Sometimes People Surprise You

This morning I got a text message from my boss wishing my luck on my finals. As an English major, they are all papers, so they are all written and already done, but I was really touched that he remembered today was my last day of classes and I had finals. It is probably because I took the whole weekend off to work on everything, which he was pretty pissed about, but that is besides the point.

Co-workers, I have learned, can be cut throat and mean. They will be the last to congratulate you on a job well done, and the first to jump all over you if you fucked up. Every once in awhile though, they surprise you with some genuine kindness. This is the type of environment I wish the workplace was always like. Everyone working together for the betterment of the company. If that were to happen, then everyone would advance without needing to step all of the other. That is a perfect world that does not exist, however.

Hopefully the Holiday season will create more of these random acts of kindness at work. I will sure try to do my part, not that I can focus on something else besides finals, to try and get over my bitchy attitude and spread some cheer around the office.

Welcome to Disorganization

Too many people with different agenda's and too many personalities from different cultures all in one place. America is suppose to be a melting pot, but this pot just won't seem to hit up enough to melt.

There is no team work, it is all me and I work. We are all guilty of that within my company. This is due largely to the set up that each coach is a partner that is control of there own personal program and its development. This means they do not need to worry about the overall development and profit of the company, just themselves. They do this quite well. Something else they do quite well is bitch about how the rest of the company has no money and that the administrative work does not have the help and supplies it needs to do they work that they require. Well let's see, since we get paid by the profit of the overall company, and the company is not doing well, therefore we do not have the money to hire the help needed to get it all done, and we do not have the money to buy the supplies we need to get it all done, then that means the work is going to be half assed and rushed by people who really don't give a shit because they are getting yelled at from every angle and paid pennies to deal with it all.

Welcome to disorganization.

Homework, School or Work?

I have been hiding in my office trying to get things done and get out early so that I can go home and work on my finals, but that just doesn't seem to happen. As soon as I leave my phone starts ringing and the emails start coming in so that I have to spend an extra hour or two at home working on work things instead of homework. I took the whole weekend off so that I can get all of my stuff done, but I have a feeling most of it is going to be spent on the phone with work answering stupid questions that with a little effort they could answer themselves. I am the only one at my job still working towards my degree while putting in all of the hours I am. One manager has an MBA, the other a PHD in Finace, and both my front desk workers have degrees in English. Why is it, that with all these well educated individuals, they cannot seem to remember what finals week is like and what it takes to find an answer for yourself. Boggles my mind.

Training

We got another new guy at work on Friday. I completely forget he was coming in. On my way to work I was just driving and thinking about everything I had to do that day and was determined to get all of my work caught up, and even get ahead, so that I would be free to take some short days this week and keep on top of my finals. I pull into the parking lot and there is this stranger walking up to the door, suitcase in hand. The word "fuck" just fell right out of my mouth as I realized my day would now be spent babysitting the newbie instead of getting my work done.

Nice kid, good with the parents, didn't exactly pick it up quick, but I explained it rather quickly. Hopefully Monday we'll get a chance to get it all covered.

Things to cover:

1.) Enrolling in class

2.) Dropping a class

3.) Transferring a class

4.) Importance of category 1

5.) Posting a fee

6.) Prorating

7.) Crediting

8.) Statements

9.) Tax records

10.) Camp

11.) Adding a class

12.) Injury reports

13.) Copies

14.) Trifolds

15.) Flyers

16.) Attendance

17.) Adding a class

18.) Partners

19.) Aged Accounts

20.) Misc Tab

21.) Birthday parties

22.) Birthday Party Permission Slips

23.) Open Gym

24.) Refunds

25.)Opening

26.) Closing

27.) Filing

When I have the time I should write down a training manual, but I fear that doing so would take away my job security. If I were to leave and they needed to train someone new, they would be screwed. If I write it all down then they would be fine. Too bad I would most likely be let go if I divulged all my secrets instead of rewarded for a job well done.

Finals and Work

How I am going to manage work and finals in these next two weeks is beyond me. Work just called me a few minutes ago and informed me that the new guy called out of the afternoon shift and as manager it is on my job to get it filled. Thanks a lot buddy. You couldn't call out on a day that I don't have class. I called around and no one else can come in and cover it, so guess what? I have to. As if my Thanksgiving "break" didn't suck enough, what with only actually getting Thanksgiving off and working 12 to 15 hour days for the rest of it, now I have to work some more when I should be in class learning what I paid for. Not to mention my dropping participation grades due to being absent before for the same reason.

Ha! Even as I am writing this I have just gotten a text telling me my employee who works tomorrow morning on the desk might not make it in. Her daughter is sick and she might have to stay home and take care of her. I don't mind this as much since I will be there anyways, now I will just have to sit at the desk instead of working on my administration duties.

Anyways, I have taken the whole weekend off before the last day of class so that I can spend the right amount of time on everything I need to finish. All of my finals for all four of my classes are due on the last day of class. That includes one 7 page paper, one page paper, one ambitious article, and one art final. Woohoo!

