Weekly Log - 06 through 12

Mon 6 Apr

I've raided Almada for jobs as my period for not trying call-centers approaches its end. Kid Bro went along on his cruise to the mall. I've handed him some resumes to deliver there. I've walked up and down the town, some new stores opening around, several coffee shops who could maybe need a waitress for Summer... zilch. I'm calling a call-center nearby tomorrow.

Well, it seems it's another Monday of ill luck and bad news. I went by a comic book store wondering if I could find a few Poison Elves numbers, or order them if the price wasn't out of my reach and I did find a job... other than the two tribute comics, Lusiphur and Lirilith and Parintachin, no deal. It's e-Bay or nothing. Crow.

Tue 7 Apr

I called a call-center and agreed to meet the supervisor at lunchtime. Once again, Kid Bro went along, since we were planning to seek out a D&D store in Almada when this nasty thing is through. This would be ideal, since it's near where Pops works and he would have no way of saying no if I showed up to have lunch with him, and the pass for the city train is 16 euros only.

The guy spoke to me for ten minutes on the phone before I headed there. When I arrived, he wasn't in, so I waited. And waited. And waited a bit more: forty-five minutes to be exact. Not that I mind, I have all afternoon. But I find it odd that someone is looking for people to work, urgent, and won't be here when it happens. What, there's nobody else to talk to me here? Alright, it's a small company, but so was the one from my previous job and they found someone to talk to me for a bit when I got there, even if just to fill in a file sheet while awaiting the interview. He finally arrived, and first greeted Kid Bro, thinking the job was for him. Then when I corrected him, he didn't know my name. Didn't ask for a resume. Didn't ask how old I was, only if I had worked the trade: I have, in fact I've worked it long enough to know I hate it. Two minutes into the talk, he asked if I could come back tomorrow at the same time.

I could be an illegal alien, he wouldn't give a fuck. I mean, at least the normal data from my ID! In most jobs, even for call-centers, they give a damn if you have a criminal record. I could be wanted by the FBI, these guys wouldn't give a rat's ass! And no talk about how I'm paid, when, how much and who does my taxing, me or the company. I'm starting to find all this very odd. Adding to the fact all the workers I saw there were below 20 years of age, I'm starting to think this may not be for me...

Wed 8 Apr

Back to the center. The guy wasn't in, again. Talk about having to chase a job. I never had so much trouble about a call-center position before. Again, he spoke to me for 2 minutes to ask if I had experience and put me listening to the oldest person in the center. That'd be a girl 20 years old who has been there for seven months.

I finally figured what I'm selling. Nothing like a bit of ill luck: I'm selling services from my own Internet provider. But I'm cool with it. I know the trade. In fact, side-by-side didn't teach me anything new: it only allowed me to see equipment sucks here. No auto-dial, and that's usually what call-centers get first. The client list is a copy of the phonebook, and everything is done by hand. I'm cool with that too: at least I don't need to look at a stupid script in a computer monitor, I can do my own thing. And yet, the most important thing was still not defined: how much, how's taxing and who's paying. The supervisor, or owner, or... boss, whatever the fuck he is here, disappeared again and wouldn't talk to me. I decided I had had enough, so I stopped the girl I was listening to and asked her.

Well, I knew it. This was sounding too odd to be a normal call-center. They employ mainly highschoolers of college freshmen, 3 hours a day, and all they can guarantee is 200 shinies a month. After tax and social security, it barely covers a month's electricity bill. I went home to Mum with the info. She told me to keep looking: it was too cheap and without any security. It seems my time period to avoid the deadful call-center was just prolongued. I can't help but feel a little depressed even so... I'm still unemployed.

Thu 9 Apr

Back to the battlefield. I'm sending to many resumes a day I don't even know to which ads I answered. Thinking of going to City Hall and see if they have contests opened for a position in there. How hard can it be? They do jack.

Had a long and rather interesting argument with Mum about the progressive stupidification of the human being. That's one of my favorite subjects. So is the progressive pussification of the human species, I like that too. The issue was brought about by watching an ad for a GPS device you can get on your cellphone or iPhone. I can see where it's useful in a car: you're driving on your own, you don't wanna stop (or can't) to consult your map, you get there without problems. But if you're on foot or riding a bycicle, why the heck do you need a GPS device? Aren't there town maps spread on every important place? And people on the street you can ask where this or that is? And excuse me: if you're somewhere and can't read a simple town display to get somewhere, then I'm sorry to say, you're really very dumb. My Mum has problems reading maps and can perfectly understand concepts like "second on the right", "turn left and then left again" and "across the street from the cleaner's".

In a city like Lisbon, getting lost is easy, but it's also easy to find yourself: every street leads everywhere else, it's a simple, square plant, and I think it's no secret that if you turn right four times, unless you get a wall somewhere, you're gonna end up where you began. There is such a thing as technology to make your life easier. There is also technology to decrease your braincell activity.

Fri 10 Apr

Friday. Night for going out. But my wallet's dry, so I'm staying in, doing missions for three lords on each other's back in Shinobido. It's so much fun. I especially like to bait them somewhere with a mushroom or piece of sushi and then jump them. Death from above!

I could use a beer today, however...

Weekend Sat 11 - Sun 12

I kept wondering if Easter was this weekend. When a message arrived wishing me a happy Easter, I got my answer. I'm done with celebrating holidays of faiths I don't belong to. Especially Easter: it's useless, work and school-wise. It's always on a Sunday by default (I actually had never thought of this until Chico brought it up - thanks, Chico). I figured, sometime in the past, while awaiting the arrival of yet another Christmas Eve: I'm not a Catholic, why the heck should I celebrate their holidays? Because they've been considered the default religion? Bullshit. You don't see me celebrating Hannukahs and Kwanzas. And in Christmas you eat well, but Easter only brings about chocolate... screw Easter.

I got Bon Jovi's discography (I was missing songs I liked by them, like Runaway, Blaze of Glory, Bed of Roses and Wanted Dead or Alive, and Mum wanted most of the recent stuff he did. I'm not big on the recent stuff myself. I usually don't go by slows, Bed of Roses is an exception, and the man's done a lot of them on the past decade or so) and X Japan's too (courtesy of that bloke on Burning Cinder Fury, thank you for the tip). Seeking the number of Gen13 I'm missing is killing me, and learning that "Eww" Boll is producing yet another BloodRayne makes my skin crawl. Won't anyone drop this guy's plane in the Atlantic ocean, preferrably when he's in it?