|
As always, I will say that I want comments and responses. This kind of
feedback is a plus for me, even if its negative because at least I know people
are listening. Its embarrassing to spend an hour talking (or writing) for
an hour (or two) only to realize at the end (or beginning) that there's no one
there (or they never paid attention at all).
For those of you wondering why this is coming out of the blue- well, I got your
email address somehow and I'm pretty sure I know you. If not, oops. Just
pretend I do and be nice about it.
Well, I've decided to write to y'all again, mostly because I've come up with a
new subject to ramble on about. It seems that I haven't had much time
lately, to write about much of anything (despite some long emails or IMs to the
contrary) because of my all consuming, ever important work at McDonald's, the
fast-food restaurant I despise.
And that is what I plan to talk about today, my friends. The decision that
looms in the future, the leap many aren't willing to take yet: finding the Job.
Well, for many still in school, just finding a summer job. Now, I never
had any hook-ups and thus, I'm totally incapable at finding myself a free summer
job without looking. *mutters angrily* Those who have ever tried to apply
for a job using the Sunday paper Classified Ads know of my troubles. The task is
so daunting, looking at all those little notes. It seems that there is
nothing you qualify for and when you find that tiny spot of hope in the
occasional ad, there always seems to be something fishy about it. Kinda
like those "Work at Home for $50-$100 per hour!" that are on telephone
poles and at bus stops everywhere. Well gee, if those jobs are so great,
why doesn't everyone know about them already?
I took the opportunity earlier this summer to try and apply for one of these
jobs. "Train to become a manager!", it boasted. Well, it doesn't
hurt to see what there deal is, right? So, after applying to about twenty other
jobs, I checked them out. Unlike the other jobs, they immediately made an
appointment for an interview with me and they promised me that this would be a
good summer job- many other jobs rejected me outright because I was leaving in a
few months. After the interview, I found myself still not really knowing
what the job was, because the guy there was a good fast talker and I was not a
fast listener. The next day, I did what they called an "Observation
Day", where I wouldn't get paid but I would watch Chela (my trainer) do her
thing. Boy, was I surprised when I ended up driving into Waianae with her a few
ours later. It turned out we were selling little trinkets, like some small
radio scanners, little shaking snakes, car refrigerators and a belt and watch
set. Anyway, I thought that this whole deal was a scam, but I shrugged and
spent the day with her. I was surprised by how much someone could sell
just by walking into each and every store down the street, than back up again on
the other side. Then, we hit the beach and sold some more stuff there
also.
Well, that night, I didn't really want to talk to my parents about the job
because I knew they would flip out. I ended up sharing everything (well, I
can't help it- once I start talking, it doesn't stop- kinda like the sentence
and this email) and surprisingly, they were somewhat supportive. The next
day, I went in and they had some sales session thing that reminded me of camp- a
lot of cheering and chanting, with sales games and such. It was fun, because all
the sales people were young and energetic, much different from the crowd at my
McDonalds job last year, I thought. So Chela and I hit downtown, and right
when we got off the bus, I managed to sell something. Hooboy, $2 in my
pocket right there! If I sold at least three things every hour, I would be
better off than at sweatshop fast food! The highlight of my day was
selling 7 radios to some people in some store like Kinko's. OMG, I made
$35 right there! The whole idea of the sales was to encourage
independence, because I didn't really have a boss. I was just given I bunch of
products and told to go somewhere, make some money. This was something
that I learned how to do in just two short days!
My enthusiasm was dampened when I went home- I turned out my dad had visited the
place and he demanded to see my contract, w/o telling them who he was.
They asked for his name and noticed that his business card said KHON, which many
business's know is home to Action Line, a vindictive crew that follows up on
consumer complaints and destroys reputations. But that's just my opinion.
I was really pissed off, because my parents were interfering so much with my
life. I just found a job that was fun and one that I knew I could do well.
Plus, I learned a lot about confidence and the "Sales Smile" I call
it, the ability to disarm hostile (but potential) impulse buyers. After a
long talk that lasted about four hours, with me doing most of the talking and
drifting into the meaning of life and my purpose and such, we decided that I
couldn't work there. I don't quite recall why, but that's probably because
I'm still bitter about the whole thing and I blocked out the memory in an active
attempt to make my parents seem like irrational people. Which they are, of
course.
