workin class

I absolutely love the people whom call me at work and say “Speaka Spanish plooz”, or “Can you spick Spanish?”. Okay, first off, I work at USA 800. It’s a call center. We take incoming calls for different accounts such as Yankee Candle, Highlights Catalog for children, and so forth. Now, do you think I speak Spanish? I do live in the United States, after all. Here, we speak slang English. I do not go to Great Britain and expect to hear the words “bloody” or “boot”, and assume they mean the crimson ooze that emerges from your wounded skin, or the things you wear on your feet during the winter or during construction. I enjoy the calls I get for Westwood College and other like colleges, when they ask, in a voice that can barely even speak English, “Do you have to have your high school diploma or GED to attend?” Well, Princess, or Princesa, if you would prefer, I think Step A would be getting your green card first. Ya know, verde? If there’s one thing I am passionate about, other than the south and the extreme stupidity of the human race, it is illegal Mexicans. No. Swim home. If I moved to Germany, I’m pretty positive I would learn some of the German language before going. The thing is, a lot of these calls come in on the EBT Food Stamp line!!! They can’t speak English, yet I am paying taxes out of my paycheck, the check I earn by them calling and asking something ridiculous of me, for them to receive financial help!?!? THAT is ridiculous. Honestly. People like… oh…. I don’t know…. Say my mother. If she got hurt and couldn’t work for a few months, she would probably apply for food stamps. Here’s the catch. She has lived in America her entire life, and has been a WORKING CITIZEN for 30 years. But no, she would more than likely be denied because of my income. She pays the taxes for these Mexicans to eat KC Strip steak, but would barely be able to afford Ramen noodles. How F***KED up is that?! My point exactly. This illegal alien craze has gotten WAY out of hand! There’s a lot more crime now, I have noticed. Especially in the south end of town (due to Triumph), and the government says “well, we can’t find them”. Hey Mister, come here. Let’s take a trip. Allow me to lead you to Pizza Hut on a Friday night where they come in adorned in baseball caps with upper case ‘T’s on them, and don’t even know the English words for “large”, “pepperoni” or even “pizza” for that matter. Let us travel to the local welfare center. Ask for their driver’s license. Yea. I know. That requires too much work. Remember, in American, it is the truck of a car, not el maletero de un coche. In England, it’s a boot. If you go there, learn it. Again, too much work, I know. This brings to mind another good point. America is so fat and lazy it is unbelievable! Don’t get me wrong, I do my fair share of cartoon watching and Mountain Dew drinking, but get real. At least I can effin work 2 jobs, plus go to school. And guess what, I don’t live off welfare. I didn’t get paid to have 3 kids at the age of 14. I don’t blame everything that happens on someone else. Taking some freaking initiative and responsibility for once, damn! You now way 800 lbs, or your daughter is 16, pregnant and running away from home. That’s not your mother’s fault. You can’t put the blame on television and music. It’s not the government’s fault either. It’s your own damn fault. Deal with it. Get off your ass for once, or learn to raise your kids and care more about them than your own cocaine addiction and maybe the world will be a little better off. Again with that stupidity of the human race thing…. Go to McDonald’s or Taco Bell, or Wal-Mart and you’ll see what I mean. I actually think I like illegal aliens a little more than I like people like that. At least they’re working and trying. They would prefer to stab somebody than talk to them in some cases. But it’s the same as Americans. Some work and get by, some do heroine and get killed for not having the dough to pay for it. Those people, I have absolutely no respect for whatsoever. Then I get those druggies on the EBT line at work, who have been issued and “lost” 20 food stamp cards just in the past month. They whine and say that their card is not there, it’s terrible, all our fault and I get the attempted “But my kids are here starving, I have 4 kids. I need my card.” No. Quit selling it for crack. It really just refreshes me when I do get a call and it’s someone who has had ONE card issued to them, and they have been able to keep hold of it for 3 years, but the magnetic stripe is getting worn out on it and that’s the only reason they need a new card. I like those people. They make me want to scream at the others. One man called earlier today, I decided to go into work and get a few extra hours before my 8 AM class, and got the call. He called in on our account called American Tax Relief. He called basically just to go off about irresponsible people, but he did make a good point, and I really wish I could have told him I agreed instead of “I’m sorry” or “Well, is there anything else I can help you with?” but the call was recorded so I couldn’t. If you have $15,000 or more in tax debt, American Tax Relief will help you. Well, for one, how does one accumulate that much in just tax debt alone? Honestly? And, now, so they are just allowed to rack up that much, but they can call this phone number and will only have to pay half of that? Maybe that’s why are economy is so messed up right now. Maybe people should take responsibility for themselves and their actions. Basically, that was his argument. Humans are obscene and ridiculous.

