Why Ma Bell Needs to Retire

For as long as I can remember, I have always dealt with the main players in the communications business.

I would always use Bell Canada for all phones – landlines and mobile – and Rogers Cable for television and Internet services. The reasoning being, they put the networks in place for all the other telecom companies, so they are the best in the business.

Or so I thought – at least when it came to telephones.

Then one day, I got one of those slick promotional letters in the mail, offering me exceptionally high-broadband for an amazingly low price from Bell Canada.

They were offering me 16mbps (16 Megabytes/Second) high-speed Internet for a mere $69.95/month! That looked like an amazing deal, seeing my then – and now – current Internet Service Provider (ISP) offered their top-of-the-line Internet for a substantially higher price. Rogers Cable has a 19mbps service for $99.95/month.

I thought it over, and started looking at the fine print. There must be a catch, if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. Right?

The fine print was that I had to bundle all my services with Bell Canada – not a problem, as I was considering consolidating all my services anyways to cut costs. With my Rogers and Bell bills put together, I was paying over $300/month in television, Internet, home phone and mobile.

If I went exclusively with Bell Canada, I could cut that down and have an even better home Internet – Bell’s deal included the 16mbps fibre optic high-speed, plus a wireless router, and a 100GB data usage per month. At the time, I had a 7mbps cable high-speed with Rogers Cable, and a 66GB data usage per month.

So, I called Bell Canada, and after talking with their sales centre, I bundled all my services together, and signed up for their wickedly fast fibre optics. They told me I made a great deal, and that someone would call within the next couple of days to schedule the free installation of everything, which was also part of the package.

A couple of days came and went and still no call from the big phone company. So, I followed-up and called them. The person – the second person I talked with – told me that for some reason the order hadn’t been processed, “but don’t worry Sir, I’ll ensure it is promptly processed today.” Or so they said – they even gave me the same line about someone calling me in a couple of days to schedule the install.

Now, I’m not a rocket scientist, but all I believe you need to book an appointment is a calendar, and a decent pen or pencil. Still, I know big companies have their own ways of working the world, so I waited it out.

Days came and went, and still no call.

So, again I followed-up with the big and starting to piss me off phone company. Again the third person I talked to, apologizes for the error, and tells me it has been corrected, and someone will call . . .

. . . I cut off the poor kid and told him I didn’t want to wait any longer, please book the appointment now. Stunned, shocked and aghast that a customer actually take charge of a situation, their was a lot of dead air.

Then, after much background chatter – I’m guessing the customer service representative had been discussing the situation with someone who knows how to handle it – says he can’t book the appointment, because they use a different computer system then “that office” but he can give me the number of the office that does.

I thanked him for his time, and began dialling the number. I had to go through several annoying automated menus, but eventually stumbled upon a live person, calmly explained the situation, and asked to book an appointment.

The person on the other end asked me everything under the sun, from my account number, to my order number, to my address, hey – here’s my phone number – you are a phone company right? But to no avail, he couldn’t pull up my order.

He told me it probably hadn’t been sent down from the sales centre yet. I was starting to wonder how much longer this would take? He could take a new order, but wouldn’t be able to give me the same prices, because only the sales centre has the ability to make offers like the one I got. And I’d lose out on my free installation, because they charge $60 for it.

His recommendation, was to call back to the sales centre and ask them to cancel the order and recreate it – maybe it got “stuck” in the system, he suggested.

I called back and after going through more people, someone tells me they can’t open my account. Probably because it is open by someone else – quite possibly by the high-speed centre, which makes the appointments!

So, I wait another day or two for a call, thinking someone must be dialling my numbers. I checked my phones, they all worked – I called myself from outside of all things!

Still, no call, so I call back, determined to get an appointment or to cancel the whole thing. This time, the person at the high-speed centre sees my account and books an appointment!

It only took a lifetime of calling to get an appointment for some guy to come by, and do what I probably could do – but hey – it’s included in your package, so why?

The big day comes, I have one of those “windows” when the tech is supposed to show up. My window is from 1pm to 6pm. So, I wait, I even take up reading a bland book in my living room, closer to the front door, so that in the odd event this tech person has trouble knocking, I’ll hear something outside and open the door. . .

It comes up to thirty-minutes before my window is to end, and no tech has shown up. I’ve been reading this bland book which has been collecting dust on my bookshelf since I made the mistake of purchasing it years ago all day, and no one shows up!!!

I call Bell Canada, and after wading through more people in their call centre, I finally get someone on the line who tells me their was a problem with the phone box on the street.

So, does this mean the tech isn’t coming, I ask, all bewildered.

She doesn’t know, but assumes not. I tell them if the tech doesn’t show up in the next 15-minutes, I’ll call back tomorrow to cancel everything, and I hang up.

I get a call almost immediately from the tech, asking if I’m still home. Amazing how a hang-up can get action. I tell him I am, and he says he’s on his way.

He comes over, installs the stuff inside my home – just a wireless router, I could have done that. He can’t get connectivity from the box on the street. He calls in on his magical-direct-line to the telephone Gods, and gets confirmation that someone will fix the box problem tomorrow between 8am and 12noon. He assures me I will have Internet by noon.

I thank him for his prompt work, and he leaves.

High noon comes and goes, I wait a couple more hours just to be safe. Nothing. Nadda. No Internet. Just a flickering green light telling me no contact with the outside world.

I call the big bad Bell Canada. After going through more people, someone finally says they will get to the bottom of things. They place me on hold – for over 30-minutes! But I’m calm, I want to know what is going on.

The person on the other end comes back all apologetic and tells me that the telephone box on the street is full, there isn’t anymore room for cards. I ask her what that means.

“Well, it means in order for you to get your Internet, someone else has to either cancel their Internet, or move out of the area.”

WHAT?!?!?!

I ask how long that could take.

She snickers, and tells me she doesn’t know – it really depends on when someone moves out of the area, it could be tomorrow, next week, next month, or longer.

Sheesh!

How come no one at Bell Canada told me this when they sold me the damn Internet in the first place?

Now, I’m a bit of a techy geek, so I know that sometimes you don’t really know what the problem is until after you look at the hardware. But someone should have told me right away what the problem was once it was known – not waiting for me to call back.

I cancel my high-speed Internet with Bell Canada, and call back my cable company.

Because of the massive headaches Bell Canada caused, and their lack of communications – despite being a communications company – they lost a long-time customer that day. I have since transferred all but my mobile phone to Rogers Cable. Though I plan to transfer my mobile too – just as I write this, I haven’t had the time to figure out what package to go with.

Whenever I call Rogers Cable for technical support, I get someone right away that solves my problem right away. I never have to go through several people, in different departments, to get parts of an answer.

Bell Canada was broken up by the federal government years ago, because they were getting too big, and the government thought they had too much of a monopoly over the industry.

Thanks to deregulation, they are no longer the only game in town when it comes to telecommunications, but they still are too big for their own good. Bigger isn’t always better.

Oh, and I am saving money by consolidating my telecom services – though it isn’t with Bell Canada.

Windows Vista Sucks

I’ve already mentioned a few times in this blog my distaste for Microsoft’s Windows Vista. Most of the new features are great ideas, but they just don’t work very well. The product was released too early, and we all suffer, because we have to deal with it’s various bugs.

Take the User Account Control (UAC) security feature for example. It’s a great idea – to ensure the person sitting in front of the computer really wants to make an administrative-level change, one which can affect other settings on the computer system-wide, you have to acknowledge the change. That’s what UAC is supposed to do – be the little watchdog that pops-up every so often, asking if you really wanted to do what you just told the computer to do.

Problem is, UAC pops-up for silly little things, which don’t have any affect on system-wide settings too. I’ve seen it open for Microsoft’s own Windows Live MSN Messenger! MSN Messenger in of itself cannot affect your computer – though if you are careless and accept a file from someone you really don’t know, you can get a virus.

UAC is a sound idea, but they didn’t test it enough before releasing it – along with a slew of other Windows Vista features – to the public.

Once again, we the public, the ones paying for the software, become the testers for Microsoft. We should all get a nice big fat cheque for being so nice to Bill Gates.

I have a really good program called Ashampoo Windows Optimizer which will automatically adjust Windows system settings, to avoid annoying bugs like the UAC pop-ups, while ensuring the system is running in top shape.

This program works with Windows Vista – it even has a section devoted to tweaking specific Vista-only features.

I’ve set it to keep UAC on, while disabling those annoying pop-ups. Now, Windows Security Center tells me UAC is off. So I turn it on, then Windows Optimizer tells me UAC is off!

I tried resetting both several times, with numerous reboots in between – each time you turn UAC on or off, you have to reboot your machine. I just kept going in circles!

Do I blame Windows Optimizer or Windows Vista?

Windows Vista – it is just one bad apple. There are lots of fixes and I’ve already installed the Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1, which was supposed to fix a lot of bugs. I hope Service Pack 2 comes out soon, because Microsloth missed a lot of bugs – or maybe they just created a whole bunch of new ones?

Either way, I’m seriously considering “downgrading” to Windows XP. Everyone who bought in – more likely was forced into – purchasing Windows Vista gets a free “downgrade” to Windows XP.

Though that’s a big thing to do – I’d have to re-install all the applications which I use and that takes a lot of time. Last time I did that, I spent 12-hours straight installing software (I use a lot of different programs).

Do I want to spend 12-hours installing software, just to fix Microsloth’s buggy software? Not really, so I probably won’t do that. And there are a few features I do like in Windows Vista – the sidebar is pretty cool, allowing you to run programs in the background that do everything from monitor system resources, to alerting you when someone comes on to your MSN Messenger.

