Ignorance

What pisses me off is ignorance. When someone is expected to do a part of their job and they don't, because they were the wrong person employed, or they haven't been trained and the the buck gets passed when it could of been dealt with at an earlier point. Ignorance is what makes customer services departments the most dangerous part of any organization. They simply are not up to doing the job. They end up being people on the end of phones who answer callers but don't actually give any answers, they may follow a script but not listen. They are impotent and they in turn make the organizations they work for look uncaring, incapable and likely to lose custom.  Just in the same way pushy phone sell ling pops up every now and again. The sales rep on the end of the phone who just wants to keep pushing and pushing, the rep who thinks they know everything. They pressurise people they call into purchasing goods and if the phone is put down on them, they just ring again at another time. This is not only ignorance it is harassment and should be criminal. Just as ignorance should be criminal. There are a lot of defences which are put up but they end up with no solution to the problem. Customer service reps and sales reps are prime examples of stupid.

It has been said, stupid things happen to stupid people, such is the karma of this world.

Being Shafted

I'm getting angry quite a lot lately. But for me it's other people who are the reasons for this anger. For instance finding big Moma would rather get her in the house-maintenance-business boy friend to do a little painting, for which he'll charge her an extortionate rate as well. What makes me angry is she is allowing herself to be shafted. Although I said to her there was nothing a bit of paint could not fix and I had already bought the paint for the job. She'd made up a reason to say there was something wrong with the wood. Considering she's not been up a ladder her entire life and knows nothing about wood doesn't actually enter her mind. She wanted to go out and let herself be financially shafted. This of course enraged me, but particularly because the job was a simple one.

I had the paint and loan of a ladder already at hand it was my intention to sort it out. Not considering also the circumstances of a fellow Shafter to the boyfriend. A bloke who spoke to one of Big Moma's Grand son's and said "so and so (boyfriend) is screwing your nan, how'd you feel about it?" The Shafter is a devious and probably mentally disturbed individual who takes gratuitous pleasure out of teasing in a malevolent way. It is therefore no wonder I was angry and in these circumstances I think justifiably angry. To the point of feeling physical violence towards this individual. In the meantime Big Moma has the demeanour of living walking victim just waiting for the next person who feels like it to just take advantage of her. Why she acts in this way I do not know. Which leads me to think I must of been swapped at birth and am not really related to any of my family at all.

In a huff I sent a text message this morning to Sparkling. Then later on when I have a break I try and chat via MSN. I am chilled at this point. But Sparkling almost immediately accuses me of being in a mood when I am not in a mood at all. This kind of behaviour makes me wonder if there is actually something wrong with me. If I really am Mr Angry and it's me who has the problem, if it weren't for the fact I knew I was chilled while drinking my cup of tea and eating a dark chocolate digestive biscuit then I'd of thought I was crazy. But the fact is I wasn't.

Yesterday I spoke to Green Car man, the first time in about six weeks or maybe more. I had enough of the little Oriental fellow and had told Green Car man the reasons why. Then Green Car man says it's me who is sounding aggressive. Yes I was aggressive and angry, but it was justified, there was reason for my reaction. Does this mean I should not react? I should just sit still and accept the inevitability of being constantly shafted. Should I just go to prison and find a cell inhabited by the biggest gayest tattooed convict, bend myself over and say "come and shaft me buddy, coz every other fucker has." Should I? When it is other people who do these things to me I have no control, so I am going to get fucking angry.

Anger is usually caused by something, in which case it is justified, letting it out is a release valve, storing it up is mentally dangerous. These are facts and should be common place and known to every individual in society. So if someone shows aggression or anger then there is a reason for it and they should be listened to in an empathic way (not sympathetic which is quite different). They should be allowed to let it out, then they will feel better for the whole experience.

At times like this I can easily reason it is better to do with no friends, no family, nobody to rely on in any way possible. Then to die at a clinic in Switzerland when old but not quite infirm, because being a burden to any other person in any way would be relinquishing independence. And communicating with anyone else could mean interpreting an action from me which would make them think I am angry. However, were others not trying to shaft me then I'm sure I would be fine. Yes this is such a beautiful world.

Calm down

When you have to talk to an individual who in the back of your mind one word sticks out "incompetent" and rely on them to act, things can be depressing. Very depressing. It can be family, friend or workplace. Although when it comes to choosing friends if it is a friend then you have to admit to having bad choice. There isn't a great deal you can do, perhaps just be resigned to it, sit down and then meditate to rid yourself of those unpleasant thoughts. Count to a million, count sheep, dogs, cats, rabbits, especially rabbits because the multiply quicker and hope those thoughts go away. Hope they dissipate. They don't immediately, it takes time, just as it takes a while to cool down and not let your head explode, or worse you do something silly which makes you look bad when it is actually they who are in the wrong. 1, 2, 3, 4, ............

Attention Dictators

I don't know what it is, but I like peace and even sometimes silence when doing a task which requires my attention. This however can be pretty difficult when in a work place with other people only a desk away. Then even when they are occupied with actually doing some work, you can not anticipate for visitors. Yes. Those ones who turn up just to have a chat, steal a sweet, biscuit, cake or part of your time with a query they can't use their own initiative to work out. But it must be inane chatter I dislike most of all. Sitting there trying to concentrate is a Herculean task, you're trying to tie in figures against text, reason and understand spread sheets, or complex legal things and someone stands nearby and just chats. It doesn't matter what their chat is about. Whether it is cats, dogs, the price of fish or even work related. It is chat which breaks the peace, but worse still breaks your concentration. When your attention is narrowed to understand something and these persons stand there arms crossed looking like a Les Dawson character they actually become dictators. It seems they have no incite into their own behaviour as if they are mentally ill in some way.  For they also know the need to concentrate when trying to get on with their own job. You would of thought there was an innate understanding.

Not the dictator of a country, like Stalin was or the Italian fascist bloke during the second world war. No. These individuals become dictators of your mind and your work. The gibbering rubbish gets in the way of thought and clarity. These are the same persons who if they get stuck on a query they just can't get around are likely to come up to you and steal your time. It's not just this it is also attention. When you are ready and have psyched yourself up and have fully immersed your mind and attention in what it is you are trying to understand, these dictators decide how much work you are going to do. They decide if you are going to work or not going to work. Then after ten minutes they will wing their self away on a zephyr of happy contentedness having passed the time with their colleague, and of complete oblivion of how they have effected you.

If only it were possible to completely cut out sound on such an occasion. To fully obliterate whatever it is these people are doing to your mind. Or it were possible to mind control them the same way they grab and distort your own concentration. Mind control the dictators of attention into a blank zombie ism. So they can not speak, so they can barely dribble and then as their own attention is so short they wonder off bumping into fellow zombies along the way. Perhaps congregating in places where they can do no harm. Like long lost fields where nothing but long grass and nesting birds inhabit. Then they can stand zombie like and try their powers of dictator attention grabbing on the open air wildlife. Miraculously they would then fade into oblivion their bones feeding the soil and contributing to the wonderful country side we could have. Another alternative is to have spring loaded cattle prods, which automatically come out of a wall crevice and shoot ten thousand volts through the dictators. It would be nice to see how much they have to say then and whether they are able to even blubber. If they can I'm sure another prod could be provided at no extra cost of course.