It's windy today. The gum trees are swaying and the roof of the small office I work in is flapping in the breeze. Yesterday was ANZAC Day, which means something only if you live in this part of the world. A day of remembrance for fallen soldiers generally, although the original was from the First World War.
When I was a kid in early highschool, the Vietnam War was on, and conscription existed in Australia. If I had been a bit older, it's possible that I would have been drafted and possibly sent to the jungles of Asia to kill strangers. One of the few things I have left from that period is my Vietnam Moratorium badge, which I used to wear on the bus. I do remember the looks I got from some people. It was probably my first experience of what being unpopular with some people can mean.
I got some dirty looks, and the occasional remark from fellow commuters. This was in the early 1970s. Australians were quite politically active at that time. There's nothing like a war going on which involves your country's troops to help focus the mind. The media coverage and the body bags and the length of the conflict was having some bad consequences on public support.
There's an old Spike Milligan gag about the army (something which he knew about from personal experience): "Join the army, travel the world, meet interesting people...and kill them." Unknown to me at the time was that my Dad would have moved me to Austria if I'd been called up. Both my parents were born there, so presumably I would have stayed at a relative's place, and maybe started a new life over there (or wait until conscription was revoked in Australia). As it turned out, we didn't need to do anything as exciting as that, since the Labor government of Gough Whitlam abolished conscription in 1972, when I was 15.
I wonder what I would have done had I been called up? Would I have been prepared to go to court and defend my beliefs that killing people I don't know is madness? Would I have been prepared to go to gaol? I will never know. Fortunately, the odds of conscription being reintroduced in Australia must be about zero. If either of my sons are called up, I'd like to think that I would do the same thing as my Dad.
It's easy to be a hero in your own mind, always doing the fine and honourable thing, but I wonder how many of us would live up to those ideals when faced with the reality of some really unpleasant consequences. When I was a kid, the idea of soldiers going to war just sounded crazy to me. My highschool still had a cadet program, where some of my school mates would dress up as soldiers and do some drills and marching. I thought they looked like dweebs. ANZAC Day was just embarrassing, with all those thousands of dead people who were killed in so many bogus wars.
I don't feel the same anymore. It really has nothing to do with whatever reasons the young guys had for enlisting, but more to do with what they did when they were there, in a foreign country, shit-scared, and faced with the likely prospect that they could be killed at any minute of the night or day. Would I have jumped out of my comparatively safe trench to help a wounded mate who was screaming in pain only 20 yards from me, when I would almost certainly be shot at by opposing guns? I have no idea. And I never will. And how would I live with the memory of not having done the proper, brave thing if I had been in such a situation? Do you think the nightmares would ever go away? I have my doubts.
Human beings should never be put in situations like this. We have free will, a conscience, and a memory. Any decent human being would be scarred for life if they had to live with such memories, and I'm sure that many people around the world have to do just that. Sure, you can rationalize your reasons and motives, but the dreams probably won't ever go away.
So, whenever I pass a war memorial now, I spare a quiet thought for the poor bastards who are represented, and am very grateful that I am not one of them.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Some thoughts through the office window
I'm not meant to be working today, but any day which offers work is a good day to me. The regular manager has burnt her hand, so I'm giving a hand (sorry about the pun) by filling her seat for the day. The place where I'm doing some regular casual work is one of those storage places, where you rent a unit to store your goodies. Most customers are people moving house or tradespeople storing their equipment here.
There are quite a few stories in a place like this, many of them not happy ones. People going through divorces; tradies who have no work, can't pay their rental bill, can't get access to their tools (which are stored in the unit) which they need to earn money. Moving house is enough of a trauma anyway. Moving because you have no other choice is no fun at all.
I went through something like this when my family had to move out of our home. We couldn't afford the mortgage payments, so we rented a small 2 bedroom unit and rented out our house. The money we save has helped keep our heads afloat whilst my wife and I try to find some gainful employment. Apart from a blow to the ego (and no real quiet areas in the small unit we live in now), moving hasn't been that bad. The poor sods going through divorces or business failures are doing it tough.