While this semester has been stressful with everything I've need to take care of at work I have truly enjoyed all of my classes and learned a lot. This is the first semester I can say I have really enjoyed the work for a long time.

Work, while I may bitch a lot, has been educational as well. The people and company I work for suck, but hopefully I have learned the skills necessary to flourish at my next job. I also hope that I can find: 1.) a new job and 2.) one where the people don't suck.

Thanksgiving!

You gotta love the holidays, you get a day off from school and work. I need a break from work today. While my family is pretty dysfunctional, dealing with them, instead of my boss who tells me on a constant basis my personality sucks, will be much appreciated.

Yesterday I got to go through about 500 accounts one by one at work to check and make sure they had all paid because my boss could not figure out why our revenues were so low. I explained to him that he was missing thousands of dollars due to a prepaid CAP program we ran to make it through the summer and the lack of revenues coming from our sucky birthday parties. Needless to say the manly man did not believe the lowly woman and made me look through them anyways. What did I find? You guessed it!! CAP program and birthday parties. How does he repay me, by telling me one of our partner coaches thinks I am not shiny and bright enough and would rather go to the lazy happy jokester at the desk then me to help her with things. Well thats great. Good for her. When she is still waiting for two weeks for him to get it done when I could have done it in five seconds I will look at her, give her a great big happy smile, and ask her how her day is going.

Every other job I have worked at, including my waitressing job, has no problem with me. While it is agreed I am not the most open and bubbly person, I am perfectly sweet to customers and co workers and I am kick ass at my job. So why is this one so much different? Why do they pile on the responsibility and tell me I suck at life at every turn? I have no figured it out. Maybe it is me or maybe it is the people I work with. All I know is today I am thankful to have the day off, that I have a job in order to make a paycheck, that my family is around to pig out with, that my boyfriend can put up with me and loves me to pieces, that my friends love me and I love them, and that I have people fighting for my freedom whom I could not be prouder of and hope he comes back safe soon.

Doubt

Work is work, you go, you do what you have to do, you get the hell out of there. Should it always be that way though? Do you really spend thousands of dollars on an education to get a job that you could have done without the degree and still make the same amount of money? Are you always suppose to hate your job?

I find that the work I do at my job, while time consuming, is not anything particularly difficult. While a lot of it is tasks I have never encountered before (like calling up different companies to understand the multi-line phone systems and copy machines to get the best deal), it is all a learning process, experience for the next big thing. Is there really a next big thing?

I encountered a woman yesterday during a peak time on a Saturday afternoon. There were two birthday parties going on, on it is transition stage of getting into their room while the other needed to be cleaned, team practice ending, another beginning, and sales techniques that needed to be handled with straggling parents in the lobby. I was the only one around to handle it all at once. The woman was looking for her child's jacket she had left at our facility a week before. I had seen it around, but at this moment it was nowhere to be found. There are a number of people, including myself, that could have moved it our discarded it. I looked in all of the places that it could have been. I apologized to her and informed her that I could not find it, but if she left her name and number she would be called if it was found. She was not happy with this answer and become agitated. Apparently someone had told her earlier on in the week it was there. Again I apologized and told her I could not find it. She insisted I take her around to look for it. I did so, all the while telling her I had looked everywhere. I myself was now becoming agitated. I was trying to keep my cool, but her attitude with me was infectious. While walking around the facility, coached and parents were approaching me asking for help. This only increased my frustration. I can multitask at work with the best of them, but this was a bit overwhelming.

I finally came across my manager and coworker who had finally decided to stop playing with a parents dog outside. I could not take it any longer and passed the woman off to them. It must have been clear to her that we were all disorganized and had no idea what we were doing at that point in time. I felt bad for her and for the company that we were making such an impression. I needed to step away and handle other duties. After my manager had told her the same thing I did and got her name and number she approached me to ask me what was the matter. After explaining it to her, she talked down to me like a child, told me to get a grip, not let people see me frustrated, and get back to work.

While she was right that I needed to keep my cool, I began to question a few things. Why did I not have the help and support I needed from my coworkers in order to handle everything at once appropriately. Was that really the issue, or was I the issue? Do I just suck at my job? Do I not have what it takes to step up in the ladder and be a manager? If my manager had been around to handle it and gone through what I did with the pressure of everything at once would she have cracked or could she have remained composed?

I left work that day, after handling the rest of the craziness, feeling defeated. Am I doomed to work these dead end stressful jobs forever? Will I never get to a place where I am satisfied with my work? Will I always have to work in disorganization with no support, no money, and coworkers who always seem to make me feel bad about myself, even with their insincere compliments? Am I the issue? I do not know. All I know is that graduation is on the horizon, I am at a job who cannot guarantee me that I can have full time hours when the time comes, but makes me feel bad about thinking of other options to secure my future.

Learning the Ropes of the Managing World

This Managing thing is not all it is cracked up to be.

Camp Day

Kids have the day off from school, I have crazily agreed to work in the morning in place of my classes, and the gym is packed with little ones. Camp and Open Gym are going on right now which means we will get a minimal amount of money, a messy gym, and destroyed mats. That is just the nature of the business I guess.

