An Interview with Melissa Morgan
6 years ago
Well, now I feel like a bitch.
Whatever it was that was wrong, necessitated her being transferred out of her room and into a new one. Almost immediately.
And she was supersweet on the way out after the meeting.
Whatever it was that was wrong, necessitated her being transferred out of her room and into a new one. Almost immediately.
And she was supersweet on the way out after the meeting.
I had a student come by this morning. Not an odd occurence in and of itself, but she asked to see a particular sort of person. The problem? We don't have that sort of person in our office. I asked her what her problem was, since I wouldn't be able to help her until I knew what sort of person she needed to see. That issue taken care of, we determined that she needed to see one of the coordinators.
Two of the four coordinators are off sick today, and one is out of town, including the one for this student's area. I explained this to her and asked if it could wait until Monday. Apparently it couldn't. That left only one possibility. I asked him if he would be available to see her, as the matter was somewhat urgent. Unfortunately he has appointments until 2 p.m. today, so that was the earliest he could see her.
This student was visibly upset about something, but was reluctant to talk to me about it - fair enough. I'm just the receptionist! And when I told her it was going to be 2 p.m. before she could be seen, she was adamant that that wasn't good enough. I explained the situation to her again - that this particular coordinator was the only one in today and that he would see her as soon as possible, and that she would be seen today (if he hadn't been available I would have gone to his supervisor). The coordinator in particular even stopped on his way to a meeting to tell her he was sorry he couldn't see her sooner (and these aren't, unfortunately, meetings he could have blown off).
I was feeling sorry for her. Honest. If she had a problem that seemed big enough to bring it down here to talk to someone about, it's pretty big. I told her that we were doing our best for her, and he'd take as much time as she needed, but it just couldn't happen until 2. I could see the tears ready to roll down her cheeks. I felt bad.
Until she opened her mouth and said, in the whiniest tone possible, "but what about me?!".
I was floored. I understand that it's no fun being put off for a bit when you've got a problem that's really pressing down on you. But to hear this after I'd explained that two of the coordinators were off sick (and believe me, they're sick... one is coughing and sounds like death is only a rattle away, the other made it in for five minutes this morning before she nearly collapsed), and that we would get to her as soon as humanly possible... AND after seeing the coordinator himself and hearing from him that he couldn't see her until later?!
I probably didn't handle it all that well after that. I did my best, but I think a bit of iciness crept into my voice. I apologized again that he couldn't see her immediately, but pointed out it wasn't their fault that the other two coordinators were sick. I firmly told her that I'd gotten her an appointment for as soon as possible and I'd schedule her into the coordinator's calendar right away (which I did).
She left in tears. For which I feel somewhat badly. But I'm getting sick of the complete and utter "me first, I'm the most important creature in the world, I need immediate gratification" attitude that a lot of the students around here are demonstrating. That and their complete lack of respect for authority and their neighbours (I'm privy to all of the discipline reports that occur within the complex).
It really makes me sick, to be quite honest, the way some of these students behave. I know they're in the minority. 99% of the students here don't cause trouble. That's all well and good, but the assholes are the ones that get called into the office and that I see on a semi-regular basis. I seriously wonder where they've been and what they've been allowed to get away with in order to develop these attitudes. I would've been SMACKED (well, maybe only figuratively, except by my high school math teacher who still kept a yardstick she called 'Flex' right next to her desk) at school and at home if I'd come CLOSE to saying some of the things these students say or showing the disrespect they show.
I wish I got to meet more of the good kids.
Two of the four coordinators are off sick today, and one is out of town, including the one for this student's area. I explained this to her and asked if it could wait until Monday. Apparently it couldn't. That left only one possibility. I asked him if he would be available to see her, as the matter was somewhat urgent. Unfortunately he has appointments until 2 p.m. today, so that was the earliest he could see her.
This student was visibly upset about something, but was reluctant to talk to me about it - fair enough. I'm just the receptionist! And when I told her it was going to be 2 p.m. before she could be seen, she was adamant that that wasn't good enough. I explained the situation to her again - that this particular coordinator was the only one in today and that he would see her as soon as possible, and that she would be seen today (if he hadn't been available I would have gone to his supervisor). The coordinator in particular even stopped on his way to a meeting to tell her he was sorry he couldn't see her sooner (and these aren't, unfortunately, meetings he could have blown off).
