Rich Menga (page 1284)

Aw, shaddup

At where I work currently, it is a daily occurrence that I hear several people yapping about how bad their job is. I mean, yeah, we all gotta work. We all gotta do our job to pay the bills. It doesn't mean you have to bring down everyone else around you just because you're having a bad day.

Just so everyone knows, I work at a computer technical support call center. Glorious job? Hardly. But, in reality it is not something which is all that difficult. It may be mentally stressful - but anyone can get over that.. or at least I can. Some people just can't hack it.

On a daily basis, I hear people just flappin' their gums about this or that or whatever. It's the same thing I've heard at every other help desk I've ever worked at, such as "Management doesn't care about us" or "I'm not being treated fairly because I was asked to do [this] or [that]" or "Why does management seem to get away with everything" or "How come I'm not getting paid as much as I should be paid" and so on. Bear in mind this is a non-union shop.

To those people I say unto thee: Shaddup. It is a priviledge to even work in tough times like this - and all you do is yap about how bad your job is. If it's just so rotten, quit. Get something else. I personally know that customer support is not that hard. It requires a specific mindset where you just go in and do the best job you can with the tools at hand that the company provides you with. If you let the daily onslaught of customer complaints get to you (and at a help desk there are always complaints), that's when you need to sit back for a moment, take a breather and just say to yourself "This is not that bad."

What we do at the help desk is nothing compared to how hard some other people work for so much less than what we make. We're not out there paving roads or digging ditches, that's hard work. All we have to do is make sure that computer problems are attended to (and fixed) in a timely and organized manner. It's not rocket science.

I hear all the time "Well, you know what I'd do if I ran the company..." You don't. You never will. It's not your call, and you have no say in the matter. You're not responsible for the hundreds of thousands of dollars (or millions) it takes to run a large help desk. You're not responsible when people call out sick (when they're not sick) or slack off. And even if you did run the company, you'd probably run it into the ground because you truly have no idea what you're talking about.

I suppose in the end, it is normal to hear people complain about their job. It is true that most people are not happy with what they're doing for their line of work. But seriously, why bring down everyone around you because you aren't happy? Why can't you just bring people's spirits up instead of driving them into the ground?

And like I said before, if you don't like your job - quit. Please. No one needs your daily bickering about "this place sucks". Even if some people already believe that, we don't need to hear it.

If you haven't watched this movie, you should.

Moving on

Yesterday sucked, no doubt about it. Being turned down for that job hit me hard. However, on the advice of a friend I will not let this get me down. Life obviously goes on, and part of this thing we call life is "the struggle". Some would say that life is nothing but the struggle, but that's another discussion entirely. 🙂

At this point I am shifting directions (sort of). It may be possible that I find employment, and myself, in a completely new location. North is sounding really nice right now. South also doesn't sound too bad, either. As I've been saying for 5+ years, I am getting out of Connecticut. I want to. I have to. This state can really drag you down.

Yesterday after I got home, I was recited the speech from a friend of mine who lives in Maine. He basically told me what I already knew: I need to leave and go where I will be happy. And in short, that is anywhere but here.

It is true that sometimes the difference between here and there doesn't exist. In my situation, "here" is Connecticut, "there" is elsewhere. Many people get into the situation where their "there" becomes another "here", with the same problems, same crap, same everything. I honestly don't believe I fall into that category. My "there" will truly be a place which is different and is something worth shooting for.

The only mystery that remains now is... will I be going North or South?

No new job :-(

Today I experienced what had to be the shortest meeting of my life today. This was concerning that web solutions job I was talking about earlier. In short: I was told I didn't get the job in a meeting that lasted 2 minutes. Very upsetting, I thought for sure I had a shot at getting it.

So.. it leaves me to think that maybe I wasn't meant to get this job. Maybe I was meant to do something else. Whatever it is, I hope it happens soon, and I hope that all will be well, because right now I feel horrible.