Wednesday, November 10, 2004
The Trouble with Viv
Vivian's brother and husband came in and asked me to fill out a contract. A contract? A cheap form in triplicate that has lines printed on it that you can buy at the drug store, it's got a place for the date, and a couple of lines for signatures. Turns out that all three of them, Vivian, her brother David and her husband John are all illiterate. (Again, reading to me is like breathing - there are so many books I've internalized as part of my own experience, that I believe I've seen everything on Mulberry Street, I've suffered the Long Winter, I've had tea with Mr. Tumnus, I've gone to Suffolk to rescue the puppies, I've trained in the Jedi Academy, I've painted AND cleaned the whole damn Sistine Chapel, and that I can't help feeling a horrible chill when I see them). Given my feelings towards them, and theirs towards me, we treat each other warmly and well. They tell me that Vivian is "constantly talking and praying over me."
Vivian is not with them. Her brother and husband wanted to dictate stuff for me to write down. Between ringing up custumers and helping people with their copies and faxes, I wrote a sentence or two; they would take a while to think of what to write. It went something like " I, David M__, agree to 1. roof the house at this address with premium quality blah blah shingles, 2. replace the cork around all vents, 3. and clean up the debris all around the when done. Cost: $5000, signed, David M___"
This took a while. The two would bicker. And sometimes, the crowd would get thick and I took a while to get back to them. (I'm pretty sure one of them is a welder, too. I'm not sure which one anymore. But I think I mentioned previously that Viv's husband is a welder, and maybe I'm wrong. FYI) Since this isn't a thing that Kinko's does, I didn't charge them. I don't charge old people when I fill out their fax cover sheets, either; otherwise, they'd be here all day, taking up space and irritating other customers, I reason. The big men (they're enormous and tall and chubby) try to tip me $5.00, but I decline. It's not a lot of work, and not honest money, and no big deal. They tell me repeatedly that God will bless me. That's nice.
The same afternoon, their business cards were in a car that was impounded and they needed temporaries while they got their car back. It's a rule that we can't type for the customer, but a nearby customer was sympathetic and typed for them. I could then help them copy the print out onto cardstock and show them the paper cutter. The M___ s are really lucky that way, relying on the kindness of strangers. In the same way, Vivian single handedly established my counter's penny jar.
Shawna was on duty a couple of days later when Viv's husband came back. Shawna is a good worker, a model worker, and a stickler for rules. She doesn't fill out faxes for old people and she gently but firmly refused to take dictation from John. John asked again. And again. Invoked God some more, I imagine. Said that "Red5 does it for us alla time!" And then, Shawna related (and she has no reason to lie) he got belligerent and she had to get a manager. Oh, dear.
I got in trouble for helping too much and not worrying about liabilities. Although I can't imagine how it could be proven that I wrote anything for anyone with any malice, I understand their concern. I agreed to stop helping them. I saw the boys twice and told them I got in trouble. They went to bother other customers standing nearby.
Vivian called and asked for me. She wanted to know if I would be available today, if it was awful busy. I told her I couldn't help her anymore. Was I available to meet outside of work? Uh ... Taken aback, I told her no. There is no o ne at her church? No, she answered. She blessed me again and hung up.
I am fond of her. I could have said yes. I could make time. I like her kids. If her husband is belligerent, that's scary to me. Where would we meet? How long would this last? Do we become best friends? Does she have to know where I live, and my home phone number? I work at Kinko's at $8 an hour despite my degrees so I could come home after work and not think about work. For that matter, after three years of doing nothing but high speed thinking, I just wanted to come home from work and not think at all, like those old style computers being shut down - BEEEEEEeeeeeeeoooooooooop
I've said it before. I'm not a nice person and I never claimed to be.