In getting ready for the camp day and all of the other craziness going on here for the holiday season I was stuck here for twelve hours yesterday. Too bad we don't get over time. Major brownie points with the Russian Mob Boss though. He piled even more responsibilities on me. I'm pretty much his little bitch. If all of this didn't look so good on my resume I'd be going mad.

To The Rescue!

I got to help a customer last night that truly brightened my day. After being bombarded with new responsibilities to the point where I had to go off and cry a little from the stress, here comes this sweet mom to brighten my day. She was a well dressed woman, clearly coming in after work, whose daughter is in the most scattered brained coaches program. She has volunteered to register all of the coaches girls into the USAG website in order for the girls to participate in meets within the Northeast region. This is not easy feet. The coach is not easy to deal with either. I felt for her I really did. When she came in needing all kinds of passwords and sign-ins and credit card numbers that the coach had neglected to give to her I was more ten happy to help. I directed her to the coaches location assume that the coach would give her what she needed. This woman is after all doing her a favor. Nope. She came back frustrated and annoyed informing me the coach had no time for her, she was doing the most important job in the world, coaching. I took the paperwork form her and walked into the gym and asked a few of the coaches, including the one she was working for, to give me the information she needed. No problem. two seconds, gives me the answers. Pretty painless I must say. Why they could not answer this mom in the same manner I am not sure. We all went back and forth like this for a few rounds until finally everything was done. The mother was very appreciative of my efforts. We shot the shit about the nature of the coaches and how the whole process was a lot harder then it needed to be. I'm sure we will be coming in contact again soon and I look forward to it. She seemed like a really cool lady to sit down with over a drink and just talk. Perhaps if I was 10 years older I would have made a new friend.

Another Day, Another Dollar...Oh wait...

The responsibilities just keep piling on! Woohoo! I swear every time I go into work they have added one another aspect of the company that I am responsible for. In about two months I have gone from strictly front desk to: front desk, customer service supervisor, administrative manager, head of scheduling the facility space, making sure hard copies of the class schedule is correct, keeping the schedule of classes updated in the computer system, creating all program flyers and tri-folds, updating the website with the latest news and schedule changes, decorating the gym for special events, managing all front desk staff, cleaning the front desk, payroll, staff pictures, HR, and employee files. I feel like there is more. Oh, creating email addresses for all employees and then setting that account up to forward to their personal email because they are too lazy to check their work email. With all of this added responsibility you would think I would be making some big bucks. They have not raised my hourly rate at all. I am doing the job of like 6 people and getting paid only slightly more then the new hires I am constantly cleaning up after. Sweet. That's cool. I don't care. I am only falling behind in school because by the time I finish my ten and a half hour days I fall asleep mid paper or book. I just keep telling myself there is only 7 months left until graduation. Just 7 months to try and keep up with making money for the bills and homework for a degree. 7 months. 7 more months of trying to figure out what the hell the Umass Administration is doing down there in their office that it takes almost a year for the WPE results to show up on my degree audit. 7 more months of working for the Russian mod assuring every customer that yes is the answer. 7 more months of getting looks from teachers that your just the typical slacker who goes out drinking every weekend instead of doing homework. 7 more months of having absolutely no time or energy to go out and have fun with friends unless scheduled weeks in advance so I can get time off and work around my homework. Just 7 more months.

Happy Halloween!!

We gon' light it up like its dynamite!!

The annual Halloween party for the little kiddies is tonight complete with a haunted house, brains, eyeballs, and more! Yesterday at work was a lot of fun for once. Since nobody else seemed to give a shit that we had a party to get ready for, I decided to take the initiative and decorate the lobby and preschool gym. The biggest hit so far is the spider me and the science guy, Scott, jerry-rigged to the door so that when people enter the spider appears to be crawling up to the ceiling. I was a skeptic, as usual, at first. I thought it was a stupid idea and it wouldn't work; now it is all anyone is talking about.

We decided at the end of the night to run the fog machine in the lobby to give kids a preview of what was to come. We ran it for about 30 to 45 minutes, turned off all the lights. We had tiny tea light candles and orange christmas style lights going, mixed with the smoke and scary decorations, it gave everything an erie feel. Kids and coaches seemed concerned with the amount of smoke, but it is water based so not harmful to your health. Another concern was if the fire alarms would go off. We told them not to worry about it, we do this every year. Well, by every year we meant in the large warehouse sized gym, not the lobby. Low and behold we in fact set the fire alarms off. There wasn't a lot of concern since everyone knew there wasn't a fire. The Westwood Police and Fire Department took everything with a good sense of humor. During this time of year this type of event occurs quite a few times. Atleast it gives them something to do. I mean come on, its Westwood, not exactly known for crime and mayhem.

I hope it the alarms don't go off again tonight. We are still going to run the machine in the haunted house. If they do, oh well. I won't be hear. Hope fully I make more money waitressing then if I had worked this Halloween party.

