The Angry Dieter

When starting at a new company, it’s essential to figure out where the lie of the land is. Who do you need to get to know, how are you going to fit in? If you come in as a pleb, it’s easier to make friends, and get out there and find out what’s going on, and if you have a nasty experience, you can run back to your original posse. When you come in as basically, lower middle management, and you’re on your own - well that’s different. You basically eat lunch alone, go on tea breaks alone, go sit in induction with your fellow inductees (and that new boss) have a laugh, do some quizzes, then you’re left to your own devices.

I find this an uncomfortable place to be in. At my old workplace, when I became a team leader, many of the other TL’s weren’t that accepting of me. I still had my friends I’d made already in the call centre,  lucky for me, I did have a couple of other TL’s who were also friends, but I still found it hard to fit in. It took nearly a year for me to make friends with a couple of the TL’s and they ended up being pretty amazing women. I regret that it took so long for things to thaw between us. So, now I’m the new TL. I have to start to getting to know my co-workers,  I have to work on them, and depend on them. They have to get to know me. So, it’s off to the pub for free drinks! (looking like a good career move already) and then after a meeting where I was almost bored to tears, to a cricket match, involving of course, lots of alcohol.

Ultimately, I don’t want to be the spare wheel in one of those uncomfortable awkward social situations. It’s a peer thing I guess, I feel like reverting back to when I was a kid and wanting to belong, and that’s perfectly normal. I’m used to being able to wander around and sitting down with people and having lunch, having a laugh, or running off with friends because we’re up to something.

So I’ve become paranoid, I’ve changed my BO killer, just in case the other one would mysteriously stop working, I make sure I blow my nose before I go to work ever day, no one wants to go to the loo, look in the mirror and see one of those evil  nasal boogers swinging around each time you inhale and exhale. I try and minimise my worst features, make sure I smile alot, and keep my mouth shut unless the next thing I say actually does contribute to the conversation. I try not to be too witty, or sarcastic, or evil, just in case people think I’m arrogant.

GAH! damn peer pressure at this age, I don’t want the kids in the school yard to laugh at me!

March 14th, 2008 | Category: Odd moments, Thoughts | Comments (4)

I should have stayed in bed this morning! Then mysteriously been transported to work, call nice and lean, smelling pretty and looking hot. Instead, I got out of bed on time, got dressed on time, make up done on time, collating everything into one handbag on time OK. Not on time. It was at this point that it became a litany of small disasters leading up to one great big one.

I needed to log onto the bank website I use so I could get my BSB and account number - I reached into my bag for my diary and pen, and as I was getting ready to write it all down, I noticed my fingers were sticky.. I looked down at my hands, and they were covered in blue ink. I stared for a moment, not quite absorbing the meaning of blue ink. I then looked at the pen in my hands, and both hands were covered, and my filofax (which isn’t leather, its CHINO - so now the cover is ruined). [insert mental anguished scream]

OK no problem ,  I find the banking details, use the pen to write it all down, precariously switch off the laptop without staining it with blue pen  ink. I run to the kitchen and start scrubbing my hands with the green pot scrubber thingy and hot water and soap. Eventually I get enough blue pen off my hands and fingers and.. fingernails? how the hell did it get on those? I rushed off to the bus stop once I collected my bag, diary and everything else, only to find that as I was standing on one side of the road… the bus I needed to catch drove on by, without me. [(-&^k]

I waited and waited and waited for the next bus, due to swing on by at 8.08am, except it didn’t turn up until 8.18am. So I rang my new work, told them I was going to be up to 10 minutes late, and stewed about what a great (not) first impression that was. As I scuttled into the training room - kindly walked in by the Head of Training, I took my seat rather sheepishly. I was happy though, I made it, only 5 minutes late. Until I found out the man sitting next to me, was my new boss - doing induction training as well. God, someone kill me now.

March 10th, 2008 | Category: Thoughts, Work | Comments (4)

Friday was great.

I left the building at 4.30pm, I walked down the stairs, to the bus stop. I waited 30 seconds, flagged down the 72 - got on and it was done. I didn’t even look at the building where I have worked for the last 3 years. It’s no longer my problem.

Now I just need to fill out the paper work for this new job, sign the contract and hand it all in when I start work on Monday. Gotta find the time to hand in the police clearance application. I just didn’t have the time to do it last week. I wonder if I can claim the clearance charge on tax?

I spoke to MM for a bit before he went off to his brother’s, and I got some fish and chips. I had some Skuttlebut, Sauvignon Blanc Semillion I think, can’t remember. Drank the whole bottle over about 4 hours. Wasn’t too pissed at the end of it. Had a dreamless sleep for the most part, except the part where I dreamt about my now X work. No worries, I just ignored it and slept more.

