Say Something...

I had two exams this semester. Well, one really since Environmental Systems doesn't really count. You fill out your name, tick some boxes and leave the room. Your H1 will be forwarded to you shortly. To the best of my recollection, one of the questions on my other exam paper last semester went a little like this.

There are three staff members, aka 'resources' who are rated for overall availability and work efficiency at three defined tasks. Two of them, one male and one female are white and the other is an Asian male. This is where every stereotype you can imagine kicks in. Predictably the Asian guy is available for longer and is generally more efficient at most tasks, in stark comparison to the local resources who rate at around 75%. The funniest part is probably where the woman is particularly inefficient at one task, running at about 40%. In one question, the lecturer has unintentionally (or perhaps not?) managed to create a racist and sexist exam question more controversial than a bucket of fried chicken. I suppose you could refuse to answer the question based on your individual moral outrage, or you might just not know how to answer it and made this bull up on the spot.

But as far as uni is concerned, laughing time is over for the time being. I'm doing a summer semester subject in a field I know next to nothing about so I really should start doing some of the readings to try and make some sense out of them before this subject comes around to kick my arse. Let's hope things go well in this subject, given my track record for decision making last year wasn't anything worth writing home about.

I'm looking forward to this year since it'll be my final year. The other day I was reminded that it's been more than six years since I left Box Hill and it's really surprising how time has passed. It certainly doesn't help looking at how the school's changed through YouTube videos of teachers being waxed for charity, or so they claim. While that certainly looks painful, I got distracted by seeing how the quad looks nothing like how I remember it. Still it'll be great not having to deal with the education system after this year, I just hope 25 years of education qualifies me for a position in office lackey work and acting barista for clients. Here's to 2010, if things don't work out I guess we still have 2012 to look forward to.

As the old saying goes, I'm not too old for this shit.

Just a quick one for today that I might actually deliver upon. Today was 'Sorry Day' and the Rudd government finally did what so many governments before them failed to bring themselves to do. Many might argue that the move is largely useless as it happened such a long time ago and we are not directly responsible for the actions of those before us. But really the move is symbolic of the present day to acknowledge the mistakes and sins of the past in order to allow everyone to move on and attempt to rectify the awful situation the Aboriginal population are in compared to the rest of the population. Saying sorry does not make it all better right away, but at least it's the first step in the right direction.

The only reason I felt compelled to write something is because of the reaction the apology got in certain quarters. Listening to Nova at work, I was led to their site (don't know how long this page will be up for... look for post 154. It summarises what's wrong with everyone there) where they had a forum going on. Reading the reaction of people there made me think there are too many bogans with access to a computer. Bigoted comments from people with a stereotypical impression of the Aboriginal community as lazy drunk dole bludgers really make me wonder if we've suddenly gone back to a less inclusive society over the course of the Howard years.

Are people that selfish that they shudder at the thought of using "our taxpayer dollars" to fund projects that improve their way of life? Someone there even cited the "upward turn on inflation" any compensation or addition funding for projects might have. Obviously nothing else matters when you're overextending your budget to pay off your mortgages, plasma TVs and private school fees. If I was a hyper aggressive person I'd tell one of these forum posters to take their next tax cut and shove it up their arse. The black man won't get your precious money as long as it's up there. Oh look, I've resorted to generalising too. Hush, while no one else is looking...

Strangely looking at the comments made on The Age, the comments are largely in favour of the apology, regardless of its merits. I'd look up the Herald Sun page but I'm afraid I have a good idea of what I'd be getting there.

If nothing else, today we should be sorry for people who think like the typical Nova listener.

Got off my Ps the other day. This would have counted as some sort of major milestone if I actually had a car to drive, but at least I'm one of the safest drivers in the state. VicRoads sent me a letter two weeks before congratulating me on a job well done for not losing any demerit points and subsequently offered me a small discount on my license renewal fees, but then again you can't exactly violate any driving or parking laws when you've barely driven 100km over the course of your probation.

But enough of talking about my lack of petrol guzzling capacity and mobility, there are far more important issues to rip into. Like the state of pop music on our radios. Since the axing of Get This (RIP, 2006 - 2007), I have severed my loyalty to the Ms and am now a nomad wandering in the wasteland that is FM radio. No station can possibly fulfil my audible needs so as a result I find myself listening to up to three breakfast shows, often at once to find that they end up talking about the same old crap within minutes of each other. There are only so many Wayne Carey jokes you can make, people.

The music isn't much better when it comes to 'rocking through you workday'. This year so far we've been listening to Nova at work and after a few weeks it really isn't all that much different from the other commercial music stations no matter what they say. Sure they might play a couple of tracks the other stations wouldn't touch in a million years, but other than that there's no real sense of separation.

To demonstrate my point, here is a breakdown of the songs I have come to hate over the past month played out over the course of a typical work day. My commitment to work can be clearly seen by my notes on when the song has been played. I'm sure I'd register a few more playing times if I hadn't gone out of the office for lunch too.

These are some of my least favourite songs right now, and I hope they're some of yours too.