I was feeling sorry for her. Honest. If she had a problem that seemed big enough to bring it down here to talk to someone about, it's pretty big. I told her that we were doing our best for her, and he'd take as much time as she needed, but it just couldn't happen until 2. I could see the tears ready to roll down her cheeks. I felt bad.
Until she opened her mouth and said, in the whiniest tone possible, "but what about me?!".
I was floored. I understand that it's no fun being put off for a bit when you've got a problem that's really pressing down on you. But to hear this after I'd explained that two of the coordinators were off sick (and believe me, they're sick... one is coughing and sounds like death is only a rattle away, the other made it in for five minutes this morning before she nearly collapsed), and that we would get to her as soon as humanly possible... AND after seeing the coordinator himself and hearing from him that he couldn't see her until later?!
I probably didn't handle it all that well after that. I did my best, but I think a bit of iciness crept into my voice. I apologized again that he couldn't see her immediately, but pointed out it wasn't their fault that the other two coordinators were sick. I firmly told her that I'd gotten her an appointment for as soon as possible and I'd schedule her into the coordinator's calendar right away (which I did).
She left in tears. For which I feel somewhat badly. But I'm getting sick of the complete and utter "me first, I'm the most important creature in the world, I need immediate gratification" attitude that a lot of the students around here are demonstrating. That and their complete lack of respect for authority and their neighbours (I'm privy to all of the discipline reports that occur within the complex).
It really makes me sick, to be quite honest, the way some of these students behave. I know they're in the minority. 99% of the students here don't cause trouble. That's all well and good, but the assholes are the ones that get called into the office and that I see on a semi-regular basis. I seriously wonder where they've been and what they've been allowed to get away with in order to develop these attitudes. I would've been SMACKED (well, maybe only figuratively, except by my high school math teacher who still kept a yardstick she called 'Flex' right next to her desk) at school and at home if I'd come CLOSE to saying some of the things these students say or showing the disrespect they show.
I wish I got to meet more of the good kids.
How exciting!
Go to http://libcat0.york.ac.uk, and you can search for me, and see my thesis information. You will need my last name for this, so sorry to those of you who've only ever met me in blogland.
Go to http://libcat0.york.ac.uk, and you can search for me, and see my thesis information. You will need my last name for this, so sorry to those of you who've only ever met me in blogland.
So I've been tagged by Crafty Bean... much like Crispy, however, I will need time to think up some good, interesting, weird shit about myself to post. I've got one thing written in a draft post, but nothing else.
Friday night was a lot of fun - got to see people I don't get to see very often, meet some cool new people, snoop around in Magnolia's house (got to see the famous Red Room), and just generally have a relaxing night out.
Apparently, however, relaxing makes me tired. I worked on Saturday at TBS, and by the time 7 p.m. rolled around, I was dead on my feet. Good thing I was home by that point - I doubt a deathly pale pallor and dark under-eye circles would have made for good make-up sales. I was in bed by 10, and slept until 10:45 the next morning.
My mother has gotten it into her head that I need a suit. I already have a suit that she forced on me about 5 years ago, and I hate it. I look like a black rectangle in it. Needless to say I was not thrilled when she woke up me at 10:45 to inform me that we were going shopping for a suit for me. This from the woman who is constantly harping on me to save my money and not make purchases that aren't necessities (we'll just not talk about spa night at Eveline Charles - for all she knows we just went window shopping and out for dinner). So she says she'll pay for the suit. She paid for the last one. I've worn it maybe twice in the five years. She's not convinced that a more casual-ish suit would be more appropriate - one with a jacket that I could, say, remove from the matching pants and pair with, oh, say, jeans.... khakis... that sort of thing. I might actually wear it then. My office does, in fact, require me to wear business casual. I can usually get away with black/grey pants and a nice sweater (three guesses as to what I'm wearing right now). We even have Jeans Fridays at work (you pay $2 for the privilege of wearing jeans, and the money is a fundraiser to send students on service learning project to help the homeless in Hamilton). Suit? Not so much.