I'm much more sympathetic to their plight now. Having had some personal experience does make a difference! I doubt that I would have felt the same way 10 years ago, when my financial situation was strong and I felt confident and invincible. I suppose that anything which makes you more humble is a good thing, and I feel more humble now than at any other time in my life. This might even be the onset of some wisdom - time will tell.
Some of the other people who work here aren't as sympathetic. It's understandable, but doesn't help either them, the business or the customer. I hear stories from clients about other staff who are rude, making demands for payment etc. I don't see that that is their job at all. They are not debt collectors, eventhough the employer does want us to chase people who are behind in their accounts. There are ways and means, though.
There are always going to be some clients who will lie and lie and lie about their reasons for not paying on time. It's not hard to realize who those people are after a while. They are also the ones who tend to get abusive and aggressive. These people are also very defensive. I mainly feel sorry for them. But, you do have to deal with them. I'm pretty friendly and approachable and find that that seems to work most of the time. If they are being a real pain, then I give them the facts they want and try to get them out of my face ASAP. This also seems to work.
Even quite a few of the pain-in-the-arse people realize that they are being a pain at the time. It's just they are having some grief (caused by the company you work for, or some private hassles) and you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. So it goes...
Young guys are especially prone to over-reacting in such circumstances. They feel that they are being personally attacked by this arsehole and react as such - not a pretty sight for anyone concerned. It's not an easy job, dealing with people who can be as bad-mannered and nasty as we can be ourselves. Yet, customer service jobs are typically lowly paid and not highly regarded, despite what the bullshit job ads keep telling you. A terrific person as the first point of contact with potential clients is priceless to any business. They will not be fully appreciated, despite their obvious qualities to the business' customers. What a shame.
Meantime, I've had quite a busy morning this morning. It's nice to be able to make some decisions for myself (without being micro-managed) and see some happy people leave this place. Stay well everyone.
There are quite a few stories in a place like this, many of them not happy ones. People going through divorces; tradies who have no work, can't pay their rental bill, can't get access to their tools (which are stored in the unit) which they need to earn money. Moving house is enough of a trauma anyway. Moving because you have no other choice is no fun at all.
I went through something like this when my family had to move out of our home. We couldn't afford the mortgage payments, so we rented a small 2 bedroom unit and rented out our house. The money we save has helped keep our heads afloat whilst my wife and I try to find some gainful employment. Apart from a blow to the ego (and no real quiet areas in the small unit we live in now), moving hasn't been that bad. The poor sods going through divorces or business failures are doing it tough.
I'm much more sympathetic to their plight now. Having had some personal experience does make a difference! I doubt that I would have felt the same way 10 years ago, when my financial situation was strong and I felt confident and invincible. I suppose that anything which makes you more humble is a good thing, and I feel more humble now than at any other time in my life. This might even be the onset of some wisdom - time will tell.
Some of the other people who work here aren't as sympathetic. It's understandable, but doesn't help either them, the business or the customer. I hear stories from clients about other staff who are rude, making demands for payment etc. I don't see that that is their job at all. They are not debt collectors, eventhough the employer does want us to chase people who are behind in their accounts. There are ways and means, though.
There are always going to be some clients who will lie and lie and lie about their reasons for not paying on time. It's not hard to realize who those people are after a while. They are also the ones who tend to get abusive and aggressive. These people are also very defensive. I mainly feel sorry for them. But, you do have to deal with them. I'm pretty friendly and approachable and find that that seems to work most of the time. If they are being a real pain, then I give them the facts they want and try to get them out of my face ASAP. This also seems to work.
Even quite a few of the pain-in-the-arse people realize that they are being a pain at the time. It's just they are having some grief (caused by the company you work for, or some private hassles) and you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. So it goes...
Young guys are especially prone to over-reacting in such circumstances. They feel that they are being personally attacked by this arsehole and react as such - not a pretty sight for anyone concerned. It's not an easy job, dealing with people who can be as bad-mannered and nasty as we can be ourselves. Yet, customer service jobs are typically lowly paid and not highly regarded, despite what the bullshit job ads keep telling you. A terrific person as the first point of contact with potential clients is priceless to any business. They will not be fully appreciated, despite their obvious qualities to the business' customers. What a shame.