Pink - Because I Can (9.14am)
Not another week goes without yet another track spinning itself down to the CD store to be released a single. And it really goes to show that quality does drop down just a tad when single number seven comes along. I know it sounds old and tired, but I'm beginning to miss the old Pink when her sound was somewhat new and different. Strangely this gets airplay even on Triple M just because it's got a couple of electric guitars going on the the background, which really is the only criteria you need for getting on the Ms these days in something I like to call the Ashlee Simpson Policy.


Timbaland Feat. OneRepublic - Apologise (9.22am, 3.10pm)
Hold on there, mister. Why are you complaining about this song? It's a perfectly decent song produced by the one of the most talented men in the music industry today and it manages to be only half as annoying as the other songs around. You're right, me. I shouldn't be as harsh on this song as you say I am, but I'm afraid persistent exposure to Apologise (or 'Pologise' as I have come to know it... that 'A' just disappears into an aether of semi demi mini quavers) has worn out most of the goodwill I have towards this song.

The other day I saw an advert for a Maroon 5 gig (where do I begin with them?) where OneRepublic was the supporting act. Their logo was shown under said heading but with the underlying tagline "It's too late to apologise" in case people had trouble remembering who they were. Better safe than sorry I suppose. And what exactly does their track listing consist of apart from 'Apologise'? A cover of Toto's 'Africa' followed by an special encore of 'Pologise'?


Britney Spears - Gimme More (9.44am)
According to Wikipedia, the word 'gimme' is used up to eighty-eight times. I have no reason to dispute this.

Although this song is fairly annoying with its use of electronic voice altering effects to the point where any goon could be singing the song and made to sound like Spears, there's a funny part at the end where Danja, the producer and disciple of the aforementioned lord of pop productions Timbaland does a little spoken word novella. The part where he says:

It's now something I aim to put into everyday conversation... I think it's got legs. Too lazy to do household chores? About to get tackled by the ticket inspectors cos you didn't bother buying a ticket? Refusing to yield your seat to a pregnant woman on a lifeboat? You gonna have to remove me man... cos I ain't goin' no where...


Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love (10.08am, 1.24pm, 4.13pm)
With the number of plays that cursed song gets each day, it's a wonder she hasn't bled to death already. I hope she was at a blood bank, at least she could make herself somewhat useful. Seriously though, when it comes to songs like these you think they'd know when to hold back so it doesn't outstay its welcome. I have no real problem with this song really, for a second rate power balladeer in the style of a Carey, Houston or whatever. It just gets played as if it were the only song left in the music library.


Rogue Traders - I Never Liked You (10.16am - only once... wow)
Evoking TV memories of high school romances being crushed by a peroxide laced simulacrum, this is probably one of the most unlikeable songs to hit radio this year. I know it's supposed to come across as a breakup song but it really sounds like she's just rubbing it in the guy's face. Compound that with the fact that Bassingthwaighte can only sing when hiding behind a battery of synthesizers and you have yourself a Top 40 hit!


The Veronicas - Untouched (10.37am, 5.27pm)
Call me cynical and blunt or suffering from blunt cynicism, but any song which starts out with lyrics like:

I go ooh ooh, you go ah ah
lalalalalalalala, lalalalalalalala
I wanna wanna wanna get get get what I want
Don't stop
Give me give me give me what you got got

...would strongly suggest they had a small mental block when it came to writing lyrics. The record labels are all too eager to let us know that the girls indeed write their own songs and that they're not just another good looking pair of twins hooked up to Auto-Tune posing with an electric guitar to give the impression they can play the instrument to a competent level. I mean you could fit twice as many lyrics into a song like that and they can somehow churn out a Top 40 hit by hitting Cut and Paste over the word 'wanna' on a keyboard. And don't get me started on the faux violin power chords in between chants of 'alalalala'.
Kylie Minogue - Wow (11.31am, 3.25pm)
Nothing could take her down. Cancer, relationship woes and Street Fighter came and went down for the count before the seemingly indestructible Ms. Minogue. After the end of civilisation I imagine aliens will find copies of Kylie's Greatest Hits CD and presume we all dressed in gold hotpants and possessed vocal chords that shattered the sound barrier.


I imagine I don't even have to point out what's wrong with using an exclamation as an adjective.
It also sounds a lot like she's sampling her older work with the 80s style beats. For someone who says she's sick of performing 'I Should Be So Lucky' two decades after its release it certainly doesn't sound like she's completely over it just yet.


Though really I shouldn't be the one complaining especially given my current favourite tracks. As of writing I'm stuck somewhere in the 70s and 80s 'Life On Mars' style in a coma filled with silly songs. I've explained the virtues of Hall and Oates' "Out Of Touch" before and when you're in the mood for it, it's repeating itself throughout my commute to work. And now I'm on to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" from the final episode of The Sopranos, though I have to say I'm used to hearing the song abruptly finish near the end. It's the only way to remember it. As of Thursday night's ep of Family Guy, Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" took up residence inside my head and may not leave for some time. Things are looking bleak for my musical tastes.

After all is said and done... time to winch out a post which reeks of effort! You'll know which one it is when it happens.

Said my sister as I walked through the door half drenched from the feet up. The only response I could muster behind my seemingly semi submerged smile was, "I did!"