Oh well, I guess I am stuck with Windows Vista – hopefully the next fix will fix without screwing more things up.

Soaking Up Some UV

Just coming from my pool – I love going to the pool. Funny, I just don’t go often enough, and seeing as our typically Canadian weather allows us a mere three or four months out of the year hot enough to go for an outdoor swim, you’d figure I’d go more often.

When I was younger, I used to love swimming lengths. I’d go back and forth seemingly a zillion times. At the end of the swim, I was beat, that’s a great workout.

These days, I’ll do a few lengths, more dives, and then I’ll sit and lounge around, soaking up some sun.

It is so peaceful and tranquil, I’ll close my eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun beating down on me, cooking me like the steak I’ll probably be BBQing later.

When I start to get too hot from the sun, I’ll take off my sunglasses and hat and dive into the pool to cool off. Might do a few more lengths or dives, but most likely, I’ll just get a good soaking, and then climb back into my chair and dry off.

I can feel the water evaporating off of me, it is so hot. And it is so bright, even with my sunglasses on and my eyes closed, I see a bright red glow.

I’m on FIRE!

Nope, just kidding. But I am so relaxed at the pool, that I probably wouldn’t notice if I was on fire. Though I’d probably notice when the beer runs out . . .

Funny how that works. Must be a guy thing.

Why I’ll Never Smell Like a Spring Breeze

Just back from the drugstore to stock up on some my personal care items. We all know men and women are different – but when it comes to personal care products, you’d swear it’s all in the scent and color.

I actually will stop and read labels when I shop – I know, it takes a little longer, and I probably annoy everyone else, as I stand there in the isle, and everyone has to go around me. But I like to know what I put in, on and around my body and home. To me, that’s important.

So, I’m shopping for the usual suspects, body wash, liquid hand soap, shampoo, deodorant and so on. Like most people I assume, I have my favourite brands, but sometimes I like to mix it up and try different things.

Before I try something new, I’ll read the label. Maybe I had too much time on my hands, or maybe I’m just a nut, but I thought I’d compare similar male and female personal care products.

First thing I noticed right off the bat – price. Women’s products are all more expensive than those sold to us men. And often the ones which are marketed to women, are in smaller containers, so you get less, but pay more.

Colors and scents were also different – products geared towards women are usually in bright, pinks, blues, greens and yellows, with flowery scents to match the flowery colors. Scents like Summer Breeze, and Spring Showers, and my all time favourite play on words, Warm Mud Bath – great – I’ve always wanted to smell like crap.

The male versions of these products are less colourfully packaged, and have strong, manly names for their scents, like Mountain Rush, Sport, High Endurance and Crisp (whatever that smells like).

But if you actually read the ingredients on these things – not that they put many on – for the most part they all are the same. First ingredient is water, next was sodium something or other (salt-based cleaners) sulphates (the stuff that makes it stick to your body and grab on to dirt when mixed with water) and right down the list to fragrance and color last.

Granted, the fragrance and color are different from men to women – but everything else is identical.

In the female lines of products, there were the occasional “other” additives – but most of these are just weasel words which sound “girly” but mean little. Things like “added moisturizers” if they are added, how come they don’t say exactly what was added? Or when they are mentioned, if you do your homework, you’ll learn that it really hasn’t been proven effective – something like “rose extract” is supposed to “cure” wrinkles, but there hasn’t been any scientific research on this.
Deodorant is exactly the same from men to women, only difference is size and scent – men’s are generally wider and longer than women. Women’s scents were things like “baby fresh” and “Lilac” while the male versions were “sport,” “rush” and so on.

I’ve always wondered what “sport” is really supposed to smell like? And how come one product’s “sport” doesn’t smell like another company’s “sport?”

I think a lot of these personal care products – though necessary – are pure marketing.

So, I’ll never smell like a rose or a spring breeze, but I’ll still be just as clean as any ‘gal.’ And I pay a lot less – for more.

Size Matters -- Especially in Saving Money

I’ve been going over my various bills, trying to figure out what a lot of the things are that I have – and that I pay for.

On my landline, I’ve been paying for last call return, call forwarding and a bunch of other things I rarely, if ever use.

So, in an attempt to trim the fat, I put on my best negotiating hat, and called the phone company.

You hear a lot these days from big companies about “bundles” – the combining of services to save money. Essentially, the more stuff you buy, the more you save.

It is a great marketing ploy, which captures all of your services from going to the competition.

I’ve been looking at increasing my Internet, while decreasing other services which I don’t use.

And yes, I deal with the big old phone company. Call me old fashioned, but I like to deal with those who actually run the equipment, have the lines in the ground and own the cell towers. Sure, I can go for one of the other telecom providers, but they don’t maintain the systems, so when things go wrong, I may not get as quick a fix as if I were with the company actually running the show.

I thought I’d spend hours haggling, negotiating, even begging for a good deal. Turns out, the customer service representatives I talked with were very helpful at getting me great deals.

I managed to keep most of the features on my landline – even some I rarely if ever use – yet I knocked off $15/month from my bill, by bundling it with their top speed Internet service. And I got a great deal on my Internet too – normally it goes for $89.99 month for their top speed, I’m getting it for almost half that price! I’m actually paying about $14/month less than what I was paying the cable company for a much slower service – all thanks to bundling products and features.

Most marketing ploys are just that – ploys, gimmicks, not worth anything really to the consumer. But bundling actually works – I’m saving money, and getting a better speed Internet.

I highly recommend calling the various companies you deal with for your communications utilities, and challenge them to give you a better deal – I bet they will take you up on the challenge.

There is so much competition in the marketplace for television, mobile phones, high-speed Internet, and other wireless communications devices, the ball is really in our hands.

I remember when the industry was just becoming deregulated, and competition was being discussed. There were those who said competition would be bad – all the big players would undercut everyone else so much, they’d effectively eliminate the competition by forcing them out of business.

Not so, competition has made the marketplace better for consumers, because we get to really negotiate good deals.

For years, the telecom companies have been sending out these chain letters to customers who switch from them to one of the other companies, offering great deals if you come back.

Bundling services and features has been around for a while, but I never gave it a second thought. I just figured it was a trick to get me to spend more.

Turns out I was wrong – I am getting more for less!

Chock one up for us little guys, instead of the big corporations.

Mega-Meat Mess Up in the Press

A couple of weeks ago, a large meat processing plant nearby announced a big recall of processed meat products – mostly deli-type slices.

They claimed the meat may have been contaminated with a pretty nasty bug. Over the past few weeks, four people died because of possible contamination.

We were told by the news media to carefully check our fridges for specific products, and to throw anything which we suspected of being contaminated out.

What the news media didn’t tell us was just how big a mess up this was. Not only does the meat recall affect every meat product which came out of this plant, and is sold on grocery store shelves, but it also affects a lot of big name restaurants.

When you order a pizza from a big-name chain, you figure you’re safe. Think again – pepperoni – one of the most common pizza toppings – was part of this major recall – and a big-name pizza chain was named as one of those who uses this meat.

Of course, you wouldn’t know this from the media reports – you have to actually go to the list of products recalled directly from the vendor to learn this valuable tidbit of information.

I know, mentioning a big pizza chain – or any large corporation – in a negative capacity in the media can lead to allegations, even slander or libel suits. Though the risk is low, so long as the truth be told.

And when people’s lives are at risk, I think disclosing this information isn’t dangerous – but is a necessity.

There were other restaurants mentioned on the list, with the specific meat products which were affected. Again, none of these restaurants were mentioned in any of the media reports.

In fact, the news media failed to discuss the possibility of restaurants having any of the recalled meats, they focused on the potential for people to have it at home, from shopping.

Granted, not everyone goes out, and those that do go out probably don’t eat out for every meal. But that doesn’t make it any less important a fact to mention.

Sure, people may opt to stay home instead of going out – costing restaurants business. But a few weeks of lost business are more acceptable, than increased infections and body bags.

I worked in the news media, and I know as well as anyone else who worked in it that it is a business just like any other business.

But isn’t it bad business to kill off your customers? That’s what they are doing, to those who they failed to educate and inform properly, and who die because of this lack of information.

Yes, many businesses which are affected advertise in newspapers, on the radio and on television. So there is the potential to alienate some of the advertisers that pay the salaries of journalists covering this story.

But wouldn’t a headline about one of those advertisers, about someone dying because of consuming bad meat at that business, be a worse fate?

A good journalist would even follow-up with some of these businesses and do stories on how these restaurants and other food establishments are taking steps to ensure none of their customers gets sick, or dies. That’s good press for the advertisers, and just doing good journalism.

Sadly, good journalism isn’t very common any more.

Roughing It the Technological Way

One of the many benefits of having a laptop is that you can take it anywhere. That is also one of the downsides – means you can and in some cases are expected too, do work at home.

Recently, I took my laptop to the park, sat down at a picnic table, and began working under the shade of a nice big maple.

I often joke on beautiful, summer days, that there ought to be a law against working inside on days like these.

I stand by that line of thought.

It was quite pleasant working in the park. There was plenty of fresh air, a nice breeze blowing about, and I could hear birds chirping. Every so often, I’d be somewhat distracted by people doing there thing in the park. From people walking their dogs, moms taking their kids in strollers out for air, or just kids goofing around.

But overall, it was very nice being in the great outdoors, and the distractions weren’t that bad either. Probably no different than being distracted by co-workers chatting, coming by my desk asking for this that and the next thing, or even the phone ringing every so often.

I took a while to find a good spot to set up shop in the park. The first picnic table I found, although it was nice and sunny, the sunshine was so bright, I couldn’t see my laptop’s screen.