Shift work, hard work
Tired body and a blue collared shirt
And a baseball capUnion made.
He’s hot, sweat drops
Round the clock
The door never locks
And the noise never stops
Night or day.
Workin’Seven to three
Three to eleven
Eleven to seven.
Shift work, touch work
For the busy convenience store clerk
Two feet that hurt
Goin’ insane.
She’s madSome lad drove off
And didn’t pay for his gas
And won’t be the last
‘Round the clock pain.
Workin’
Seven to three
Three to eleven
Eleven to seven.
I’m talking about a bunch of shift work
A big ole pile of shift work.
Seven to three
Three to eleven
Eleven to seven.
Well, I worked
Shift work
For ten years, man I hated that work
Then I made a break with the money I saved
Took me, to the beach
To have a beer by the edge sea
And this ‘round the clock points
I drink my money away
We’d party, seven to three
Three to eleven
Eleven to seven.
I’m talking about a bunch of shift work
A big ole pile of shift work.
Seven to three
Three to eleven
Eleven to seven.
“Shiftwork” by Kenny Chesney

The Trouble With Fear Is....

I spent 4 hours talking to my mom. We want to go to Alabama. But as we talked, I realized that it’s not change that I am afraid of. It’s not leaving that I fear. But I fear pain. I fear being forgotten. I’ve lived in Saint Joseph my whole life. But when we went on vacation this summer, I think I found where I really belong. And that is in Alabama. The outskirts of Alabama. Wilmer, Alabama. Or even Mobile 30 minutes away. Then I found a song by the band Alabama called "Gulf of Mexico".

I live to work and work to live. Oh but what I wouldn’t give, for a ray of sun, and a little piece of beach. Where the sand dollar is the only currency. Why don’t we go to the Gulf of Mexico. You and me by the sea. Palm trees are calling. That’s the place I want to be. Down where the southern breeze is blowin’. On the Gulf of Mexico.

However, my mom says that Kenny Chesney describes me best with “All I Want For Christmas”.

Don’t you think it’s a pretty good plan? All I want for Christmas is a real good tan. All I want for Christmas is a real good tan, take me to the islands, put my feet in the sand. Rockin’ to and fro with the rhythm of the ocean, singing Silent Night with the palm trees ablowin’. Don’t you think it’s a pretty good plan? All I want for Christmas is a real good tan…. How about two tickets to a tropical shore, where we don’t have to wear these winter clothes anymore. Instead of turkey we’ll have mahi-mahi grillin’, and Piña Coladas in the blinder chillin’. All I want for Christmas is a real good tan, take me to the islands, put my feet in the sand. Rockin’ to and fro with the rhythm of the ocean, singing Silent Night with the palm trees ablowin’…. Well everybody’s prayin’ for a Christmas of white, come to think about it, that’ll be alright. As long as there’s sand and not snow on the ground, and everyday our skin gets a little more brown…. All I want for Christmas is a real good tan.

