For all of you who have been glued to your seats, concerned with my well-being after my last post, relax! The one good thing I have decided, is, the storm brewing will likely occur in my location, it will just not center on yours truly. Yep, the little crickets are still buzzing, and the noise is deafening, but....my spidey senses have had time to hone into the facts, and I am almost positive this storm will rain on someone else's parade.I am pretty sure that I won't even feel a raindrop.
Things are in a tizzy at the job. We are now a minority, the establishment is full of another culture, and way of life. Hey, I have always found it interesting to see novels and even bathroom toiletries written in a foreign language...no not french...I have enough of a grasp of that to be able to read the English first and then figure out what the French says, although...have you ever noticed, the French part is always waaaay longer than the English, do you think they are getting secret information?
I digress.... The culture and country that has filled our hotel, is one that I have very little understanding of. You may be surprised to learn that one of my favourite subjects in school was, history. I loved to learn about the past, and I also loved to learn about other cultures. This one, however, has been silent and secretive for a very long time, and I doubt very much, any of us locals have a clue what their lives are like. These people are not the common folk, and it is almost like they have morphed into what they think Canadians expect. .I cannot fault their manners (well most of them), the language barrier is enormous, but smiles usually can overcome these. I appreciate their smiles and nods, and will give them back readily. But...my position in the establishment has become very apparent, with their arrival. It is clear that, because I clean, my importance is minimal. Funny how the attitude they have in their homeland, is the one thing that they cannot disguise.
I am uncomfortable, isn't that weird? I have always tried to be accepting, don't care what religion, sexual orientation, colour, height, or , mentality(well, O.K. maybe I am a tad picky about that one) a person is, if they have a sense of humour, I am open to communication. Perhaps that is the problem? These folks just don't seem to have a sense of humour. Everything seems to be so rigid and business like. I feel that they are always under the gun, and if they make a mistake, they are totally screwed. They seem to be walking on a fine wire, and that aura hangs in the air.
I know that what they are doing, is extremely important to their country, but, I am bothered that they are in charge of something so ginormous in my country. I don't see any of my government taking part in this, I see them, in a very small community, simply doing something, that a person in a position, that the people of my country have elected them to, gave them permission to do as they see fit for their own profit, and to allow their country to benefit. . Perhaps my government is here, but I haven't seen hide nor hair. Once again, those at the top have decided that where I live is unimportant to the workings of my Province and Country, and too far off the map to actually send a representative to keep watch.
Perhaps I am making too much of things? I am not the brightest bulb in the pack, and always look way outside the box. But I have a inkling that the buzzing crickets may be singing in more than English and French, right now.I do know, the storm will hit..I am predicting it arrives sometime around the 15th of next month. I know, that is a very long time to wait..but stay tuned.I promise to admit if I am wrong.
BTW..Don't get all excited , the storm has nothing to do with countries or cultures, or, even ginormous business ventures.
Wednesday 27 June 2012
Monday 25 June 2012
Calm before the Storm
Here it is , almost 12:30AM, got to get up in less than 6 hours, and desperately need at least 8 hours sleep. No, it's not my beauty sleep (that's pretty obvious) it is my survival sleep. If I don't get enough of it, at my ripe old age, it catches up to me, maybe not tomorrow, but for the next 2 nights, I will be toast by 7PM. I will also be even more miserable than usual, not a good thing!
Why am I still awake? Well, it's those Spidey senses, just tingling away. You know how things tend to get very heavy, and almost scary quiet just before a massive storm? Oh the crickets keep chirping away, in fact they get louder, until that is all you hear, the incredible buzzing, in otherwise silence. You start anticipating, not sure what it is, but, there is something out there heading your way. Your mind starts to try and figure out what it is, but you know whatever it is, you are definitely not prepared.
I wonder,is this how our ancestors felt, with no TV or radio to warn of impending storms or floods? Oh, it is a sure thing they learned to read the signs in nature, and most of us have forgotten those lessons. Are these senses something we are born with, but there are no classes in school to teach us how to develop? Is your subconscious capable of sending you signals, and are we just not intelligent enough to understand? Of course we all know a person is to trust their instincts, but right now, mine are just snapping about like electrical wires gone amuck.
Something has caused a short circuit somewhere, and very soon I will see the smoke, I think I am just getting a faint smell right now. I also know, I don't want to see what is causing the smoke. All I know is, that it is impossible to fall asleep with those crickets going insane, and that oppressive heaviness that comes with the calm before the storm.
Why am I still awake? Well, it's those Spidey senses, just tingling away. You know how things tend to get very heavy, and almost scary quiet just before a massive storm? Oh the crickets keep chirping away, in fact they get louder, until that is all you hear, the incredible buzzing, in otherwise silence. You start anticipating, not sure what it is, but, there is something out there heading your way. Your mind starts to try and figure out what it is, but you know whatever it is, you are definitely not prepared.
I wonder,is this how our ancestors felt, with no TV or radio to warn of impending storms or floods? Oh, it is a sure thing they learned to read the signs in nature, and most of us have forgotten those lessons. Are these senses something we are born with, but there are no classes in school to teach us how to develop? Is your subconscious capable of sending you signals, and are we just not intelligent enough to understand? Of course we all know a person is to trust their instincts, but right now, mine are just snapping about like electrical wires gone amuck.
Something has caused a short circuit somewhere, and very soon I will see the smoke, I think I am just getting a faint smell right now. I also know, I don't want to see what is causing the smoke. All I know is, that it is impossible to fall asleep with those crickets going insane, and that oppressive heaviness that comes with the calm before the storm.
Saturday 23 June 2012
Detectives of a different kind
I expect some of you will remember my previous Detective story, well today we have something just a little different.
Now, you have to understand that my workplace has become a little better, lately. This is because we have a very large increase in our housekeeping staff. Oh, it is wonderful! We get this pleasure during the warmer months, because we have young people who want to make a few bucks before school begins. We also have a few folks who are between jobs,bonus..It really makes things so much better. We can now plan days off, without fear that 1-2 people will be left holding the bag. We can tackle projects that have been left for months, because of the inability to spend time on them. We can ensure all rooms get a proper cleaning, and things like blinds get a good dusting. It gives us a sense of relief, to be able to look around and know that we have done a good job. This is something that we lacked when we were short staffed, we have to overlook things on a daily basis, and it bothered us. I wish I could say that this has ended, but as you read on the painting issue, sometimes we are not allowed to do a proper job, even with extra staff.
Now we get into the real issue. Those running the asylum were very happy when we were short staffed. They didn't care how many times they were told that we were overworked, and worn out. Hey, the rooms kept getting rented out, and the inmates kept things running. Did they have to medicate, by offering raises? Nope, just leave the unending list and sit behind the door, with the attitude that everything would be completed.. When it was clear that only 1-2 inmates would be available, the list did not change. We were definitely fools! What we managed to do was to prove that 2-3 people could somehow complete all this work. So, we in fact, created monsters.
Now we have more than twice the staff, and that has caused the monsters to become detectives. Each pay day, they must hand out far more in wages than ever before. "Hey, what happened? We have been packed full, and only had to pay 3 people to clean. Why do we have to pay so much to have the same amount done, now?" Yep, you can be sure this is exactly what has happened. Now those monsters have to wander about, hiding behind doors and buildings checking to ensure they are not handing out money for staff who are not doing work. Nothing worse than looking over your shoulder to see someone who, is obviously checking to see if you are busy enough for their liking. Hey, we have had the damn time clock shoved down our throats to ensure we get paid by the bloody minute, now we have someone following us about all day. We have them telling us how to do our work, now. Hummm, if they know so much, why didn't they show up when we were short?