Sitting there on the bus home it didn't look all that bad outside. Sure, the hatch in the roof was leaking but it does that all the time. Once I had realised the extent of my miscalculation, I figured that there was no real reason for me to test the walking versus running in the rain myth since I was walking into a wall of water anyway. The worst part about it all was that I had only walked 100 metres from the bus stop back to my place, which gives you a good idea of how the rain was really bucketing down in my part of the world this evening.

All that talk of storms brings me to what was a weird day for me on Thursday. Being the second last day of work naturally there are things we need to take care of before we all bugger off for two weeks. I had been working away for the past two and a bit days on little computer generated overshadowing diagrams required for town planning, and I had been doing this using a program to draw up simplified massing models like the one below. Apart from tracing shadows it also allows you to give the client an idea of what it might look like as they may not have the same visualisation skills us professionals are blessed with.



Anyhow, I had done five of these in fairly rapid succession churning out render after render when it turned out most of my work had been wiped out in an act of overzealous hard disk cleansing. How I held the anger within is beyond me, I assume I'll just reach some sort of critical mass some day and go postal Hollywood style. Just make sure you'll all take good care of me, okay?

Luckily there were some files I had printed or hidden elsewhere which meant I didn't have to do it all over from scratch, but for the next hour I was in a very foul mood. This called for one of my emergency mood lifting songs, and as I walked down the street for lunch, who did I call upon for stress relief? Why, no other than the Jackson 5 with "I Want You Back"... there's nothing as upbeat and uplifting than hearing a future freak and his siblings sing about love and loss like it's something they've been through on a regular basis, is there? I guess that's the real problem with pop artists singing about relationship breakdowns when you're 13 years old, no one really believes you. Unless you happen to be related to Britney Spears.

Lunch further made up for the shiteness of the previous hour when the guy working at the burger joint (I was eating at Grill'd, not some sort of generic fast food chain) made too many chips and offered me a free plate. I'm not one to scoff at the offer of free food so this was a no brainer. Sitting outside does help a lot, being a complete contrast to the indoors of the office where it sometimes seems that all that temporary annoyance can just get blown away into the aether.

And all this time I sat there watching that nice little storm approach over the horizon. A little rain never hurt anyone... right?

Well it became apparent that that was a complete fallacy as the storm came along later that afternoon, knocking out the entire train network running to the Mornington Peninsula. That's what you get for catching the train to Frankston. I found it odd that staff are always present at Malvern station but on that afternoon they were nowhere to be seen, presumably too preoccupied with trying to figure out what to do to bother checking the validity of people's tickets. I eventually jumped on a tram which took about half an hour to get back into the city which wasn't too bad I guess. I did pass the famed ANL House which was the target of Darren's camera a few days ago which made me think about how the people who work there tell others where they are.

Well I think it's time for me to bugger off now, seeing that I'm about to launch into yet another tirade on why our public transport system has the reliability of Microsoft Windows at any point in its history in whatever form it happens to manifest itself, as proven by this excellent Blue Screen of Death on an advertising display at Northland. Geeky fun for all... well just geeks.

And now for the most superfluous segment to hit publication since the "Rudds v Howards" segment in The Age, which polls the electorate for indecisive people who share the names of our political leaders on who will win the upcoming election. It's a wonder why they didn't come up with this sooner... cos everyone knows people with similar names are more in touch with each other... right? Last week the Rudds and Howards were in Rudd's favour 5 - 3. With bated breath, I wonder what will happen this week. You can smell the enthusiasm from my feet a mile away. What do you say to that, Mister Rudd?

Well that was uncalled for... how rude!


Anyway, I was promising a segment of sorts for all you loyal readers out there, and I shall not renege on said promise like a politician flipping the bird. It's now time for another of my random photos from the life of such and such and the weird world I view them from. Before I begin, firstly I have to ask the following question: how do you know you've become dependant on caffeine in your daily existence?


Originally I was hoping to have the cups fill up to the top of the bin, but then recycling day hit two days later so alas it was not to be. That exposes a harsh reality that us photobloggers face from time to time, do we bother doctoring the photo or not? I mean it'd definitely look funnier if it was completely full... so do I go and line the bottom with chunks of polystyrene spray painted to look like coffee cups? Do I go and steal used cups from other people so it fills up quicker? Or do I go out and get a life?

Speaking of a life, don't go about judging me about that Diet Coke in the bin. It was being given away at the station or something, plus I was performing my very own Coke test where I compared Diet Coke, Coke Zero and that weird drink from Singapore I got in a show bag at Uni open day 4 years ago (Go Sursi!). It can only get better with age, right? I find it odd how they can market two lines of product that are effectively the same thing but in different packaging. It's like one is targeted towards women who are health conscious and the other is orientated towards guys who want to drink Diet Coke but are scared their mates will accuse them of being so very in touch with their feminine side. I bet they both come out of the same pipe too...

So stop badgering me about the Diet Coke. This isn't the segment where you go and critique the contents of my workplace bin, though that post will be coming along later when I go raid the trash of the rich and famous on bin night. First stop: Mel and Kochie. They can't look that happy all the time without some sort of illicit drug or the essence of several small children before each broadcast. After all the children are our future, and then breakfast, lunch and tea.