That describes me without a doubt. Both, of them, really. I’ve always wanted to live near water. If there is one thing I hate, it’s being cold. I despise our winters. All my family down there, they say they don’t miss the cold and the snow here. At all. And I believe my place, as well as my mother’s, is with them. All I do is work and try to make it. I have no life. I’m not happy here, and I know my mother doesn’t like it either. But talking to her about moving, I know that I want to go more than anything, I just don’t want to leave everything and everyone here. That’s what has made me who I am today. It would be nice to sort of start over down there. I really believe I could be happy there. And it’s not just the cold here. Everyone I have talked to says they’d never forget me, they couldn’t even if they tried, that if it’s what I really think I need to do, than to do it, and if it doesn’t work out, that there’s always a place for me here. It just helps, knowing I have the support of all my friends. They are the ones I am most worried about. Down there, I couldn’t just call Libby at 2 AM and say ‘hey lets go to Dunkin Donuts’. Shayla couldn’t randomly call me and ask if I want to go have Chinese food. That’s our little tradition, kind of, but I would have to say ‘No. Wait until I visit in a few months.’ But what if none of them had time for me when I came back to visit? What if they didn’t WANT to make time for me? That’s the only thing that scares me. I’m not worried about my family here. I know they’ll all be alright. I know that they’ll be here when I come back. I also know that I am just getting too deep into thoughts and worries, because my real friends will still be there when I come back. They will want to spend time with me when they can and they will be sure to make time for me, no matter what. And I love them so much for that. I just worry too much, sometimes. I know I do, and I try not to. But then I get bored and start thinking about things, and I think too deep. I overanalyze everything. It’s been a bad habit for 10 years now. I mean, Shayla left for college in a town 4 hours away, and we still had time for each other. So what is so different from 1,000 miles away? Talking to my mom helps me discover a lot of things. Talking in general makes me discover a lot of things. Mostly about myself. The 100% only thing I am waiting on to move to Alabama is to graduate college.

Garth Brooks - "Two Piña Coladas"
Bring me two Piña Coladas, I want one for each hand. Let’s set the sail with Captian Morgan and never leave dry land. Hey troubles I’ve forgot ‘em, I buried ‘em in the sand. So bring me two Piña Coladas…. Now I’ve got to say that the wind and the waves, and the moon winkin’ down at me, eases my mind by leavin’ behind the heartaches that love often brings. Now I’ve got a smile that goes on for miles, with no inclination to roam. And I’ve got to say, that I think I outta stay, coz this is feeling more and more like home. So bring me two Piña Coladas, I gotta have one for each hand.

The Trouble With Love Is....

The trouble with love is it can tear you up inside, make your heart believe a lie. It’s stronger than your pride. The trouble with love is it doesn’t care how fast you fall, and you can’t refuse the call. See, you’ve got no say at all.



I finally got the communication from him that I wanted…. And it’s a bad thing. He’s never had anyone there for him his entire life and now he won’t even let me in because of it. I’ve gotten further in than anyone before, but then he just starts pushing me away. When we finally get to talk, have a serious conversation, it may be the end of us. Maybe it’s for the better. Maybe not. But if you love something, let it go, and if it’s meant to be, you’ll find it again. I’m not as happy as I could be at this point in my life. I had a friend move to California for a few months, and it really helped him to just get away. Well, when I get the money, my mom and I are moving to Alabama. The Gulf of Mexico. Even if I end up not liking it, I feel I need it. I want to at least just go and see if I like it, and not have to wonder ‘what if’ for the rest of my life. Well anyway, when we met, we were inseparable. We stayed up all night every night talking. About anything and everything. Now we never say hardly two words to each other. We don’t talk serious much. Never really have. We were just fun together. We worked together. Then it got serious. Then I fell. He fell. And he can’t deal with his emotions or show them very well…. We’ve only had serious talks a few times. Well now the last one may be just that…. The last one.



Garth Brooks –

People say she’s only in my head. It’s gonna take time but I’ll forget. They say I need to get on with my life. But they don’t realize, when you’re dialing six numbers just to hang up the phone, driving across town just to see if she’s home, waking a friend in the dead of night just to hear him say ‘it’s gonna be alright’, when you find the things to do not to fall asleep coz you know she’ll be there in your dreams, that’s when she’s more than a memory. I took a match to everything she ever wrote, watched her words go up in smoke. Tore all her pictures off the wall, but that ain’t helping me at all. Coz when you’re talking out loud but nobody’s there, you look like hell and just don’t care, drinking more than you ever drank, sinking down lower than you ever sank. When you find yourself falling down upon your knees, praying to God, begging him please, that’s when she’s more than a memory. Coz when you’re dialing her number just to hang up the phone, driving across town just to see if she’s home, waking a friend in the dead of night just to hear him say ‘it’s gonna be alright’, when you find the things to do not to fall asleep coz you know she’ll be there in your dreams, that’s when she’s more than a memory. People say she’s only in my head. It’s gonna take time, but I’ll forget.