Getting Screwed Once Again

I can't tell you how many times I have had to change my schedule around these people, as they give the new hires exactly what they want and fuck me over. I finally got to work Wednesday mornings and get the afternoon off to do whatever I need to. At the beginning of the semester I had to work all day Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Then I got Wednesday morning off. I had to work Sundays as well as Saturdays. I can have Sunday off. BULLSHIT! No when my schedule works well and I have been trying to catch up on all of my work with Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon, and all day Sunday off; they want me back on all day Wednesday. I don't give a shit if the new guy, who fucking sucks at his job by the way, wants to start some bullshit wrestling class with his minimal high school experience on Wednesday nights. Too bad. Pick a different day. I have been here for two years and kick ass at my job. GIVE ME THE SHIFTS I HAVE EARNED!!! You aren't paying me what I'm worth, you can at least give me the hours I need to work around school. So you just promoted me, gave me a secret bullshit title no one else in the business knows about, gave me not more money, and added on triple the responsibilities. I don't care. That I can handle. But don't fuck with my routine. Especially not for some shit newbie who has not earned the right to request the hours he wants. He should be getting what is needed around what us old timers don't want. Might have to suck it up and waitress full time. My resume still gets the added bonus to say I was an Admin Manager to help me find a new job.

Day Off and Still On the Clock

I received countless text messages, emails, and phone calls today from work. All asking me where they could find something and how do they do the simplest tasks I have trained them on months ago. I'm sorry, I thought today was my day off. Well, not really. Still had to go to school and deal with the bullshit of them saying I didn't pass the WPE when they sent me an email back in January saying I did. Regardless, I was not suppose to be bothered by work. I am not on the clock, you did not give me a raise, and I am no on salary. So what would happen if I put in an extra hour on my time card for the questions I answered today. They would flip their shit that's what would happen. Ahhhh the joys of real life.

Bend This Buddy

So, I'm going to digress a bit in this post and touch on my waitressing job. The wedding I worked yesterday was nucking futs! People are so ridiculous. You would think when you see a woman coming down a flight of stairs with two giant trays of your empty glasses and plates, you might move out of the way. Nope. Instead they just turn, look you straight in the eye, give a half ass smile, return to their conversation, and still stand in the middle of the stairs. Alright, I got you lady. Don't look at your skinless chicken dinner too close, you might see some spit in it. No returns, all dinners are final, thanks! My second favorite behavior of the night was the drunken frat guy singles table. That pretty much says it all, but let me elaborate. As usual, wine is purchased with the wedding and handed out with the guest with their dinner. Us fabulous waitresses go around filling the glasses back up as the guest finish them. No big deal. I noticed this one short, crooked teethed, mismatched, little man had finished his girly glass of white wine. I went over to him and asked him if he would like some more. He was standing in my way of reaching the glass he had put on the table. He looked at me excitedly, "Can I?!" Well yeah duh, I wouldn't ask you if you couldn't. His friend proceeded to hand me the glass, and as I am pouring, the short little man says to his friend, "Now why did you hand her the glass dude, I wanted to watch her bend over as she poured it!" Alright jackass, I am standing right next to you. I can hear you. I know I'm about a foot taller then you, maybe you think sound doesn't travel that far up, I don't know. This was the first time something like this had happened to me, so my reaction was to walk away. My more experience co workers informed me that in that situation, if I feel the need, a slight "oops I'm sorry I missed and poured it into you lap" was quite alright. Next time.

Time Cards

It is amazing how many people you have to track down so that they can get paid. All you have to do is fill out a tiny sheet of paper with each day that you worked and how long. If you feel like it get your supervisor to sign it. Most of the time though, no one really cares. Just fill the damn thing out and hand it in and amazingly money appears in your checking account. With how easy that is, I still have to track down at least 10 people to get them to hand it in. I wonder what would happen if I didn't harass them for it every two weeks. Next payroll I will just won't say anything. I will just put in who is responsible enough to get them to me on time. They will be rewarded with the money owed them for their hard work and dependability. Those who did not hand them in will just have to deal with getting paid late. The can come and find me and ask me why their time cards were not put in and why they got punished by not getting their task done on time. Oh, how the tables will turn.

Rude Again

I was called rude again today at work. This made me stop and really think about my behavior. They were right. I got defensive, as per usual, but with some consideration, they were right. I was running around doing this, that, and the other thing. I had a million tasks running around in my mind. I was promoted to Administrative Manager today so all of my new responsibilities were weighing on my mind. I was also focused on all of the homework I had waiting for me at home after my 11 hour day. Half hour left of work and there was still a million things to be done. Lately, my boss has decided to become a chatty cathy instead of a productive person. I was trying to round up my work and his, get it done, and get out. When my new coworker taking my place asked me a question in front of a customer I was quick, too the point, no ass kissing involved, in my response. I was more talking to him then I was with the customer, but when I tried to correct the problem and explain myself it was too late. She was already pissed. She proceeded to go on and on about how rude I was with my coworker. Alright lady, I get it. I could have been more sweet to him and to you in my response of you need to ask the coach I have no idea. Next time, I will try and do so. At the same time I was annoyed that he was even asking me. All he needed to do was ask the coach, and if I had asked my superior about it, he would have answered me in the same way. I was considered rude however. They were right I was sort of rude, but come on! Long day, long night. Next time I'll be sure to keep my ass kissing cap on until the very last second of my shift.

