Car vs. public transportation

Once upon a long, long time ago I had a car.  Wherever I wanted to go, my car would take me there quickly and efficiently.  Since coming to Canada I have to rely on public transportation and it sucks.

Not only do I miss driving, not having a car limits my traveling possibilities.  Most of the time I’m fine with taking a train or a bus, as it gives me the chance to read while getting from A to B, but today I do miss having my own wheels.  

Last Tuesday I went for an interview at a law firm.  The lawyer who interviewed me called me this morning, letting me know that she had gone with another candidate but that she was so impressed by me that she referred me to a colleague of hers.

I was a little disappointed, having missed the job I interviewed for, but it seemed that when one door closed a window opened.  Being referred by a lawyer to another lawyer had to be a good sign, right?

When I received the lawyer’s email, inviting me for an interview I was all geared up, I could just feel it in my bones that this was going to work out.  Unfortunately, there was a snag.

In the signature line of the lawyer’s email I noticed her address … oeh, all the way out west.  When I Googled the address and queried how to get there, it turned out I would have to take two trains and two buses.  Oh no, that was just too much trouble. 

I don’t mind taking the train to get downtown, millions of Torontonians do it and we’re used to it.  I don’t mind taking the bus for short distances.  But taking two buses in addition to two trains … no, not doable.

Years ago I did a temporary assignment for a hospital.  By car it would have taken me 10 – 15 minutes to get there, but having to rely on public transportation it took me 1,5 hours because I had to take no less than three buses. 

It was the middle of winter and I remember standing by the side of the road, waiting for the bus, freezing my butt off while slowly but surely getting covered in snow.  I vowed there and then that when this assignment was finished I would never take on another one that required me to take a bus.

Commuting by train is less of a hassle.  Not only do subway stations give shelter from the freezing cold in winter and the scorching sun in summer, there are more trains than there are busses.  Subway trains arrive on average every 3 – 5 minutes.  Busses on the other hand can take as much as 15 – 30 minutes to make an appearance, with the chance that a bus is full in which case a commuter has another wait.

When I see cars going by I miss the days that I was able to drive from here to there.  I didn’t have wait for trains or buses to arrive, I knew more or less how long it would take to get me there, I was warm in winter and cool in summer and I could listen to music and sing along with Bon Jovi.

I can still listen to Bon Jovi on my iTouch, but singing … no, that would be pushing it.

How to keep personal issues from affecting your career

(Cartoon inspired by Diane Q.) 

If life were a bed of roses, we could all show up at work without a care in the world. Unfortunately nobody enjoys carefree living.  Whether we had a fight with our partner, difficulties with the kids, fighting an illness, facing financial challenges, struggling with a divorce or the death of a loved one, we all have personal lives with ups and downs.  The question is, how do we keep those cumbersome issues from affecting our careers?

It is never a good idea to share personal issues with colleagues.  Unless you have known the colleague for years and trust the person completely, it is better to keep personal issues to yourself.  Whether intentionally or accidentally, the colleague might let something slip in which case your personal issues could become common knowledge.  If you feel the need to talk, talk to a professional such as a doctor, a lawyer, a bank manager or a career counsellor.  Not only might these professionals actually be able to help you, but they are bound by the code of privacy.

If you feel that your personal issues weigh you down to the point that they start affecting your career, consider taking some time off.  Going to work despite personal problems is commendable, but not always advisable.  Your mind may be on something other than work which, directly or indirectly, could affect your career.  One mistake could ruin an otherwise perfect reputation, and the last thing you need is to worry about your career while dealing with personal issues.

If you are gay or lesbian, carefully consider if you want to share your sexual preferences with your boss and colleagues.   Over the years the gay community has made tremendous progress in its acceptance, but there still are old fashioned people who might have trouble with your sexual orientation.  Before coming out, consider if this information might affect your career?  In some cases it’s better to be enigmatic than exposed.

If personal issues frequently cause you to get angry or even fly off the handle, consider doing something about that.  You may have good reason be angry, but your temper could be affecting your career.  To cool off go for a walk or if a change of environment is of no help consider an anger management course.  You could also try taking up yoga, martial arts or simply buying a punch bag.  If you can’t roll with the punches, throw some punches at the punch bag, you’ll be amazed at its calming effect.

If you are on the other hand a very shy person who wouldn’t say boo to a goose, this shyness could be affecting your career too.  To get more self-confidence, consider joining a self-help group who deals with this type of personal issue.  Shyness has a reason, something caused you to lose your confidence and it’s important to get to the root of that problem.  Once you found the reason for your low confidence you can work on it and overcome your shyness.

