I adamantly believe in going with the flow as you may have guessed. Life is unexpected and you just have to take it as it comes. Between entering the bathroom and finding someone naked in front of the sink and a girl trying to “gracefully” walk between her room and to the bathroom in nothing but a towel, just prepare for the unexpected. Especially true for for hostel life chapter 2.
What was expected is that hostels at this time are not filled (yet). I’ve already encountered Melburnian hoards and their pent up need to getaway. What I didn’t account for was the lack of people I could recruit to head to the pub for a drink. Or you know, a myriad of non alcoholic activities. This meant I was braving the town and drinking by myself. Still getting use to my own company and my self consciousness.
Remember my love for watching Escape to the Country? Well, I was ecstatic when I came across Cotsworld like cottages and similar country aesthetics in Port Fairy. There is a mix of old and modern. But a tasteful modern that is sympathetic to the building-scape and architecture. Also, the exact matching green jumper and decor was purely accidental.
Fashion forward or fashion victim? I think the latter. Now if only I could get the winning lotto numbers.
What I’ve found myself doing in the smaller towns I’ve been at, is imagining what my life would be life if I were to move there. It’s a game to me, thinking whether I could survive or not in the a small community. Would the sea change of nature and quaint setting be enough? Or would I tear my hair out at the limited things to do? So far, Port Fairy is taking my fancy.
Another thing, this trip so far has reaffirmed my lack of affection for snakes. While not on a phobia level, I would really rather not sight one even if I may hear them in the bushes. Sometimes my mind gets the better of me and I am overly cautious when traversing grassy terrain or overgrown vegetation. In actuality, they could be lurking anywhere like the Flat Rocks. I need to work on that fear and improve my mind over matter.
A sigh of relief for us all. These are my thoughts for 28/10/2020. It is a day to remember. Even more so for metropolitan Melbourne having to endure the media named “harshest lock down in the world” or words stretching to that effect. Quite dramatic. But when is news media ever not?
I’m mainly a private person (yes even with a blog). I normally don’t care to divulge excessive personal information to others I’ve just met or in the professional realm. I commend how some have the guts to be much more black and white. They can tell it like it is and not care or fear how their views may be received. I find myself quite often passing off fake smiles just to get through my work day.
Why do I find myself doing that? Is it the fear of not wanting to rock the boat and diminish my chances of succeeding well within the corporate structure? Possibly. Success comes from playing the corporate game well. And there is the expectance of always-on-positivity. But in all honesty, it boils down to one of the following:
Lack of interest
Be it a topic, a task or a point of view. The honest truth is sometimes I just don’t care. I really don’t. Not everyone has the same level of interest or need to voluntarily point out their views publicly. I believe it’s unrealistic for everyone to have an opinion or care about every topic that comes their way. Not only that our brains are processing so many stimuli per second, but our lives are so busy with thought to much more important things (ie: a pandemic), there is bound to be collateral.
Disagreement
Ties in neatly with the first one. You know when someone presents something so far off base that you feel a strong sense of disagreement only that it’s futile to express that as you know you cannot convince them otherwise? Guess what? Any feeling of anger or scorn melts away only to be replaced by a fake smile.
Coping mechanism
Wow, another meeting. Shocker. Fake smile and nod at the camera.
Sometimes I just don’t feel great. Or I just want to get on with my day. Is that too tall of an order? Mind you I do not have the patience of a saint, many will attest to that. Being forced to contribute or compulsorily attend voluntary meetings are not my past times.
I may have mentioned before that there is no shame in work not being your life. I work to live, not live to work and so should you. Work is a means to fund your life. Provided you do the work to the standards, is that so wrong? This isn’t my forever career. I’m not expecting to be chummy or make wise cracks with every person I interact with. If it’s an organic manifestation then sure. But it’s easy to spot disingenuous connects under the guise of fostering workplace culture.
So I get through the day doing what I’m required. Less interactions means less questions resulting in less involvement which is perfect for my ever thinning patience levels.
Coping with fake smiles is like being a palm tree. As in, go with the flow. Sometimes it’s just easier to deal with people on that level of superficial.
The title of How to lose friends and alienate people is a parody in itself. So while taking some liberty with the name, I think it sums up my week nicely after the more serious posts.
So I probably should just shut up and be grateful I have a job. This isn’t a humble brag as I know there are many that are not in the same fortunate circumstance.
I’ve worked my way through a fair share of hospitality and retail roles. Some have really sucked, some were ok and some were great. At the end of the day, the purpose of working is to earn money. After all, money doesn’t grow on trees but it makes the world go around.