Meantime, I've had quite a busy morning this morning. It's nice to be able to make some decisions for myself (without being micro-managed) and see some happy people leave this place. Stay well everyone.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Remembrance of things past
I was sitting at the desk the other day, at the storage company where I do some part-time work, and I had the most wonderful flashback. No, it wasn't drug-related.
There was a pop clip that I saw years ago: an Aussie band, dressed as ninjas, singing something about a stop sign. Yes yes, I know it sounds like an acid flashback, but this was for real. And there I was, sitting down, minding my own business, when the name of the band came back to me - TISM. So, it was off to YouTube and there was that song, and a heap of others from this rather weird and wonderful band (now no longer with us, apparently).
If you're dying of curiousity, the song is called "Greg The Stop Sign!" - here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTm9aititM
I was thinking about other things I've seen recently which reminded me of earlier times. A great documentary on surfing in the 1980s (lots of memories for me since I worked at a TV station at that time and met quite a few of the main surfers of that period). And there are always the songs that you were listening to at that time - great stuff. It's funny, but my kids tell me to turn the sound down when I'm listening to music. I wonder how long that will last?
As the years go by I find it easier and easier to imagine myself as an old man. My Dad is 83, and he's become a lot more nostalgic in recent years. Memories of climbing mountains in Austria more than 60 years ago are fresher to him than things which happened last week. I can imagine the same thing happening to me: I'll be flashing back to events in the 1970s and 1980s when it's 2030 - this will probably be quite confusing to my middle-aged kids, but I suspect it's all part of the journey we have. I look forward to listening to the madness of TISM when I'm an old fart in my 80s - if I'm still alive, I'll be doing my best to embarrass some people. Seems only right.
I'm still working on my Joomla! site. I think I'll soon be at the stage where I'll pass it on to a professional to do the finetuning. I'll have to get access to my existing database and have that converted; new fields have to be entered; it sounds like hard work to me.
A very big hello to Luke - my third follower! Soon I'll be able to form a religion. I promise vast tax breaks to my first 20 followers, so join now and beat the rush. It's lovely to see. Thanks Patrick for pointing the way.
Everyone stay well until next time!
There was a pop clip that I saw years ago: an Aussie band, dressed as ninjas, singing something about a stop sign. Yes yes, I know it sounds like an acid flashback, but this was for real. And there I was, sitting down, minding my own business, when the name of the band came back to me - TISM. So, it was off to YouTube and there was that song, and a heap of others from this rather weird and wonderful band (now no longer with us, apparently).
If you're dying of curiousity, the song is called "Greg The Stop Sign!" - here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTm9aititM
I was thinking about other things I've seen recently which reminded me of earlier times. A great documentary on surfing in the 1980s (lots of memories for me since I worked at a TV station at that time and met quite a few of the main surfers of that period). And there are always the songs that you were listening to at that time - great stuff. It's funny, but my kids tell me to turn the sound down when I'm listening to music. I wonder how long that will last?
As the years go by I find it easier and easier to imagine myself as an old man. My Dad is 83, and he's become a lot more nostalgic in recent years. Memories of climbing mountains in Austria more than 60 years ago are fresher to him than things which happened last week. I can imagine the same thing happening to me: I'll be flashing back to events in the 1970s and 1980s when it's 2030 - this will probably be quite confusing to my middle-aged kids, but I suspect it's all part of the journey we have. I look forward to listening to the madness of TISM when I'm an old fart in my 80s - if I'm still alive, I'll be doing my best to embarrass some people. Seems only right.
I'm still working on my Joomla! site. I think I'll soon be at the stage where I'll pass it on to a professional to do the finetuning. I'll have to get access to my existing database and have that converted; new fields have to be entered; it sounds like hard work to me.
A very big hello to Luke - my third follower! Soon I'll be able to form a religion. I promise vast tax breaks to my first 20 followers, so join now and beat the rush. It's lovely to see. Thanks Patrick for pointing the way.
Everyone stay well until next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)