Regardless of your personal issues, you are not the only one with a particular problem.  If the problem starts to affect your career, get help, but be careful where to look for it.

Why today's society does not encourage hard work

Every now and then an article comes along that is so on the money it makes you go a little quiet.  Every now and then a writer comes along, it makes you want to cheer.

Such a writer is Alexandra Heep, a woman who can write about anything and everything and does so with a style all her own.  To sample Alex’s work, please visit http://www.helium.com/users/222457/show_articles

As a guest blogger at 9 – 5, I found this article of Alex rather appropriate.

Why today's society does not encourage hard work

 Today's employment society, when it comes to encouraging and rewarding hard work, can be summed up in one phrase: "The right to work (for less)".

I am not that old, but there used to be some simple concepts when I started out in the workforce. If you followed these concepts, monetary rewards were automatic:

* Work Ethic
* Seniority
* Promote from Within

Work ethics are pretty self-explanatory. If you worked hard, showed up on time, and made steady measurable progress, you got evaluations and, in turn, raises. A very simple concept really.

What changed all this? Good question. We all have had to call places or deal with organizations and received poor customer service. We get frustrated, because we wonder: If I acted like that at my job, I would not have a job!

While these people who give poor customer service are not necessarily bad people, they are simply bad employees. What makes them that way? Their employers think them of as expendable, and so it shows in their attitude. They know, even if they give good customer service, it won't matter one bit in the future as there is no such thing as job security.

Let's say for some reason they give excellent service for a year. Does that automatically guarantee them anything? No, it does not. Matter of fact, they become too good at what they do and too expensive for the company to maintain. Instead of eventually getting paid what they are worth, they simply get replaced by someone younger, with less experience, who will accept lower pay.

The notion of seniority in the workplace has simply become archaic. We can all relate to this one. Have you ever had a job where someone 20 years younger trained you? Have you ever had a manager that you thought did not even look old enough to buy alcohol in most places?

The concept of how to achieve a supervisor or manager position used to be simple: You worked your way up from the mailroom (or the equivalent of). This no longer applies. Achieving a position with more responsibility and the appropriate job title and compensation nowadays has become a game with rules known only to the employer.

Oh, there is still enough responsibility to go around. Do a good job at what you are doing and you will find yourself up to your eyeballs in more work. Will that lead to obtaining the job title and increased salary you deserve? If you ask your crystal ball this question you are just as likely to receive the correct answer to that question.

Promoting from within no longer applies either. You would figure that it would make sense to promote people who know the company best by having worked there for a while. However, "fresh blood" and "new ideas" are usually brought in to fix when a company fails to make enough profits to satisfy investors. Looking for those profits in the executives' paychecks would be far too simple an answer.

TGIF ?

 

What a day, what a day, what a day!!!  People generally looked forward to Friday, but today was the worst day of my week. 

It started this morning when my alarm clock didn’t go off and I overslept by half an hour.  I checked the alarm clock of course, set for 5:45 a.m., but it was now 6:15 and the clock hadn’t made a peep.  My lazy morning routine suddenly changed into a rush job

Not that rushing did me any good, because when I arrived at the station I heard the announcement that due to a situation earlier at McCowen station, trains experienced a delay.  During peak hour there usually is a train every 3 – 5 minutes, but this morning the waiting time had increased to 8 minutes.

When a train eventually did roll in he was so packed with people that no new passengers fitted in.  More and more people arrived at the platform, and again we waited for about 8 minutes.  When a second train arrived only a few people managed to get on, but I wasn’t one of them.

When the third train arrived I thought – like Elvis before me – “It’s now or never”.   I pushed a little, a squeezed a bit, but I managed to get in.  It was the typical sardine in a can situation, but if it got me to work on time, a sardine I would be.

At work things didn’t improve.  I honestly think that my boss, let’s call her Catherine (not her real name), has no idea what I’m doing.  Since she didn’t have any work for me today, she went and announced to others that if anyone needed help I would be able to lend a hand.  I nearly had an attack as I do a number of things that don’t involve her.  Things such as making payments, ordering stationery, handling incoming mail, scanning documents, answering emails, etc.  True as Bob, someone needed help ... copying minute books.  This took me the better part of the afternoon.  By the time I was done, my back felt like he was going to break and my legs and feet were burning.

If this is Friday, give me a Monday any day.  Following this posting I’m going to check my Lotto numbers.  Who  knows, I might be sitting here a millionaire.