The next spot was too close to the playground, so the constant buzz of kids was just too distracting.

But eventually, I found a nice, quiet spot, in a shady spot, far enough from the playground, but still in the midst of the trees.

I felt energized working outside. Maybe it was the fresh air, or the vitamin D from the sun. Most likely, it was because of the change of location and pace.

Change is good, and although it is important to have a regular stomping ground to work in, it is nice to have a change of scenery every so often. Makes you feel less like a cog in the big picture, and more in touch with yourself and your surroundings.

Also, without the constant rush at the office, I was able to take my time and really focus on the things which really needed some careful thought. There weren’t any co-workers buzzing around like bees asking me “are you done yet?” and there weren’t any phones to constantly hound me.

Working out in the park was a real joy, and is something that I recommend to anyone who can. There was a certain sense of freedom working in the park. And besides, we all need our vitamin D.

Naming Your Responsibility

I know it is hip and trendy to re-invent yourself – everyone seems to be doing that these days. Whether it involves buying a new wardrobe, getting a new hairstyle, or even just getting your teeth whitened – many are up to these things.

But when you are a “celebrity” of sorts, say on television, the radio, movies or even in print, you have a certain responsibility to those you are talking too. Because you are in the public eye, whatever you do is held to a slightly higher standard – because when you mess up, everyone will know about it.

So how come some of the latest celebrities have aliases, or only first names? I was watching some show on one of the local stations, and the host was only identified by her first name. If you’re afraid of people holding you accountable for your actions, you shouldn’t be on television in the first place.

Granted, she could be concerned about being stalked, but hey, even some of the big name celebrities that do use their full names get stalked.

It may sound cool to have some funky pseudonym like “DJ Durk” or “Mr. X” but I wouldn’t trust you or your opinions. Which may be why you got into the public sphere in the first place – to share and maybe sway people in their viewpoints.

The Internet is slightly different – anyone can say or be anyone they want online. So people posting blogs, like this often do assume aliases or handles, because they may have a completely different life online, and others may only know them by their online name.

Though that does raise the question about how legitimate people are online – or when they do choose to go by a handle, an initial, or even not their real name.

Those in the major media – television, radio, movies, the printed papers and magazines – should always use both a first and a last name at the very least. Unlike the Internet, not just anyone can gain access to this method of mass communications.

As such, it’s important that these people – the so-called “celebrities” of the world – show some accountability for their actions and have a way to identify them, other than through some cool sounding alias.

While online, I’d say handles are all the rage and okay. Though I still wonder about Mr. X’s intentions. . .

Beg Me for Work? ME?

I go to professional development functions all the time – it keeps me sharp and knowledgeable about the latest trends in my field.

Maybe I look the part of the successful, always hiring person, because I always run into people – or more likely they run into me – who want jobs.

It always starts off painless, with some small talk about the function. Then they ask me what I do, and I in turn do the same. Though usually, it ends with them asking me if I’m hiring, or know anyone who is hiring.

I know it is important to network in today’s world of work. Most people get jobs from those they know – which is often where I come in. As most people get hired for who they know, rather than what they know, I’m often called in to clean up the mess.

But that doesn’t mean I’m an instant resource for the unemployed. I may occasionally have job leads, or I may occasionally even be able to hire someone on to fill a void. Note – occasionally – not often, not always, just occasionally.

But I am always hit up for jobs by those looking for something better, or those who don’t have anything at all.

Maybe it is because I dress for success – but isn’t that what we were all told to do to be successful? Maybe I should stop polishing my shoes, washing my clothes, and combing my hair, so that I look the part of an unemployed person.

But then, although I may keep those looking for work away, I’d probably also lose a lot of contracts in the process. Then I’d be the one nagging working professionals at professional development functions for a job!

Well, probably not – I’ve been nagged enough to know that nagging doesn’t pay. I enjoy talking with people in the field, and learning what they do and how they resolve situations. I may have encountered similar situations, or may encounter those situations in the future. But I don’t go to these things looking for work.

Work is something you have to find on your own. It is something that we all must do, and we all must find our own way. It isn’t easy, especially with overcrowding in our cities, the economy faltering, and the workforce changing to a more service-based sector.

But it is one of those things which we all must do – we all need to work to survive. That is until I win the lottery. Maybe my numbers are up – I’d better go and check . . .

The Need for Creature Comforts at Work

We all have our own personal comfort zones, and things which help us adjust and adopt to things which may occasionally fall outside those zones.

In an office environment, companies and organizations have different ways of helping us make those adjustments.

The most common is to provide free coffee and tea. Most offices these days have lunchrooms, full of various coffees, teas, and even hot chocolate. The fridge has free milk and cream, and sugar and those artificial sweeteners are also provided. All you need usually, is to bring your own mug.

Some of the high tech companies have been known to provide slightly more caffeinated beverages than others, in an attempt to increase productivity. Microsoft and Google provide free soft drinks, including Coke.

I’ve been to offices where they have televisions in the lunchroom, so employees can keep up with the current state of the world during their lunch hour, play foozeball on a free foozeball table, or pray in the prayer room.

By providing these creature comforts, companies and organizations get the best out of their people, because they make those doing the work feel more comfortable being at work.

Then there are places like a current client, where the only thing they seem to provide plenty of is work. There isn’t any free coffee, tea, and forget about television in the lunchroom. The lunchroom has been designed to be cold and not very welcoming to encourage people to eat at their desks – I go out for lunch whenever I’m on-site.

It does cost money to provide those pleasant creature comforts – but the return on investment outweighs the cost many times over.

Studies show that people are more productive when they are not only comfortable at work, but enjoy being there. Warm, inviting offices, with even the smallest token (such as free coffee) increase productivity, because those doing the work don’t want to leave as fast as they got there.

People that are treated like robots, and expected to show up, do the job and nothing else, aren’t very happy, friendly, or productive at the office. They usually arrive early, so that they can escape just as early.

And that is very evident here – most people arrive well before 8A.M and are long-gone well before 4P.M.

I bring my own tea to the office, luckily they do have hot water and microwaves. But aside from that, you are always left on your own – to fight for your own survival.

That is what it feels like here – like it is a constant battle to survive. Probably because people here aren’t comfortable, and so they aren’t happy or friendly to their co-workers.

I’m an anomaly – I always say good morning/good afternoon as I pass people in the halls. They usually look up in bewildered uncertainty of my intentions. Though I have no intentions, I’m just being friendly – which isn’t the norm in places where they expect you to do nothing but work.

I sometimes even feel taking the much needed bathroom break here is in violation of some protocol or rule. Which is outrageous, because that’s not just a creature comfort, but a biological necessity.

So next time you are taken on a tour of a potential employers workplace – take note of what they do or don’t do for your needs. It can make a big difference in not just how you feel, but how others there treat you.

Adobe’s Application Templates are Worth a Look

I’m in the process of creating a website. I’ve done this many a time, for many a client, and I usually do what many professionals do – I do everything from scratch.

This time around, I was browsing some of the pre-configured templates which come with Adobe’s Dreamweaver CS3. I remember briefly exploring these templates when Dreamweaver was a Macromedia product years ago. They were okay, but nothing special.

Adobe has really done a lot of work in putting together some pretty good basic designs, and not just using plain vanilla HTML either. There are templates in JSP, XML, and other more advanced varieties.

I was so impressed with the templates, I took one and began to use it for one of my current projects. I’ve made a lot of modifications, but the underlying themes and styles remain true to the original template design.

That says a lot, when a professional can go in and use a pre-packaged template. At professional functions, if anyone ever mentioned they had used – or even just “thought about” using one of the templates which came with their software they were using, they’d be laughed out of the room.

Real professionals do it from scratch – that’s why we’re paid the big bucks.

Not so anymore, at least for those using Adobe’s products. Adobe has always been a leader in creating exceptional professional-level software tools. I am proud to be an Adobe shop – I use the complete set of Adobe CS3 (Creative Suite 3). I use PhotoShop to edit photos, Premier to edit videos, SoundBooth to edit audio, Acrobat to make PDFs, even InDesign to layout print materials.

The good thing about Adobe CS3, is all the products were designed to work together. They don’t always offer completely seamless integration, but for the most part they work very well together. Far better than Microsloth’s offerings, and way better than most other products on the market today.

I haven’t explored the templates in the other Adobe products, and I’m not even sure if there are templates in all of them. But when my brain is fried, trying to figure out a design for a project which just isn’t coming together, I’ll definitely take a look at any templates which came with the product.

From now on I won’t be afraid to admit to using a pre-packaged template, at least from Adobe. These templates don’t offer all the bells and whistles, but those can be added. The main thing is they provide a sound starting ground to build up from.

After working on the same project for eight or more hours a day, for weeks, one’s mind can use some stimulation every so often to get the creative juices flowing again.

And pre-package templates can do just that, so long as they look good enough to be at a professional level. Adobe’s pre-packaged Dreamweaver CS3 templates are at that level. I’ll have to take some time to explore the other Adobe CS3 products and see what goodies are there for the taking.

This Ain't No Disney Movie

This past weekend, I saw the movie Hellboy II. It was a pretty good movie – not as great as the original, but then, many sequels aren’t as good as the initial offering.

Hellboy isn’t for kids, the movie is rated 14A – meaning if you are under 14-years of age, you need an adult to get in.

It is a violent movie, with lots of blood and fight scenes, it isn’t a horror, but it isn’t for kids.

Yet, there were quite a few young kids in the crowd – probably under 10-years-old. They were there with their parents, but they shouldn’t have been.