She points out that I may need it for job interviews in the future. Fine. That may be. I think she somtimes forgets that I'm not aiming to do her job - I don't want to be a lawyer, thanks. I'm not going to need to appear in front of panels and judges and the like... And so far I've managed to appear good and professional at my interviews without an actual suit... So whatever.
Perhaps the kicker on this one was that I HATE shopping at the best of times. Which is probably why she dragged me into it with no warning. But to have to shop for something I don't even want? Ouch.
In the end we failed miserably. The only suit that I sort of liked was at J. Michael and they didn't have my size in the bottom half at either of the locations we went to. I mean, I have to have it tailored anyway (waist a size smaller than hips), but they didn't have it available in my hip size - pants or skirt. Story of my life, really.
On the bright side, I did get what I was initially aiming for - a more casual jacket that can be work with jeans, etc. And I didn't have to pay for it (the one that fit nicely was about $30 more than I wanted to pay for a jacket, so my parents were just, like "early birthday present").
On the other hand, I feel more dependent than ever. If I can't even buy my own clothes, then what the hell am I doing wanting to move out on my own?
On the bright side, my parents took a drive past an apartment building that I'd mentioned where rent was affordable and the location was good, and they approved. No balcony on the building - not sure how I feel about that - there'd be no place to store my bike (yup, it lived on my balcony in my last building - it was always interesting getting it out...)... but other than that...
Anywho...
Friday night was a lot of fun - got to see people I don't get to see very often, meet some cool new people, snoop around in Magnolia's house (got to see the famous Red Room), and just generally have a relaxing night out.
Apparently, however, relaxing makes me tired. I worked on Saturday at TBS, and by the time 7 p.m. rolled around, I was dead on my feet. Good thing I was home by that point - I doubt a deathly pale pallor and dark under-eye circles would have made for good make-up sales. I was in bed by 10, and slept until 10:45 the next morning.
My mother has gotten it into her head that I need a suit. I already have a suit that she forced on me about 5 years ago, and I hate it. I look like a black rectangle in it. Needless to say I was not thrilled when she woke up me at 10:45 to inform me that we were going shopping for a suit for me. This from the woman who is constantly harping on me to save my money and not make purchases that aren't necessities (we'll just not talk about spa night at Eveline Charles - for all she knows we just went window shopping and out for dinner). So she says she'll pay for the suit. She paid for the last one. I've worn it maybe twice in the five years. She's not convinced that a more casual-ish suit would be more appropriate - one with a jacket that I could, say, remove from the matching pants and pair with, oh, say, jeans.... khakis... that sort of thing. I might actually wear it then. My office does, in fact, require me to wear business casual. I can usually get away with black/grey pants and a nice sweater (three guesses as to what I'm wearing right now). We even have Jeans Fridays at work (you pay $2 for the privilege of wearing jeans, and the money is a fundraiser to send students on service learning project to help the homeless in Hamilton). Suit? Not so much.
She points out that I may need it for job interviews in the future. Fine. That may be. I think she somtimes forgets that I'm not aiming to do her job - I don't want to be a lawyer, thanks. I'm not going to need to appear in front of panels and judges and the like... And so far I've managed to appear good and professional at my interviews without an actual suit... So whatever.
Perhaps the kicker on this one was that I HATE shopping at the best of times. Which is probably why she dragged me into it with no warning. But to have to shop for something I don't even want? Ouch.
In the end we failed miserably. The only suit that I sort of liked was at J. Michael and they didn't have my size in the bottom half at either of the locations we went to. I mean, I have to have it tailored anyway (waist a size smaller than hips), but they didn't have it available in my hip size - pants or skirt. Story of my life, really.
On the bright side, I did get what I was initially aiming for - a more casual jacket that can be work with jeans, etc. And I didn't have to pay for it (the one that fit nicely was about $30 more than I wanted to pay for a jacket, so my parents were just, like "early birthday present").
On the other hand, I feel more dependent than ever. If I can't even buy my own clothes, then what the hell am I doing wanting to move out on my own?
