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"KNOW the box; but BE beyond it. The box is Over-Rated." – CEFM

Reviews

This section contains reviews of various items.

This is the time of year that everyone is setting their goals for the new year. Some unrealistic and some to easily obtainable because you are going to do it anyway. I have set goals like everyone else. But let’s face it goals still suck.

One of my goals this year are to write more, in the range of 2-3 times a week. This is also one of the reasons that you are reading this is because I have written it.

Next thing I want to accomplish is to become a better person. I am going to change my diet to be more reasonable and not so restaurant based. Let’s face it I could probably count the number of times I have cooked in the last year on 2 hands. Pretty much everything has been from Tim’s, Wendy’s, Subway, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Java Moose, Urban Deli, or Saint John Ale House for the past year. The exception being frozen stuff or sandwiches from Sobey’s. This has also resulted in a net weight increase in 2011. Although I am still down from the start of 2010.

The next thing on my list is to read more. I am going to try to actually read 10 books this year. In addition, I am going to try to reduce the amount of movies I go see in theatre. I think that 40 should be a reasonable number. There are some good choices this year but it does not appear to be nearly as good of a year as my 300 year in 2009.

I am also going to try to see somewhere new this year. Last year Vancouver, Hoboken, and Bologna where great new places but this year needs to be totally new. I also don’t really want to travel alone again this year so my big goal will be to find someone to travel with.

Posted from St John, New Brunswick, Canada.

As the year comes to an end I usually come up with a long post about the year that has been. Plinky suggested only on sentence per month so here goes.

I went to BC. I learned about caregivers. Learned how to program Macros in Microsoft Excel. Lots of sports and trips to Fredericton. I went to Toronto. Started walking a lot more than ever. Went to Montreal and New York City. I got really, really bored and booked a trip. Went on a last-minute camping trip to 10 European Countries. Got better from travel illness. Started taking it easier and planning more. Started doing new things, like translating WordPress to Canadian English and Operation Red Nose.

Question: What industry ushered you into the workforce? Describe your first work experience. How long did you last?

My first job as was as a credit card telemarketer for $9/hour. It seemed like a good job at first. The training also seemed very decent. Then shortly after things started to change quickly. It was the Easter long weekend coming up, and they were offering overtime for I think it was Good Friday but it was for a different bank, and credit product, with a different script and a much different “terminal” interface.

Just as an aside, most people called them DOS screens just because it was all keyboard operated and text-based. Some people are just totally wrong, and non-technical.

Getting back on track, after the weekend ended there was a push on leads for this other bank and since I had done it for a day I was kept on the new campaign and was expected to have results on the leads with out the proper training on the program, just three sheets of paper. To make it worse, just as soon as I was catching on, I got thrown back and forth between the two very different credit card products.

After 7 weeks, there was a presentation that I wanted to go see at council, it was the operating budget of Saint John Transit. I went to work because I felt I had an obligation to the job, but then I had the worst customer ever, and a very un-supportive supervisor. So I signed out for my first break, left my key card next to the keyboard, and went to council. I never returned.

From this job, I learned two very important lessons. Sometimes, you have to take the initiative to learn on your own that you need to know to excel at a job. This is something the has been very critical to a few of the jobs I have had. Before I worked as a graphic designer at Johnny’s Coupons I had never used CorelDraw ever. In my current job, everything changes everyday and there is a steep and very broad knowledge involved, not attempting to learn on my own would result in me not getting as far as I have.

The second lesson was when an opportunity arises jump on it. Taking risks is a necessary skill to advance. This came true again about three and a half years ago. I was asked “Do you want to work on a six-week contingency project?” If I missed that opportunity to say yes, the last few years would be incredibly difficult.

Apparently my site traffic has dropped a fair bit in the last few months. This past week has been one of the craziest news weeks that I can remember in quite some time. Four elections, a new premier, a shady closed meeting of the public accounts committee in Ottawa. The Europe economy teetering beyond hope. The City of Saint John not having a clue how to fix its self with the pension. Sarah Palin announcing that she won’t run again, and overshadowed by the death of Steve Jobs that no one really head or cared.

But among all that the things that stood out the most happened on Thursday. US President Barack Obama in responding to why the US Wall Street executives that killed the global economy were not jailed for what they done responded with; “what they done was immoral but not illegal.”

It is pretty bad when a few can make over a hundred million people worldwide homeless and unemployed. Then be bailed out by every reserve of money available on this planet then… nothing happens.

Added note: I had received a comment that it was unclear but, the point I was trying to make was that no one cared that Sarah Palin was not going to run again. Many people including myself cared about the passing of the great Steve Jobs.

Posted from St John, New Brunswick, Canada.

I just read the following article and am very surprised at this. Over the last 2 years I have been on a Contiki tour at the very same campsite.

Aussie woman dies on Italy Contiki tour | The Australian.

The Seven Hills campsite was one of my favourites, it had the awesome showers in the cabins that had the full body sprays. Although, camping was crazy as the ground was very rocky and hard to put the pegs on.

One difference about this site over others is that you have to use these pre-loaded cards to buy stuff. Now this seems all in well however on the night you leave most of the people I knew would empty the cards at the super-amazing bar, and Rome is one of the heavier drinking spots that I have been to.

Interesting enough the article also goes on to state, “Contiki said the tour group had continued to Venice.” Now although Rome is a heavy drinking spot. The Fusina Bar at Camping Fucina in Venice is more so. They have the Amnesia drinks for about 8 Euro that go down way to easy.

It must be really hard on the Contiki staff to actually lose a camper in this manner. Usually people just get left behind when they partied too hard.