"More than a memory". That’s what I want to be to him, but I don’t know that I’ve been able to make that kind of impact on him. I’d like to think so….. I’m not sure why…. But that’s just what I wanna be. So who says communication is always a good thing? Maybe it’s good to have the emotions of a robot sometimes. Though I do feel, had we had great communication about everything the whole time, we wouldn’t be where we are today. But I’ve tried so hard to make it work…. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. I can’t stay with a robot forever….



Garth Brooks – "The Dance"

Looking back on the memory of the dance we shared beneath the stars above. For a moment, all the world was right. How could I have known that you’d ever say ‘goodbye’. And now I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could’ve missed the pain but I’d have had to miss the dance. Holding you, I held everything. For a moment, wasn’t I the king? But if I’d only known how the king would fall, hey who’s to say, you know I might have changed it all. And now I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end, the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, but I’d have had to miss the dance. Yes my life, its better left to chance, I could have missed the pain, but I’d have had to miss the dance.

The Trouble With Anger Is....

I learned today, it's not a smart idea to rant and rave and get angry without a little communication first. It only creates more unneeded problems, more anger, and more drama. Now, with communication, I must fix said problems.... ugh... lovely.

Topeka

Human/Human communication is about 200 times better and more effective than Human/Machine communication. I've noticed that a lot today. I just arrived in the Holidome in Topeka, KS for the Marine Corp Ball. Toll bridges and navigation systems are slightly confusing sometimes.

Common Sense

I went into my new job after three days of training to find a great deal of miscommunication. My new job revolves around communication and being able to talk to people. I was under the impression, as was everyone else in my orientation class, that we were supposed to start work on the following Monday, and not the next day that we were scheduled after the training was completed. Strike one. So I went in Thursday for my first official day, and I did pretty well. I have to take calls from people all over America ordering from different catalogs, and I deal with the EBT food stamp cards in Missouri and Alabama. It was a bit of a challenge at first, but only because I wasn't used to their computer system yet. However, in the talking to people department, I already do great. I've been a waitress for 3 years at Pizza Hut, plus answering phone orders there. You really have to be able to understand other peoples' accents and be able to understand what exactly what it is that they're saying, wanting or needing. It's pretty easy to talk to people if you know HOW to communicate, which, I believe, is pretty much the same thing as common sense.

I'm not bilingual

I thought I knew spanish pretty well, or at least well enough to be able to listen to a real-life conversation in spanish and be able to tell, for the most part, what was being said, but I was very wrong. I started a new job about a week ago, and there were two guys in my orientation class that knew perfect english but were bilingual, and I was talking to one of them. I told him I kind of knew spanish so he said something to me and I just stared at him. I told him to say that a LOT slower and I would probably know, mostly, what he was saying. I mean, I knew spanish was spoken fast but wow. Apparently I'm not as good as I thought I was, I need to learn to listen faster. Anyway, I still am trying to learn spanish even though it's getting harder the further I get into it.

Leave Your Drama in High School

What are you communicating when you call your co-worker at home because he smashed his thumb and you want to check on him? You act all buddy-buddy with him, then turn around and talk bad about him to other employees when he is not around, saying you don't like him because he's always sick and calling in, and you hate working for him all the time, even though you offered to him that you'd work for him if he was sick? Those are the kind of people I strongly dislike, and we just got one at work a few months ago. It didn't take long to figure him out, though. He'll talk about EVERYONE who's anyone behind their backs, and it's already caused one person to quit his job there. However, when someone tries to say something to him about it, or tries to get back at him for it, he goes and cries to the manager.... Who would honestly want to be that type of person? Seriously.