Day Off

No customer service ridiculousness today. Finally, it's Sunday, my one day off. The next day I look forward to is Wednesday, when I get the morning off. Other then that its customer service mode all day long. Except for when I'm in class. Trying to please people in a restaurant (second job, minus the annoying tag phrase) or an office is hard work man. 85% fake smiles, 15% genuine enjoyment of people. At the end of the day its hard to turn off the bullshit and try to get real with people. You've been fake talking to people all day long, the last thing you really want to do is strike up an actual conversation with someone. Maybe that's just me. My house phone rang this morning and I started to answer with "*****. Yes is..." and stopped myself midway through. My uncle immediately started laughing at me. I wouldn't be surprised if at dinner I make a bread basket and offer my parents the dessert menu.

..............

I am just too tired to even process peoples bullshit today. Save me. Someone please come setmy job on fire or call in with a bomb threat. Kidding. Kinda.

Ahhhh the joys of customer service....

Some people just don't get it. They really think they are better then everyone else and don't have to follow the rules. Coaches, parents, kids. It really drives me up a wall.

If a form has required areas on it, including a credit card, fill it out!!! If you signing up to join an adult gym, or to pay your bills online, or I don't know whatever else people use credit cards for, you would hand it over no problem. When it comes to your kids classes thought, let's see if we can avoid paying for them. That sounds like a good idea. It won't sound like a good idea when I go in and back flip your kid out of class because you didn't pay. It won't be such a good idea when I send your ass to collections and they take away that pretty Lexus you can't pay for. Stop making my life difficult and just provide the damn credit card!!! If you can use it to buy those pretty Prada pumps and chic Chanel clutch than whats the problem? If you are truly one of the parents who are tight on money, I can see your hesitation. If you can't afford the class, or are unsure if you can afford it, I'm sorry, but you just can't take it. My heart goes out to you, really it does. As a kids who's parents couldn't afford those classes I get where you are coming from. Trust me your kid will be fine. They will get into college, they will get a job, they will have friends, they will survive. Save your money for the college tuition. I guarantee you they will be more pissed if you can't afford room and board then if you didn't bring them to karate class once a week at age 8.

For those coaches out there who don't like to come and teach their classes......WHAT THE FUCK! I don't care if you hit an elephant on the highway on its way to the circus. Get your ass to class. Maybe you had one too many shots the night before. I get it, you feel like shit. Been there done that. If I can get my ass up at 7 am, after getting home at 4 am, and then work 10 hours, I don't want to hear it. Your class isn't until 4:30 pm! If you aren't recovered by then, you need a doctor. And I want the note. Then I want you to Skype me from your hospital bed so that you can explain to the 15 angry parents in front of me why you aren't here. Again. On top of that you can give me the money out of your pocket to refund them. I'm sick of not getting paid my paycheck, when I show up to work every time I'm suppose to, because I have to refund parents for your irresponsibility. God himself, or whatever your respective religion worships, better have popped up through the earth and told you not to come to work because you need to complete a special mission. Further more, if he does, can you ask him to get me a million dollars? A winning lottery ticket? Buy my future kids since I don't have any right now? Yes is the answer to the question afterall, isn't it?

Quiet Day at the Office

Today was a pretty quiet day at the office. Not too many customers to deal with. Mostly I had to work on creating advertising materials and organize the mess the new people left for me. It's hard training new people. Not only do I have to focus on my own work, but I need to correct theirs as well. You would think answering the phone with "Yes is the answer, what is the question?" would be the easiest part of the job. You'd be surprised how hard it is for them. My method of training was role playing so that they could get the feel of the types of questions customers would ask. I would them walk them through step by step as to how to find the answers. I even gave them idiot proof packets that outline most of the answers and steps for them. Yet while sitting there pretending not to pay attention to what they were doing, they still manage to fuck it all up. It is extremely frustrating. I just want to jump in and do it for them, but I know they will never learn that way. That is assuming they even want to learn. The attitude I am getting is less then satisfactory. Perhaps I am being too hard on them. I tend to have some pretty high expectations of them. It could also be that their performance directly affects my job. The faster they learn and get on track the faster I get to move up in the company. Chilling out and having some understanding might need to be something I have to work on. We'll see how it goes.

Damn, now I have to pay for my classes?

Just got a call from a guy who was very upset that a collection agency has been calling his house looking for money. How rude it is that we even sent him there in the first place. I felt bad, really. I mean you took three months of classes here with us, over two years ago, and now we are asking you to pay for them. The audacity! How could we! We only gave you a year to pay before we sent you to collections! And it has been a year since we sent you to collections and they called you the whole time asking for the money! The horror! I can see how we are in the wrong here and were completely out of line. Everyone should get two years to pay off the classes that they took. Why tell us why you aren't paying and ignore the phone calls we made to you personally. I can see how with all of this sending you to collections was extremely irresponsible, rude, and a bad business procedure.