I do know the people downstairs got home about 1am, and started drinking more and had loud music playing. I fell asleep to the honking laughter of this chick, called Amanda. I know her name because her Boyfriend keeps screaming her name when she’s down at the pool, and he can’t be arsed going down there to talk to her. So he shouts from the balcony.

March 9th, 2008 | Category: Tenancy Blues, Work | Comments (4)

I put my finger on it today..It’s like I am leaving my X when it comes to quitting work. I am over it - now the decision is made, I don’t want to do the special stuff. I don’t want to be here anymore.
I’m starting the countdown to my last day.  I’m going into work this afternoon (public holiday today) till 8pm since it’s the public holiday and member’s of my team will be there till close, and I don’t get paid doubletime to work it. I won’t be able to have that day off I want.

I cleaned out my desk yesterday, I just didn’t have that much junk to take home.  I have to come up with a list of my duties and ensure my staff are trained to do them all, and let the team manager know about it all as I do my handover.

I’m alternating between excitement and anxiety. My business unit manager hasn’t bothered emailing or calling me since I put in my resignation, reinforcing to me that it was the correct decision to quit and move on.

What I don’t really want is a huge goodbye from people I have worked with.  Most of my friends have left already.
I don’t want a lunch, although my team want to have one.
I don’t want to go to the pub, but there are rumbles about that too
I’m kind of over it all now, and just want to move on to something new.
Anyone else felt like that when changing jobs

March 3rd, 2008 | Category: Work | Comments (5)

When I moved departments, I picked up a new Manager of sorts - I was being managed by 2 ppl based on the eastern seaboard.  Neither of whom were particularly interested in working with me. The only projects I got to complete were the ones I got before those two became my official bosses. I finished them, and had no other project stuff to do. Not necessarily a bad thing, because I had more time to learn about my job, but another project was handed to me to help with, and that really made me learn a whole new world of lingo and I loved it. Then the takeover talk started, more redundancies, and I realised that it didn’t matter what I put into my job, I wasn’t going to get the reward..

So I put in my resignation after I got this new job. I called up one boss and told them, whilst the new manager of the perth call centre (other one was made redundant for no reason) phoned up the other boss and told him. The bizarre thing, is I will be working for a direct competitor yet,  i’ve not been escorted out, they still want me there.  The other boss hasn’t called me, emailed me to wish me luck, or to say sorry you are going. They want me to go, like they want everyone else in that call centre to go. It’s pretty sad to see a company I loved working for, for so long just .. crumble into dust before my very eyes.

So I am going, on my terms, and I couldn’t be happier.

February 29th, 2008 | Category: Thoughts, Work | Leave a comment

I have been offered a position in another call centre as a team leader!!! I will be exiting the hell hole I have existed in for the last 9 months in just a few short weeks.

Very happy. Very happy indeed. The pay is almost 10k more than what I get paid now.

All I need to do, is decide when I want to quit So I think I’ll arrange to quit and start my new job in mid March.

February 25th, 2008 | Category: Work | Comments (6)

Now let’s take notes everyone!

How many of us are neighbours? Just look around outside, there’s usually a house on either side, several across the road, several behind you. Then we look at the close urban living style. You know, blocks of flats, sharing laundries, drains, cockroaches. I could go on about it, but really, I just want to rant about the people down stairs.

I live in a very multicultural tower, I’ve posted about how it smells like an international food hall.  The people below contribute to it with their rhumba type music, their camel cigarette smoke floating up into my bedroom. Their laughter and constant parties on the weekend, and during the week. I haven’t complained because in a way, it adds to the uniqueness and life experience living here, it can be enjoyable.

This time they’ve managed to piss me off. They’ve obtained some small dog, a terrier, chihuahua, something. It’s still small and a puppy, so it yips like one. Cept the other night. The neighbours locked it out on their balcony last night, so it barked, howled and sobbed in the cold. About 3 hours worth of yipping and crying. When I went off to work early yesterday (on my day off) it was still crying. So I am now the cranky biatch neighbour.

I’ve rung the caretaker (a man who apparently disappears down to the bowling club at 2pm every day, gets pissed and returns at 7pm, drags the kreepy krawly out of the pool, drags it into the pool room, and staggers back to where ever he lives).  He listened to me complain bitterly like the biatch neighbour I am, and hopefully within days, the dog will be out.  I never wanted to be the cranky biatch neighbour, but there’s one thing that shits me, and that’s dogs in flats.

February 23rd, 2008 | Category: Tenancy Blues | Comments (3)