It is quite clear that the extra staff we have now, will not last. We know this is just a reprieve. The day is coming when it will once again be, just 2-3 of us, and it is also clear, the work load will not drop. The monsters will grin when this time arrives. They will once again only have to hand out wages for a couple of people, but.....the idiots have learned a very valuable lesson. They know that the amount of work they had been doing, was more than enough to keep twice as many people busy. They know this is the reason they were so tired and miserable. They know that the monsters were benefiting a great deal by getting this huge amount of work out of so few. I hope that the detectives have clued in that all these extra people are in fact working, and busy, or if they are not, they have punched out the minute they stopped. I hope that they realize that lunatics can learn lessons, because.....This lunatic has decided that when we go back to square one, she is not going to do the work of 2, for the wage of one, any longer!
Now, you have to understand that my workplace has become a little better, lately. This is because we have a very large increase in our housekeeping staff. Oh, it is wonderful! We get this pleasure during the warmer months, because we have young people who want to make a few bucks before school begins. We also have a few folks who are between jobs,bonus..It really makes things so much better. We can now plan days off, without fear that 1-2 people will be left holding the bag. We can tackle projects that have been left for months, because of the inability to spend time on them. We can ensure all rooms get a proper cleaning, and things like blinds get a good dusting. It gives us a sense of relief, to be able to look around and know that we have done a good job. This is something that we lacked when we were short staffed, we have to overlook things on a daily basis, and it bothered us. I wish I could say that this has ended, but as you read on the painting issue, sometimes we are not allowed to do a proper job, even with extra staff.
Now we get into the real issue. Those running the asylum were very happy when we were short staffed. They didn't care how many times they were told that we were overworked, and worn out. Hey, the rooms kept getting rented out, and the inmates kept things running. Did they have to medicate, by offering raises? Nope, just leave the unending list and sit behind the door, with the attitude that everything would be completed.. When it was clear that only 1-2 inmates would be available, the list did not change. We were definitely fools! What we managed to do was to prove that 2-3 people could somehow complete all this work. So, we in fact, created monsters.
Now we have more than twice the staff, and that has caused the monsters to become detectives. Each pay day, they must hand out far more in wages than ever before. "Hey, what happened? We have been packed full, and only had to pay 3 people to clean. Why do we have to pay so much to have the same amount done, now?" Yep, you can be sure this is exactly what has happened. Now those monsters have to wander about, hiding behind doors and buildings checking to ensure they are not handing out money for staff who are not doing work. Nothing worse than looking over your shoulder to see someone who, is obviously checking to see if you are busy enough for their liking. Hey, we have had the damn time clock shoved down our throats to ensure we get paid by the bloody minute, now we have someone following us about all day. We have them telling us how to do our work, now. Hummm, if they know so much, why didn't they show up when we were short?
It is quite clear that the extra staff we have now, will not last. We know this is just a reprieve. The day is coming when it will once again be, just 2-3 of us, and it is also clear, the work load will not drop. The monsters will grin when this time arrives. They will once again only have to hand out wages for a couple of people, but.....the idiots have learned a very valuable lesson. They know that the amount of work they had been doing, was more than enough to keep twice as many people busy. They know this is the reason they were so tired and miserable. They know that the monsters were benefiting a great deal by getting this huge amount of work out of so few. I hope that the detectives have clued in that all these extra people are in fact working, and busy, or if they are not, they have punched out the minute they stopped. I hope that they realize that lunatics can learn lessons, because.....This lunatic has decided that when we go back to square one, she is not going to do the work of 2, for the wage of one, any longer!
Wednesday 20 June 2012
Saving pennies ....
Some days as I sit down, I wonder if I am going to suddenly go just a little too far with my blogging. I have been living with this fear that I will suddenly become unemployed, although I have attempted to keep this totally clear of any names or places. Oh, there are a few out there who know, but in truth I could be working in Timbuktu, or the "Bates Motel". LMAO, there have been times when the Bates Motel does come to mind. I realize that this could be anyplace, although I do say small town Northern B.C. but I have lived in a couple of those places, and there are plenty hole in the wall towns scattered about this section of the province.So, I will continue to natter away, perhaps those who I natter about will read this, but, if they do, and find it offensive, I hope they take the opportunity to change some of the massive problems, instead of kicking me out the door. Fair warning, if I have no employment, I will have far more time to spew,LOL.
Today I will speak of some of the cost saving measures my employer has put into place. We already know about the lack of coffee packets, but this will just blow your mind.
I was lucky enough to have yesterday off. I had spent the previous day with a terrible headache, and muscle aches. This was caused by the knowledge that we were to get a big group of guests, filling most of the rooms, some of which had just been "renovated", or better yet, partially renovated. My partner was off, and I had visions of a litany of complaints from the office after they had checked the rooms out. This always happens..someone with not enough to do, decides they will wander through the rooms, and pick things apart, and then leave a ginormous list of to do stuff for housekeeping. It didn't happen, there was not a single complaint on the book, and I was thrilled.
Silly me, I get a visit from my partner yesterday. She has spent the day from H-ll. Sure enough Nurse Ratched took it upon herself to finally check things out.We had rearranged stuff in one room, to allow the guest to actually view his TV from his bed, ooops, silly us. The nurse and the employer found that offensive, and put things back to the way they had been since 1964.
My partner was raked over the coals..she was once again requested to go through one of the outlying areas to check for beds. This check for beds makes our skin crawl. The office gets to the point where they don't have enough room for all the reservations, so...they begin to place extra beds in the basements of 9, 2 story units. We have had to do the check countless times, each time handing a list to the office. Now Nurse Ratched wants us to do this again, so she can convince the employer we can manage extra guests. Apparently my friend made a rather suggestive response to this request, and the Nurse had best get her calculator and coat along with her "sexually explicit" ass and start climbing stairs.
Now my partner is anal about her damn clocks. When we do a room up, we are to check the bedside clocks, and set them at the correct time. If she walks in and find a clock unplugged she goes nutty, so we have learned to ensure we do this. Nurse Ratched goes down my partners throat, because all the clocks were unplugged. HOLA, this was not housekeeping, but we are getting the blame. Guess what, mystery solved, one of our employers, in a cost saving measure, has a habit of going into each and every empty room, and unplugging all lamps and clocks. Yep...Going to save the company big bucks, who cares if housekeeping gets crap???
Cleaning rooms should be one of the basic forms of employment. You simply ensure you conform to a list of duties that must be performed (we have such a list printed up). The insanity that prevails is when others who no longer have a clue how to do this job, decide to add subsections to everything. The Bizarro world opens up when you have an employer who takes it upon himself to wander through empty rooms saving energy by unplugging everything you were required to ensure was plugged in. The asylum is running when you observe buckets removed from large leaks, because they don't look good....OMG, really, just when you think you might be able to manage that which is abnormal, something else hatches in the Cuckoo's nest!
Today I will speak of some of the cost saving measures my employer has put into place. We already know about the lack of coffee packets, but this will just blow your mind.
I was lucky enough to have yesterday off. I had spent the previous day with a terrible headache, and muscle aches. This was caused by the knowledge that we were to get a big group of guests, filling most of the rooms, some of which had just been "renovated", or better yet, partially renovated. My partner was off, and I had visions of a litany of complaints from the office after they had checked the rooms out. This always happens..someone with not enough to do, decides they will wander through the rooms, and pick things apart, and then leave a ginormous list of to do stuff for housekeeping. It didn't happen, there was not a single complaint on the book, and I was thrilled.
Silly me, I get a visit from my partner yesterday. She has spent the day from H-ll. Sure enough Nurse Ratched took it upon herself to finally check things out.We had rearranged stuff in one room, to allow the guest to actually view his TV from his bed, ooops, silly us. The nurse and the employer found that offensive, and put things back to the way they had been since 1964.
My partner was raked over the coals..she was once again requested to go through one of the outlying areas to check for beds. This check for beds makes our skin crawl. The office gets to the point where they don't have enough room for all the reservations, so...they begin to place extra beds in the basements of 9, 2 story units. We have had to do the check countless times, each time handing a list to the office. Now Nurse Ratched wants us to do this again, so she can convince the employer we can manage extra guests. Apparently my friend made a rather suggestive response to this request, and the Nurse had best get her calculator and coat along with her "sexually explicit" ass and start climbing stairs.