One was sitting in front of me, and kept standing up to look around the movie theatre, he seemed more interested in the people around him than what was happening on the screen in front of him. Another kid was in our row, and actually came up to my brother to say “hi.”

Then there was a noisy little boy a couple of rows down from us. He kept yelling at the top of his lungs, as if he was talking to the characters on the big screen. Eventually, his mom took him out of the theatre, but he obviously was way too young to even be there in the first place.

What is the matter with parents today?

Granted, there isn’t a manual on good parenting, but even common sense should be able to offer some simple guidance. When I was a kid, my parents used common sense, and I think I turned out alright.

I went to the movies when I was a kid, but my parents never took me to movies which weren’t appropriate for my age.

If this were a Disney movie, then I’d be a little more understanding of seeing little kids running around the theatre. Disney movies are specifically made for kids – and kids will be kids.

So how come some parents can’t be parents?

I think some of these folks came to the movie with their young children because they wanted to see the movie, and couldn’t find someone else to watch their kids. Or maybe they thought – wrongly – that this movie would be something their young kids would enjoy. Or maybe they just decided to watch the movie with their kids on a whim?

Whatever the reason they brought their young children to the movie, it was wrong. It disturbed others in the theatre, and the movie itself really isn’t a kids movie. We’re talking about a movie with the word “hell” in the title – you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that.

Even for those who aren’t bright enough to figure out that a movie with “hell” in the title isn’t really for kids, it was clearly rated 14A – all the posters and even the ticket booth had the ratings clearly visible.

Perhaps it isn’t the kids that need to grow up here. It is the parents.

Kill the IOC

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past year, you probably know the Olympic games are currently being held in China.

China is known for lots of things – most of them not exactly gold medal performers.

Made in China products are usually cheap, dangerous and often produced by people so poor, they can’t feed their themselves, let alone their families.

The Chinese government has a long list of human rights violations, from as far back as the 1950’s – probably even longer, but they are so good at covering up their tracks, we can only trace these to that era.

And in keeping with the Olympic spirit, China has put thousands of poor workers out of work, as they have closed factories all over the city, in a vane attempt to clean the air. It’s been so smoggy over their, some athletes have pulled themselves out of their events, for fear of injury!

There are so many places, good, decent and clean places on this planet, why on earth did the International Olympic Committee (IOC) choose one of the worst?

The IOC has long been accused of playing politics with sport. There was that whole incident at the last games, where several members of the IOC stepped down in disgrace, after being caught taking bribes.

Looks like the IOC is still in the habit of taking some kick back or another, because the only thing this year’s games really have managed to do, is stir up controversy.

Which is really too bad, because the original point of having an international sporting event of the best of the best was just that – for the sport of it all, as a competition. The Olympics should be about athletic victories, and the stories of desire, drive and determination of hard working people, doing what they love to be the best.

Instead, the Olympics is always about anything, but the sport. This year, if there isn’t some story about some country pulling their athletes out of the games, or some protest at the games or abroad, it’s about some stupid American athlete protesting fur.

That’s right – fur. While millions of people starve in China, and millions more are beaten to death by the government, one of the American athletes held a press conference, where she showed off a poster of her in the nude, declaring fur evil.

If anything should be declared evil, it is the IOC.

Athletes from around the world dream of one day, competing with others from around the world in their sport. They all want the gold, but even just getting to the Olympics is a sign of prestige and glory.

But the IOC has tainted those dreams, by selling out. Instead of creating an event which really is all about athletes achieving their dreams, the members of the IOC have created an event to simply pad their already hefty wallets.

Sure, it costs millions of dollars for any country to host the Olympic games. And there are some benefits, jobs are created, tourism brings in money, and you get to be on the international stage.

But do you really want to share that stage, with people that are so dishonest and deceptive, they don’t care about the athletic dreams they are crushing?

Placing the Olympics in China was a bad idea. But having the IOC still calling the shots as to where to place the games is an even worse idea.

It is time the IOC be disbanded, and the Olympics be put into the hands of people that actually care about the games, instead of their own butts.

Relaxing Falling Water

One of my current client’s is so very stressful, I practically run out of the office every chance I get, like I am escaping something terrible.

In many ways I am – the atmosphere is pretty terrible. A divide and conquer approach, tossed into a highly individualistic and just as highly unproductive workplace, makes for something anyone in their right mind would want to escape.

Just like a kid in school running out to play during recess, I escape to the great outdoors. There is this very peaceful, quiet and relaxing water fountain not far from the client’s offices.

During lunch, I run out to that fountain, find a cold metallic chair, and sit and stair at the water fountain. Moving water is very soothing – from the sound, to the soft mist, to the fact watching it takes my mind away from the horrors of this horrific workplace.

I love this little fountain, and I’m surprised I haven’t run into others from the same office, escaping here too. Though maybe they are used to or enjoy the fatalistic approach – sickos all.

Anyone who enjoys relishing in making another person’s life hell is messed up in the head. Though I think a large part of the problem lies with management’s inability to manage . . . but hey, we’re talking about the peaceful water, NOT work!

Seagulls and pigeons fly in and out of the water. The pigeons are so accustomed to people feeding them, that they have absolutely no fear of people. They come right up to you and will actually eat out of your hand if you stay very steady.

Some of the pigeons are just like dogs, begging at their owner’s feet during dinner. They actually will come up and stare right at you, pleading with you to toss them some crumbs – and these are birds we are talking about!

There are ice cream trucks on the street, and hot dog vendors too, and they probably make a killing during lunch, as the water fountain area is always packed with others escaping from the troubles that plague them during work.

I love looking up at the sky, and just watching the bright white clouds dance across the brilliant blue sky. With the mist from the water, and the sound of the water fountain, it is pure relaxation.

Then I have to get back to reality, and back to hell. But at least this contract will be ending in a few short weeks, so I don’t feel the urge to escape.

I have never had any urges to run, to escape elsewhere, but this office is just so out there, so isolationistic, and so un-motivating that end of the day, I am completely wiped. I’m thankful for the few moments I can steal away at the water fountain – at least that gives me a chance to re-energize and recharge my already frustrated juices.

I’m just glad it isn’t winter, else the water would be ice, and I’d have no where to relax. Then, I’d probably be driven mad.

I wonder if the first person to go “postal” did so in winter?

Presume Nothing But Trouble

Recently, the Ontario government announced plans to increase organ donation in Ontario. Currently, you have to give your consent in writing prior to them taking your organs upon your death.

Problem is, most people don’t sign their organ donor cards. There are many potential reasons, the most likely is people just don’t want to be organ donors – and I can’t blame them.

Though what the current provincial government in Ontario is proposing is a far cry from a voluntary organ donation system which we have now – they are proposing presumed consent.

What that means is essentially everyone is automatically assumed to be an organ donor in Ontario, unless you opt out of it by signing the opt out card. That is, it unless you sign the little piece of paper which you normally ignore anyways, it is presumed that you are willing to be an organ donor.

This reminds me when many companies were using automatic renewals to keep people on their contracts – Rogers Cable was one of the biggies back in the day. You’d sign up for, say a three-year deal, and in the fine print, it said if you didn’t cancel within a certain number of days prior to your contract ending, it automatically renewed for another three-years.

Rogers doesn’t do this anymore, as most companies don’t – they learned by public outcry that presumed consent wasn’t always right.

The same hold true for organ donation – or anything else. Just because someone doesn’t remember to sign something, is no excuse to interpret that as they knowingly accept and acknowledge some hidden outcome.

Besides, can you imagine the ethical, legal and political battles which presumed consent for organ donation can cause?

What happens when little Johnny, a shell of his former self thanks to a horrific car crash, is kept on life support against his parent’s wishes, so that his organs can be harvested for another kid, who hasn’t made it into the hospital yet?

How would you feel if your son or daughter were clinically brain dead, and the doctors told you there is nothing more that can be done, but we’re keeping him or her on life support until we can remove his heart for someone else? Wouldn’t you just want to get it over with – could you imagine watching your dead kid being kept alive, just to benefit some stranger?

Granted, organ donation is a good thing to do – it does save lives. But keeping someone alive just for that purpose prolongs the pain and suffering of the next of kin – and that is wrong.

There are many other issues too – what about those who just forgot to sign their card. I know, it’s a weak excuse, but it’ll happen. By forgetting to sign your card under a presumed consent system, it is assumed that you are okay donating your kidneys, liver, heart or whatever else is needed at the time of your death.

Organ donation is a very personal thing – probably the most personal thing there is, as it deals with the ultimate of private property – our own bodies. It only makes sense then, that organ donation should be an informed, educated consent, not a presumed consent.

There is quite a bit of information already out there on organ donation, and whenever you renew your driver’s license, you are given the organ donor card to sign, or not to sign – the choice is up to you. As it should be.

When Reaching Out Isn't Easy

I get calls from prospective new clients all the time, and being pretty busy, usually they get my voice-mail.

Most are intelligent enough to leave their full name, company, and a number where I can call them back. That is most . . .

Just the other day, I received a voice-mail from a potential client, almost immediately I knew I may have trouble getting back in touch with this person. The voice-mail sounded like it was left by a person on a speaker phone, it was ‘tinny’ and the person on the other end sounded somewhat distant.

Whenever someone leaves you a message while they are on speaker phone, it says “hey, you’re not important enough for me to stop what I am doing and leave a proper message.” Also, speaker phones are hardly private, so unless she expected to get me immediately on the phone, and had others with her for a conference call, it is rude to be using her speaker phone.

Actually, it is rude to call someone you have never talked to before, and put them on the spot by placing them into an instant conference call with others you have never met before.

This potential client’s voice-mail included her first name, company name, a phone number and an extension to reach her. Sounds like all the right ingredients are in place for me to call back without any problems.