I may have missed my train to work and was subsequently ten minutes late for work, but it was all worth it in my opinion. Clever (or funny) graffiti is hard to come by these days and this piece of work made me smile for some odd reason. As usual I take the wording down to its literal level and imagine some guy just loitering about (that's illegal too mind you) on the staircase staring you down, hurling abuse from above as you try and make the train for that urgent appointment. There may as well have been someone standing there heckling me after missing that train, but luckily no one else was there to celebrate my idiocy.

At this point I may as well go and take another pot shot at the state of public transport in this city. When that new fancy timetable of theirs was put into place last month the people running the joint were so out of sync that they apparently didn't know what to do and everyone was left stranded in stationary carriages in the rail yards outside Flinders Street for minutes on end. They eventually worked things out after a week or so, but really if they can't handle a few additional trains here and there, what makes them think they'll be able to handle the new trains due to show up in the next few years? For shame. I'm Alan Jones.**



*May not be real headline. Though I did say it was from the Sun, so you would've been well within your rights to believe it was true. The Rudds and Howards out there would not have been impressed.
**May not be real name. For the record I have no interest in coaching a rugby side or cavorting about in public toilets. I will take sponsorships any day though, for I am a sellout and would like a shiny new car to avoid the public transport I so sorely deride.

My blogging laziness has been fairly obvious as of late. I'm not sure why, but perhaps I just needed a break from sitting in front of the keyboard typing away when I already do that at work. On some days I can barely stand to sit in front of a computer for more than half an hour before I feel the need to be doing something else. Hopefully this is just a side effect of adjusting to my new job, which is going as well as I hoped it could be. Luck has brought me this far, now the rest is up to me I guess.

A couple of weeks ago I was randomly looking at crap and stumbled upon that awesome clip of Jackie Chan in all that gear from Street Fighter. I'm not completely sure where the inspiration to do such a scene came from, but it's definitely a classic the entire family can enjoy, providing they actually know what Street Fighter is (providing they're not referring to that awful flick with Jean-Claude Van Damme: the poor man's Schwarzenegger, the apprentice to the Stallones out there, but just enough class to outact Steven Seagal's ponytail). I'm not sure if the youths of today can appreciate the majesty of unleashing a 26 hit combo. Well anyway, enjoy the clip, even if it is horribly dubbed in English. I couldn't be arsed finding the Canto version, but oh well. Enjoy.



I can't help but wonder what led Chan into doing so many useless films later on in his career. Of course I am referring to the series of flicks he made in Hollywood. I'm sure collectors will remember the superb aspect ratio of The Tuxedo, or the fine camera work from Rush Hour 3. I haven't seen that one but I can sense the bottom of a barrel being scraped in the background. If only he could bring back the good old days of crazy martial arts stunts. He might be a bit too old for that though. All that jumping.

The most interesting part about this is when even Chan himself claimed the Rush Hour films were a load of junk. Personally I thought the first one was fairly entertaining and managed to be pretty funny (though it was released in 1998 so I assume my taste in movies and sophistication in humour was nowhere near what it is now... cue fart joke here please and supply your own sound effects). I've yet to see the third one so I might have to hold back on my usual harshness for now, but after seeing the second one it never really occurred to me I would be itching to see a third.

In the meantime join me as I take out my cultural outrage by watching and imitating the judges on Idol and rambling on senselessly in a fashion only Darryl Somers could. He may not make any sense at all but he sure knows how to pad a 47 minute program out to five hours, and you can't possibly get bored because he never seems to run out of stupid useless things to say. It's not my fault, you have to amuse yourself somehow when you're forced to watch tripe like that over dinner. Mmm, tripe....

I'm tired as from trying to reset my stupid body clock from all that non-work I performed during the past month, so I'll keep this brief - I got Job No. 3. My response? Pretty fucking brilliant I reckon. Of course I didn't say that down the phone when I accepted, but I wasn't that far off. In fact I'm so excited it just about more than makes up for the fact that Darren beat me at Scrabble. (Please don't judge me until you've played it online...) Congrats on a damn fine final blitz to seal the game.

...Well, it's almost enough to make up for losing.

Apologies to all those I've been ignoring the past few days, especially those who I'm yet to get back to. The previous few days have felt like the longest I've experienced in a while. There was nothing here before in this mostly empty mind of mine, but suddenly in the space of 72 hours things have become so complicated that I really don't know what I should be doing.

As I had previously noted, I had an interview on Monday in which I had succeeded in getting the job. That was all fine, but on Tuesday I received a call from another company which resulted in an interview on Wednesday. The job at this place is different from the typical kind of firm. The bulk of the computer models is done offshore in China of all places, where the files are sent, checked and revisions marked up for tweaking back at the main render farm. Therefore my role would be to assist with checking renders for mistakes and notifying them. While I was thrilled that people were taking interest in me, the job was not strictly speaking in the line of work I am aiming for in the mid term future.

The final complication came on Thursday afternoon, while I was waiting at Spencer Street Station (I still refuse to refer to it by its new name...) when I received a call from another firm. From the job advert, this place sounds like a dream come true. Working in an architectural practice with the chance to learn so much... I really don't know if I can pass this one up. What makes things worse is that they sound really enthused to meeting me. I mean REALLY in capitals with a cherry on top. The only real issue is if they'll let me work part time when I have to return to uni next year. I know my current job should be able to let me do that, but if I can get away with that here I think my mind will be virtually made up.

