Might be a golden wattle, but not sure. The leaves seem a bit too small to be a golden wattle, but I know very little about plants, so if someone knows what type of wattle this is, then please let me know.
So these flowers are fairly bright in appearance in this photo. I think the shot would’ve been better if I shot it “darker”, but at the same time I do like that a fair amount of detail is visible despite the brightness.
Not much to say other than I think they’re pretty.
I hope you enjoy.
As with many cloud-related shots I’ve taken, I like how massive they appear here.
I also like how in some parts of the photo the sunset’s light appears to be traveling along the clouds in a line.
I hope you enjoy.
I was talking to one of my teachers from uni and he told me about how he was going to a wedding. I was coming along. I can’t remember if I was invited or not.
The wedding was in New Zealand so we had to fly there. My teacher (and someone else he was bringing along) hopped in a helicopter and I hopped on something that looked like a motorbike. I’m pretty certain it was a motorbike. We then flew to New Zealand.
We flew over to the south island which had a volcano on it somewhere close to the coast near a sharp cliff face. I asked if that was the place and was told no, so we flew northward.
I think my brain swapped the two main islands around. I’ve been thinking about how it appeared and it seemed much smaller than usual, but I digress.
We flew to the north island and whilst we were flying to where we needed to fly I saw a tower that looked like Saruman’s, but the pointy bits were much shorter and the top was much flatter. There was also a significant amount of greenery around it (mostly grass). I took note that it looked like one of the towers from The Two Towers and we kept on flying.
Eventually I saw a place to land and so I landed my motorbike. This was a flat clifftop but then it was part of a city. I started to get some things out of the storage bags I had with the bike so as to clean it up a bit. Then my teacher and the person he was with appeared. They must’ve landed nearby. They said something about going to the wedding, then left. I wasn’t quite feeling much like going to the wedding but I still was going to go. I needed to go check in somewhere (I think), so then I was in either a hotel or a hostel.
I went to my room and someone I used to know was there. We had a chat about stuff. I told them about how I was gonna go to this wedding. I still wasn’t feeling like going and was thinking that I’d rather go drive around the coastline and see if I could see something interesting during sunset. I left the room, then stood there for a bit and wondered if I should ask the person I used to know if they’d want to come along. Then someone else went into the room so I decided to head off.
I ended up at a mountain bike trail, but there was a lot of logs placed as slats to form some of the pathways. Some places didn’t have the wooden logs. I got off my motorbike for some reason, then kind of had to make a jump of sorts and almost missed the path and fell a significant distance. The part I landed on was steep and so I clambered up and then jumped not back to where I was but another path and then clambered up that for a short period of time. I ended up at a spot where the path was much less steep.
The person I used to know appeared and they were a floating head and they had three arms and hands. They had one set on either side, but then the third set was coming out of their left side underneath the set where their shoulder would be. It was uncomfortable due to the odd appearance, as well as their sudden appearance.
I asked them if they wanted to join me in driving around and they said they would. As they were saying this, the rest of their body faded into existence.
Then I woke up.
Just writing this as a follow-on from yesterday’s rant. There was more that I wanted to say but as I ran out of room I’m going to continue what I was saying in this.
Alright, so I covered the customers bit that I wanted to say but bow I’m going to take a dig at some of my coworkers (not all) due to their not doing their job properly which feeds into customer anger when others are trying to do their job properly. This is a particularly serious issue as it’s creating more work when it is not necessary.
Our hands being tied when it comes to doing stuff is rather annoying, but what is probably the worst part of it all is co-workers actively ignoring what we can and cannot do. It’s creating expectations for customers that we shouldn’t be fulfilling, so when someone who is following our processes has to deny a customer’s request, often they are the ones who end up having to deal with the aggression.
