerdy blogs. I'm totally over redecorating because it's taking way too long and all the decisions have been made, so I'm not that interested in the design or decorating blogs. So that leaves the musing blogs, as I like to call them. It is inspiring me to join these bloggers and muse about the world around Me.
This week I'm finding it hard to concentrate on work for two main reasons.
1 - Because Gaea (mother nature) is waging war against Victoria. Thousands are homeless, hundreds dead, and everybody is concerned. I have been reading the news online, watching the news at night, reading the paper in the morning about all the stories of personal loss and individuals stories about how they were caught in what could have been their graves, but the narrowly escaped. For some reason this is captivating me. Each time i read or hear somebody tell their personal story I'm brought to tears for their ordeal. I keep on bringing whatever it is I'm doing back to this - at least I have a home. All my work and stress seems immaterial when others have nothing left but insurance forms.
2 - The second reason is more positive. I'm going on holiday in two days! Friday afternoon my bf and I leave for England. England itself is not that exciting because we both have spent a lot of time there. The exciting bit is going somewhere far away, with free time, and catching up with people we don't see very often.
So back in the current real world, I have to finish of some work by thursday afternoon that I'm not that confident about, and am finding it hard to concentrate on. I will get it done, I know that. Thursday afternoon will come and I will have done my work and I will leave work to meet a mate for drinks, and I will be on my merry way. I just wish I would get on and do it so that the time would pass and I would get to that point sooner.
Also - I'm loving my job. I know it doesn't seem like it so much in this post, but overall it's great. It's exactly what I wanted to be doing after uni, once I figured out what I wanted to do. I feel so proud that in three years I have totally re-trained and have a new career. I am actually a professional. In three years. From zero to professional in three years! And it wasn't easy. So yay for me. I don't think others share my enthusiasm for the achievement, but I suppose all that matters is that I am proud, and my family and close friends are proud. They understand the hurdles I've passed.
Until next post
x alex
This week I'm finding it hard to concentrate on work for two main reasons.
1 - Because Gaea (mother nature) is waging war against Victoria. Thousands are homeless, hundreds dead, and everybody is concerned. I have been reading the news online, watching the news at night, reading the paper in the morning about all the stories of personal loss and individuals stories about how they were caught in what could have been their graves, but the narrowly escaped. For some reason this is captivating me. Each time i read or hear somebody tell their personal story I'm brought to tears for their ordeal. I keep on bringing whatever it is I'm doing back to this - at least I have a home. All my work and stress seems immaterial when others have nothing left but insurance forms.
2 - The second reason is more positive. I'm going on holiday in two days! Friday afternoon my bf and I leave for England. England itself is not that exciting because we both have spent a lot of time there. The exciting bit is going somewhere far away, with free time, and catching up with people we don't see very often.
So back in the current real world, I have to finish of some work by thursday afternoon that I'm not that confident about, and am finding it hard to concentrate on. I will get it done, I know that. Thursday afternoon will come and I will have done my work and I will leave work to meet a mate for drinks, and I will be on my merry way. I just wish I would get on and do it so that the time would pass and I would get to that point sooner.
Also - I'm loving my job. I know it doesn't seem like it so much in this post, but overall it's great. It's exactly what I wanted to be doing after uni, once I figured out what I wanted to do. I feel so proud that in three years I have totally re-trained and have a new career. I am actually a professional. In three years. From zero to professional in three years! And it wasn't easy. So yay for me. I don't think others share my enthusiasm for the achievement, but I suppose all that matters is that I am proud, and my family and close friends are proud. They understand the hurdles I've passed.
Until next post
x alex
Stupid headset design
Monday afternoon at the moment, and I have done one job. I installed the second attempt at a bluetooth headset for a PAs desk phone. The first one broke after one day of use. I think the problem is not necesarrily the user, but the research that when into buying the product. Clearly there are great pieces of hardware to make one's life easier, and this is not one of them. It is fragile and difficult to set up, let alone a stupid design. Let me paint you a picture...
The wireless bluetooth headset has a range of attachments for your preference, from the ear-clip style to the headband with one ear, to the adjustable headband style. Cool, user choice, pretty good ideas, fine. The headset sits on a dock to charge, which wires into a power pack (a big mo-fo to step down the power because it doesn't need much), as well as wiring into the desk phone. There are about 4 cables required on top of the single cable the phone uses. OK, so we have a bluetooth headset to reduce cabling... and have quadrupled the number of cables required?
But that isn't even the stupid part of the design... one of the cables leads to this mechanical device that you attach to your desk phone with double sided sticky pads (semi-permanently). What is this mechanical device for? Well, you may well ask... For a phone that is entirely capable of being used with a range of headsets and speaker phone, no need to raise the handset at all, this is laughable. This mechanical attachment raises the phones handset in order to answer the phone or even make a call. Once raised, the call goes through the handsfree base and via bluetooth to the headset. When the call is ended by pressing the button on the headset (or one on the base) the phone's handset is lowered and the call is ended.
Have you ever heard of something so ridiculous in this day and age? It's as though the headset is trying to accomodate for phone models pre 1995 or something! You know those old telstra phones with the big square buttons? The ones that you had to wire an answering machine to, or if you were special you could use some of telstras functions by pressing various number buttons.
Not only is this handset a very silly design, it was very difficult to figure out - apparently it took 4 guys in IT looking at it to figure it out in the first place.... although I do wonder if this was not due to its complicated nature, rather the tendancy for IT guys to refuse to use the instruction manual.... either way, not only that, but the headset was physically broken within one day of operation! It was the tiny connection between the dock and the headset that charges it - it had bent and snapped right off! We sent it right back and I installed the replacement today.
I told the PA to be very careful with it because it is fragile. I hope this is the last we hear of it.
The wireless bluetooth headset has a range of attachments for your preference, from the ear-clip style to the headband with one ear, to the adjustable headband style. Cool, user choice, pretty good ideas, fine. The headset sits on a dock to charge, which wires into a power pack (a big mo-fo to step down the power because it doesn't need much), as well as wiring into the desk phone. There are about 4 cables required on top of the single cable the phone uses. OK, so we have a bluetooth headset to reduce cabling... and have quadrupled the number of cables required?
But that isn't even the stupid part of the design... one of the cables leads to this mechanical device that you attach to your desk phone with double sided sticky pads (semi-permanently). What is this mechanical device for? Well, you may well ask... For a phone that is entirely capable of being used with a range of headsets and speaker phone, no need to raise the handset at all, this is laughable. This mechanical attachment raises the phones handset in order to answer the phone or even make a call. Once raised, the call goes through the handsfree base and via bluetooth to the headset. When the call is ended by pressing the button on the headset (or one on the base) the phone's handset is lowered and the call is ended.
Have you ever heard of something so ridiculous in this day and age? It's as though the headset is trying to accomodate for phone models pre 1995 or something! You know those old telstra phones with the big square buttons? The ones that you had to wire an answering machine to, or if you were special you could use some of telstras functions by pressing various number buttons.
Not only is this handset a very silly design, it was very difficult to figure out - apparently it took 4 guys in IT looking at it to figure it out in the first place.... although I do wonder if this was not due to its complicated nature, rather the tendancy for IT guys to refuse to use the instruction manual.... either way, not only that, but the headset was physically broken within one day of operation! It was the tiny connection between the dock and the headset that charges it - it had bent and snapped right off! We sent it right back and I installed the replacement today.
I told the PA to be very careful with it because it is fragile. I hope this is the last we hear of it.