Though I am still having trouble trying to figure out what to tell my current place of employment. I may be on a trial basis, but I still feel odd about going behind his back like this. I guess I could just go out and be completely honest with him and see what his reaction is. Even if he isn't too pleased with it at least I'm being upfront about it. If nothing else, it'll be a great time to test out the Honesty Policy.

I ended up knocking back Job Number Two on Friday, but I can't help but wonder if I should have gone for stability. If only there was a way to convert job offers into "prospects", as some people refer. Bloody jobs. Now I'm starting to miss being unemployed...

Good news, or at least something worth writing about today, dear readers. I am working again, or at least temporarily. For the next week, I'll be trying out this drafting job using AutoCAD, hopefully it'll be a long termer. I know it's been a fair while since I left the old place but it really hasn't felt that long to be honest. It's hard to describe my general mood right now, cos I'm typing on impulse here but it's good to know I can still offer something with my minuscule skill base.

And thus began a loosely related string of job searching stories... 'CUES FLASHBACK MUSIC'



PART ONE - SENSIBLE NARRATIVE, REASONABLY READABLE
The entire job search saga began about a week before I left the old place. I've heard some workplaces block job searching sites but I didn't appear to have a problem in this regard. I went about searching for positions in companies with a more commercial background, as I felt my best chance was to get a similar position where my past experience would be better appreciated.

At first I went and sent out cold applications to a few well known construction companies in the hope that something would pop up mid-year. One of them was nice enough to send me a rejection letter written in the nicest language possible. I like those ones that try and spare your feelings, they're so much better than the ones that criticise your lack of talent and personal hygiene.

Next I turned to the recruitment agencies. Now, my experience with agencies may differ from your own, but being perceived as a human resource is really not where I want to be. Being flogged around by human cattle wranglers is an odd feeling in the least, especially when they don't give you any form of response in weeks. They say they do the best for you but sometimes you really have to wonder, given they have a list of hundreds of available candidates, all almost definitely better than you. But unfortunately they do control half the jobs put out there by the big players in the industry, so in certain times you do what you have to do.

Eventually I did get an interview with a construction company on the upperish end of town, St Kilda Road. Still quite close to the city, right before the hookers take charge of public safety. (Imagine if you got pulled over by a traffic cop. I don't suppose you could screw your way out of that one.) Since it was in a big fancy office building I thought it was appropriate to suit up for the occasion. I still don't completely feel comfortable in those things, especially when my sister mocks me every time I don the outfit.

Here's the part of the story which I have been holding back for some time now. The only reason for that was the off chance that I could actually get the job, but since I haven't heard from them in a while, I figure my chances there are kinda slim, don't you think? Okay, here goes. Time for a slight shift in narrative, hope it reads like a cheap suspense novel.

The office reception looked perfectly fine when I exited the elevator. I spoke to the receptionist and quietly waited. I inspected the premises. A very bright sunlit location for business. The usual hum of fluorescent lights held its presence in the background, a noise I had become accustomed to over time. I walked over to the window to take a look outside. We were moderately high up on the 14th Floor, and I casually surveyed the world outside to the building next door.

My attention was suddenly drawn to a series of books lying by the window sill. I went in for a closer look. The leather bound book spine featured a name I never expected to see in a place of work. The name - L. Ron Hubbard. I still did the interview and I could see books by the author in the background, weirding me out all the way through. Would I have had to have been a Scientologist in order to get the job? I'd do many things for work, but I don't think I'd do that. Afterwards, I fled the premises in confusion. At least they didn't try and administer an auditing test on me.


And that brings to an end the descriptive part of my little story for today. The rest of what you read here is something that came from a very weird place, I have to say. I thought about deleting it or moving it to another post to be filed away forever, but it seems a shame to waste all that effort, especially since I was up until half past twelve ranting away. Needless to say you don't have to read it unless you really have nothing better to do... though I've recently been accused of being in the same state with my accelerated blogging and scrabbling...



PART TWO - RANT CITY, ENTER AT CAUTION
But after a while I got to thinking about my plans for the long term and what I really wanted. I had taken my previous job mostly because my education at the time did not really arm me for the job I wanted, and that was mostly because I was looking for the wrong position. Someday I hope to be an architect and I needed to be taking the first steps in that direction. Sure I had sat through many years of both high school and university, stressing over ENTER scores and mid semesters, but it was all for this final purpose. Now the next step in the grand scheme of things: actually going out and getting a job.

People at school tend to think they'll be right once they get into the course of their dreams. They reckon the course material and the lecturers will take care of them in the end, and then they can go and specialise in the field of their choosing for the rest of their lives. The truth is far from this little mirage. Many people will have told you this before, and I may as well try and sink the boot in a little further - working life is nothing like what they tell you at school. Once you get out there, there is nothing that can prepare you for what lies ahead. Half of what you learn gets throw out the window and soon you'll be too busy keeping up with work to remember how pointless the majority of those classes were. Fortunately, this transition is not overly traumatic, but it certainly is a tough slog until you adapt.