There are procedures that are meant to be followed when a transfer happens that don’t get followed. There are also things that are meant to be done whenever someone goes into a customer’s account that don’t often get done which can often lead to unnecessary work, much to the frustration of both the customer and the customer service representative. Quite often when it is reported there is no action taken, whether that be speaking directly to a customer service representative or sending out a message advising of why this stuff needs to be done. It’s also quite easy to find out who did or didn’t do something as whenever you go into someone’s account, the system logs your going into it. It’s in everyone’s best interest to leave notes so that there doesn’t need to be pointless chasing to find something out.
Even though dealing with customers is something I’m beginning to feel a strong apprehension toward, it is many of the customer service representatives that I work with that I feel make the job more difficult than the customers do. We’re there to do a job and whilst one’s conscience is important, why do stuff that makes things worse for others? Why do that? Is it because you know that you’re not going to have to deal with the consequences of your actions or lack thereof? Is it some sort of lack of care toward doing the job properly?
I know there are many reasons why people stop doing things in a job; especially one as pointlessly demanding as the one I work has become. To that extent, I am somewhat-sympathetic. However, when I refer to people not doing their job properly, it’s people who, from rather early on in their starting the role, refused to do what is required. It’s frustrating. Stop it. Stop making our job harder. We’re in this together. We need to work together and make sure that we’re not creating a worse work environment.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 10:29:49
I felt a need to continue what I was saying yesterday, though admittedly I’m probably not saying much. Probably would’ve been more effective with fewer words. Also, a bit slower than I’d hoped.
I feel as though what I wrote was less repetitive than my usual writings.
Written at home.
In general whilst frequently I do feel a desire to cover it, I don’t like writing about work. I feel as though I’ve said as much as I can with the skills that I have.
Maybe saying that I don’t like to cover work is the wrong thing. Now that I think about it, it is better to say that I have an apprehension toward covering work. With that being said, in this bit of writing I am going to cover some things about my job that I’ve covered quite a few times before as, once more, I need to state that some things can’t be said enough, which is rather unfortunate as some things shouldn’t have to be said over and over again. There comes a point where you just kind of want to throw your hands up in the air as it’s ridiculous that the same things have to be said over and over again due to people being unable ton exert a little self-control over themselves and show a little bit of respect.
Yes, it’s one of those writings where I write about customers being assholes. I guess that, considering what is going on in the world at the moment it’s a bit more important to say this stuff, but it really shouldn’t have to be said at all.
Anyway, so once more the customers are being highly aggressive. They’re doing their insult thing, doing the belittling, doing all the things that leaves customer service representatives less likely to want to help them out. Currently the company I work for is pushing for changing how we do things which means we are not able to do as much for customers as we should be able to do. I’m not going to get into the details of that as it’s not worth getting into (at the moment), but what needs to be known is that we’ve received a significant increase in the amount of customers that are calling us and being able to do less for them is causing issues.
We are redirecting the customers (in a sense) so that they can “help” themselves, but when you’ve got a whole load of people already antsy from having to wait for a while to speak to someone due to the queues being backed up far more than they should be being told when they speak to someone that we can’t quite assist them, they tend to unleash far more frequently than usual. Some customers are taking the news well, but plenty are not. They resort to some pretty shitty tactics to try and get their way and sometimes we have to relent, which is rather frustrating.
There are other departments that are also backed up. As they are departments that always have had lengthy (relative to my department and not necessarily other businesses) wait times that have now had that wait increase which means more customers getting much more testy than usual, which is of course a great deal of fun for the people that work in said departments, but I sort of digress.
So the customers are getting angrier and there’s less we can do. The customers are now more willing to unleash upon us which is causing its own set of issues. We’re being told to get through the calls as quickly as possible and to perform our best, but often it feels like we’re having to fight to do our job. I should probably be referring to myself rather than other staff, but due to some things happening rather recently I am fairly confident on my ability to speak on the behalf of my fellow coworkers, but I’m digressing once more.
This is creating a lot of pressure on both ends. We’re being rushed through everything whilst being yelled at for things that are not our decision to make and it’s rather frustrating. Of course there are some customers who are frustrated but accepting and some who are understanding and lovely about the whole thing. Those customers are awesome and whilst they don’t make the day, they certainly make the call.