Wrong.

When I called back, I immediately got the company’s automatic answering system, which was tres high-tech, saying if I knew the person’s first and last name, I could say it into the phone, and be connected to that person. Problem is, I only had a first name and an extension.

So my only option was to enter the extension and hope for the best. The best – the best – not even close. The phone rang a few times, and then the automatic attendant kicked in saying: “the person at XXXX extension doesn’t subscribe to this voice messaging system, transferring your call to the operator.”

So, I was unable to leave a message, but at least I wasn’t left hanging – I was sent to the company’s operator.

The company’s operator said in order for her to transfer my call, I’d need a first and a last name, or an extension. So I gave her the first name and extension.

I was transferred again, to the exact same message I got before: “the person at XXXX extension doesn’t subscribe to this voice messaging system, transferring your call to the operator.”

As the phone dialed and transferred back to the operator, I hung up. What else could I do?

I had a first name and an extension that took me nowhere. I’m surprised the phone number I was given actually was the right number.

Makes me shake my head in wonder – in such an age where voice-mail is so common, how can there still be people out there that just don’t know how to leave a proper message?

I deleted this person’s voice-message from my voice-mail, as it didn’t get me anywhere. Hopefully, if this person is serious enough about getting in touch with me, she will call back. And, if this person has the misfortune of having to leave a voice-mail, maybe she’ll leave one with contact information I can actually use.

Warm Swirling Wet Goo

No – I’m not going to talk about THAT goo – get your head outta the gutter!

As I write this, I’m just back from the pool – all energized, eyes slightly hazy from the excessive chlorine, joints somewhat fatigued from a good workout, hair moist from the wet goo I swam in.

I’m using the word “goo” here in a positive way – by no means is the pool stanky. I live in a pretty high-end high-rise, and they do an exceptional job of maintaining all the public spaces, including the pool.

How can goo be good?

We’re all created in cess pools of goo. We really are when you think about it – amino acids and peptides mesh together in a genetic pool of protoplasm, floating from cell structure to cell structure, mixing, blending, oozing into chromosome bodies, to ultimately create the multi-celled maze of natural living breathing creatures we become at birth.

Swimming in the pool brought back memories from my initial goo stage. Well, not really – I had no memories back then! But it probably felt somewhat similar – the water was warm and soothing, floating over my body. The wind creating waves and currents, carrying bits and pieces of stuff.

Granted the stuff were bugs and leaves, but hey, we’re working on a science analogy here . . .
Where am I going with all this rhetoric about goo oozing in my pool?

We don’t talk science enough, yet we’re surrounded by science and technology. The information is out there – newspapers, television shows, radio broadcasts, the Internet – it is far easier to learn about science these days then ever before.

Problem is, although we have grown to depend on science and technology to survive, we really don’t care enough about it as a society, to take a real interest.

Where would you be without your phone? Thanks to good science, we are no longer out of touch with those that matter – or in many cases (like telemarketers) those that we’d rather avoid.

Without a computer, you wouldn’t be able to read this blog, check your email, or even chat with your buddies.

We see science all around us, but we don’t really take any interest other than what we can use. Which is sad, because if we were all a little more inquisitive, chances are we’d be better period.

If we tried to understand science, we’d probably pick up on the thought process involved in unravelling some of the big mysteries facing our time.

Such as solving global warming, stem cell use, even cloning human beings – and trust me, it’s more complicated than just creating another you.

Science isn’t something to be scared of – unless you blow something up. But hey, that’s just a practice one – right?

So This is How Our Government Works?

One of my current clients is a government ministry – one of the large ones at that. I’m working as part of a team, on a special project which is arms-length from the actual ministry, but still answers to that ministry – so I am told.

Everyone except the most senior of managers is a contractor. Most of those on their very first contract – some working in their very first “real” job – either they were in more administrative low-end/low-paying roles previously, or they are recent graduates.

Some are on contract for the very first time, having been on staff for many years before – these people are bitter and angry with the system, and they make it known. I’ve chatted with a few who complain about the lack of benefits, the lack of job security, and the lack of real leadership.

Well, the first two are common in contracting – there never are benefits, and job security doesn’t even exist anymore for those on staff. Look at BCE – the parent company of Bell Canada, the nation’s largest telecommunications company – they just announced last week they are trimming their workforce by three-percent – or 2,500 jobs. General Motors, Ford, even Chrysler have all announced staffing cutbacks. Air Canada, the nations only national airline, is cutting jobs too.

Lack of leadership – now there is a legitimate beef – especially for a publicly funded government project.

One of the benefits of being a veteran contractor, is that I have the experience of experiences. I work for big multi-global mega-corporations with hundreds of thousands of employees worldwide, to simple start-ups and mom and pop shops with barely enough employees to count on one hand. I’ve worked in offices where suits and ties every day are the norm, to ones where blue jeans and t-shirts are considered high-end fashion.

I experience many corporate cultures, and many leadership styles. That’s what makes me a good consultant. I learn from those who are good leaders, and I learn from those who – such as this government client – aren’t very good leaders.

I take the lessons from the good, and remember them, so that I can apply these lessons to other clients. And I learn what not to do, or even better, how to resolve issues created by poor management.

While experiencing these lessons from those who excel in their leadership roles is energizing, exciting, and empowering, it is far more painful to learn through the experiences of poor leaders.

Bad leaders never think they are bad – it’s not their fault things never get done on time or on budget – even though they have the final say on those things, and make the plans which lead up to those things – nope, not their fault at all. They always blame someone, or something else.

A true sign of a bad manager or leader is someone that comes to the table with blame, guilt, anger, frustration and other negative feelings about their team, their projects, or how others perceive of them, their team, or their projects.

The sign of a great manager or leader is someone that comes to the table with solutions to current and potential problems, is full of warmth, hope, energy, and drive. These people have nothing negative to say – even when times are tough and things look very bad. True leaders always have a way of turning major stumbling blocks into slight bumps – they are problem solvers, not creators. They speak highly of themselves, their teams and their projects – they know they have the right people to do the job – no matter what.

You’d expect government agencies and their projects to be on the ball when it came to sound leadership theory – hell, the universities and colleges are partly funded by the government, so they should be living the latest MBA theories.

But they aren’t – and they are costing us all.

Poor leadership increases the overall costs of anything those poor leaders touch – simply because they take so long to get things right, if they even ever do get those things right.

Turn-over of contractors and staff alike is higher under a poor leader, which is an added cost. It costs the average company about $5,000 to recruit and hire one new person – since I started this project just over a month ago, I’ve seen three people leave!

Tax payer dollars shouldn’t be funding poorly managed projects – but there probably are so many we never hear of, no one ever really knows about these things.

This project, as so many before it, will probably go well over budget, and be swept under the political rug when the next election comes, so as to not be noticed by the media.

I’ve only been with this client for just over a month, and I’ve already spent two-weeks worth of time re-doing the exact same thing I’ve already done, several times, just because none of the higher-ups can figure out which way is best. Hey, I charge by the hour – keep it coming! These foul-ups have cost this client thousands of dollars in under two-weeks, just to have me re-do something. That money is your money – tax payer money – but it now pads my growing bank account, because I charge way more than some junior contractor, and far more than a staffer to do my job.

That’s the true joy of consulting and the pain at the same time. I make more with clients that really haven’t a clue, because they don’t know how to manage themselves, and it creates more work for someone like me who is highly organized.

Though the pain and agony of working with bozos instead of prize winners probably will shorten my life – stress kills.

Sticky, Wet and Very Messy

I went to a local RibFest with my brother the other day – we went to the same one last year.

I love ribs – they are a real man’s man type of food. Sexism aside, ribs epitomize the male in today’s society.

Think about it, the meat is still on the bone, providing that primal sense of hunter-gatherer, dating back to when men went out to hunt for they families survival. The brownish-red rib sauce, dripping off the meat is reminiscent of the blood of the animal, another primal metaphor. You even have to eat them with your two hands, although a knife and fork can be used, that is just wrong.

Ribs were meant to be eaten with our bare hands, just as our gave-dwelling ancestors feasted on their freshly hunted food stuffs.

The whole process of cooking ribs, over an open-flame is yet another link to the past – they didn’t have ovens or stoves back in the era of early humans.

Maybe that’s why I love ribs – it brings out the man in me. Or maybe it’s just because ribs are a lot of fun to eat.

Sometimes, the messy things in life, are the most enjoyable – and ribs certainly are messy. Oozing with sauce, which always seems to find its way from the ribs, to other parts of my face, my hands and sometimes my clothes.

I got very messy at RibFest, not just with sauce – but also with mud and ice cream. It rained for the first part of our visit – I spent over 30-minutes in a bus shelter with my brother, as we waited out the rain, to see if the skies would clear.

We got lucky, the sun came out, and although we got drizzled on a few more times, we managed to tough it out. Though the grounds were very muddy – as the whole event is held in a park, so I got covered in mud and gunk as I traversed from one “ribber” to another.

But that’s the way our ancestors did it too – through the muddy forests, and dense brush of Mother Nature’s wildest of environments. They didn’t have the luxury of a bus shelter to take cover in.

It is always best to go to RibFest with someone. See, they have all these restaurants and bars, competing for Best Ribs of the Fest. Sure, you could go to one place, and try their ribs, but ribs are pretty heavy – chances are you’d be too full to try other places.

So, what we did – same as last year – was to get half racks from various places, and split them. That way, we each get a good sampling from all the different places – or as many as we could try before becoming too full.

The best way to hunt for your food is in a group too – you need backup support to help lure the prey, and then corner it, so that you get a clear shot. And it doesn’t hurt to have someone to talk to while you’re out in the wilds of nature.