men + communication = HAHAHAH NOT

Men do not know how to comunicate. When you dress up all cute just for them, they don't know how to say "You look nice". When you try to be there in hard times, they won't talk to you about shit. And people wonder why 98% of all marriages/relationships fail. I'd kill over if he became just half a good of a boyfriend as I am a girlfriend. Relationships should not be 80:20 and there HAS to be communication for it to work out. The only time I get that, is when I pull out the tears card. I've tried to be patient. I've tried so hard..... But some people just never learn. And he's not going to find anyone in life that will put up with it, girlfriend-wise. If he does.... then she's a dumb bitch because he's the one whom needs to change. And we've already been through all this. I don't care if this sounds stuck up, but I am the best thing that'll ever happen to him, and he agrees but won't do anything to give or compromise. I talk to him about anything and everything. Tell him ANYTHING he wants to know. So many people have told me my boyfriend doesn't appreciate me like he should and that I'm a wonderful person, that they'd give almost anything to be in his place right now. I fucking love that kid. Too much. I've dealt with his crap. I haven't cheated on him no matter how bad I've wanted to. I'm a freaking great girlfriend. I don't try to take him shopping because he dresses horrible, or because I want clothes. I don't make him buy me tampons. I am SO laid back compared to a lot of chicks. AND I'm gorgeous! I mean have you seen my boobs? Or legs in a short skirt? He is just messin' up the best thing he'll ever have. It's bs. I want him to realize what he's fuckin got and SHOW his appreciation for it a little more! "I love you" 20 times a day is not the same thing!! ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. And he can't seem to get that one through his thick skull! I mean compare me to big nosed amazon skanks, and I'm pretty sure I've got a nice damnlead. I'm done. I'm becoming a lesbian. I'm a strong person, and I know when it's time to cut your losses.... Well.... Pretty marine boy.... I think it's about time to say 'Goodbye'. It's been horrible for a year. I thought I'd give it more time. Give you more time. More chances.... But I'm done giving. I get nothing in return. At all. EVER. Peace, Love.

Job-less?

We got a call at work the other day. I work at King Hill Pizza Hut. Well, this guy said he had a complaint but he never raised his voice once. Apparently he had been at the store in Savannah where he eats regularly, and a 16 year old (ish) kid had come in. Pizza Hut is currently helping raise money to feed kids in less fortunate countries and this kid wanted to donate the $1 that is being asked. Well, the manager ripped the dollar bill out of the kids hand, stuck it in his pocket and said he wasn't helping feed kids in another country. Only with more negative words and feelings. To begin with, this manager was recently arrested and had his car impounded, for what I still don't know, and it was just before a big management meeting of all the stores in our area. Rumor is that he was trying to get some of his employees to take the money out of the cash drawer and bail him out, and he said he'd pay it back. Which is stealing. Anyway, our district manager, Wes, had to go and bail him out of jail. Now he pulls this stunt with the dollar bill. Without saying a word, he is more than asking just to be fired. Actions speak louder than words, and I'm pretty sure that getting thrown in jail, then being rude to a customer and using profain words when all he wants to do is help feed a kid.... That is begging to lose your job.

VP debate

So the Vice Presidentail debate made me giggle. They talked like they were better than everyone, used big words and made stupid jokes that are only funny at a high class party in a mansion. They did try to focus on staring into the camera the whole time but still, you could read the lies through their teeth. I did not believe either of them in the end, any more than I did in the beginning.

Spanish

I have taken 6 years of Spanish classes. However, they were all introductory classes repeated in elementary school, middle school and high school. I am taking it again in college, and I've discovered that I've forgotten a lot of things that I'm suddenly remembering again, and I have been going around saying a bunch of phrases in Spanish randomly. I actually kind of like it.

Text messaging

I have discovered that my most common form of communication is through typing with my phone. I send and recieve a total of somewhere around 9,000 text messages per month. How ridiculous is that? I'm so glad I have unlimited texting on my plan! My mom says I never shut up, and it's true, I really don't. Even when I'm quiet, I'm still usually texting! It's kind of crazy how far technology has come for me to text message so much. And when you get down to it, a lot of those advances would never have even happened without communication itself.