Fuck off dude. Pay your bills.

The Teenage Years

I had a very nice mom whome I chat with occasionally ask me a very interesting question the other day. She asked me if I remembered when I was 16. Intrigued I replied that I did and asked her why she wanted to know. She was having problems with her daughter who has recently entered her teenage years and wanted some advice as to what her daughters mind set might be. The daughter wanted to go to some party or something and completely freaked out when mom said no. Ahhhh yes, I remember those days not so fondly. It felt nice being able to explain to her how similar I reacted when I was her daughters age. How when you are a teenager it feels like mom is trying to destroy her life. It doesn't matter if mom just bought you a new pair of UGG's and took all of your friends out to dinner. The second you say no she is the enemy. It felt good being able to tell her that in a few years it will all change and she will appreciate her in more ways then one. For once I was able to help a mom out with more then just a payment or enrolling them into a class. I actually got to help her understand her daughter a little better. In a way I guess it brightened both of our days.

Child Services

Even though I may get frustrated with all of the needy rich moms that I have to deal with most of the time, there is always one thing that can make me smile. The kids. I get the pleasure of helping out, talking to, and playing with the most adorable little kids on the planet. Okay I might be slightly biased, but still if you saw them you'd agree. Their adorable blue eyes and charming innocence gets me every time they say hi. It makes me reminisce about my own childhood and the simplicities that children get to enjoy. I had a tampon on my desk the other day-sorry boys-and the bosses nine year old daughter asked me what it was. I was surprised honestly and stupidly that she didn't know what it was. I asked her if she had learned what happens to girls when they grow up yet. She enthusiastically said no and I honestly was jealous. Yes Jealous. Come on ladies don't you miss when you were young and you didn't have to know about or deal with adulthood. You ran around a gym playing with friends and talking to the friendly front desk woman where she gave you stickers and goodie bags. Those were the days. Mom paid the bills, you had fun, and you didn't have to listen to the cheap moms who could squeeze change out of a penny.

Yes is the answer, what is the question??

At my full time job I have to answer the phone with "******! Yes is the answer, what is the question?" at least fifty times a day. Out of those fifty times, more the 25 of them are returned with a laugh. This is then followed by the hello and they ask me whatever clever question they can think of. It's as if they think they are so quick I haven't already been asked the same question by the countless other brilliant customers I am forced to deal with. Can I have a million dollars? Do you want to buy my kids? Can you pay my bills? Do you know who this is? Can I get a blow job? Well that one was by a coworker trying to ease the pain of the same pointless shit all day, but you get the point.

I admit it is a different way to answer the phone and it does get people to remember us. Still, I am absolutely sick of trying to be cute and sweet with the responses I get. Instead what I really wnat to say is "What the fuck do you want help with already, can we just get to the point?! I have a million other things to take care for my Russian "mob" Boss, let alone what you are now going to ask me to do!"

With that said, it will probably surprise you that I was shocked when someone called me rude today, but come on! With that attitude and they thought I was rude! No, but really, in all seriousness, as much contempt as I might have at the end of the day for my job, I still try my hardest (for the most part) to be as pleasant as possible. I treat every customer with the same respect I receive. I'd say even more so when it comes to the la de da rich moms who make it a point to make me feel as if they are better then me. I smile and I get done whatever they need to as quickly as possible. Hell I even make small talk about the weather, community events, smile at there kids, and give their kids a sticker or some candy if allowed. 9 times out of 10 I rock at customer service, so I guess this women just caught me on an off day. She didn't even have the balls to say I was rude to my face, she had her little friend come up and say it to me. I hope I'm not working when she comes in again. Can you say kill them with kindness?? :)

Alice and Wonderland 3D

Over the weekend I went with a few friends to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D at the Legacy Place Theatre. The theatre was packed by the time we got their there so we had to sit in one of the very first rows. I'm not sure if this was the cause of me not liking the 3D aspect of the film or if it really wasn't as great as it was made out to be. A few people thought it was good enough that they gave the film applause when it was over.

They decided to combine the two tales of Alice and Wonderland. We got the background of Alice's adventures as a little girl in the land of Wonderland, which Disney first showed us in its original animation version of the story, and of her journey to defeat the jabberwocki in the second half of the tale and save the inhabitants of Wonderland.

The best 3D part of the whole movie is when Alice is falling down the rabbit hole and is dodging branches and beds and tables. It really has the audience dodging back and forth in their sits right with her. The rest of the movie after that really does not have a lot of 3D animation. If it wasn't for the fact that the screen was all fuzzy when you took the glasses off I would have watched the second half of the movie without them.

Johnny Depp, the whole reason I wanted to see it in the first place, gave a pretty good performance, but not as good as I was expecting. He definitely lived up to his reputation of playing wacky roles. The character however has more of a haunted depressed feeling to it, rather then a happy and crazy, which I think is what a lot of people thought the Mad Hatter was going to be.

