Getting There...

So I'm at work and I'm bored. I'm also slightly pissed at the Montreal Canadiens.

I've been asked, for the last few weeks, to do follow-ups and supervisor calls to angry/unsatisfied/abusive/plain crazy customers. So I dont walk the floor, helping/assisting fellow agents anymore, I simply sit at my desk, looking into problematic accounts, resolving situations and calling the customers to inform them or to let them vent about their expectations versus what we actually offer and what they have accepted upon agreeing to the Terms and Conditions of Service (My usual approach is to press mute and wait. When they're done complaining/yelling, I wait one more second, as it makes them uneasy. Then I explain everything with a really calm, quiet voice. Usually works everytime!)

Sometimes it sucks, as the customer is actually right and there's nothing I can do, other times, the customer is either an arrogant douchebag who tought he could circumvent the information given by the agent who took the call and get preferential treatment or unjustified credits (usually through lies or self-important crap like "I built the Surrey Sports Complex!") or a customer who was given the wrong information by the first agent. But most of the time, I resolve the problem. I'm actually quite good at what I do. I don't like it, but I'm good.

So good that it takes me an hour to do all the daily scheduled follow-ups (Might also be that there isn't that much to do). My multiple bosses don't seem to realize that yet (Good luck! I have only two days to go and I'm calling off tomorrow), so I enjoy the rest of the day browsing the web, reading, writing or simply doing fucking nothing, waiting for the clock to get to the point where I punch-out.

But damn, I can't wait to get out and go back to my tree-hugging, $60,000-worth truck-idling, shitloads-paying tree-planting job! In a few days I'm off to exciting Edmonton, Alberta for some yard work before getting to inappropriately-named Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan (probably an old Hudson's Bay trading post) to start the season and really bust my ass.

Until then, I'll sit on it.

Also, maybe, I'll pay a visit to my dentist, book a flight out west, send a few documents to the treeplanting company's offices, pay a fine, get some supplies, try to sleep and see family and friends.

Maybe.

RE: I Will Tell You...yeah...

Oops

Well, I always disliked fans who would be too confident, selling the skin of the bear before killing it. I have been arrogant, and I look somewhat dumb today, mostly since it's coupled with bitter disappointment.

But I don't care, I spent the afternoon in a park, hungover, enjoying snacks and sun with a amazing girl.

So yeah, fuck it, life is good!

And we'll win the next one!

I Will Tell You I Told You So

Mark my words. The Montréal Canadiens will win tonight's game and eliminate the Boston Bruins from the NHL playoffs.

That's it.

Go Habs Go!

мир

мир: Mir is the russian word for peace, also the modern russian word for society (The alphabet was "simplified" after 1917's Bolshevik revolution).

Here's an interesting news item, not so much for the political celebrity gossip, but what it tells about Vladimir Putin's strong grip on power in Russia:

Russia’s Putin denies he plans to marry gymnast.

"So what?", some would say. After French President Nicolas Sarkozy (who recently got divorced, to then quickly wed supermodel-turned-singer-composer Carla Bruni. She's great at both by the way), it might just be Putin's turn in being struck by some midlife-crisis demons.

Maybe, maybe not.

The thing is, the Moskovsky Korrespondent, the small newspaper that originally published the story suddenly doesn't exist anymore!

I always had an interest for Russia, from my younger days of fright at their potential (and highly devilized by anti-communist propaganda) capacity for doom, to their space program, passing by their incredibly rich culture, architecture and land. I am still learning Russian, and I am by no mean functionnal, as it is both simple and complicated to learn.

Just like its language, I love and fear the country, and this is another example of what frightens in regards to Putin's reign; A return to Russia's worst, yet most efficient habits: A small elite becoming extremely wealthy and/or powerful while the country's head of state holds to (extreme) power, by now becoming his political party's leader and Russia's prime minister after being forced by law to stand down at the end of his second term as president. A presidential reign where he kept the press under leash, gagged dissidents and opponents and succesfully reasserted Russia's place as a political, but also as an economical power. With Putin, Russia has firmly set its foot on the arena's ground, in preparation for the 21st century upcoming challenges, from the fight for natural and human ressources to religious and nationalist tensions, passing by alimentary needs and climate changes.

A Tzar is born? A dictatorship? No, but there's again a class system in Russia, the rich gets richer, sometimes in the shadows and protection of a powerful government that can close any business working against the Kremlin's interests. The real question is, does Putin acts in what he thinks is his people interests, fighting corruption and terrorism, maintaining social order and peace as he claims, or at their expenses, while improving his friends' finances and his place at the top? Is modern Russia a turbulent society longing for peace or the setting for a slowly burgeoning revolution?

Only time will answer these questions.

Tupperfan's Guide to Useless Knowledge: The Red Army Choir once performed american southern rock classic "Sweet Home Alabama" with a Finnish rock band, the Leningrad Cowboys.

время есть китайский...

2.0

Same shitty, irregular and erratic content, new design!

I've regularly done minor modifications in the past, but this is my first real update on my web design. I didn't change the basic colour scheme, but I balanced the page by adding some contrast here and there. I also changed the font and got rid of a few useless features.

Now the question is, do people care? Obviously not, but as an important fraction of the people who visit this site, my opinion is important and I approve of the new look.

Tupperfan's Guide to Useless Knowledge: Did you know that you didn't care?

Time to go make other worthy changes to the World...

GO HABS GO!

The National Hockey League's playoffs officially started today. My hometown's (and favourite) team, the Montréal Canadiens will begin their series against their longtime rivals, the Boston Bruins, tomorrow in Montréal's Bell Centre.

In order to watch the game, I had to trade my work shift, as I was working until midnight. Exceptionally, tomorrow will be an early day for me. It's also a shorter, four hours shift, but I'm willing to live through those sacrifices in order to be drunk and watch the game. Hehehe...

If I want to believe my beloved Habs will go far, I was not sure I should say they'll go all the way.

Then I realized I was playing it safe. One must believe.

Last time they won, in 1993, I was one of the very few who was 100% sure they'd go through. Call it youth fervor. I've also been saying for years they'd win in 2009. So, what is a year early, really? Therefore, rooting for the home team, I'll say the bleu-blanc-rouge will win the Stanley Cup.

So, starting tonight, and just like the players, I will let my beard grow without trimming until the Habs either win the big salad bowl or are eliminated. If they do not win, I will sport a mustache for a week, in mourning for the loss.

As for the Boston Bruins vs. Montréal Canadiens series, here's an inspiring video:

(click on image to watch video)


The real hockey season starts now, enjoy!

Time to get that beard going!

Images Server Down

Kinda sucks...Been faithful to maj.com for years, even though it's far from being the best picture uploader nowadays, but it might be the time to change...As soon as I get my pictures back (a lot of them are not on my computer anymore!)

Strangely, maj's sister website, brickshelf.com, is still working well...

Time to go get my pics!

EDIT: Maj.com works properly again. Backups done.