Cross Promotion!

Hey all, in the interest of journalism and my love of tasty beer, I have started a "beer blog" to review all 150 beers on the OCB Craft Beer list before the end of next year. Thus far, I've had 2. Still, not a bad start, and I look forward to a year of good beers!

10 things to know about calling centres

Ok, so I was at work today, and I compiled a list of 10 things everyone should know about call centres, so here we go!

#1: I don't know what your suppertime is. If it's that important, why are you answering the phone anyways?

#2: If you're rude, we'll be putting you on callback, so you'll get even more calls that you initially did...HOWEVER, if you're polite in your refusal, then we'll leave you alone

#3: Don't say "I don't live here..." It's the most bullsh*t excuse ever, and if it's not your house, then what are you doing there? I'm calling the cops!

#4: Don't leave people who don't speak english or french in charge of the phone...what if it was something important?

#5: We are paid based on our completion rate, so be kind and help us out...most of us are students anyways

#6: Don't put us on hold, you're only tying up your own phone line. We give two "hellos" and thas it!

#7: Market research is not covered under the "Do Not Call List." Just ask us and you won't get more calls, but please be polite about it

#8: Don't be a smartass. This isn't the job I dreamed of as a child; we have feelings you know

#9: Most often we receive a quota for the day, and our supervisors are seemingly random in choosing them. If you fit in the quota and agree to do the questionnaire, you've made someone's day

#10: Wait and LISTEN to what we're saying before you say "I'm not interested..." It may be something important. Furthermore, in some parts of the world people are killed for voicing their opinions, so don't act like a dick when you're asked for yours.

Seriously though, everyone I work with is a human being that has happened to wind up in a shitty job. Please don't treat us like we're dirt, and show some courtesy on the phone...

Thanks

All-nighter breakdown

6:00 PM: Located all resources, research begins
6:30 PM: Facebook status: workin on essay!
7:30 PM: Research completed, essay outline drafted. First caffeine beverage consumed
8:00 PM: Realization that thesis doesn't work with body of evidence, revise outline
8:10 PM: Draft whole new essay outline
8:45 PM: NACHOS!
10:00 PM: First few pages completed in coherent english, progress seems good at this point. Second caffeine beverage consumed
11:30 PM: Sinking realization that only 4 of 12 pages have been written, and that the last two were irrelevant
11:45: PM: Facebook Status: Still working away... Third caffeine beverage consumed, paranoia begins to creep into subconscious
12:30 AM: Completed half of essay, sinking realization that said half wasn't footnoted properly. Paranoia begins to make an appearance
1:00 AM: 75% finished, but last few pages contain major grammatical errors, and in the case of Waterloo Engineering papers, engrish
1:30 AM: Full-blown hallucinations, consumption of fourth caffeine beverage (Overdose potential is now high)
2:00 AM: Use easybib.com to format bibliography; realize that paper requires chicago/turbian style (on the whim of the prof...what an ass)
2:15 AM: Locate credit card to subscribe to easybib.com, format bibliography
3:00 AM: Finish final few papers, look at self in mirror and feel queasy. Consume another caffeine beverage to settle stomach
3:30 AM: Find another person on the floor who has a working printer, and print off essay
4:00 AM: Crawl into bed, fully dressed, and prepare for an 8:00 AM class...

Outdoors post

So I have discovered an outdoors internet connection, and considering that it is currently 15C and sunny outside (a strange occurrence in November according to the locals) I have decided to do a Rousseau and go back to nature

We're into the 2nd week of November; papers, midterms and assignments loom over the student body like a towering fortress of academia. And yet, despite all of this, smiles abound on campus. How is it that people can be crushed by work, yet put a grin on their (very tired) faces. Is it prozac? Cocaine? Or is it the knowledge that in 6 weeks everyone will be going home to eat turkey or celebrate whatever it is that they celebrate. So while the days may be getting shorter (why is it dark at 5:30!?) and the weather (for the most part) is getting colder, people know that things are starting to wrap up; and that's why we keep smiling

On a side note, Congratulations to Melissa and Steve on their engagement! Can't wait to see you two and the new puppy come christmastime.

Black bags and outbreaks

So here we are at the end of October, and what have we done....wait, this isn't a cheesy christmas carol

Anyways, some interesting shenanigans have been going on over here at CU in the past while, so I'll attempt to put them down in order of importance

1) H1N1 Quarantines: 3 people have been quarantined as of today, 2 of them have returned, but still...oh, and 2 other people have strep throat
2) Subwoofers: I thought you couldn't have them. Apparently people across the hall think you can. Security disagreed; rap battle ensued
3) Steak: Had some today, was positively splendid
3.5) As an addendum to the steak, had a totally awesome day out with my mum, who came down to visit
4) Now only have 2 kidney stones! Yay!
5) New jacket; it's lime green <3

Thas all for now, as it seems the drunks on the floor have (finally) quieted down

Thoughts on Art

Bit of background: Equilibrium is a movie based on a graphic novel where in the near future humanity has eliminated all emotion, good and bad, in an effort to eliminate conflict. There are sense offenders, those who refuse to prescribe to the whole "no feelings" deal, and they collect art

This is where the actual blog post begins: So I was watching Equilibrium today and a thought came to me: what will the legacy of my generation be? My grandparents and parents were the beginning and end of the baby boom era, and I myself am part of Generation Y. Seriously though, what have people my age got to claim as a historical cultural achievement? We have nothing like the Mona Lisa, nothing like the Sistine Chapel, hell, we don't even have something like Stairway to Heaven. Instead my generation is represented by a 2 minute youtube clip of a bunch of rednecks trying to use a honda civic in lieu of a bike at the local moto track. Therefore, I would like to ask everyone ages 18-30 a question: Seriously guys, what the hell happened? I know the 90s were a bit of a rough go, between a recession, genocide, famine, AIDS, bad pop music, depressing grunge music, and a stupid amount of Republican rule in the US, but come on, the world didn't end in 2000 like we all thought it would? Right?! Jeeze, this generation is tragic, it's like watching a monkey try and swallow a hand grenade.

Anyways on a different note a long overdue congratulations to Larissa and Kris on their upcoming nuptials. All the best in planning the big event!

Home for a rest

Well, it's that time of year when students board trains, planes and (heaven forbid) the greyhound to return home for the Thanksgiving weekend. I guess I was fortunate, in that I got a plane home (my parents love me) instead of one of the other forms of transportation already mentioned.

Anyways, I returned home this morning to find my chi out of whack, namely what used to be my room is no longer my room; it's my brother's now. It seems weird, I've only been gone for 50 days, yet it feels like ages. I guess this is all part of the experience of living (far) away from home.

In other news, Ottawa is now cold in rainy, which can only mean one thing: Snow season is about to start! I count myself one among many looking forward to the coming of the white fluffy stuff and all the wintertime activities associated with it: snowboarding, skating, and beavertails!