That was my old life and now I’m supposed to be professional? You know…after graduating, you are elevated to career life. I’m still in the early phase but like choosing university electives, it takes some time to figure out the best fit. I’m still in the trial and error phase.
How invested does one have to be?
In retail, you had to be motivated enough to do your job and sell goods – meeting the all important KPIs. But at the end of the day, there was no carry over to the next day, and you were paid for the work. Purely the work output. It sure helps that your co-workers are friendly and easy to work with but that wasn’t the point. You weren’t there to necessarily make lifelong friends, kiss each others’ arses, constantly contribute to team discussions or made to participate in forced attempts for bonding.
There is now an intense focus on customer service and fostering culture. Customer service is everything these days. Businesses going out of the way to please every customer and the consumer’s entitlement of perfection. Otherwise the unhealthy power imbalance results in a negative review online, leading to a boycotted business. Extreme example but possibly could happen. And let me say, we should also take from the French that the customer is not always right.
Workplace culture is the phrase that gets thrown around as well by Human Resources. Oh sorry, People and Culture. Just like new Coke, the change is surface level. How apt.
A friend of mine stepped out of a settlements role at a mortgage lender. To be fair it was perceived as a risky move given the climate with no job lined up. But kudos to sticking to her gut feelings. Not many would brave a chance like that. She paused for a bit before re-emerging as a contractor for a lending firm and is also now switching to another contract role.
So, job security or job flexibility?
Wouldn’t most of us want to have our cake and eat it too. Much like 99.9% of people in this country, I have been encumbered with debt which I believe is an actual rite of passage these days. Are you even human if you don’t have some form of debt? I don’t condone it but it is hard to evade in modern society.
While some days my friend is bored out of her mind such as educating staff the right click function on a laptop trackpad (that is not her role by the way), she enjoys not being anchored by politics and characters. Politics being the office kind and characters being the people in said office.
How nice would that feeling be. Knowing your time is only temporary and detached from office politics and disingenuous positivity. And to not feel any form of guilt of browsing for the next thing to try your hand at. Even if it’s on a whim. God I’m sounding like a Sagittarius. Oh wait…Obviously that’s the rose tinted angle. The limitations and ever increasing reliance on welfare due to the casualisation of almost a quarter of total employees in Australia’s workforce has been recently thrust in the media spotlight.
The crux of having having this choice goes deeper
While the choice may be yours, making that known may cause repercussions especially while in an ongoing employment. While it ultimately shouldn’t matter if job obligations are still met, it can be perceived as disloyal. Which is a little bit of the pot calling the kettle black if you ask me. Besides, job loyalty doesn’t necessarily carry the same cachet nowadays.
Sometimes, a job is just a job. No hidden agenda or attachments. It’s a means to live your life. So how does one diplomatically convey “I’m here to do my work, get paid and take my leave?” without sounding insincere or be labelled as divergent? I still haven’t the foggiest clue. Please let me know.
I’m currently sitting on the floor in the corner of my bedroom. Riveting I know. Listening to the constant howling wind amplified by the reserve across the road and the sheets of rain knocking on the window. The only source of light is from the moon. I feel exhausted. Not just because of the amount of screen time endured throughout the week, but also what goes on during work time. I can’t pinpoint why, but it has certainly been a bleh 5 days. I’m wondering when my prayers for longer weekends will be answered.
Those close to me know that I love to travel. I’ve been privileged enough to travel as much as I have so far and I intend to continue that trajectory. As travel and tourism slowly opens up around the world post corona lockdown, here in Australia shows no sign of such happening…yet. Entry and exit out of the country remains limited with some states even closing borders in response to outbreaks. I know many of us are itching to ‘get out’ for some spontaneous breaks including myself but it’s a game of patience.
But, you’ll never play me like LeBron vs. Jordan Twenty years, wonder who they gon’ say was more important Both changed the game, came through and made a lane Who’s to say that who’s greater, all we know, they ain’t the same
Ahh, self reflections. COVID-19 was a period of introspective musings for many. Discovering that a lack of social interaction was huge a challenge for a lot of people. Even for someone like me who tends to err on the side of an introvert. I don’t crave constant interaction but staying at home in my down time took the fun out of ‘doing nothing’. Even just aimlessly walking down main street wasn’t something encouraged. Going out for a coffee wasn’t something to jump at either.
Reflecting became something I found doing quite a bit. Not just mulling on myself but others around me and society. Case in point: I realised for someone who claims to not need a lot of things in life, I actually purchase a lot. However I don’t profess to be a minimalist so let that be my get-out-of-jail free card. Stay tuned for a future instalment on this one.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