On the bright side, my parents took a drive past an apartment building that I'd mentioned where rent was affordable and the location was good, and they approved. No balcony on the building - not sure how I feel about that - there'd be no place to store my bike (yup, it lived on my balcony in my last building - it was always interesting getting it out...)... but other than that...
Anywho...
**Warning - bitch session about to begin. My apologies. I'm not a bitcher in person. Honest. It's just that the blog is my outlet... And it's a topic I've bitched about before, so you can skip it if you want.***
So. 'Tis the season. The season of love, the season of passion, etc. Valentine's day promos have shot up all over the fucking place, and I... I am bitter, as usual.
Don't get me wrong, couples are great. I'm all for love and that. I'm happy for my friends that have significant others. But there's this chunk of me that just gets... yeah, bitter is still the word I'm looking for... that all these other people out there have significant others and I don't. It's like this depressed jealousy - it can't work up enough energy to be vindictive and bitchy or to take pleasure in causing other people misery... but it's still there, eating away at me and making me sad, and I'm feeling that strange, pervasive loneliness keenly today.
Things change when people pair off... It wasn't so bad when most of the people I hung out with on a regular basis were all single... but just about everyone I work with now at the Uni is in some sort of a long-term significant relationship or other...
I dunno, like I said, this is just a giant bitch session - more to get how I'm feeling off my chest than to accuse anyone of being obnoxiously couple-y or anything. I guess I just don't know how to deal with people who have moved on to that phase of their lives while I'm still stuck well behind, without feeling like I'm missing something or inadequate somehow. I know, I know, I'm not exactly making an effort to meet people, and for now I'm blaming it on circumstance, but in all truth I'm not THAT desperate to meet anyone, really. There are so many good things about being single, but I'm having trouble seeing them today.
But now, I am off to a party, where I will hang out with a good mix of both single and not-so-single but still wonderfully awesome people and hopefully forget about this shit for at least a few hours.
So. 'Tis the season. The season of love, the season of passion, etc. Valentine's day promos have shot up all over the fucking place, and I... I am bitter, as usual.
Don't get me wrong, couples are great. I'm all for love and that. I'm happy for my friends that have significant others. But there's this chunk of me that just gets... yeah, bitter is still the word I'm looking for... that all these other people out there have significant others and I don't. It's like this depressed jealousy - it can't work up enough energy to be vindictive and bitchy or to take pleasure in causing other people misery... but it's still there, eating away at me and making me sad, and I'm feeling that strange, pervasive loneliness keenly today.
Things change when people pair off... It wasn't so bad when most of the people I hung out with on a regular basis were all single... but just about everyone I work with now at the Uni is in some sort of a long-term significant relationship or other...
I dunno, like I said, this is just a giant bitch session - more to get how I'm feeling off my chest than to accuse anyone of being obnoxiously couple-y or anything. I guess I just don't know how to deal with people who have moved on to that phase of their lives while I'm still stuck well behind, without feeling like I'm missing something or inadequate somehow. I know, I know, I'm not exactly making an effort to meet people, and for now I'm blaming it on circumstance, but in all truth I'm not THAT desperate to meet anyone, really. There are so many good things about being single, but I'm having trouble seeing them today.
But now, I am off to a party, where I will hang out with a good mix of both single and not-so-single but still wonderfully awesome people and hopefully forget about this shit for at least a few hours.
So, I don't know whether it was how relaxed I was after the manicure/pedicure last night or what, but I dreamed.
I know, I know, you always dream, you just don't always remember it.
I'm not sure whether I would classify this as a nightmare, or not, though...
I dreamed that I was in York, it was graduation day, and the lovely folks at Ede and Ravenscroft had neglected to provide my gown. They didn't even have one that was slightly off size-wise that I could have worn. In short, no gown.
And because I had no gown, they weren't going to let me graduate. I threw a fit. And I woke up nearly hyperventilating. It took me a while to convince myself that I had, in fact, been dreaming.
Weird.
I know, I know, you always dream, you just don't always remember it.
I'm not sure whether I would classify this as a nightmare, or not, though...
I dreamed that I was in York, it was graduation day, and the lovely folks at Ede and Ravenscroft had neglected to provide my gown. They didn't even have one that was slightly off size-wise that I could have worn. In short, no gown.