Now my partner is anal about her damn clocks. When we do a room up, we are to check the bedside clocks, and set them at the correct time. If she walks in and find a clock unplugged she goes nutty, so we have learned to ensure we do this. Nurse Ratched goes down my partners throat, because all the clocks were unplugged. HOLA, this was not housekeeping, but we are getting the blame. Guess what, mystery solved, one of our employers, in a cost saving measure, has a habit of going into each and every empty room, and unplugging all lamps and clocks. Yep...Going to save the company big bucks, who cares if housekeeping gets crap???
Cleaning rooms should be one of the basic forms of employment. You simply ensure you conform to a list of duties that must be performed (we have such a list printed up). The insanity that prevails is when others who no longer have a clue how to do this job, decide to add subsections to everything. The Bizarro world opens up when you have an employer who takes it upon himself to wander through empty rooms saving energy by unplugging everything you were required to ensure was plugged in. The asylum is running when you observe buckets removed from large leaks, because they don't look good....OMG, really, just when you think you might be able to manage that which is abnormal, something else hatches in the Cuckoo's nest!
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Touch down in the Cuckoo's Nest
Loved that movie, Mr. Jack Nicholson got to fly over the Cuckoo's nest, sadly, I appear to have landed directly in it!!!
Those of you who have had the pleasure of watching this movie, think back...In truth, we are all living in the Cuckoo Nest. Somehow, we have something in common with at least one of those characters.
In truth, I suppose I am like Charles Cheswick, always on my soap box, screeching away about the crap that bothers me, but suddenly silent when it comes down to brass tacks. I(we) need a McMurphy, we need that person who will put our thoughts into action.
We have our Nurse Ratched, she is not nearly as nice looking as Louise Fletcher,LOL. but she is just as sneaky. If she has any information liable to cause grief to a person, she is not oppose to hold it over their heads, and is always stirring the pot. Like Nurse Ratched, her goal is to make us all question everyone, even ourselves.
I also think, poor "Jack" went into the asylum, thinking he would be surrounded by idiots, and found those who were the patients, were actually far saner than the lunatics running the place...BINGO!!! Like I said, Bizarro world. If those of us Cuckoo's could have a chance to run the asylum as we wished, it would be so much better. I bet even costs would go down, and guests would get a cup of coffee when they woke. You know the saying "you get more bees with honey" well, I bet there would be happier guests with a package of caffine sitting beside the nice little pot filled with filters.Instead we have buckets that are under filthy leaks removed, so that new guests have no idea there are leaks...weird, eh?Kind of like coating a ginormous zit with Covergirl, hoping it doesn't break through before the cute guy gets close enough to kiss you.
We try to be like "Chief" just accept our lot in life, and go with the flow, trying to keep to ourselves as much as possible. There is no doubt he was the smartest one of the bunch in the end, and he got out of there. I worry that we have stayed too long, and have become damaged goods. We could never work in a sane world, it would just be far too easy. Instead we will trod along, gritting our teeth, and praying that our McMurphy shows up very soon to drive those at the top as crazy as they have made us!
Those of you who have had the pleasure of watching this movie, think back...In truth, we are all living in the Cuckoo Nest. Somehow, we have something in common with at least one of those characters.
In truth, I suppose I am like Charles Cheswick, always on my soap box, screeching away about the crap that bothers me, but suddenly silent when it comes down to brass tacks. I(we) need a McMurphy, we need that person who will put our thoughts into action.
We have our Nurse Ratched, she is not nearly as nice looking as Louise Fletcher,LOL. but she is just as sneaky. If she has any information liable to cause grief to a person, she is not oppose to hold it over their heads, and is always stirring the pot. Like Nurse Ratched, her goal is to make us all question everyone, even ourselves.
I also think, poor "Jack" went into the asylum, thinking he would be surrounded by idiots, and found those who were the patients, were actually far saner than the lunatics running the place...BINGO!!! Like I said, Bizarro world. If those of us Cuckoo's could have a chance to run the asylum as we wished, it would be so much better. I bet even costs would go down, and guests would get a cup of coffee when they woke. You know the saying "you get more bees with honey" well, I bet there would be happier guests with a package of caffine sitting beside the nice little pot filled with filters.Instead we have buckets that are under filthy leaks removed, so that new guests have no idea there are leaks...weird, eh?Kind of like coating a ginormous zit with Covergirl, hoping it doesn't break through before the cute guy gets close enough to kiss you.
We try to be like "Chief" just accept our lot in life, and go with the flow, trying to keep to ourselves as much as possible. There is no doubt he was the smartest one of the bunch in the end, and he got out of there. I worry that we have stayed too long, and have become damaged goods. We could never work in a sane world, it would just be far too easy. Instead we will trod along, gritting our teeth, and praying that our McMurphy shows up very soon to drive those at the top as crazy as they have made us!
Monday 18 June 2012
Asian Motorcycle Riders
Oh, I know, I wrote that title just to peak interest. But, you will understand as I progress...
This will be one of my shorter blogs. Massive thunder storms, and because I am old and "fluffy" I get all pressurized by the muggy weather and all my digits become fat sausages, making typing a pain.
So...now that I have you glued to this titillating title, I will explain.
Now I told you in the past, that some guests are easier to clean after than others, right? Well, today I came to the conclusion that my very favourite guests to clean after, are....Japanese, and Harley Davidson riders.
We have had the pleasure of a few Japanese guests. Without fail, the rooms are spotless, in fact, often it does not even appear that the guest laid their head on the pillow, it is like they just hovered over the bed. Do they take classes before traveling, to ensure they are welcomed with open arms by housekeepers around the world? Oh, and I will also state that they will leave the old biddies a tip every single morning on the pillow! We love them!!!
Now, onto Harley Riders. Really, they are a piece of cake to clean up after. When a guest shows up, and we see a stack of Harley T-shirts or a Hoodie in the room, we know right away, easy clean! Humm....could it be the fact that a guy with a Harley keeps the bike sparkling clean, and that in turn transfers to the rest of their living space? Hey, I don't know, but as hotel guests, they are prized.
Goodness, if we had the hotel filled with Japanese Harley Riders , we would simply go in to collect our tips!I could handle that.
This will be one of my shorter blogs. Massive thunder storms, and because I am old and "fluffy" I get all pressurized by the muggy weather and all my digits become fat sausages, making typing a pain.
So...now that I have you glued to this titillating title, I will explain.
Now I told you in the past, that some guests are easier to clean after than others, right? Well, today I came to the conclusion that my very favourite guests to clean after, are....Japanese, and Harley Davidson riders.
We have had the pleasure of a few Japanese guests. Without fail, the rooms are spotless, in fact, often it does not even appear that the guest laid their head on the pillow, it is like they just hovered over the bed. Do they take classes before traveling, to ensure they are welcomed with open arms by housekeepers around the world? Oh, and I will also state that they will leave the old biddies a tip every single morning on the pillow! We love them!!!
Now, onto Harley Riders. Really, they are a piece of cake to clean up after. When a guest shows up, and we see a stack of Harley T-shirts or a Hoodie in the room, we know right away, easy clean! Humm....could it be the fact that a guy with a Harley keeps the bike sparkling clean, and that in turn transfers to the rest of their living space? Hey, I don't know, but as hotel guests, they are prized.
Goodness, if we had the hotel filled with Japanese Harley Riders , we would simply go in to collect our tips!I could handle that.
Friday 15 June 2012
Tingling Spidey Senses
I am sure there are others out there who possess these senses, most mothers seem to acquire them once they have children. Lordie, thank goodness my senses do not require any old spider bites, as I would likely go insane when they kicked in, thinking I had a spider on me....But, I do admit to having a 6th sense, and when it kicks in, life sucks
. Unlike Miss Cleo, I can't read what these senses are tingling about, I simply have to wait until something happens. They are a pain in the butt, because generally they do not predict positive stuff, or maybe it's just that positive happens so seldom...Yesterday, these senses went ballistic! I have been suffering with a headache for a few days, but this just felt like a brick wall laying on it. Then the hairs on my arms standing up, and that feeling that you had to shake something off, but there was nothing visible.