The ones that make the job harder than necessary are the ones who decide it’s a good idea to call you a wanker or a dickhead when they think you can’t hear them. The ones that think it’s okay to say to someone in the background that they could tell you were a millennial because you thought you knew everything even though the information provided pertained specifically to something that you can do in the particular role you work. Somehow knowing about a specific product means that you know everything.
There are the ones that are racist and start asking where you’re from because they haven’t heard of your name are also unpleasant. You say where, then they ask again and you advise that you’re not comfortable with the line of questioning. They then get defensive and say how they weren’t being racist, then proceed to call you miserable throughout the rest of the call. They make the job hard. It’s unnecessary. It doesn’t matter where someone is from. What matters are who they are.
Then there are the customers such as the one who thought that, in the middle of a complaint it was a good idea to blame changes on young people, then referred to them as brainless. When mentioned that you’re one of those young people the customer is referring to, instead of backing down they instead say that they weren’t referring to you, then say something else followed by telling you that they’re going to “reach through the phone and rip your fucking throat out”. Whilst this one is particularly unpleasant, this isn’t necessarily uncommon.
Stuff like this is stuff we shouldn’t have to tolerate. Whilst there are policies in place, we still have to hear it before we can do anything.
Customer service representatives are also people. If you’re asking them something, don’t treat them like they’re worthless. They aren’t.
The time it took to write one thousand words: 21:23:88
There was a bit more I wanted to include but I might save it for another time. Perhaps I’m cheapening this by doing it within a time constraint, but I felt a desire to go for the twenty minute mark more than I did write something lengthy and comprehensive.
Slow, but I think I got the point across.
Written at home.
Cold, cold and cold rain is falling from the sky and onto the earth. I am sheltered but that is of little reprieve as I am also inside and I’d much rather be outside, but not in the rain. I stay here and wait and write and wait and write some more as there still are things that I need to get done, but this is assuming that I do indeed get them all done, of course. Don’t know where I’m going with this, so instead I might just just ditch this paragraph and start this over as then I can spare myself the embarrassment of revealing that I had made some sort of mistake (or error, if you will) and thus no one will know of this error and I can keep on going on with my life as though it had never happened. That would be quite delightful if I am to be honest with myself and all of you whom have read up to this point.
Now that I think about it, however, how long will it be before I will finally crack from the enormity of the pressure of having done such a thing? It is quite possible that I might feel fine for a little while (and that little while might just actually be a good while), but who knows what will happen down the track? I could end up caving to the hiding of my shame. I could end up collapsing under the weight of pressure to maintain the light that the opening paragraph of this bit of writing did not actually exist, and of course that would mean that I would feel the shame of such a thing. However, that shame would not exist if I just owned up to it in the first place, but then again the shame would be existing the whole entire time because I would feel some shame toward my actions. Either that, or it would eventually creep in as I unsuccessfully work at maintaining the lie I was trying to maintain.
Of course, with all of that being said, at the end of the day it would be my refusal to accept the responsibility and honesty of admitting to a mistake and owning it that would be dragging me down. Once the lie is broken, I would finally be able to feel some sort of catharsis or freedom. The thing is that once it is known, there would of course be some sort of consequences and my career as whatever it is that I do would no longer be able to recover. However, in knowing that I was freed from the burden of protecting deceit, I would now be able to forge my own path without the weight dragging me down and slowly eating away at my existence, thus leading to a position where I can walk into the future confident that I was now able to work on building a less guilt-ridden life. I’d be “free”.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:44:22
I enjoyed writing this. It seems like some sort of stock-standard plot and I’m fine with that.
That said, less repetition would’ve been significantly beneficial.
Written at home.
Recently whilst on a brief break during a shift working I went into my backyard. When I looked at the sky I saw the clouds and the way they were spread out was something I wanted to capture.
I grabbed my camera and took some photos. Then I stood in the rough middle of the street and took a few more.