Been There Seen That

Why is it that we watch the same movies over and over again? I was flipping through the channels the other day and came across a few movies that I have seen a million times and started to watch 10 Thing I Hate About You, then it was The Departed, and moving on to Animal House. I watched each one for about 10 minutes and couldn't stand to watch them anymore as I knew every plot twist and punchline by heart. Yet I can sit and watch other movies like Pretty Woman, Titanic, and Man on Fire over and over again for hours, even though I can probably quote each line on command. So whats the deal guys? Are there some movies you can watch a million times over and others that just bore you? Let me in on the secret because I have some ideas as to why this happens, but would still like to hear what you think........

Final Cut

The main editing software for films that is used now a days is formatted for Apple PCs and is called Final Cut. This software has a few different versions to it for those who are into editing movies recreationally and for those who do it professionally.



The recreational version is called Final Cut Express. It was created in 2003 to make it more available to the public since it is much cheaper then the professional version. It runs around $140 and while it uses the same interface as the Pros its is missing some of the advanced options for manipulating the piece of video media you are editing, such as some transitions from scene to scene and the amount of video footage you can upload at one time.


The professional version is called Final Cut Pro. Clever huh? It can run anywhere from $300 to $1,200 depending on the studio pack you get. Each one comes with different software to perfect your video once you have edited it together. The basic and cheapest comes with Motion 4 for motion graphics and animation, Soundtrack Pro 3 for audio post-production, Color 1.5 for color grading and finishing, Compressor 3.5 and DVD Studio Pro 4 so that you can produce a professional quality DVD when you are done. You also have the option of getting just Final Cut Pro in HD format for $700. It all depends on what your goals are and what you are willing to spend.

Final Cut Pro provides non-linear editing of any Quicktime compatible video format. Its interface has four different sections of the screen: the Browser, where all your video media files are listed that you have uploaded from your camera; the Viewer, where individual video media files can be previewed and trimmed to exactly where you want them; the Timeline, where the video media can be cut together into a sequence that will be your final video; and the Canvas, where the edited production in the timeline can be viewed. It supports an unlimited number of video tracks which you can edit together; up to 99 audio tracks which can be overlapped with the video; multi-camera editing for combining video from multiple camera sources; as well as standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions so that you can get each frame exactly where you want it. It comes with a range of video transitions and a variety of video and audio filters so that you can creatively move from scene to scene. It also has a manual 3-way color correction filter so that all of your lighting and color of the subject you are working with can be just the way you want it despite outside elements.

All in all, despite its price, Final Cut is a must have software if you are thinking of going into any sort of film making. It is the software used by the pros to make the blockbusters you see today. It's a great advantage that this software is available to the public so openly and it really isn't that hard to learn to navigate. It comes with a tutorial video, while the guy who narrates it is rather boring, that is very helpful. You can can either use your mouse to use all of its features, or the short cut keystrokes which makes it easier and faster to get everything done.

The Harry Potter Exhibition

The Harry Potter Exhibit is something that I have wanted to see since it came to Boston and I finally managed to do so. While not a movie, it does have to do with one of the highest grossing movies of all time and the most popular exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston.



The amount of people that were at the exhibit was absurd! It probably didn't help that I decided to go on school vacation week. You could not move without hitting someone or some young child pushing you along. The amount of the tickets to get in was a little pricey at $65 for two people. However that included an audio device whereyou listen to the makers of the Harry Potter movies discuss the items on display. You also get a ticket to get into the rest of the museum, which you could wait and use sometime within the next six months. The Exhibit itself was definitely worth the money and the time that it took to get through the crowds. Even with the massive amounts of people it only took about an hour to get through.



The beginning of the tour starts you out with a very colorful British actor giving a demonstration with the famous Sorting Hat. In the movie this hat is what places all of the characters into the different houses they will live in and identify with throughout their years at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry. It's a nice way to start off the tour seeing as how that is where the first movie really gets going. After that you are shown into a room where you view some edited together clips of all the movies. This part seemed unnecessary seeing as if you have never seen the movies it doesn't provide you with any real information and if you have seen them, well you've already seen everything they show you. The way it was edited however was very nicely done, and clever as well since right at the end when they show us the famous Hogwarts Express train is when they simultaneously open the doors to a life size model complete with light and sound of the front steam engine.

As you walk through the exhibit you are taken through all the major elements of the films. You start off with the boys dormitories and get to see Ron and Harry's beds, trunks, dressers, and costumes that they wore in the movie. The majority of what you see are costumes from the movies for all of the characters including the dress robes that all the characters wore in the fourth film The Goblet of Fire. These costumes were set up in an area that is meant to be The Great Hall, which also had some of the decorations you see during the scene of the big dance. You are also taken through a set up of The Dark Forest, a Quidditch area, Hagrid's Hut, and a few other areas throughout the exhibition. Among all of the items that you get to see are all the major characters wands, the Marauder's Map, and various books used for the different classes that the students take in the films. Everything is set up in a creative and engaging decor, which really makes you feel like you are part of the movies and on set with the characters.