Aha!! I didn't have to wait long, got the message from above, come Monday, the place would be packed full, and all rooms needed. Oh, not just the rooms that were available, but also those which had been torn apart to do repairs, and paint. Yippeee!!!
It is impossible to put down what a huge job this means. You have to understand that we don't have contractors that come in to repair issues, our maintenance doesn't even do this. It is simply housekeeping when we have a slow down, that takes offending stuff away, muds, primes, paints, and silicones.
So, picture this....We have a couple of rooms that are very offensive, and drive us insane all the time. We have been given the impression we have almost a month in which to put 3 rooms off the books, and use a couple of our staff to fix the problems. One of our staff claims she loves to paint (Hah!! No one loves to paint after they have primed a room from top to bottom, and realizes they have to do this at least 3 more times) so she is all gung ho. She decides she will do this slowly and very carefully, hey, she has a month!!! Well, yesterday she had simply got as far as a coat of primer on the walls.
O.K. maybe she dawdled...But, really, a month, a person could get away with dawdling a little, right? Keep in mind, as well, this room is directly across from the office, so all work in the room is within speaking distance of the employer. Hey, the employer actually went in this room various times, and was totally aware of the speed the job was being done. The employer was also aware that the lack of ventilation in this room was causing issues with the work process. So....the painter called in sick yesterday, at the same time the employer decided this room had to be finished and ready for Monday!
Two other rooms also had to be finished, and of course, the weekend is short staffed, so this work had to be finished today!!
I bet you are thinking that the maintenance person stepped up to lend a hand, right? Nope!!! As usual, the crap hits only our part of staff, suddenly we are responsible for causing these rooms to be off the book, and it is our job to ensure they are ready for the surprise pile of people showing up right after the weekend!
My buddy and I have learned over the years to never, ever offer to paint! Almost each and every time, this same crap happens. We get 1/2 way through, and the brown stuff hits the fan, we have had to work like idiots to finish a project, doing a slap ass job, so that the room was ready for a unexpected guest. No pride is taken in a job started with great intentions, only to be rushed to complete. We refuse to put ourselves in this mess, and when these rooms were taken off the books, we felt we were safe. We had nothing to do with the jobs, we simply stayed in our own area, cleaning rooms.
Silly us, guilty by association! Housekeepers doing the jobs, all housekeepers responsible for completion. I hope that the next time we have a slow down, we simply wash walls. No more of this attempting to make a room look decent, it is a waste of time and energy, and sure to end up in a bind. We should know that that which has remained the same since 1964, is acceptable, in fact, preferred. We need to learn not to look beyond cleaning. We need to perhaps take a few extra days off during the slow time. Please, for Goodness Sake, do not do this ever again!!!
There is not the wonderful appreciation award for going beyond the toilet scrubbing, no expression of joy that a room looks lovely. All that results is the intense stress of trying to pull everything together in one day, and comments that it has taken far too long to do what should only take a few hours.
I am writing this down, and when the time comes again, which it will, remember today. I am not going to spend another day with my Spidey senses warning me the fan is about to get hit with S*it!!!
. Unlike Miss Cleo, I can't read what these senses are tingling about, I simply have to wait until something happens. They are a pain in the butt, because generally they do not predict positive stuff, or maybe it's just that positive happens so seldom...Yesterday, these senses went ballistic! I have been suffering with a headache for a few days, but this just felt like a brick wall laying on it. Then the hairs on my arms standing up, and that feeling that you had to shake something off, but there was nothing visible.
Aha!! I didn't have to wait long, got the message from above, come Monday, the place would be packed full, and all rooms needed. Oh, not just the rooms that were available, but also those which had been torn apart to do repairs, and paint. Yippeee!!!
It is impossible to put down what a huge job this means. You have to understand that we don't have contractors that come in to repair issues, our maintenance doesn't even do this. It is simply housekeeping when we have a slow down, that takes offending stuff away, muds, primes, paints, and silicones.
So, picture this....We have a couple of rooms that are very offensive, and drive us insane all the time. We have been given the impression we have almost a month in which to put 3 rooms off the books, and use a couple of our staff to fix the problems. One of our staff claims she loves to paint (Hah!! No one loves to paint after they have primed a room from top to bottom, and realizes they have to do this at least 3 more times) so she is all gung ho. She decides she will do this slowly and very carefully, hey, she has a month!!! Well, yesterday she had simply got as far as a coat of primer on the walls.
O.K. maybe she dawdled...But, really, a month, a person could get away with dawdling a little, right? Keep in mind, as well, this room is directly across from the office, so all work in the room is within speaking distance of the employer. Hey, the employer actually went in this room various times, and was totally aware of the speed the job was being done. The employer was also aware that the lack of ventilation in this room was causing issues with the work process. So....the painter called in sick yesterday, at the same time the employer decided this room had to be finished and ready for Monday!
Two other rooms also had to be finished, and of course, the weekend is short staffed, so this work had to be finished today!!
I bet you are thinking that the maintenance person stepped up to lend a hand, right? Nope!!! As usual, the crap hits only our part of staff, suddenly we are responsible for causing these rooms to be off the book, and it is our job to ensure they are ready for the surprise pile of people showing up right after the weekend!
My buddy and I have learned over the years to never, ever offer to paint! Almost each and every time, this same crap happens. We get 1/2 way through, and the brown stuff hits the fan, we have had to work like idiots to finish a project, doing a slap ass job, so that the room was ready for a unexpected guest. No pride is taken in a job started with great intentions, only to be rushed to complete. We refuse to put ourselves in this mess, and when these rooms were taken off the books, we felt we were safe. We had nothing to do with the jobs, we simply stayed in our own area, cleaning rooms.
Silly us, guilty by association! Housekeepers doing the jobs, all housekeepers responsible for completion. I hope that the next time we have a slow down, we simply wash walls. No more of this attempting to make a room look decent, it is a waste of time and energy, and sure to end up in a bind. We should know that that which has remained the same since 1964, is acceptable, in fact, preferred. We need to learn not to look beyond cleaning. We need to perhaps take a few extra days off during the slow time. Please, for Goodness Sake, do not do this ever again!!!
There is not the wonderful appreciation award for going beyond the toilet scrubbing, no expression of joy that a room looks lovely. All that results is the intense stress of trying to pull everything together in one day, and comments that it has taken far too long to do what should only take a few hours.
I am writing this down, and when the time comes again, which it will, remember today. I am not going to spend another day with my Spidey senses warning me the fan is about to get hit with S*it!!!
Monday 11 June 2012
Help....
O.K. I have to tell you all, when I started blogging, the whole idea was to get some of my stories out there, and hopefully have some other folks who do this job, contact me with their stories. My co-workers talked me into doing this, and we had big dreams that we would hear some bizarre stories from far larger more exotic places.
I am not a computer whiz, but I have a daughter who is pretty adept at the workings of these things. I am requesting if any of you are in this profession, and have a story to tell, please contact me through the comment section, and between the 3 of us, we will figure out how to get it on here. Even I am getting bored with myself...
I am not a computer whiz, but I have a daughter who is pretty adept at the workings of these things. I am requesting if any of you are in this profession, and have a story to tell, please contact me through the comment section, and between the 3 of us, we will figure out how to get it on here. Even I am getting bored with myself...
Do Not Disturb disasters
Well, folks, I hope you realize, I am sitting here, pecking away at the keys, while I should be outside mowing my lawn. This has become my excuse for doing diddly after work. At my age, I have decided that I just don't have the energy to work for money, and then come home, and do physical labour for free. I did manage to make supper, but the dishes are sitting, and I am debating on whether they will get done tonight, or tomorrow...
I decided it was time to return to one of the rules of proper Hotel guest etiquette, the Do Not Disturb sign.This little door knob deal, is not a decoration, it is to be used correctly, and people should not abuse it.
