pyroguysr's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life At Work Wow... what a day. If I weren't feeling so yuck, I'd probably comment on the headlines... maybe I will though. Let's see how I feel when I'm done. I do temp work for Kelly Services. It's money that comes in handy to pay bills and keep us in sushi in between shows. Kelly recently called me to a job at this company Kat and I have been doing work for since January. They compile the data from drug trials, clean it up, dot all the i's, cross all the t's and generally make sure the report is good enough to submit to the government. Kat and I usually work quality control. That means we make sure that the stuff in the database matches what is in the Client File Report (CFR). That part of it pays 50% better than the job I have there now. The job I have now is filing all the stuff that's faxed or mailed in to the company. They called me for this job because the last batch of temps tended to socialize too much and work too little. So, I brought in a radio so that I can listen to Neal Boortz, Rush, NPR, classical or whatever I feel like at the time and thereby avoid the dreaded "socializing." I also bring my laptop in because they provide me with an hour lunch (half of which I don't use, so I just come in a little later.) First day there with the laptop, there is this Asian guy named Zeke that comes up to me... "What's that?" he says, pointing to my laptop with an enthusiastic manner that only a true geek can use about technology, yet managing to also sound like a cop or someone from security that's grilling someone they suspect of doing something wrong. "It's a laptop." "Oh, are you on the wireless network here?" "No, this computer is 7 years old. It would have a nervous breakdown from the first flash ad it encountered on the net. I use it as a portable typewriter." "Oh." He rapidly loses interest in me and wanders off to eat his lunch. I actually thought he WAS security until I saw later on that he worked in the file room with me. The manager of the file room assumes everyone knows everything, including the temps. I'm actually the "new guy" and I haven't been indoctrinated so I'm making all sorts of irritating (to her) mistakes in the record keeping of my time. I mean, I certainly don't give a fuck what pharmaceautical firm she bills my hours to. But she's finniky about that. I eventually get it straight after she says, "Jeeze, didn't you pay attention to ANYTHING in our orientation session?" My response: "WHAT orientation session?" "The one held three weeks ago." "Um, Cheryl, I started last Tuesday." "OH" And it goes on. She left early on Friday, so the Temps timecards didn't get done until today... which means that I won't get my paycheck in the mail until next SATURDAY when I'll be up in Baltimore for MDRF. (Though I'll bet she'd raise holy hell if she didnt' get HER paycheck on time!) Now, like I said, I've been feeling yucky. I've been feeling yucky since Otakon. Usually, when I feel like this, it means a sinus infection or a headcold from allergies. I feel yucky, then WHAM! it hits me, I'm down for two or three days and after that, I'm fine. Blowing my nose that's running a major marathon, but I'm fine. I've felt like crap for two weeks now. My left ear is plugging up to the point where I have about a 50% hearing loss. When I plug my right, it sounds like someone's playing a speaker underwater. Yes, I KNOW that means I have fluid building up in my ear. But because of the meds I'm on, I can't take any antihistamines. Grrr. At least, not the ones I prefer (pseudophedrine). Supposedly has a nasty drug interaction. So anyway, this lady loves to have at least one meeting every day, even if it's to say "We need to get this stuff filed" like she did this morning. Anyway, I'm listening to the radio, my RIGHT ear covered by the headset because I can't stand how it sounds out of my LEFT ear. Twice they had to come get me for the SECOND meeting because I'm crunched in tightly between two huge moveable filing cases. "Jack, you should uncover one ear." "I do. I'm going deaf in my left ear" "Well, then uncover your right ear and listen to the radio with your left!" "I can't." "Why not?" "I'm going deaf in my left ear." "OH" I kid you not... that's how it went. Now, I'm good at filing. All my client files, when I was a stockbroker, were organized and orderly. My compliance officer loved me. I don't have problems finding things by account number. I'm rather quick at it, in fact. But not all the files are always there. Sometimes they are checked out by various people (and I believe its for the expressed purpose of screwing up the filing system). Sometimes the files are put away incorrectly (today I found 13 files that were apparently WAAAAYYYY out of order, so I put them back where they belonged) and sometimes they are just missing. Their solution to "files not there" are to go over to the hideously disorganized and crumpled "check out sheets" and look through them (if you know the codes and whatever other voodoo whammy jammy they use to find files). This takes approximately an hour. If they arent there, you are to go through the carts with all the new files that have been returned (unless the industrious person with the cart decides to file them before you're done with the voodoo whammy jammy. I figure, what the fuck. I put them back on the shelf where I originally got them and just wait until the following morning when all is returned and put in order. But nnnoooooooooo! Cheryl looks at me at todays SECOND meeting and says: "There are people putting back files with notes saying the CFR's weren't found. When I looked, I found them, so please make sure you're doing your filing correctly." "Ummm, Cheryl, those files weren't on the shelf when I originally did them." "Well, I managed to find them." "That's probably because between 10 am and now (2 pm) they were returned and refiled. I figured it would just be easier to file them tomorrow morning when I come in and the files are back where they are supposed to be." "No. If you don't find the CFR on the shelf, you are to go to the XYZ and look to see if it's been checked out (they love using an alphabet soup of intials so that you don't know what the hell they're talking about). If it's not in the XYZ, you go to the ZVD and make sure it's not there, then, if you don't find it, ask a lead and see if they know where it is." That eats up 2 hours for 1 file. I know, I followed those instructions on Thursday. That's when I thought it might just be easier to file again on Friday (took me 15 minutes). I guess I shouldn't complain. They're paying me by the hour and billing the drug company. But it's costs like this that cause my prescriptions to go up (well, that and sue-happy trash that find weasely lawyers Like John Edwards to invoke frivolous lawsuits on these companies based on junk "science") Then, Zeke comes up to me again today. "What's that?" he says, pointing to my radio and again sounding like a cop pointing to a joint sticking out of your shirt pocket. I wanted to say "It's a super secret scanning machine. I'm copying every record I come across and giving it to your competition, plus it records all conversations and relays them, via satellite, to the company that employs me as a corporate spy!" but I didn't. I said, "It's a radio." "OH" Again, he lost interest in me. But he is really beginning to creep me out. AND NOW FOR BRIEF HEADLINE COMMENTARY: Yeah for coffee! It's an anti-oxidant. I'm keeping various friends in my thoughts (mainly Marrus, Jay and my other friend, Karen). Marrus and Jay have a house in New Orlean with most of her life's artwork there. Thankfully, they were heading out to the Georgia Ren Fest and didn't get caught in all this. I just hope their house (and Karen's) isn't under water. Yeah for Iraq, finally pounding out a Constitution... and more rapidly than our OWN founding fathers did (mainly because of the slave question... slaves brought here by the Dutch, I might add!) Boo to the NC Senate requesting an extended session to try and pass the Lottery bill. Boo to Cindy the twit. I will be protesting against her when she comes to Raleigh. That's all. I feel like crap. I'm going lay down and watch the last FLCL DVD. 6:14 p.m. - 2005-08-29 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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