So, I find myself laboring at McDonalds again. Its not quite as bad as
last year, because there are people there newer than me. While they
might've actually worked there longer, I still can claim that I worked there
last year and make them assume that I've been there longer :) Ah,
deception is so easy with a little confusion and assumption. Anyway, I
don't have to sweep and mop the floor all the time, as the cleaning bitch.
Now, when I sweep and mop the floor all the time, its because they recognize my
high quality style of janitorial engineering. Experience does play a big
role in job hunting. Even a few days back at McDonalds meant the
difference between being buried in a pile of cardboard boxes in the stock room
for five minutes and finding a stack of 21oz cups in five seconds.
The real reason I decided to write today is because I had a good day yesterday.
I wasn't supposed to work, my schedule had me down for working today- right now,
actually. But Laurie, the manager told me to work and the Marine Corps
Base the day before yesterday and I'm very glad I agreed. It really put my
work at the Windward City McDonalds in perspective. We actually have a
well stocked, high-quality McDonalds, with better grills, registers, facilities,
plus we have that cool folklore mural on the wall. (if you don't know what I'm
talking about, you need to come to McDonalds to find out- it's pretty
interesting.) The only thing wrong with our McDonalds is the staff. Its
not that they're bad, or they're slow or stupid or anything, but I barely
understand any of them because they're ALL Filipino! They are bilingual
for the most part. But it took me a while to figure out what they were
saying. Now, I'm at the point where they can ask me a random question and
I can come up with a random response- "Do yu stil aik de... binpon?"
"Uh, yeah, my nickname was Bill at school." Hm, its hard to
accurately write an accent.
So, I had been exposed to the Filipino McDonalds forever (small hyperbole).
When Alvin drove me to the Marine Corps base one, he told me that it was going
to be a culture shock. I guess I can see that, if you're Filipino.
But I'm not, being pure Chinese/Japanese/Okinawa. This McDonalds was very
different. While the restaurant itself was cramped and crappy, the people
were my age. Even more of a bonus, a lot more girls my age. (number at my
McDonalds? zero.) A lot of the workers were black (not that I'm racist), but
what do you expect on a military base? Miguel, one of the mangers there
(ex-military) said that this McDonalds was really like the UN- I'm inclined to
agree with him. Everyone there was friendly and most of all, I could
understand them! You might laugh at this, but it has been a big thing for
me. I found myself not speaking for days at a time when I worked at
McDonalds, even though its not that miserable, I find myself really making it
so. It is hard work for the lousy minimum wage, but there are some
occasions where interesting things happen, like the group of huge guys at
midnight, outside our store seriously pissed off, with the serious munchies.
I guess where I'm leading with this is the fact that no one has the right to
judge where other people work. They might see something in it that you don't and
if it seems like a sucky job, it might not really be that way. Even trying
to say something like "Hey, money is money!", "At least you're
getting paid" degrades the job into something else. It becomes work,
it becomes a load. Whether its bearable or not, jobs should be fun. I now
think that every day should have enough fulfillment and happiness that they
remain memorable enough for the rest of our lives.
Hm, I really wanted to talk about something else, but I guess I'm out of time.
Well, I hope you all at least read my personal experiences and can take this
opportunity to learn from someone who is willing to share for the sake of
others- ;) maybe next time I'll try to talk about something a little more
general and less uncomfortable for me, like my opinion on music (amusing stories
there) or something else... any suggestions? I thought of starting a pet peeves
list- commercials, parents, and money problems are the things that top that list
right now. I don't know how commercials made it up there- I guess they
really bug me. Maybe advertisements should be tacked unto commercials.
Those of you brave or bewildered enough to trudge through the tangled sentences
and broken thoughts that comprise my email existence will be left with one last
thought-
Thing to Think About of the Week
"It's only bulls%*t if you don't mean it. Some people dismiss the heartfelt
ideas of another as such, when in fact, most BS comes from a kernel (or more) of
truth."
Signing off,
Kaz
PS - Some people who get this probably didn't get the first one, but that's ok.
if you're really interested in me (or at least what I say) let me know, I'll see
if I can send you the first Kaz thing.
<<Back
|
Navigation