You were told that we usually enjoy finding this placed on a door. It means one less room to whip into, but it is also very scary. We start to get a little antsy when it has remained on a door for more than 4 days. When we reach the weekly due date, it starts to frighten us. We usually will leave a note on a door after the week, offering to leave clean towels, if the guest would place the dirty ones outside..we also inform the guest we desire to get in there and change the bedding, and then we wait.
I will say, surprise surprise, many of those who do not want or need the cleaning service, are actually very clean. When they are long term for months and months, they simply want to have their own space, and will keep this space neat. But.....there is always the disaster.
I wondered about this room...my co-worker had been in the doorway about a month ago, and assured me that it was pretty good that time. Well...my intuition kept nagging at me. There was a female in there all this time, just sitting there day after day, while her partner worked. We would find a bag of garbage occasionally outside the room, but never a request for a broom, or sheets or towels. I tried to be positive like my buddy, she told me how she had delivered clean linens once, so...maybe I was worried for nothing. I should have known, because we never found the dirty linens outside the door...
Yikes, today I finally entered the room, it was a strip. OMG...I am not sure what the woman did all those hours she was alone, but it wasn't cleaning. The clean linens my friend had handed over weeks ago, laid on the bedroom floor, not used. The tub had not been touched for months, the bathroom sink had changed from yellow to brown...If she had simply requested a broom, we would have been pleased to hand one over, instead, the floor was covered in dirt.
Honestly folks..as much as we appreciate one less room to do daily, to keep us out for months, only to walk away, leaving 8 hours of cleaning for some poor idiot, is not worth this. Hey, go for a walk. If we can get in once a week, to a room that a couple is living in long term, and neither wants to clean a tub or toilet, we can manage to maintain things. We have been doing this job for a pretty long time, and although a visit to my own home would certainly not show it, we can clean things up really fast.
So, once again, folks, my take on females in a hotel, being far worse than men, is on the mark. Guys, if you want to bring your partner, insist they spend a day at the library once a week, and turn the damn sign!!!
(BTW: For those of you local, this was NOT someone you know. Small town minds can rest, these folks have never been here before)
I decided it was time to return to one of the rules of proper Hotel guest etiquette, the Do Not Disturb sign.This little door knob deal, is not a decoration, it is to be used correctly, and people should not abuse it.
You were told that we usually enjoy finding this placed on a door. It means one less room to whip into, but it is also very scary. We start to get a little antsy when it has remained on a door for more than 4 days. When we reach the weekly due date, it starts to frighten us. We usually will leave a note on a door after the week, offering to leave clean towels, if the guest would place the dirty ones outside..we also inform the guest we desire to get in there and change the bedding, and then we wait.
I will say, surprise surprise, many of those who do not want or need the cleaning service, are actually very clean. When they are long term for months and months, they simply want to have their own space, and will keep this space neat. But.....there is always the disaster.
I wondered about this room...my co-worker had been in the doorway about a month ago, and assured me that it was pretty good that time. Well...my intuition kept nagging at me. There was a female in there all this time, just sitting there day after day, while her partner worked. We would find a bag of garbage occasionally outside the room, but never a request for a broom, or sheets or towels. I tried to be positive like my buddy, she told me how she had delivered clean linens once, so...maybe I was worried for nothing. I should have known, because we never found the dirty linens outside the door...
Yikes, today I finally entered the room, it was a strip. OMG...I am not sure what the woman did all those hours she was alone, but it wasn't cleaning. The clean linens my friend had handed over weeks ago, laid on the bedroom floor, not used. The tub had not been touched for months, the bathroom sink had changed from yellow to brown...If she had simply requested a broom, we would have been pleased to hand one over, instead, the floor was covered in dirt.
Honestly folks..as much as we appreciate one less room to do daily, to keep us out for months, only to walk away, leaving 8 hours of cleaning for some poor idiot, is not worth this. Hey, go for a walk. If we can get in once a week, to a room that a couple is living in long term, and neither wants to clean a tub or toilet, we can manage to maintain things. We have been doing this job for a pretty long time, and although a visit to my own home would certainly not show it, we can clean things up really fast.
So, once again, folks, my take on females in a hotel, being far worse than men, is on the mark. Guys, if you want to bring your partner, insist they spend a day at the library once a week, and turn the damn sign!!!
(BTW: For those of you local, this was NOT someone you know. Small town minds can rest, these folks have never been here before)
Sunday 10 June 2012
What Happens in the hotel, stays in the hotel: Extension Cords
What Happens in the hotel, stays in the hotel: Extension Cords: Woohooo...I am just so darn thrilled. Got my blog set up on top blogs ca. with fingers crossed a whole whack of new readers will pop up, and...
Extension Cords
Woohooo...I am just so darn thrilled. Got my blog set up on top blogs ca. with fingers crossed a whole whack of new readers will pop up, and make me famous...LOL. So that said, I felt obligated to write, although my mind was a complete blank. You are going to have to bear with me, as I sit here trying to dig anal crapola out of my cobwebbed gray area.
I figured I would go on about extension cords. I know, we all have them, but I am almost sure, no one has near as many as the hotel. We have rooms that are simply, the DO NOT pictures of electrical overload. You would think you were off in the south seas, with all the octopuses (and yes, I spell checked, it is NOT octopi) in some rooms. While cleaning , a person will suck the darn things up the vacuum, while tripping on another, pulling yet another out of the wall while moving the bed. I suppose since times have changed, 2 outlets in a room, are just not enough. So, most rooms have a TV, a lamp, a fridge, a microwave..ooops, there goes the two outlets, time to haul in the extension cords.
What we have recently encountered is the bright blue cords, and bright orange. Nothing says class more than walking into a shag carpeted room, and viewing the two glaring coloured cords, hanging about 3 inches off the floor. Hello, can we say "Tacky"? I know, when a person plugs their car in because the temps have hit 40 below, they likely enjoy the bright colours, so they can find it buried under the snow, but...does it really add to hotel room decor? I suppose a guest does not have to search for a place to plug their computers in, so, maybe it is a good thing?
Honest to goodness, even with these extra plug holes, we still run into the room where the poor unfortunate guest has had to kneel on the floor with their toaster plugged into the only available outlet, which is behind the TV.They also have the coffee pot on the floor close by. Oh, we do have tables in many rooms, but...no outlets close by. "Hey" you say, "why not just move the table next to the outlet"? Yes, that would be the sensible question..Problem is, space just does not allow this.
I think most of us, after a few months at this job, just don't stop shaking our heads. I certainly do not consider myself "Debbie Travis" can't decorate a cake, let alone a room, but, even I can see that whatever thought process went into planing these rooms, was skewered more than mine. We just can't keep adding appliances to rooms to keep up to the times, just by putting in a clump of extension cords.
Oh, plus, it appears that we have been Doe'ed (you know the Deer whacking business from my last blog) for extension cords. Only last month, my co-worker was informed that someone from the office had entered one of the rooms, and spied an extension cord running along the floor. She was told to instantly remove the offending cord, which she did. Humm...when the guest returned a few days later, they were on the phone to the office immediately requesting the cord be returned as they were unable to plug their TV in.
Hey, if it was my place, I would find a way to put more outlets in, but it is clear, we must learn to live with the blue and orange octopuses. Maybe we can find some wall coloured Duct Tape to disguise those cords?
I figured I would go on about extension cords. I know, we all have them, but I am almost sure, no one has near as many as the hotel. We have rooms that are simply, the DO NOT pictures of electrical overload. You would think you were off in the south seas, with all the octopuses (and yes, I spell checked, it is NOT octopi) in some rooms. While cleaning , a person will suck the darn things up the vacuum, while tripping on another, pulling yet another out of the wall while moving the bed. I suppose since times have changed, 2 outlets in a room, are just not enough. So, most rooms have a TV, a lamp, a fridge, a microwave..ooops, there goes the two outlets, time to haul in the extension cords.
What we have recently encountered is the bright blue cords, and bright orange. Nothing says class more than walking into a shag carpeted room, and viewing the two glaring coloured cords, hanging about 3 inches off the floor. Hello, can we say "Tacky"? I know, when a person plugs their car in because the temps have hit 40 below, they likely enjoy the bright colours, so they can find it buried under the snow, but...does it really add to hotel room decor? I suppose a guest does not have to search for a place to plug their computers in, so, maybe it is a good thing?