This doesn’t quite capture the clouds so much as it does the spread of the sun’s light. The photo emphasised the shading a bit more than expected, but I’m happy with that as (kind of) keeps the focus more on the sky and less on the ground. That said, I do like that what is on the ground remains visible.
I like the way the clouds appear in this shot. There’s a small amount of space between some of them which forms a nice effect when it comes to detail and texture. I also like that the image feels like it’s partially desaturated.
This is my submission into the one hundred-and-ninth Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.
The theme for this one is “Under the Sun“.
The challenge is hosted by four people and cycles weekly:
Week 1 – Patti
Week 2 – Ann-Christine aka Leya
Week 3 – Amy
Week 4 – Tina
This one is hosted by Amy. Next week’s is hosted by Tina.
I recommend checking out how people are interpreting the challenges. I also recommend joining in. It’s a growing, fun community.
I hope you enjoy.
Whilst the area that this path leads into and out of is referred to as a jungle, it’s not quite one… maybe. I don’t quite know.
When I took this shot I think I was trying to capture a sense of coming out from a darkened area and into something brighter. Instead I captured a massive hill with a small part of a pathway.
I do like that this feels scenic and massive. I also like that you get an idea of how a few of the trees grow in this area. It almost seems as though they’ve been smeared.
This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s TPM photo challenge for this week.
The theme for this challenge is “Trails and Paths You Have Walked”.
I suggest checking out Leanne’s photography, as well as checking out what other people submit into the challenge.
You can find the challenges here.
I hope you enjoy.
Going to be a bit loose this morning as once more I’m aiming for under five minutes which I realise now is an achievable target but I need to make sure that at no point I stop. Well, I can stop but I need to make sure that my stopping is for a shorter period of time than what Id normally allow myself. As such, I need to just keep going and hope for the best.
My mind is waiting for the COFFEE to kick in, though I don’t really need it. I was functioning before I had the COFFEE. I just want it to kick in and work its magic so that I can move faster, because that is how COFFEE works. It makes you go faster and thus you get more done by moving faster. It will appear as though time is slowing down, but it is not; you’re just going much faster than you normally would.
I’m also waiting for the stat of my shift as soon I start work and doing the work gets the money, but I still need more money, as do most people in the world. Needing more money is not fun, but at the moment I have just enough to survive and having just enough to survive also means I have more time on my hands (which of course is also due in part to working from home at the moment) so I have more time to get more things done and thus get to do the things that I did not get to do as much as I wanted to before. It’s a good time.
Well, it is not a good time, but it is a better time than a bad time. Taking my time but getting through it all. Slowly ramping up. Slowly picking up speed. Slowly getting the things that I want to get done done. Just need to stick to it and keep on going and push on forward and keep on going and look at better ways of refining my craft and processes so that I get more done and feel less stressed about it, though the stress will likely always be in some sort of equilibrium with the getting stuff done. I think.
Anyway, work soon approaches and I keep on going in the hopes to get a few more things done before it all caves in and all the customers rain on my parade by swearing at me for no reason. Reminds me that I was going to write about a few that said some rather delectable things recently, but that’s for another day as I like to say. Anyway, now that that is out of the way I think I shall think about finishing what I have left to drink in my mug filled to some extend with the liquid known as COFFEE and then start logging into everything sot hat I can get to the start of my shift without issue.
End communication.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 05:01:32
As I was writing this I kind of became aware of looping a little too much on my own words. I’m not sure if I did, but I think I did. Also, it looks like I paused for a little too long. Still, pretty close to under five minutes.
Written at home.
What is there that I can say about this particular photo?
I do like the framing the trees provide. They partially obscure two buildings and help to draw focus to the road which has nothing out of the expected on it occurring.
The sky is a relaxed blue. The moon is visible and appears rather small.
I’m not sure as to why the lighting in some parts of this photo came out the way it did. I didn’t push anything into excess.
I feel this scene is rather small. It’s not humble, but it certainly is devoid of grandiosity. It’s just a scene of some stuff in suburbia.
I hope you enjoy.
Stupidity Hole 