And so this is the state of play with me firmly in the midst of it all, a student trying to get his foot in the door and somehow get someone who is willing to hire an untested risk when they have so much else to do. Employers for the most part cannot be stuffed teaching you every little thing. They understand you're fresh out of uni, but the bottom line is they cannot afford to watch your every move and guide you along. I was fortunate at my old job in that there was a whole array of people I could ask. I guess that's a benefit of working at a smaller company.

Searching for graduate level employment is a pain due to the fact there's so little of it going around, and of those that are, the scope is so specific that it limits your choices even further. Once I had determined my efforts were best dedicated to finding work in the architectural sector I had to narrow things down, so much so that I would only be able to apply for one or two jobs in a week. I was hoping to cast the net a bit further, but there was no point applying for stuff I wasn't interested in.

It is strange how it has taken me so long to return to what got me interested in architecture in the first place - computer aided design. I have always kind of liked tinkering with design programs both 2D and 3D, and generating new ideas in realistic forms inevitably led to where I am (or where I wish I was) today. Of course the only spanner in that works is when my ENTER just failed to get me into architecture. Academics aren't exactly my strongest point I'm afraid. The past few years have been very much a detour, albeit a pleasant one. Taking three years of construction has definitely exposed me to many different things I would not have seen had I jumped straight into architecture.

But now it is time to head back to my original calling. It is time to put an end to all this sidetracking and do what I've been wanting to do for so long. I am certainly looking forward to the next three years.

No, Not That Awful Show, but something a lot less annoying. Unless you find overly long posts annoying... Well, it's been a very long time between posts from this author, I certainly apologize for whatever you may have been missing out on while I was away. How do I explain my long absence from the blogosphere? The only thing I can say is that I've had a lot for my small mind to process over the past few weeks. I guess the best way to explain it would be to chronicle it for the ages on the Internet for all to see, or at least those who will care to click this link.



Friendship Pyramids
Approximately four weeks ago, I randomly ran into a friend I hadn't seen for ages. I won't give any clues as to who that might be, but if he is reading this, I'm sure he'll know. Things were pleasant at said encounter, and we decided to catch up again in the following weeks.

Sounds all innocuous at this stage, doesn't it? I thought so too, but the truth was still to come. We met up a few times after work to have a bite to eat and talk about what was going on in our lives, you know the usual kind of banter. At one of these meetings he mentioned he was starting some sort of business. I was intrigued. A business at our age? That was certainly something different and remarkable when taken in at that sentence alone. So I asked him what it was about, but he would not give me any more information at that stage. Fair enough, I thought.

And so the next few catch ups (there's that phrase again) went on well enough, until he finally decided to let me in on his little enterprise. This all happened at a nice little bar in the city where all these other partners gathered to have drinks and chat the night away. All in all, a very nice looking arrangement going on. I wanted to know more about how it all worked, despite the feeling that it was all too good to be true. The guys were more than happy to make an appointment to see what they could offer me.

When that night came, I didn't quite know what to expect but the way things had been built up over the past few weeks, I knew I would finally learn something tonight. So there we were, the four of us including my old friend, his two business partners and myself. As they explained how the business worked, I came to the realisation that this bore a strange resemblance to a pyramid scheme. All these diagrams converging towards the one point at the top of the tree, promising exponentially exorbitant amounts of growth for all those who could sell enough to get there. And here I was, to start at the bottom and climb that ladder to wealth and glory.

For all the potential profit and cashflow to be had, they had the uncanny knack of deemphasising how much it would all cost me. Of course I could just sign up enough friends to join the business, or just offload enough stock to promote myself up that mighty organisational chart. I don't know about you, but I have a really hard time trying to justify recommending anything to anyone, especially when I have all the reasons in the world for doing so. Pushing products onto my family and friends is not something I could do in good conscious.

The worst part was not finding out how the machine worked. No, that was all well and fine, but the hard part was trying to get out of something you had gotten yourself so deep that you could not extract yourself without resorting to loud noises or rude insults. Like a telemarketer trained in his job, they are reminded to never take no for an answer. And so it went on for what seemed like an eternity, trading questions and uneasy answers back and forth. I should really learn how to say no properly.

And so I emerged from that little encounter after almost an hour all argued out and hungry (I thought dinner would be involved!), and wondering how a friend could use someone like that for his own means. I dunno, maybe I was wrong about their intentions for all I know. But being cynical finally came in handy for once.



The End of a Beginning
Another reason for my lack of blogging was my decision to leave work. Well really, the mutual decision between my boss and I. Perhaps I should explain. I have been working at a building company for the past six months in a job I have no real intention of carrying on in the future. I happen to be studying construction when really my dreams lie in architecture, especially in design.

So here I was in the wrong degree doing something I knew I would not be doing after this year. While that is alright for the most part, I suppose ideally I should be doing something more relevant. That's not to say I didn't learn a lot from being there though. Through my estimating role, I came into contact with a lot of methods and practices I did not come across at uni. I also learnt a lot about the building process in a way I'm sure I would not have at an architectural firm. It was especially interesting to find out how a design and build company handles a job from start to finish. It certainly made me think that a setup like that could appeal to me someday. For all that I am eternally grateful.