Honest to goodness, even with these extra plug holes, we still run into the room where the poor unfortunate guest has had to kneel on the floor with their toaster plugged into the only available outlet, which is behind the TV.They also have the coffee pot on the floor close by. Oh, we do have tables in many rooms, but...no outlets close by. "Hey" you say, "why not just move the table next to the outlet"? Yes, that would be the sensible question..Problem is, space just does not allow this.
I think most of us, after a few months at this job, just don't stop shaking our heads. I certainly do not consider myself "Debbie Travis" can't decorate a cake, let alone a room, but, even I can see that whatever thought process went into planing these rooms, was skewered more than mine. We just can't keep adding appliances to rooms to keep up to the times, just by putting in a clump of extension cords.
Oh, plus, it appears that we have been Doe'ed (you know the Deer whacking business from my last blog) for extension cords. Only last month, my co-worker was informed that someone from the office had entered one of the rooms, and spied an extension cord running along the floor. She was told to instantly remove the offending cord, which she did. Humm...when the guest returned a few days later, they were on the phone to the office immediately requesting the cord be returned as they were unable to plug their TV in.
Hey, if it was my place, I would find a way to put more outlets in, but it is clear, we must learn to live with the blue and orange octopuses. Maybe we can find some wall coloured Duct Tape to disguise those cords?
Saturday 9 June 2012
Hot under the collar
Heehee, usually I am the one who starts the day off blowing off steam. Maybe I kind of started plugging the pressure valve, but in truth, my life is not complete unless I get things steaming. I did an awesome job this morning....
So...I was in first, got the "book" and lo and behold, there it was, a note to housekeeping. We hate those little blurbs directed at us, because they are never..."guest informed office that they were totally impressed by the cleanliness of their room"..nope, they are at all times a complaint of some sort. Sure enough, this was a short and to the point (O.K. things are never to the point, they are always skewed) sentence " Ashtray and cigarette burns in bedspread, Room Blah Blah blah"..Huh, big deal...no non-smoking sign on this room, and we had spent the previous morning ensuring the room was spotless, cobweb patrol removed any offending strings, all ledges dusted, smell test approved. We had checked to ensure the room was not Non-smoking before placing the ashtray. We knew that in the past we had a few pot smokers in there, so...Quite a shock, a complaint on the spotless room.
Oh goodness, as soon as my partner showed up, I could not wait to pass the complaint onto her. At first she brushed it off, she knew the room had been extremely clean, and informed me we should just ignore the note. Hah!! I know her better than she does...I knew it would start nagging at her, and it did. The first place she went was into the offending room. Ahhh.. she put on her detective hat, 6 pillows on the bed!!!Well, that spoke of someone who was high maintenance...you know the guest who is never satisfied. Whooooaaa..there was coffee!!!
Now, I am not sure if I have mentioned the coffee issue, we have coffee pots and filters in almost every room, but...no coffee. I swear, we are the only hotel in the whole darn continent that does not supply a pack of coffee.
So...definitely high maintenance. A bottle of Febreeze on the table, this guest had apparently been a real pain in the butt, but, the only ones getting any blame, were, of course, Housekeeping. We left an ashtray and a bedspread with the tiniest twin holes, which were hidden about a 1/3 of the way down the liner.
Hola, my partner was on a rampage. First she pulled the bedspread off, pecking away at the itty bitty circles that had caused complaint. The door was checked yet again for a non-smoking sign, ooops, no sign, but the book lists it as such, silly us, we should have realized that the previous months of pot smoking in there, did not constitute "smoking" and the convenience of having a place to save the roaches was something we should only supply when we have found them sitting on a plate. Damn, slapped on the hand for leaving a sparkling clean ashtray!
She found a note dropped by the office staff with a list...4 pillows, 3 packs of coffee, and a bottle of Febreeze. Wheee...she was on a roll! Into the office, she went so far as to call the staff from the evening. Yes, the guest was one who would never be happy, and had been a total pain in the butt, but the note was written by our employer, and was basically placing blame on us.
I have spent a fair bit of time watching the way Deer interact. When one Doe gets ticked at another, they will whack them with their legs, then, that whackee will turn to the one closest to them, and whallop them, this goes on down the line till it gets to the smallest deer, who is mercilessly battered by the bigger one. We are, I suppose, the smallest deer. Somehow, no matter what an issue is, it ends up as our error, and blame is dumped on our shoulders.
It is clear, even if we give that extra effort, climbing on chairs to check corners above cupboards for dust, ensuring wall sconces do not have a speck of dirt, wiping chair legs and table legs, everything you could possibly think of, we are going to get battered by the bigger ones, when they screw up!
Funny, in truth, I think a large part of this episode could have been by-passed, if the guest had found a supply of coffee when she checked into the room. In my world, coffee cures almost as much as chocolate!!!Humm...perhaps if we could go so far as to leave packets of coffee, and a few brightly wrapped squares of chocolate in an ashtray, we would live happily ever after?
So...I was in first, got the "book" and lo and behold, there it was, a note to housekeeping. We hate those little blurbs directed at us, because they are never..."guest informed office that they were totally impressed by the cleanliness of their room"..nope, they are at all times a complaint of some sort. Sure enough, this was a short and to the point (O.K. things are never to the point, they are always skewed) sentence " Ashtray and cigarette burns in bedspread, Room Blah Blah blah"..Huh, big deal...no non-smoking sign on this room, and we had spent the previous morning ensuring the room was spotless, cobweb patrol removed any offending strings, all ledges dusted, smell test approved. We had checked to ensure the room was not Non-smoking before placing the ashtray. We knew that in the past we had a few pot smokers in there, so...Quite a shock, a complaint on the spotless room.
Oh goodness, as soon as my partner showed up, I could not wait to pass the complaint onto her. At first she brushed it off, she knew the room had been extremely clean, and informed me we should just ignore the note. Hah!! I know her better than she does...I knew it would start nagging at her, and it did. The first place she went was into the offending room. Ahhh.. she put on her detective hat, 6 pillows on the bed!!!Well, that spoke of someone who was high maintenance...you know the guest who is never satisfied. Whooooaaa..there was coffee!!!
Now, I am not sure if I have mentioned the coffee issue, we have coffee pots and filters in almost every room, but...no coffee. I swear, we are the only hotel in the whole darn continent that does not supply a pack of coffee.
So...definitely high maintenance. A bottle of Febreeze on the table, this guest had apparently been a real pain in the butt, but, the only ones getting any blame, were, of course, Housekeeping. We left an ashtray and a bedspread with the tiniest twin holes, which were hidden about a 1/3 of the way down the liner.
Hola, my partner was on a rampage. First she pulled the bedspread off, pecking away at the itty bitty circles that had caused complaint. The door was checked yet again for a non-smoking sign, ooops, no sign, but the book lists it as such, silly us, we should have realized that the previous months of pot smoking in there, did not constitute "smoking" and the convenience of having a place to save the roaches was something we should only supply when we have found them sitting on a plate. Damn, slapped on the hand for leaving a sparkling clean ashtray!
She found a note dropped by the office staff with a list...4 pillows, 3 packs of coffee, and a bottle of Febreeze. Wheee...she was on a roll! Into the office, she went so far as to call the staff from the evening. Yes, the guest was one who would never be happy, and had been a total pain in the butt, but the note was written by our employer, and was basically placing blame on us.
I have spent a fair bit of time watching the way Deer interact. When one Doe gets ticked at another, they will whack them with their legs, then, that whackee will turn to the one closest to them, and whallop them, this goes on down the line till it gets to the smallest deer, who is mercilessly battered by the bigger one. We are, I suppose, the smallest deer. Somehow, no matter what an issue is, it ends up as our error, and blame is dumped on our shoulders.