It was nice to catch up with my brother, as we feasted on some very manly food, in the natural surroundings of a big urban park. Why we end up going on country music day is beyond me? I’m pretty sure they didn’t have country music in the cave man period – if they had, we probably wouldn’t have evolved much since those early days!

As for the ice cream, well – we all have the inner kid in us. You know that nutty, funny, zany character pushing to get out . . .

But that’s another story for another day.

The X-Files Meets Ozzy Osborn

David Duchovney is a pretty good actor – he made it big on the cult-hit The X-Files TV show back in the 1990’s.

He’s done some psudo-soft-porn in The Red Shoe Diaries, and most recently had an amazing streak as a writer with permanent writer’s block in Californication.

I haven’t heard much about the X-Files since the last movie back several years ago. The movie wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the television show which originally spawned it.

Mulder and Scully are back, in the latest X-Files movie, which opened recently in theatres.

I was thinking about this while on my way to work the other day – it is hard to imagine the characters as they were, since so much as gone on since then.

I’ve seen some episodes of The Red Shoe Diaries, and all of the first season of Californication – I’m really looking forward to the coming season, provided Showtime Networks brings it back.

For most actors I never really think about them as one particular character versus another. But I’m thinking how hard it will be to see Duchovney playing Fox Mulder, a dry, FBI agent, since I’ve seen him play a colourful, witty, and wild rocker-writer-type in Californication.

Think about it, when you go to see a Johnny Depp movie, you don’t think about whether his character will be the same as that other movie he did – unless it is the same character of course. When I watch Pirates of the Caribbean, I know Johnny Depp will entertain as the nutty Capt. Jack Sparrow, just as I know when I see Edward Scissor Hands, Johnny Depp doesn’t fail to impress with his Edward character. Johnny Depp is different in all his movies – he really can become other people.

David Duchovney doesn’t seem to offer the same range – he’s the same in all his roles, just sometimes better mannered, and armed.

I suppose all actors have their strengths and weaknesses – they are human beings, just as you and me. But isn’t the whole point of being a great actor, to play many different roles, and become many different characters?

Isn’t the sign of a great actor, one who can appear completely different from one role to another?

But then again, I suppose not all actors are great, just good at what they do.

The Ultimate Cubicle Question

Sometimes I really wonder why I am here. No really – why am I here?

I’m sitting at a client site waiting for what we in the industry refer to as a SME – pronounced “SMEE” – which is a Subject Matter Expert – to get back to me with information I require to do my job.

All is quiet, as there isn’t anyone around – yet it is almost 9:30am! Everyone claims to come in around 7:00am to justify their early departures around 3:00pm – but on the training team, there is just me and one other person – out of a team of 12.

So, I sit here, typing out a blog, wondering why I am here?

I can’t do my work without the information from the SME, and I have done all the other work which I had too up to this point. So, I’m literally sitting idle, twiddling my thumbs, wondering what to do next?

At least I look busy while writing a blog – makes me appear to have something important to do. And appearances – especially in this place – are important. People don’t seem to understand that real talent is displayed in the end product – the work completed on a project.

Instead, they grant privilege and access to those who appear to be talented in their tasks, when in fact they too, are probably sitting idle. And we have all heard that saying about idle hands . . .

Makes me wonder how many people throughout all the offices around the world, are sitting idle, with nothing to do. Imagine how much money is wasted on salaries, consultant fees, even supplies for these people, who have nothing to do.

Well, at least I am paid big bucks in my consultant role, regardless of what I have or haven’t got to do. Though I have been a good consultant, and provided countless suggestions, and things they could best spend their money on me, while they have me on contract. I’ve consulted with them – providing them with ways to utilize me as a resource, exploit my talents, abilities, skills, knowledge and expertise.

They took a look at my reports, but because they promote those who appear to be in the know, rather than those who really are in the know, they just glossed over it, placed it on a shelf, and let it collect dust.

Meanwhile, here I sit, idling like a car, waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

Is it five o’clock yet?

Damn – only 9:35am – only killed a handful of minutes writing this blog. I hate being a writer sometimes, because the words just come too easily and don’t kill the time I need to kill.

Maybe I’ll start taking longer coffee breaks – too bad I don’t like coffee.

Home Isn't a Playground

I live in a very posh, high-rise – and I enjoy being here. The property management firm does an excellent job of maintaining the public areas, and there are security cameras every, making it a secure place to call home.

There is always a building superintendent on-call and available when ever something goes wrong, and by and large, they are nice people.

Recently, a new superintendent joined the team, and they brought their whole family. Not uncommon to have a family, but their kids run around the whole building, as if it were their playground.

They are always running up and down the halls, riding the elevators, and hanging around the property management offices. At first I didn’t mind, but now it has become somewhat of an annoyance.

I almost lost a whole armful of stuff, as I was walking into the building, and one of these little tykes came careening down the corridor.

I live high up, so they don’t often run around up on my floor. But I’ve heard people complaining on the lower floors that they make a lot of noise when they run around outside people’s homes.

This isn’t a playground and they shouldn’t be running all through the halls. There are parks just a five-minute walk (if that) down the road, and the building has a great pool – they should hang out there.

I suppose if enough people complain, then eventually something will be done – probably the property management office will tell the new “supers” to better manage their children.

Though it shouldn’t come to that – parents be – well – parents. All too often I see parents doing things which just don’t make a lot of sense.

I saw one young mom letting her infant child sip some of her Red Bull energy drink. That’s not healthy for adults, let alone what it can do to a baby.

When I come home late at night, after a night on the town, say midnight or even later, I see parents with their kids – or sometimes just kids out on their own. When I was a kid, my parents wouldn’t let me be out past sundown – let alone some of these kids are up long enough to see the sun rise.

I don’t have any kids, so I can’t tell someone how to be a good parent. But you don’t need to have a bunch of letters after your name to recognize poor parenting when you see it.

Getting back to the kids running around my building – that’s just lazy parenting. Sure their parents work in the building, and are around for their kids. But letting their kids ride up and down the elevators, run down the halls screaming, and constantly talking to just anyone that happens to come in, that’s definitely not a good way to parent a child.

It puts an awkward onus on us residents to essentially look out for these kids – and ensure they don’t get themselves into any real trouble. And it is an even more awkward thing to have to complain to those who you one day may need to depend on, to get your water to run again, or other such building issue.

Hopefully, the property management firm will take the right corrective course of action, and things will return to normal soon. Otherwise, I’ll just practice my form of parenting – duct tape.

Duct tape?

Hey, I told ya, I don’t have any kids, so what do I know? But duct tape seems to work on most difficult problems . . .

Where’d I put that roll of duct tape?

Talking Hoo-Hoos

Using some cheesy pick up line to get someone’s attention is as old a trick as any. Probably long before cavemen walked the earth, dinosaurs had something similar to lure a potential mate. It was all in the growl.

I was on the subway the other day, and as often happens, those who get on first get a seat, the rest stand. I had the luxury of a seat, while two young women – probably in their mid-twenties – ended up standing in front of me.

They were obviously trying to get my attention, talking loud, and smiling my way anytime I happened to look up to see where we were.

But I suppose that just wasn’t good enough, they had to try something more brazen.

One of the women, said to her friend: “I just got my hoo-hoo pierced,” she giggled.

Her friend said: “no way! You mean the area down there?” as she pointed to her most private of areas.

Then they both smiled upon me, knowing I’d look up if I happened to hear the nature of their explicit conversation.

Explicit conversations aren’t uncommon among consenting adults, but usually take place in less public gatherings. In some jurisdictions, even uttering a swear word can land you in jail.

I smiled back, and they perked up – at last, they thought – victory! We got his attention.

Too bad for them, my stop was next, and I made a quick exit.

It’s always flattering to be hit on, and it happens from time to time. It makes me feel not as old as I do sometimes, and it is always a turn on when someone else finds you attractive.

But what ever became of the pick-up line? Is it necessary to talk about what we do to our private parts in public, to get someone’s attention? Does that sort of talk work?

When I was much younger, I remember attempting an awkward pick-up line here and there. They never worked, I found good old fashioned honesty works best when trying to ask someone out.

Sometimes you just have to start a conversation with someone, about anything – the weather, a local sports team, traffic – though I suppose one sure way to get someone’s attention is by talking about your hoo-hoo.

But talking about hoo-hoos and other body parts might not get you the attention you were hoping for.

Although I was flattered to be the object of two women’s desires, I was tired from a long day at work, and didn’t really know what to say had I somehow jumped into the conversation. What can you say about some stranger’s hoo-hoo, without getting slapped silly?

Though if they are open enough to mention their hoo-hoo, I guess anything is fair game. Which makes me wonder, what they would have started talking about next, had I stayed longer?

The “I” In Team

One of my current consulting client’s contracts is drawing to a close, and I am ever so thankful.

They have mastered the art of placing the “I” in “team.”

Well, they haven’t really mastered the art, what they do is refer to their “group” as opposed to their “team.”

It is an interesting distinction, and it shows how exclusivity can still occur in today’s “team” centered workplace.

When we think of a “team” we often think about sports teams – elite athletes, working together towards the same common goal – to win the game. The Toronto Blue Jays baseball team wants to do what all professional baseball teams do – win.

A group is a completely different concept – groups can oppose each other, work towards totally opposite goals and means. When we think of a “group” we often think about labour disputes or protestors. The Teamsters – despite their name – is a group, a labour union which represents the exclusive interests of it’s group members.

At this client, very rarely do I hear the word “team.” Usually when a gathering of minds is required to complete a task, it is referred to as “group.”