But the fact remains that I was not really in a position that I truly loved. I liked it, don't get me wrong, but that was mostly because of the people there and how they weren't jerks and all. Occasionally I'd have the rough day but there was nothing to really complain about. At the end of the day, there was no real point in staying when I could be spending the remaining six months looking for something I really wanted to do. And my boss knew that too, so he approached me about it first. It was a tough conversation, but at the end I knew what I had to do.

And so here I am, without a job. Though the timing isn't too bad, as the holiday is much needed. Working full time for the first time was a lot to take in, and near the end I was starting to lose a lot of coherence trying to wake up each morning, just surviving til the end of the week where it could all start again. Frankly I'm amazed I went for so long without having a job of any type. I'm not sure if I should be congratulating myself or giving myself a good kick up the backside, but that's just how it's panned out.

It's nice to know my last week there wasn't all in vain. I managed to tie up most of the loose ends and say most of my goodbyes before I departed, but I have this feeling I may have a few more things before I am truly done there. But in the meantime, I managed to conjure life out of office stationary. Behold!


In case you were wondering, the thing on the left is a humanoid clip based lifeform that happens to be doing the splits. The thing on the right is a stapler remover (or destapler/counterstapler) with crazy eye ridges again made of clips. Too much time on my hands? Never!


Oh, I had another story prepared after this, but this is getting way too long, even for me. More in subsequent posts.

There has been a strange little battle going on at our office for some time now. I'm not sure how it started, in fact I don't think anyone remembers why anymore. The important part is that is happening, and I don't think anyone wants it to end.

Below are photos from the front. Both sides have taken casualties, but no one is ready to surrender. Defeat will only come when one side is battered into submission with the best prank... or if one of them runs out of office stationary to use as ammo.

This is the next step in the war. When I walked past it the other morning, I didn't even notice it the first time I walked past it. Though I hadn't had my early morning coffee yet, so it is possible that I was having some sort of hallucination where crazy nonsensical looking things suddenly look normal.


What next? I'm not sure, but I've been told bigger and better things are certainly in store. It's really only a matter of time before the bomb squad is called in.

**WARNING - MOSTLY SERIOUS DISCUSSION - AMUSE YOURSELVES ELSEWHERE**

Sorry for not updating this little corner of the net I like to call my own this week, but things have gotten in the way. It's been pretty busy at work, plus Wednesday was possibly the most excruciating day I experienced in my entire time there. I would've written about it sooner, but general tiredness and some really good TV got in the way... Heroes was good as always, the end of 24 was ok, it contained the perquisite obligatory explosions but couldn't save what was an otherwise ok-ish series. (Oh no, Jack invades another embassy and gets caught! And shouldn't CTU move house already, all the terrorists seem to know where it is... may as well set up a big red 'X' outside with 'Bomb here' written right next to it. And Jack has feelings! Maybe it's time he settled down and started his own sitcom or something)

Unfortunately all this quality programming has meant that my anger and annoyance on Wednesday has dissipated somewhat. That's not to say I'm not bothered by it anymore, but only time will tell on that one. I'm not sure how much detail I should divulge here, who knows how much trouble this could get me into some years down the track. So forgive me if I skimp on the details every now and then.

To put it shortly, it was a day where almost everything that could go wrong did so for the sake of going wrong. I didn't know it was possible to cop flak from so many sides in a single day, but that's pretty much what happened. Arguments over the pedantries of office procedure took up a lot of my day, and the worst part was that I knew it was something I couldn't win. The fact that I had been originally taught to do something in a fashion that was wrong to begin with did not help one bit.

Even after the morning session, it appeared my nemesis for the day had not finished with me and wished to prolong my torture for just a little more. I should say now that normally she is very easy to get along with, but there was no snapping her out of the deep foul trench of a mood she was in. Adversity and antagonism were her main objectives that day, and I just happened to be in the headlights.

The part that made it worse was not that she was dictating terms to me and overriding a lot of what I had been taught during the four to five months I was there, but that she clearly regarded her experience from other companies to be the main driving point behind her argument, and she did not attempt to withhold that piece of information. In fact, she used that argument at least 8 times during the day, in what is known as the broken record effect.

Her additional years of office experience also appeared to give her the belief that whatever I had to say had no real weighting whatsoever. It was as if she was dishing out a sternly worded lecture to a child. (Actually, her eldest child is only 3 or 4 years younger than myself, who knows what kind of transferal may have been at work there) There was no point arguing with someone who does not give you the respect of regarding your opinion, especially when it is met with such belittling a response.

Needless to say there was no way I could score any points in this argument without making things personal. That would have surely prolonged any agony for an infinite amount of time. I know that the trivialities of this argument may make no sense and indeed I do not come off completely faultless in this. I acknowledge the way things were done were not exactly optimal and that a change would have been on the cards eventually, but I still dispute the way in which this change occurred.

The timing of this sudden regime change could have been timed better. Whether she felt like handing me my arse on a platter just because she was in a bad mood and needed to take it out on the closest person or not is irrelevant. When change is forced upon us, in many circumstances we will defend our old ways, regardless of how stupid and wasteful they are. When change is implemented in a hostile manner (good god I'm back in 1st Year Organisational Behaviour, aka Mind Control 101), it is bound to meet resistance no matter what the change may be like, for better or for worse.