It is clear, even if we give that extra effort, climbing on chairs to check corners above cupboards for dust, ensuring wall sconces do not have a speck of dirt, wiping chair legs and table legs, everything you could possibly think of, we are going to get battered by the bigger ones, when they screw up!
Funny, in truth, I think a large part of this episode could have been by-passed, if the guest had found a supply of coffee when she checked into the room. In my world, coffee cures almost as much as chocolate!!!Humm...perhaps if we could go so far as to leave packets of coffee, and a few brightly wrapped squares of chocolate in an ashtray, we would live happily ever after?
Thursday 7 June 2012
A different slant on things
Many many years ago, my honey and I purchased a home. We had been living in an apartment for the first while, and our son informed us "all kids need trees and grass". Although we were financially stretched to the max, the parental guilt kicked in, we needed to find a home with trees and grass, or decades later, we would be hearing from our grown children how we scarred them for life, living in an apartment.
Broke people do not have a whole whack to chose from, but, "lucky" for us, blocks down the road there was a lovely yard, with a cedar sided hovel for sale. Somehow we managed to purchase this hovel. The yard was huge, it had grass (about 2 foot high) and trees, especially an extremely old apple tree made for climbing kids.The hovel, however. left plenty to be desired. One bedroom had been used to store the firewood, the first evening in there, a hunk of that wood rolled all the way down the floor to rest against a window. Things were definitely slanted.
We have been fixing this money pit for decades, and it still has a long ways to go. We tried to sell it when we moved away, but, for all the time,effort and money we had dished out, in these economic times, we would have suffered an unbearable loss, so...instead for the past 9 years, we have simply been keeping it. I lived with all kinds of problems. The first winter, I would wake to find an ice build up in the bathtub, because the taps leaked, and the house was so damn cold, it would freeze when it hit the tub. Walls had to be replaced, because of serious dry rot, windows replaced, because they had swelled and shrunk over years, so badly, they would not open. Shag carpet was ripped out and plywood replaced, as wear and tear had destroyed stuff, plywood had rotted because of moisture. Panel walls were torn out, and insulation replaced (some spots had been insulated in newspaper) all walls were torn out and new drywall put up. The bathroom, well, again, some spots had rags as insulation, that had to be completely redone.
It took a very long time before decades of smells had disappeared, and what we sniffed was simply our own odors. Stuff that had been acceptable in 1960, but since deemed unsafe, was removed. Still the hovel needs more TLC, and with an old place that is a continuing issue.
Why am I writing about this? Well, the place I work is likely as old as my hovel. The difference is, little has changed since the 60's. The carpet is original in many rooms, the bathtubs, toilets, panel walls, and plywood are still in place. The windows and doors are the same. Oh, it certainly holds a whack of history, but it holds plenty of other crap as well.
It, like my hovel is slanted! I get vertigo in some rooms when I kneel to clean out a tub. After years of working here, myself and my co-workers suffer a similar ache. It is situated on one side, and causes us to have a lop sided gait. We used to think it was from carrying heavy vacuums, but....I have come up with a new theory, it is the constant slant we walk miles on. When we place shampoo and lotion on the back of the toilet lid, they will fall off...closets have large spaces between them and the walls, as far as the walls go, there are simply no straight lines there. Everything is lop sided. One room was so bad, something had to be placed under the bed frame wheel to keep it from rolling. The slant is becoming more pronounced, I have learned to walk close to the downside wall, because it is like being at sea. I have made a silent vow, never to go into work hungover, because at least sober, I know the place is not moving...........right?????
Broke people do not have a whole whack to chose from, but, "lucky" for us, blocks down the road there was a lovely yard, with a cedar sided hovel for sale. Somehow we managed to purchase this hovel. The yard was huge, it had grass (about 2 foot high) and trees, especially an extremely old apple tree made for climbing kids.The hovel, however. left plenty to be desired. One bedroom had been used to store the firewood, the first evening in there, a hunk of that wood rolled all the way down the floor to rest against a window. Things were definitely slanted.
We have been fixing this money pit for decades, and it still has a long ways to go. We tried to sell it when we moved away, but, for all the time,effort and money we had dished out, in these economic times, we would have suffered an unbearable loss, so...instead for the past 9 years, we have simply been keeping it. I lived with all kinds of problems. The first winter, I would wake to find an ice build up in the bathtub, because the taps leaked, and the house was so damn cold, it would freeze when it hit the tub. Walls had to be replaced, because of serious dry rot, windows replaced, because they had swelled and shrunk over years, so badly, they would not open. Shag carpet was ripped out and plywood replaced, as wear and tear had destroyed stuff, plywood had rotted because of moisture. Panel walls were torn out, and insulation replaced (some spots had been insulated in newspaper) all walls were torn out and new drywall put up. The bathroom, well, again, some spots had rags as insulation, that had to be completely redone.
It took a very long time before decades of smells had disappeared, and what we sniffed was simply our own odors. Stuff that had been acceptable in 1960, but since deemed unsafe, was removed. Still the hovel needs more TLC, and with an old place that is a continuing issue.
Why am I writing about this? Well, the place I work is likely as old as my hovel. The difference is, little has changed since the 60's. The carpet is original in many rooms, the bathtubs, toilets, panel walls, and plywood are still in place. The windows and doors are the same. Oh, it certainly holds a whack of history, but it holds plenty of other crap as well.
It, like my hovel is slanted! I get vertigo in some rooms when I kneel to clean out a tub. After years of working here, myself and my co-workers suffer a similar ache. It is situated on one side, and causes us to have a lop sided gait. We used to think it was from carrying heavy vacuums, but....I have come up with a new theory, it is the constant slant we walk miles on. When we place shampoo and lotion on the back of the toilet lid, they will fall off...closets have large spaces between them and the walls, as far as the walls go, there are simply no straight lines there. Everything is lop sided. One room was so bad, something had to be placed under the bed frame wheel to keep it from rolling. The slant is becoming more pronounced, I have learned to walk close to the downside wall, because it is like being at sea. I have made a silent vow, never to go into work hungover, because at least sober, I know the place is not moving...........right?????
Wednesday 6 June 2012
A Bird in the hand is worth 3 in the sink..
This one is going to floor you!!! Now, I have told of the mushroom rooms, I have told of smells, and sad decorating. I am not sure if I have mentioned the slants, perhaps we will go into that at a later date. I am seriously thinking those slants may very well be the source of my pain in the hip, but...today we will visit Nature.
I have read about the Safari hotels in Africa, Treetop thatched huts where folks pay massive amounts of money to be one with nature. I have heard of hotels in Hawaii where if you turn the lights on suddenly at night, you will find the walls covered in Geckos.
Some folks, like myself, enjoy hauling the trailer out into the boonies, so I can enjoy the serenity of Nature, lakes with jumping fish, bears in the bushes, squirrels in the trees, foxes and moose cavorting about. But, I like to keep the door closed, to all animals, and insects, don't even like to see a spider inside.
I doubt anyone would appreciate waking up to find another species next to them, and perhaps, some do not even appreciate finding the same species....
Some folks enjoy scuba diving, and closing themselves up in the shark cage for a visit..but it is doubtful they would even consider getting a hotel room with a shark in the bathtub, right? There is a limit to how close paying guests want to come to Nature.
Now, we all know what overhangs on a building are all about, right? The roof always comes down a little farther over the outside walls, well, maybe not always, I am not an engineer, but, in my world, the buildings all have overhangs. It is not unusual for small birds to build nests under these overhangs. Hey, I think it is pretty smart on the bird's end, nice and sheltered, babies will stay dry, and folks would have a difficult time climbing up to dig around in their nests, plus, other animals are not an issue, insects are likely plentiful. If I was a bird, I would feel pretty darn secure with my tidy home protected from the elements. I would fly away from the kiddies, without concern, flitting back home to fill their gaping yaps with all sorts of goodies. Hah!!! Silly birds, they had no clue, and no warning.
This morning, 2 birdie parents lost their babies. Where did the babies go, you ask? Into the sink!!!!Their lovely little home suffered what in our world, would amount to a landslide of epic proportions. The "retaining wall (basically the wall of the hotel) crumbled around their house, causing the tiny babies to plummet through the wall, and down into the kitchen sink of a guest.