And let me tell you, although their may be a group of people together as one – the soci-political atmosphere is so divided, that just about everyone in that group is their own “group.”

Everyone is fending for him or herself – even when working as a collective group! None of the various groups work towards the same goal – though ultimately, they need to appear to do so.

When decisions need to be made, it is like walking into a tense labour dispute on the eleventh-hour, just before a strike vote. Everyone has their back to the wall, and everyone is tense, angry, and frustrated.

This makes it very difficult to really get anything done – because no matter how reasonable a request may be, there is always – ALWAYS – someone opposing it. A natural occurrence, when everyone is more concerned about what’s best for themselves, instead of what is best for the project, the organization, or the team.

Oh yeah – team – they don’t have any.

What’s even more disconcerting, is all of the problems within the organization stem from issues that could quickly and easily be addressed, if only they worked as a team, instead of as a group.

If they got rid of all the “I’s” – which would mean axing all the management because they create this atmosphere of anxiety – then they could bring about real, positive change.

But that’s unlikely to occur, as the group dynamic just doesn’t have any team spirit.

Go Team! Go Team! Ra-ra-ra . . . well, maybe my next client will be more team-driven, and we’ll be able to do some real work for a change!

New Facebook Layout A Winner

I’m not a big fan of social networking sites. For those who read my blog often, you’ll know how those so-called “friends” you add, but never really talk to again, really aren’t your friends.

A friend is someone you can call on a whim, and go to the movies with. A friend is someone who is there when you need them. A friend is . . .

Well, I’ve gone there already – this blog isn’t about social networking. It is about one social networking site – Facebook.

I have a Facebook site. Yes, I admit it, I do! I like to keep up with the goings on in other peoples lives, because my life is just so damn boring. NOT!

Actually, I do enjoy keeping up with people that at one point and time actually meant something to me and I hopefully to them. It isn’t like Myspace, or Twitter, or most of the other social networking sites, where people just add each other randomly, never actually having really known each other.

Recently, Facebook did a major makeover, and I like it!

They have redesigned the whole interface, making it easier to navigate through. They added a tab-bar at the top, where you can add buttons to frequently used features. And they took away the clutter that forms, if you add many applications, games, message walls and other things.

I really like the new look, but my one complaint is the configuration takes for ever! The previous interface allowed you to drag-and-drop sections and applications to your liking. The new interface, allows you to position most items where you want, but you have to actually go to that item’s page, and then select the options for displaying that item.

I have 14 applications on my Facebook, and so I had to go through all 14 applications, one-by-one, to set their display options. Very time consuming and not very user-friendly. Often I had to go back to other applications I had already set display options for, because one of the other applications I had set was “crushing” that previously set application.

Still, I am pleased with the Facebook team for their hard work on this new interface. Although it isn’t easy to set, once it is configured, it is crisper, cleaner and quicker to navigate through.

They still don’t allow much customization – it would be nice to be able to go wild in Dreamweaver and design my own HTML/JAVA-based design. But I suppose there are technical and practical reasons for that.

I like the chat module they have on Facebook as well, it works well, and doesn’t take up as much screen-space as MSN Live. Though it lacks a lot of the options MSN Live, or any of the dedicated instant messaging programs offers. But for a stand-alone Java-applet, it does the job and that’s all one can really ask.

Though my biggest peeve with Facebook, isn’t really with Facebook, it’s more to do with manners, and social conscious I suppose.

Here’s my big beef – after adding someone, usually from my past, I’ll get a nice thank-you for adding me message, always ending with “how are you?”

So, naturally, I write back, saying how things are and maybe a Cliff’s Notes version of what’s new and interesting in my life, and I always ask back – “how are you?”

Then I never hear hide nor head from that person again!

Grrrr – fake friends, just adding people to increase their friend numbers.

But that’s another blog, for another day.

Microsloth’s Never-Ending Bridge of Despair

When Bill Gates started Microsoft back before the world new about the computer revolution, he was really on the ball.

He had just been turned down by IBM to create their operating system for their new line of home PC’s – the original IBM PC – and decided to go out on his own to see what he could do.

Saying Bill Gates did quite well for himself is a supreme understatement – the man was until recently, the richest person on the planet.

Microsoft’s operating system spread like the wind, and is the most commonly used software globally. When you go out and buy a new computer, you rarely have a choice in what makes it run. Usually, it comes pre-installed with some version of Windows – unless of course you go a completely different route, and get an Apple.

Because of Microsoft’s domination of the operating system market, we’ve come to accept it as it is – bugs and all.

When Microsoft releases software, it really isn’t street-ready – it is often still in the developmental stages. Oh, it will do what it is supposed to, for the most part. Though you may have to curse and swear, as you fiddle with awkward, undocumented settings, or wait until a Windows Update resolves the issue with a “Security Update.”

Most Windows Security Updates include bug fixes, to commonly reported errors in the software. We the customer, provide free quality assurance support to the world’s largest software company. How nice we are!

Which brings me to the point of this rant – I discovered one of those non-documented bugs recently.

I was playing around with my network settings, trying to increase the speed of the network. Through Miscrosoft’s own documentation, I learned you can create a network bridge, between and among different network locations, to combine the bandwidth and in turn increase data flow.

Increased data flow, in theory, should increase the speed of the network. Meaning when I download all those movies I’m supposed to watch in theatres, I’ll actually get the movies faster.

The data flow did increase, and some network activities did speed up. But then I noticed some network activities stopped working altogether.

No longer could I keep my network private and safe from hackers, as network discovery had to be on. And the biggest problem, MSN Live Messenger would load, but couldn’t access the network. So, I couldn’t chat live with my buddies.

I couldn’t figure out why MSN Live Messenger had stopped working. I did what any computer geek does when something that once worked, but now doesn’t – I looked up the error code on Microsoft’s own database.

The error code told me either my Live ID or password were wrong. So, I tried entering both again – several times in fact – but nothing worked. So, I uninstalled the whole MSN Live bundle, and re-installed it from scratch. That’s the true computer geek solution – when all else fails, wipe it clean and re-install.

As soon as MSN Live had re-installed, I was eager to try it – thinking I solved the problem.

Nope – exact same error code, minus a few stressed out hairs on my scalp.

So, I disabled my newly created network bridge – volia – MSN Live Messenger worked once again.

I did a search again in the MSN Live Messenger help system, and on Microsoft’s extensive database – but nothing turned up!

Thanks to me, it’ll probably be resolved in the next Windows Update – but do I get anything for all my trouble. Nadda, nothing, no way!

No wonder Bill Gates is so stinkin’ rich.

Crap from the Third-World

When you go into a dollar store, you just know you’ll be surrounded by crap. It may be interesting crap, but anything for a dollar or less these days, can’t be very good.

I used to like going to Home Hardware, a truly Canadian store, with lots of great things for the household. Then Home Hardware – or at least the ones near me – all started selling crap. They still sell hardware – though it is hard to find among all the cheap made in The Peoples’ Republic of Congo, Mongolia, or China. Essentially, they turned a great Canadian hardware store into a dollar store.

You can get good deals on paper, and occasionally you can find great prices on chocolate. But read the label – some of those chocolates are about to expire, and those that aren’t were made in some third-world country, and don’t taste very good!

There is an influx of cheap crap coming in from third-rate – I mean third-world – no, check that – third-rate – countries. That’s why there are so many dollar stores popping up all over the land.

I’ve seen people line up early in the morning to get into the dollar store. Reminds me of that famous quote from someone wise – “there’s a sucker born every minute.”

Yes, you can buy light bulbs, batteries and clock radios at the dollar store. But chances are, the light bulbs will burn out within a matter of hours, the batteries will die almost as fast as you paid for them, and the clock radio may tell time, but it’ll either be way too fast or way too slow.

Things bought al-a-cheap just don’t last, and why people continue to pay for crap is beyond me.

I was downtown the other day, and I saw a “Made In China” store – no joke. It is located between an adult novelty store, and a strip club – go figure.

Stuff made in China isn’t only cheap, it has proven to be quite dangerous too. Pet food and children’s toys made over there are constantly being recalled by the government because of toxins. Toxins which in some circumstances have actually killed people’s pets.

So far, we’ve been lucky – barely – and no human being as actually died from these shoddy discounted products. But with stores continuously pumping this crap, and morons continuously paying for it, sooner or later, we’ll hear about people dying from their cheap thrills.

Maybe once the “Made In China” bodies start hitting the news, people will wake up and stop buying that crap.

Then again, a sucker is born every minute.

A Cray in Every Home

When I was a teenager, computers weren’t all that common. Most people were considered celebrities just for having a working VCR, let alone having a computer at home.

We’re talking the 1980’s, when Atari, Apple and Commodore were the big names in home computing. This is back in the days, when the most complicated thing a home computer could reasonably be expected to do, was let you do a mail merge.

Times have certainly changed – I recently saw one of the big box electronic stores selling home entertainment servers. Yes servers – not just a standard computer – a server for someone with a home network.

WOW! It used to be that only companies had servers – a dedicated computer to maintain a complex filing system of data and/or programs.

To think that servers are now becoming common enough in the home, that people can go to their local computer store and just pick one off the shelf, is revolutionary.

It isn’t uncommon for people to have their own home network – as people continuously buy new computers, they keep their old ones and give them to their kids. So an older computer may be handed down to a son or daughter. Using wireless routers, all of these computers can easily be given access to the same Internet connection, creating a small local network.

So the next logical step is to have a server in the home, one where everyone sharing the network, can access the same files, without having to copy those files to their own machines.