Hmm, after reading all that I may still be a little cheesed off at all of this. Fortunately the day ended at the same time it always did, and I got to reset the clock and start again the next day. I guess that's the good part, knowing that tomorrow it will wash away (fingers crossed) and things will be good again. I spoke to a friend the next day who knows a lot more than I do about all of this, and she commented that it was important that you did not let them get to you, that you do not let them see you crack under pressure. Another day faced, another lesson learned... I only hope that all future lessons will not be that tough to deal with.

There's not much to this post today. Just a complex answer to a simple question: what do you do at work? If someone could let me know, that would be quite appreciated... No, don't say that! But yea, my true position here is not that vague. I work at a quality residential design and build company in the official position of Estimator, a position so low on the organisational chart that even the cleaning lady who comes in over the weekends is placed higher than myself. And looking at the state of my little alcove, you might understand why.

Well, there's so much space available, it seems a shame not to use it all really. And the mess is fine, as long as I know where everything is. And that I should, I put it all there in the first place... or at least I should remember... Once I tried to throw an old pen into the trash, but when I returned the next Monday, the cleaning people had placed it neatly back on my desk. That's when you know you're in trouble, when you become so messy that the mess gains the ability to regenerate all by itself. I prefer not to fight the mess but rather embrace my creation as my own child. That's right, my hideous, ever expanding child. Sounds like an ideal contestant for the Biggest Loser to me.

The size of the mess largely depends on how much work I have to take care of. We have around 15 jobs going on at once, each at different stages of completion from preliminaries to construction to final handover. A lot of what I do involves measuring quantities for the various jobs in question. I am also required to make quotes and chase them up, as many trades will put off doing the work for as long as possible if no one is there to remind them. The excuses range from the usual "It's almost finished, you'll receive it tomorrow" to the slightly doubtful "I never got it, must've been lost in the post". You wonder why there aren't all that many quote eating canines running around, that excuse could easily become popular...

Eventually when enough quotes find their way back to the office, we can then make an order. There isn't much to say about orders except that the software we use appears to be from the days when supercomputers actually appeared to be super, simply by imposing its massive footprint upon a room the size of a small warehouse. Nowadays, people scoff if their wristwatches can't tell what direction the wind is blowing or what might be good for tea tonight. I personally suggest KFC, just to see how many people would fall for it and take on a life of heartburn and clogged arteries. I compel and double dare you!

And that brings us to the end of my brief overview of what exactly it is I do between the hours of nine and five each weekday. Obviously there's a decent amount of slacking off time, but I wouldn't admit to the extent of these wild allegations... that's it, no further questions, this interview is over!

Good god, thankfully the week is over. I'm not quite sure why I feel so drained right now, must be the lack of sleep during the week or something, now that's detective work for you. Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, not sure when I'll wake up, possibly some time after 1 if I'm lucky...

Time to tie up the loose ends for the week. The person I referred to in an earlier post left us on Tuesday, it was kinda sad but I know it's for the best. Wonder if I'll ever see her again. Can never really tell in this life really, but the wonders of modern technology should be able to keep us all in touch. In a way it's a bit like what I did when I left to go overseas all those years ago, but the other way round instead. I have to say the feeling isn't much better this way round either.

Though it's not all bad, as the new girl is quite easy to get along with, and that took my mind off the past and into the present. And that is really what we should bear in mind when the time comes to part ways, we remember the best of the past and look forward to what lies ahead. And of course there's everyone else who is still around, from those I see each day at work to those I catch up with every now and then. That reminds me, I should probably arrange something for the next few weeks.

And that brings me to the end of this current retrospective, and I'm still bloody tired. Looks like a sign. Sentences getting shorter. And less coherent. Will post later. Night!

Today brought a very random piece of information to my attention. I learned a new friend of mine at work had made the decision to move back overseas to be with her family and study. While I may be writing this hours after my initial reaction, it doesn't really dispel the sadness I guess. It is a bit difficult to find the correct words to convey the meaning I'm trying to put forward... on one hand, I'm happy for her in the sense that she's taking her life in the direction she wants to, instead of being tied down working here for the next who knows when. Her immediate family is over there too, which she must miss an awful lot, so that's another plus for her.
On the other hand, it really was just beginning to feel like we were starting to get along pretty well together at work. I can readily admit I take a while to get used to a new environment and new people, and sometimes that can take longer depending on the circumstances. So really this part of my rant is purely operating on a selfish level... upheaval of any kind always has an effect on people really.
Upheaval and adapting to new environments is something I've experienced a fair few times, having moved countries twice as a child. Honestly, I don't think I can say I've ever gotten used to it. Some people handle it better than others, some even thrive on a change in scenery. How I wish I was one of those people... life would be so much easier to handle, haha. But for me, that would involve being completely emotionally detached from everything and everyone around me and I don't think I would be able to trade that away so easily.
After I got home, I went for a run in the dark to try and diffuse all these thoughts swimming around. Indeed, typing away here tonight does help a bit too... better not give too much information away I think... In any case, this period of say out loud soul searching has gone on for a lot longer than I expected. I might have a bit more to say once it is time to say goodbye, but I'm going to try and enjoy the next few weeks while she's still around... things certainly won't be the same without her.
- Justin