Vivian is not with them. Her brother and husband wanted to dictate stuff for me to write down. Between ringing up custumers and helping people with their copies and faxes, I wrote a sentence or two; they would take a while to think of what to write. It went something like " I, David M__, agree to 1. roof the house at this address with premium quality blah blah shingles, 2. replace the cork around all vents, 3. and clean up the debris all around the when done. Cost: $5000, signed, David M___"
This took a while. The two would bicker. And sometimes, the crowd would get thick and I took a while to get back to them. (I'm pretty sure one of them is a welder, too. I'm not sure which one anymore. But I think I mentioned previously that Viv's husband is a welder, and maybe I'm wrong. FYI) Since this isn't a thing that Kinko's does, I didn't charge them. I don't charge old people when I fill out their fax cover sheets, either; otherwise, they'd be here all day, taking up space and irritating other customers, I reason. The big men (they're enormous and tall and chubby) try to tip me $5.00, but I decline. It's not a lot of work, and not honest money, and no big deal. They tell me repeatedly that God will bless me. That's nice.
The same afternoon, their business cards were in a car that was impounded and they needed temporaries while they got their car back. It's a rule that we can't type for the customer, but a nearby customer was sympathetic and typed for them. I could then help them copy the print out onto cardstock and show them the paper cutter. The M___ s are really lucky that way, relying on the kindness of strangers. In the same way, Vivian single handedly established my counter's penny jar.
Shawna was on duty a couple of days later when Viv's husband came back. Shawna is a good worker, a model worker, and a stickler for rules. She doesn't fill out faxes for old people and she gently but firmly refused to take dictation from John. John asked again. And again. Invoked God some more, I imagine. Said that "Red5 does it for us alla time!" And then, Shawna related (and she has no reason to lie) he got belligerent and she had to get a manager. Oh, dear.
I got in trouble for helping too much and not worrying about liabilities. Although I can't imagine how it could be proven that I wrote anything for anyone with any malice, I understand their concern. I agreed to stop helping them. I saw the boys twice and told them I got in trouble. They went to bother other customers standing nearby.
Vivian called and asked for me. She wanted to know if I would be available today, if it was awful busy. I told her I couldn't help her anymore. Was I available to meet outside of work? Uh ... Taken aback, I told her no. There is no o ne at her church? No, she answered. She blessed me again and hung up.
I am fond of her. I could have said yes. I could make time. I like her kids. If her husband is belligerent, that's scary to me. Where would we meet? How long would this last? Do we become best friends? Does she have to know where I live, and my home phone number? I work at Kinko's at $8 an hour despite my degrees so I could come home after work and not think about work. For that matter, after three years of doing nothing but high speed thinking, I just wanted to come home from work and not think at all, like those old style computers being shut down - BEEEEEEeeeeeeeoooooooooop
I've said it before. I'm not a nice person and I never claimed to be.
Friday, November 05, 2004
My First Client
They liked it! They agreed they could see the inpainting if they really looked, but that it looked "what did you call that? visually integrated? They gave me $1000, and "Mr. C's mother's old cake plate. He loves it so." And they even wanted a business card for a friend!
I returned the next day with my equiptment and repaired four chiplosses at $100 an hour, which netted me $350. Thankfully, those pots were simply speckly carbon black and burnt umber.
$1350! And they didn't even bat an eye.
Wow, if only I could keep this up five days a week. Or even four days a week. Or even two days a week.
I returned the next day with my equiptment and repaired four chiplosses at $100 an hour, which netted me $350. Thankfully, those pots were simply speckly carbon black and burnt umber.
$1350! And they didn't even bat an eye.
Wow, if only I could keep this up five days a week. Or even four days a week. Or even two days a week.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Respectful, My Eye
So, all night, the motorcade idled, wasting gas and polluting the environment, while the idjit waited for the networks to pronouce him god, huh? Like they couldn't just, um, park?
You can't tell me that sending Andy Card out there to say "We won, nyah, nyah." was ok. Or that saying the President is respectfully giving the Senator time to consider his next action was anything but.
Ooooh, four more wars!
You can't tell me that sending Andy Card out there to say "We won, nyah, nyah." was ok. Or that saying the President is respectfully giving the Senator time to consider his next action was anything but.
Ooooh, four more wars!