Still, the concept is amazing for me to see, as I remember the old days, when you went to someone’s home and saw an Atari ST or Atari SE and said – WOW, you have a COMPUTER!!!

These days, if someone doesn’t have a computer, you wonder how on earth the survive. Who can live without email, instant messaging, and constant access to pointless videos on YouTube?

It’s almost as if we’ve all graduated from the old days of the IBM PCjr (my first computer) and now have Cray’s in our homes. The Cray was the world’s first super computer – it filled an entire room, took several nuclear generators worth of electric power to run, and made lots of noise.

With servers now becoming common in the home, we have in a sense all graduated to having our own super computers at home. Only – thankfully – they don’t fill an entire room, cause the lights to go dim when flipped on, and rarely make too much noise.

Social Networking and “Friends”

I’m not a big fan of these so-called “social networking” websites, I find they take people out of the real world and into fantasy worlds for too long.

People on these sites, such as Myspace and Facebook, accumulate hundreds of “friends” most of whom they know almost nothing about. Yet for many, those “friends” are often thought to be real, and actual, when in fact, if you haven’t ever actually spent time with someone in real-time, you really don’t know that person.

But there are some pretty cool things on these social networking sites – like their trivia games.

I’m a huge fan of the TV show The Simpson’s, and I’ve been playing The Simpson’s trivia game on Facebook for sometime now. I’ve got a very high score, and I enjoy answering questions about something I actually know something about.

It is really quite addictive – so much so, that I’ll try and pop online at least once a day to answer some questions. Recently, I’ve even begun formulating my own questions, which I have uploaded and added to the trivia game.

What a rush it is, to not only answer questions, but to be part of the game. This is true social networking – where you can join an environment of people who share your passion for something, and share that passion.

I don’t think each and every other person playing the trivia game as my friend – nor do I socialize with them. I know they too, are just interested in the fun from the game. But, I think that’s where social networking comes into play.

If you happen on someone that wants to add you as their “friend” you should really take the time to get to know that person and become their friend – minus the quotes.

Don’t just add anyone as a friend – add people you actually can get to know – go out for drinks, talk with on the phone, spend real-time in real-time with these people.

People that just add “friends” and never take the time to really get to know them, aren’t really adding “friends” they are adding strangers.

Think about it – would you open up your home to a stranger?

Of course not – that’s just asking for trouble. But, if you go out with someone, talk, and really get to know someone, now that’s a person I’d be happy to call a friend on my social networking site.

The Disappearance of Open Green Grassy Spaces

Recently I went back to my old university campus. They have an annual tennis tournament there, and I took in the event with my dad.

I’m not much of a tennis fan, I don’t even play the game. But I was excited to be going to an event I hadn’t been to before, and to see my old university again.

I go to most of the alumni events for my old school, and I hear about all the wonderful things going on. New buildings, new faculties, more research projects.

As we approached my old school, I grew all the more excited. I had spent some of my most memorable and enjoyable years on that campus. I grew-up on that campus, from a kid fresh out of high school, to a young adult, ready to tackle the world.

But all was new again. Sure, much of the buildings were there – but there was so much that wasn’t there before. There were even whole streets that hadn’t existed when I was a student.

It was like coming home, but not home. I recognized some of my old hang-outs, but then there were all these new funky places in the way.

I am proud and pleased to see my alma-matter grow. But in some ways, it was somewhat sad too – because much of my memory was no longer real.

Also, with new buildings, means fewer open green grassy spaces. Although my minor was environmental science, I’m not going to launch into a tree-hugging rant.

I’m merely thinking in terms of university life. When I was a kid on campus, part of the ritual, the routine, the right-of-passage, was to fill those open green grassy spaces with riddles, debates, philosophical thoughts, and concrete ones too. After lectures, I’d go with my fellow classmates (and occasionally the professor would join in) to the pub, grab a couple of drinks, and then wander over to one of the many open green grassy spaces to sit under some tall tree, and debate the issues of the day. It is an event not all that uncommon on university campuses around the globe – that’s why so many universities have green grassy spaces, lined with trees, benches and backpacks.

Ah, the sign of student life – the backpack. I remember everyone everywhere had one when I was on campus. Filled with textbooks, papers, pens, and that student agenda freely given to students by the student association, but never really used.

Backpacks would dot the open green grassy spaces, indicating that this space was taken. It’s like the “Occupied” sign on the bathroom door in an airplane, alerting you to take up another spot.

Taking up another spot wasn’t all that hard, there used to be many open green grassy spaces.

But with all the new buildings which went up, all those open green grassy spaces have started to disappear. So finding your own spot of green to discuss and debate may become a huge task.

Which is sad, because student life shouldn’t be about find a spot to be – it should be about finding people to discuss and debate – because that’s where great leaders come from. Those willing to discuss and debate under the open, freedoms which universities encourage, take those debated ideas, and upon graduation have a whole new way of making our world work.

By taking away those big open green grassy spaces, you limit the potential of our future generations, and in the end, destroy more than just a green space.

Too Many Managers and Not Enough Worker Bees

My latest client isn’t a shabby deal – when I first showed up, they had recently moved into nice posh digs. All the furniture is brand new – I even had to unwrap my chair. First time in all the years I’ve been working that I had to do that!

Problem though, everyone wants to run the world, and few want to do the work. Sure, being “the boss” sounds all impressive – but it requires hard work, dedication and know-how just like being a non-manager-type. The boss may make more, but they are supposed to know more about managing people, projects, and resources. That’s why they are given more responsibilities and in turn, more money.

People that want to be the boss but aren’t the boss are pulsating sores, just waiting to pop in the work world. Not only do they alienate and offend those they order around without reason, but they don’t take on the responsibilities which a real manager would. And, when they finally do get up off their lazy butt and do some real work, it isn’t very good, because they don’t really know how to do the work in the first place.

At my latest contract site, there are far too many wanna-be bosses and not enough worker bees. This creates a very hostile and unpleasant environment, where everyone wants to have it their way, and there is very little give and take. In fact, I don’t seem to get much work done, unless the rest of the “team” is away.

I say “team” because it really isn’t a team. If everyone wants to be the boss, then no one is working together in a team environment. So, you end up with a bunch of individuals, all wanting things done exactly their own way. When all these individuals get together, they spend more time butting heads, arguing for their own individual positions, and in many cases taking things way too personally for a professional workplace, all while the project fails to get completed.

That’s why I don’t get much done unless they aren’t around. When I do attempt to do anything, someone always comes by to “check-up” on me, and tell me to do it another way. After about 10-people telling me to do the same thing 10 different ways, I eventually just stop working, and in many cases just goof off.

What else can one do?

There isn’t any point to trying to do anything, because as soon as I get started, I’m being told to do it a different way.

Funny thing, as a consultant, I’m supposed to be “the expert” and regarded as knowing how to do my job. But when everyone wants to be the boss, it doesn’t matter how much of an expert I am, there will always be someone around to criticize and tell me how to do my job. And trust me, these people aren’t experts – when I tell them that’s not the professionally accepted standard used ‘round the world, they give me a hairy-eyeball stare challenging my point of view. Then they pause, and make up some excuse for not doing it my way – despite my way being the way it is done everywhere else.

I’ve just begun this contract, and already I’m looking forward to it’s conclusion!

Too Close for Comfort

I was on the subway the other day – it is one of the fastest and easiest ways to get around the downtown core. Parking is always expensive – if you can even find a spot to park in.

I’ve noticed more people are taking public transit these days – can’t blame them with the constant gauging of the big oil companies. The subways have always been busy during rush hour, and unfortunately, that always makes for a very tight squeeze on the trains.

We all have our comfort zones, especially when in the proximity of strangers. Some of us, don’t mind people within inches of our face, but for the most part, we like to keep some distance between us and them.

We all are experts in body language too – those unspoken vibes we give off through a combination of facial expressions and body positioning.

Typically, if someone gets too close for our comfort zone, we’ll give them the right signals which usually causes the offender to back off. These signals may be us moving away, a quick jerking away of our bodies, and many more common signals.

While I was on the subway, a couple of teenage girls, probably in their late teens or early twenties, got on and stood next too me. At first they kept a safe distance, which I liked. Then, the one closest too me invaded my comfort zone. She was literally brushing up against me.

The subway was overcrowded, as per usual during rush hour, but still, there was no reason this person had for coming that close. I moved off a couple of times, looked her way in disgust and even took a wider stance, to say “this is my space.”

She either didn’t get the message, or more likely, got the message, and decided she just wanted to play a game – what that game was, I wasn’t sure.

Maybe she was trying to get my attention out of some attraction? Maybe she just was a mean perverse kid, trying to see how far she could push a complete stranger? Maybe she just wanted more space?

Who knows? But I wasn’t amused – and my body language was doing a lot of yelling at this point – others around me were giving me far more space than they were before, so much so, they were cramping on the space of those around them.

Still, this young girl kept getting closer. I stepped on her feet a couple of times – sometimes accidentally, sometimes not, in the hopes she’d realize there just wasn’t enough space for the both of us.

Eventually, my stop came and I took some sweet revenge. Usually, I’ll be polite and excuse myself through the crowd. This time, I just pushed her out of the way with my umbrella, and left the train. I heard her yell “hey!” but I didn’t care. The doors to the train closed, and she and the train took off down the tracks.

Rude people suck – but I think those others treat with rudeness and disrespect often bring this onto themselves. Normally I’m not rude – but this kid caused me to lose my patience, and in the end, treating her badly.

But she’s one of zillions of blurred faces whizzing past on a subway train. She’ll probably never see me again – and I certainly could care less if I saw her again.

I’m just thankful I brought my umbrella that day!