2002-12-03 - 1:03 p.m.
Oh happy day!
Oh happy day indeed!
No longer can you accuse me of not having breakfast. Well at least every other week that is. Half of my dream has come true. My AM woes are over. A Starbucks has opened across the street from the Library! (happy dance). This morning I treated myself to a Venti Mocha (a really fuckin HUGE coffee that has a hint of chocolate in it), and a low fat orange cranberry muffin. Ok I know that is not the best choice for me�but like I said, today I treated myself. But tomorrow it will be something a bit more reasonable, like a normal kinda coffee and a bagel of some sort.
See for the longest time I have suffered through some of the worst coffee known to man. Every morning I dreaded the decision. Do I get nasty Burger King dishwater coffee? Shall I go with crappy Macdonald�s mop bucket Java? Or shall I be really adventuresome and opt out for the Sentry Mart�s parking lot puddle cafe? None of em are really any good, and of course I ALWAYS end up getting some sort of faux food product from said place (which I can only manage to choke down half of before I give up and toss). It was truly a coffee wasteland�and I was stuck in the middle of it.
Now I know what yall are thinking�
�Geez Mr. Bear, why don�t you just make your own coffee in the morning like EVERYONE else? You�re pretty handy in the kitchen, I bet you make a very fine cup o joe.�
Well friends you are indeed correct. I do make good perk but I am also a very lazy Bear in the morning. And for some strange reason, brewing a pot of mud in the morning is among the more difficult onerous tasks I can think of. Wanna be my friend, make me a cup of coffee in the morning and I promise your efforts will be rewarded tenfold. Cause when the crust falls from my eyes, the fog in my head lifts, and my old body un-kinks, I will see to it that you are well fed that morning. Not a bad trade really, coffee for breakfast�
I came in again this morning to find out that half of my staff has called in sick again. Bah�I swear, if I were Evil Overbranch Managerlord, I would fire every one of em. Give me an employee with a good work ethic over experience any day. I can teach anyone how to do their job (even if I have to learn how to do it first) but I can�t teach people to take pride in their work, I can�t teach people to care.
On the plus side the New Branch Manager did come to work today. Granted he didn�t show up till 9:15. It will be a long time before I forget the look on his face when he found out that I had already gotten the branch set up for the day. I think his question was along the lines of �you come in WHEN?� What�like 8/8:30 is some unreasonable time to be at work? I certainly don�t think so. And get this, if I play my cards right I think I can convince him that I need to be to work at 7:00am for now on. That gives me 2 hours at work to actually work�distraction/interruption free�every day. And of course going home at 4:00 PM everyday doesn�t suck either. Give me an early start at work and an early leave time any day. I loved working in restaurants. I had to be to work at 5:00 am every morning but that also meant that I went home at 2PM EVERY DAY! So just think about that when 2 rolls around today�hmmm I could be going home right about now if my day started earlier.
So back to the new manager. He seems like a nice enough guy really. Not at all as hard assed as the rumor mill made him out to be. But then again, we might just communicate well, who knows. He seems to be very enthusiastic about getting the technology thing really rolling here, which I see as a good thing. He wants all sorts of improvements to be made in the way we do things here, he wants to dramatically increase my knowledge base (which means lots more classes for me), he wants to upgrade our systems�and here is the good part�he wants me to do it. Free reign for development. He gives me an idea and I run with it. As he puts it, he knows enough about computers to be dangerous, but not competent. So he is going to leave the creation to me. Wow�what a welcome change. The previous manager thought she knew computers, and therefore told me what to do and how to do it (even if it was ass backwards). I guess I am happy, cause it looks like not only will I retain my autonomy, but I will actually be getting more. Ahhh�what more could a guy ask for?
I guess now all I have to do is figure out a way to teach a basic HTML class in two hours that anyone can understand�ugh. That will certainly be a challenge.
I am looking forward to this evening. It is back to Richmond again for fight practice. I have 2 weeks left (total of 3 more practices) to get my sorry ass fighting back to a level that I will not embarrass myself at the St. Fortunatus event. Woof�
I have also realized that I really need to do something about my armor. Currently my right arm is COVERED in nasty armor bites, my legs don�t seem to fit right any more, and my helm is too damn heavy and clunky. In fact my helmet is getting a low clearance sticker put on the back of it as soon as I find one. Why you ask? Well, this last practice I managed to catch my sword on the little tail on the back of the helm which caused me to loose my grip on my sword and throw it at Susanna. And if that weren�t bad enough, I managed to brain myself putting the thing back on after a short break. Something about the back/bottom edge of my helm impacting sharply against my forehead has left me less than amused with the nasty clunky thing.
Lastly I am hoping to finally get my device painted on my shield in time for the event. I finally have the thing hung right for me, which means no more drilling holes in it. So I guess I have no excuses for not displaying my arms. Badger has graciously offered to draw my device on my shield for me, which leaves me with simply painting it. I can�t wait�it should look pretty nice. Now all I need is a fighting tabard/something to hide my ugly armor. All in due time I guess�I need to take things one step at a time.
Today I learned that�no, today I explained to my manager and co-workers why I choose to dress so casually for work. It is not that I am lazy, or hate ties or anything like that. It is a much more complex reason. I teach mostly seniors. People who, consciously or not, place a lot of emphasis on a persons appearance. By dressing in a very casual manner (jeans, and button down shirt, and sometimes a�hat�yes a hat!) I put my students more at ease. They feel more relaxed in class, which is very important for good learning. I have managed to remove the teacher/student barrier from my class and replaced it with a student/mentor/guide feel. My students feel more relaxed and more comfortable. There is not that pressure to perform. They are more likely to ask questions. But most importantly they are more likely to see me as an equal in the class�not as their superior. This is not a technique that works with kids, nor does it work with many middle-aged folks. You don�t want your student to be your friend. You want them to do the work�learn�and get out. But with seniors�well I�ll tell ya, that just doesn�t work. Be their friend, listen to them, be patient with them�and they will work hard and blossom under your guidance. I am a good teacher. I can teach almost anything to almost anyone�but not many folks have the time, patience, or insight to teach the elderly. I wonder what kind of jobs are out there in that field�perhaps it is time for a career change.
So what have you learned today?
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