Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Please don't be a human bulldozer.

Hello all!

I am sure you all know a human bulldozer in your life. That person who's "telling it like it is" , that person who will tell you "that's just the way he/she is" and who will think you're a weakling if you even dare question their way of expressing themselves.

I have to admit I am completely baffled by this attitude. There is blunt and then there is "so blunt a dozen of bulldozers charging at you full speed feel like you've been touched by a feather" blunt.

Remember not everyone is like you. Just because someone does not like what you have to say or how you say it does not make them weak, it just makes them human and different from you.

With that said, that doesn't mean you should NEVER say anything! When something bothers you, please speak up. Don't let a problem linger until you can't take it anymore and blow up. You may be afraid of the other person's reaction, but if you wait wait wait and wait some more, it will only make things worse.

Best wishes and good luck :)


Thursday, December 22, 2011

So, remember when I said I support gay rights...


Yes, I'm going there.

So, there are a few people on YouTube I really LOVE watching because they're either inspiring, adorable, extremely funny, or just a combination of various things that make them amazing.

One of those people is DaveyWavey. He is a young gay man (my age or slightly younger, actually) who frequently posts videos that may or may not be slightly naughty, and then you have the inspiring videos where he does awesome stuff that make you wonder WHY in the world some people are still homophobic.

His latest video is one more example of that. He has spoken about gay people coming out before, and just made one that young people (or even slightly older, I guess ?) can use to tell their parents they're gay if they're ready to say it but just don't know how to.

And really, when you see a young man like that, how can you seriously be so homophobic that you would hate or commit crimes against people "like him" (I hate using those words because to me, he's just a human being, just like me. And I'm a straight woman, so why should his orientation make a difference ?)  ?

Just a warning: the video is after the "cut" , but if you want to see more of what Davey has to say, let's just note that he usually makes videos without shirts. So that makes for nice eye candy :P .

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

New blog layout

I know it may seem pointless and random to change the design all of a sudden, but I needed something colorful and "happy" for a change. Black was classic and cool, but maybe a little too cool for my taste.

I am also getting ready to go back to work tomorrow after two days of medical leave. This should be fun. Yesterday was horrible, today was slightly better, I should be able to get up tomorrow.

Also, please wish me luck: the company I work for is releasing a new product quite soon, and people are calling us more and more often about it lately, even though it's been made public that... NO ONE EXCEPT FIVE PEOPLE IN THE COMPANY knows what the offers are about.

We've already gotten calls about this... and it's amazing how people don't listen.

" - Do you have any information about the new product ?
- No, sorry. We will have to wait until the official launch.
- But do you know anything about parameters X, Y, and Z ?
- No, sorry. We will have to wait until the official launch.
- Oh, because I heard things about the product... "

*head, meet desk*

The closer we get to the final date, the more nervous I get about those calls :P ... at least when it's just a question amongst several other questions it's ok, but when you get the same question several times a day... oh well. Always answering with a smile, as usual :D .

Monday, December 19, 2011

On my day off (Warning : may/will contain political stuff despite me not getting anything about politics)

Some people may think I have no business commenting on the politics of my country when I don't really understand what's happening. It's true, I don't, but I can still be scared when certain things are said.

See, in France, we have many parties, each having their own agenda (not that it matters nowadays as most of the time people will try to spout off things they think people want, so it just look like they ride the opinion tide like pro surfers) .

Today a friend posted a link to something said by a woman now leading what some French people simply call the "racist" party (yeah, that one). Basically this woman wanted to introduce a points based ID system, where "foreigners" would lose points and could be "sent back" to their countries after losing all points (to note, we already have a points based system in France, but for drivers' licenses) .

I have posted a note on Facebook with my own reactions to that news article (I should have copied and pasted the replies I made that the mod team did not publish: I can be pretty nice and moderate when I know I can "debate" with others without risking a brain explosion)  . I just want to remember what I thought and said today, least I become a bitter ranty racist old lady by the age of 70. 

(Cut because this could get insanely long)

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Writing at work



(Originally written from my workstation between calls. Yes, sometimes it is THAT slow.)

Some people might get the impression that I am slacking off. That I am lazy and doing nothing. These blog posts aren't writing themselves, haha.

But when it's slow at work, I can just write the e-mails instead of doodling aimlessly... it keeps my mind focused while I try and concentrate on the next calls.

The good thing is also that I can look up and see the sky, as we have a sort of glass ceiling above our heads. It feels pretty good at certain times during the day when a ray of light comes up.

Well... when it does come up, that is. Right now, the weather is quite rotten, with gloomy skies, wind and my worst enemy, rain. I can't even imagine what it will be like if/when it snows in Paris... last time it did in my area, one day I missed the curb and got icy disgusting water up to my ankles. You can imagine my sister's head when I went to her place for coffee that day, and asked for clean socks :P .

--

GAH!

The phone rang earlier. Lovely woman, but when she told me her age I should have seen it coming. Oh my. 47 minutes. When my average call time should be around... 8 minutes or so. It's hard. Really hard. You try to help people and you realize early on that they don't understand a single thing you say.

I really, really hope I don't get a call like that again. She really was lovely and polite but it makes my head explode.

On a nicer note, my boss asked me for the link to this blog. I did not think twice about it and gave him the adress. Heh, why not after all :) .

Nice Anecdote




For once, today, I have a nice anecdote to tell!


Yesterday I was getting out of work. It was a rather cold day and my new coat did not protect me from the rain (thankfully, it was only light).


There was a man standing outside the station with his umbrella. He called out to me politely and at first I didn't quite hear him so I was going to walk anyway, but he insisted and, in a very sweet voice, asked me where the nearest hospital was.


I live near a hospital, mind you, so for once I was able to tell him where to go. He was actually looking for the pharmacy right in front of the hospital, and asked me if I was going the same way. I was, and he nicely put the umbrella over my head, too, and we walked together for a little while.


I reached the light I had to cross and showed him where he had to go. He thanked me and wished me Happy Holidays, which I did in return as well.


It made me warm and fuzzy inside. Just one more proof that people on the street are not out to get you, and that being nice won't always take more out of your day and precious time.


I have to admit it also made me warm and fuzzy because I have a reputation for being horrible with directions. This is no joke. I can't even read maps most of the time (I can't tell you the number of times I got confused and lost time because of it, even though I'm getting better). So being able to help someone AND actually knowing what I'm talking about feels GOOD.