And because I had no gown, they weren't going to let me graduate. I threw a fit. And I woke up nearly hyperventilating. It took me a while to convince myself that I had, in fact, been dreaming.
Weird.
So, as all new employees are made to do at the University, I was made to attend "New Employee Health and Safety Orientation" on Tuesday. Never mind the fact that I've worked for the university in six or so different capacities over the years. Nope, I took more than a year off from my employment at this glorious institution, so I must be re-familiarized with the health and safety procedures expounded by the university.
Which is useful. There are plenty of health-related and safety-related things around here I should probably know. Like where the fire extinguisher is. What forms to fill out if I get hurt here. Etc. It could have been covered in a couple of hours. Seriously. But did they cover it in a couple of hours? Nope.
Instead another coworker and myself were forced to sit there for 7 hours of information that has little relevance to our office-monkey jobs. I'm never going to need to know how to tie myself off on a 40-foot ladder. I'm not going to need to know about steam valves. Granted, we may some day 'walk through a machine shop and get hurt 'cuz you don't know the rules', but in all fairness, if I have to walk through a machine shop, I'm taking someone who actually works there with me.
I also know more about mould and asbestos than I'm ever going to need to know working here. "If you see it, report it, and we'll deal with it". They could simply have left it at that. But nope, we got an hour on mould and asbestos removal. We even got a full-colour booklet in order to help us identify materials we might think are asbestos. Great. My office was built 4 years ago. Asbestos was illegal then. I really don't need to worry about that. Mould, maybe. Asbestos, no.
And did they say a damn thing about the issues that are really going to affect me? Staring at a computer screen 8 hours a day? Sitting in a chair that was obviously not ergonomically designed? Carpal tunnel syndrome? None of that.
Seriously, I think I got more injuries at FEP than I'll ever get here. I chopped my finger with an axe, for pete's sake. I burnt myself on a near-daily basis. These things happen. I'm NOT about to fill out an accident form every time I get a paper cut. I'm not about to fill out a near-miss form (yes, we have 'near-miss' forms) every time I get a paper cut. With the exception of chronic injuries, I think that's about the most damage I'm going to do to myself here.
Ok, ok, I know, I'm whining. Safety is important. But I walked out of that session CERTAIN that it was more directed at plumbers and welders and electricians and other tradespeople than it was at me, and it felt like a giant waste of time.
Which is useful. There are plenty of health-related and safety-related things around here I should probably know. Like where the fire extinguisher is. What forms to fill out if I get hurt here. Etc. It could have been covered in a couple of hours. Seriously. But did they cover it in a couple of hours? Nope.
Instead another coworker and myself were forced to sit there for 7 hours of information that has little relevance to our office-monkey jobs. I'm never going to need to know how to tie myself off on a 40-foot ladder. I'm not going to need to know about steam valves. Granted, we may some day 'walk through a machine shop and get hurt 'cuz you don't know the rules', but in all fairness, if I have to walk through a machine shop, I'm taking someone who actually works there with me.
I also know more about mould and asbestos than I'm ever going to need to know working here. "If you see it, report it, and we'll deal with it". They could simply have left it at that. But nope, we got an hour on mould and asbestos removal. We even got a full-colour booklet in order to help us identify materials we might think are asbestos. Great. My office was built 4 years ago. Asbestos was illegal then. I really don't need to worry about that. Mould, maybe. Asbestos, no.
And did they say a damn thing about the issues that are really going to affect me? Staring at a computer screen 8 hours a day? Sitting in a chair that was obviously not ergonomically designed? Carpal tunnel syndrome? None of that.
Seriously, I think I got more injuries at FEP than I'll ever get here. I chopped my finger with an axe, for pete's sake. I burnt myself on a near-daily basis. These things happen. I'm NOT about to fill out an accident form every time I get a paper cut. I'm not about to fill out a near-miss form (yes, we have 'near-miss' forms) every time I get a paper cut. With the exception of chronic injuries, I think that's about the most damage I'm going to do to myself here.
Ok, ok, I know, I'm whining. Safety is important. But I walked out of that session CERTAIN that it was more directed at plumbers and welders and electricians and other tradespeople than it was at me, and it felt like a giant waste of time.