At the end of the exhibition they drop you out into a gift shop full of Harry Potter sovereigns. They have everything you could imagine from a talking Sorting Hat to magnets and T-shirts. While everything is rather pricey, it is merchandise you can't really get anywhere else so they know everyone will be willing to pay for it.The only draw back, besides all of the people is that you are not aloud to take pictures. However, there is a guide book they sell in the gift shop with pictures of everything in the Exhibition and some commentary from the creator's of the movies included.

If you love the Harry Potter books and movies, you will love this Exhibition. It is a must see for every fan and even entertaining for those who just love movies and what goes into making all the the details you see on screen.

Valentines Day! Not just a consumer holiday, but a kick ass movie!

Valentines Day is definietly a movie that is good to go see with the girls or on a date. It is not your average chick flick filled with a bunch of sappy "I love you's" but filled with a lot of humor performed by some of the best actors in Hollywood.

Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey. Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher, Geroge Lopez, Kathy Bates, Topher Grace, Jamie Foxx, Eric Dane, Bradley Copper, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, and Queen Latifah all come together and give us a wonderful betrayal of the ups and downs of Valentines Day. It is a day filled with tremendous pressure on men to give their women exactly what they want. This movie is a great represtation of how some men hit it out of the park while other's strike out at the plate. It is full of laughs while showing us what love is like at the teenage years, the rejection of a proposal, and how not everything is about love between a man and a woman but a mother and her son.

I don't want to give too much away however, so get off the computer and get your butt to the movies because it is worth the money! You'll laugh, you'll cry, maybe you'll even get some solid ideas for next years Valentines Day!

Dear John, You Suck

Like most young women, when the trailers started coming out about the Dear John movie staring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried, based on the book by Nicolas Sparks, I couldn't wait to go see it. The thought of another great movie like The Notebook, also based on one of his books, was invigorating. I begged my boyfriend to take me to see it, and was even willing to use one of my "forces" ( I only get to force him to do 3 really girly things, like see a chick flick, a month). What turned out to be a force however was the movie itself.



The movie is about a young solider John Tyree (Channing Tatum) home on leave to visit his autistic father at the same time as a college student Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) is home on spring break. They meet in your typical boy saves the day fashion and the chemistry between them couldn't ignite a spark, let alone a whole fire. John is your typical angry bad boy reformed by training making a career out of fighting for his country and while Channing Tatum is perfect for this role given his past experience on screen, he seems to be trying a little too hard. He tries to find the right balance between showing us his bad boy side mixed with a good guy but just can't seem to find the real mix that was needed. His performance is not as far fetched as Amanda's however. Her cute little frame and wavy blond hair fit very well with the sweet and innocent angel personality they were going for, but the way she reads her lines and carries herself gives the character this spark of attitude and bad girl persona that clashes with the way the character was meant to come across. Savannah is the picture perfect saint spending her days building houses for charity and taking care of a young autistic boy (what a coincidence that John's father is also autistic huh?). Of course the two "fall in love" right away before he is whisked away on a mission and she goes back to school. They write letters everyday which are less then heart wrenching and seem to be written more by brother and sister then two young people in love. How they even manage to get these letters too eachother amazes me, since is it specifially stated that he is not aloud to tell her where he is, so how can he get them postmarked and how does she know what address to send it to?

The best storyline of the whole movie is the issue that John has with his father being autistic. Richard Jenkins performance as Mr. Tyree is very touching and really gives you an inside look at the struggles of trying to raise a son while battling your own demons. He cooks lasagna every Sunday without fail and is obsessed with collecting coins, which is what holds the bond between him and his son. The scene that really pulls at your heart strings is a moment between Channing and Richard where John has just been shot and Mr. Tyree has just had a stroke. John write his father a letter and they seem to over come all the issues that they have had between them all these years. This letter is the only letter shared throughout the film that seems to actually have a purpose to the plot, as well as some actual feeling behind it. Savannah spends most of her time talking to Mr. Tyree instead of John, which I guess was the directors way of foreshadowing the horrible plot twist at the end of the movie.

Of course the "love" that these two young people share couldn't last for long with the great distance between them and the horrible two week foundation they had, so Savannah sends the infamous "Dear John" letter mimicking the letters that used to be sent to the soldiers of WWII when their women had decided they could no longer take the distance and found someone else. The someone else that Savannah finds however, is what ruins the whole ending of the movie. The story tries to make up for its far fetched plot twist by bringing the two lovers back together after a tragedy in Johns family, but the damage has already been done, and since the chemistry between Channing and Amanda was never there in the beginning there is nothing that can be done in the end to save this movie.

I have a feeling that a lot of the beauty, talent, and emotion was lost when trying to translate Nicholas Sparks book to the screen this time around. Maybe there was too much plot to fit into a 2 hour time span so they had to cut out a lot of key elements that would have really tied this movie together. Whatever the reason may be, its definitely didn't live up to the expectations that were set by the other films based on his books. On the plus side, being shot in South Carolina, their was a lot of amazing scenery behind the characters throughout the film.