Imagine his shock when he awoke to find his sink (which had dirty dishes in it) filled with squawking birdies. Hey, not everyone gets this up close with nature!
The babies have been saved, but sadly 2 birds have come home to not only an empty nest, but a demolished home.
Hummm..I guess this room will offer venting...and a peephole of sorts..better get the duct tape out.
I have read about the Safari hotels in Africa, Treetop thatched huts where folks pay massive amounts of money to be one with nature. I have heard of hotels in Hawaii where if you turn the lights on suddenly at night, you will find the walls covered in Geckos.
Some folks, like myself, enjoy hauling the trailer out into the boonies, so I can enjoy the serenity of Nature, lakes with jumping fish, bears in the bushes, squirrels in the trees, foxes and moose cavorting about. But, I like to keep the door closed, to all animals, and insects, don't even like to see a spider inside.
I doubt anyone would appreciate waking up to find another species next to them, and perhaps, some do not even appreciate finding the same species....
Some folks enjoy scuba diving, and closing themselves up in the shark cage for a visit..but it is doubtful they would even consider getting a hotel room with a shark in the bathtub, right? There is a limit to how close paying guests want to come to Nature.
Now, we all know what overhangs on a building are all about, right? The roof always comes down a little farther over the outside walls, well, maybe not always, I am not an engineer, but, in my world, the buildings all have overhangs. It is not unusual for small birds to build nests under these overhangs. Hey, I think it is pretty smart on the bird's end, nice and sheltered, babies will stay dry, and folks would have a difficult time climbing up to dig around in their nests, plus, other animals are not an issue, insects are likely plentiful. If I was a bird, I would feel pretty darn secure with my tidy home protected from the elements. I would fly away from the kiddies, without concern, flitting back home to fill their gaping yaps with all sorts of goodies. Hah!!! Silly birds, they had no clue, and no warning.
This morning, 2 birdie parents lost their babies. Where did the babies go, you ask? Into the sink!!!!Their lovely little home suffered what in our world, would amount to a landslide of epic proportions. The "retaining wall (basically the wall of the hotel) crumbled around their house, causing the tiny babies to plummet through the wall, and down into the kitchen sink of a guest.
Imagine his shock when he awoke to find his sink (which had dirty dishes in it) filled with squawking birdies. Hey, not everyone gets this up close with nature!
The babies have been saved, but sadly 2 birds have come home to not only an empty nest, but a demolished home.
Hummm..I guess this room will offer venting...and a peephole of sorts..better get the duct tape out.
Tuesday 5 June 2012
Repetitive
One of the problems of time off, is that often you can see things from a different (normal) perspective. I imagine some of you may find this blog a tad repetitive, as I have had a few days to consider things, and once again, the issues are still the same.
What on earth has happened to business owners in the past decade? I hear all the time how employees do not take pride in their jobs, they are irresponsible, and unreliable, and simply go in, spend their required time, and walk out, with no thought to their job.
Hellloooo...Pride in the workplace is a two sided deal. The business owner must have a sense of pride in their company. If you work for an employer who is concerned with the workplace, concerned with the customer satisfaction, concerned with the staff moral, you may find that this will rub off on employees. A person who does a particular job, with no expectations of reward, or even acknowledgement, becomes stale. When employees work in a place with a noticeable Caste system, they will certainly not develop pride. They will, instead, stop trying. What is the sense in giving that extra, when it is obvious it is simply ignored, or worse, ridiculed?
Yes, this does happen. When some employees see another go that extra mile, they become jealous. They have no intentions of doing anything beyond the required, so they will start to stir the pot. If they find someone who is farther up the ladder, they will attempt to get their ear, and then the pot starts to boil. Why is it, that there is always someone who will listen to the twisted stories, accept them, and then take it upon themselves to pass it on to employers as the true facts? Those who listen, feel a sense of importance, and companionship. They are part of a higher Caste, they have the right to ensure their special group is acknowledged, and that another is treated with disdain..
Employers should have the common sense to understand Human nature. How did they manage to acquire a business, and have it survive, without understanding people? Goodness sakes, they all went to school! We all remember the "Teacher's pet" cripes, that individual was hated by other classmates, because they were transparent to us, we saw them for who they were, way back in Grade 3! Suckholes, I think that is what we called them, even then! Oh, then we have the Brown nosers, equally hated, and basically, the same.
In truth, the Suck holes, Pets, and Brown nosers (pardon the pun) are incredibly lazy. Their time is spent extolling their self importance, and not doing their job. When an employee has nothing better to do, but bad mouth other employees, their job should be seen as redundant. The employer should clue in that they have far too much time to waste. Those who must continue working away, while another chats away, complaining about co-workers, have no chance. They cannot defend themselves, because they are too busy. They do not have the employers ear, the employer simply accepts the higher Caste person's word as the truth, and then fixates on the worker.
Come on Bosses!! Your business is run by those who work, chatting and complaining and the Caste system, are not conducive to company growth. Look around, those who go the extra mile, are the ones you need to keep. Those who continue to spend their work time whispering into ears, and finding faults with proven reliable, responsible employees are, in truth, destroying the machinery of the workplace.
I know the saying, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", but honestly, when the squeaks become deafening, and the grease is constantly going onto the same wheel, the rest of the parts will soon stop running smoothly, and that greased wheel will run your company right into the ground.
I expect if I ever was an employer, I would be despised. The only thing I would expect from my employees would be a full days work. I do not need to pay for a friend, I have all the friends I need, and they do not require a pay check. I no longer understand the workplace. I fear that I will never reach the top rungs of any job, simply because I do not savour the taste of Butts.
What on earth has happened to business owners in the past decade? I hear all the time how employees do not take pride in their jobs, they are irresponsible, and unreliable, and simply go in, spend their required time, and walk out, with no thought to their job.
Hellloooo...Pride in the workplace is a two sided deal. The business owner must have a sense of pride in their company. If you work for an employer who is concerned with the workplace, concerned with the customer satisfaction, concerned with the staff moral, you may find that this will rub off on employees. A person who does a particular job, with no expectations of reward, or even acknowledgement, becomes stale. When employees work in a place with a noticeable Caste system, they will certainly not develop pride. They will, instead, stop trying. What is the sense in giving that extra, when it is obvious it is simply ignored, or worse, ridiculed?
Yes, this does happen. When some employees see another go that extra mile, they become jealous. They have no intentions of doing anything beyond the required, so they will start to stir the pot. If they find someone who is farther up the ladder, they will attempt to get their ear, and then the pot starts to boil. Why is it, that there is always someone who will listen to the twisted stories, accept them, and then take it upon themselves to pass it on to employers as the true facts? Those who listen, feel a sense of importance, and companionship. They are part of a higher Caste, they have the right to ensure their special group is acknowledged, and that another is treated with disdain..
Employers should have the common sense to understand Human nature. How did they manage to acquire a business, and have it survive, without understanding people? Goodness sakes, they all went to school! We all remember the "Teacher's pet" cripes, that individual was hated by other classmates, because they were transparent to us, we saw them for who they were, way back in Grade 3! Suckholes, I think that is what we called them, even then! Oh, then we have the Brown nosers, equally hated, and basically, the same.
In truth, the Suck holes, Pets, and Brown nosers (pardon the pun) are incredibly lazy. Their time is spent extolling their self importance, and not doing their job. When an employee has nothing better to do, but bad mouth other employees, their job should be seen as redundant. The employer should clue in that they have far too much time to waste. Those who must continue working away, while another chats away, complaining about co-workers, have no chance. They cannot defend themselves, because they are too busy. They do not have the employers ear, the employer simply accepts the higher Caste person's word as the truth, and then fixates on the worker.
Come on Bosses!! Your business is run by those who work, chatting and complaining and the Caste system, are not conducive to company growth. Look around, those who go the extra mile, are the ones you need to keep. Those who continue to spend their work time whispering into ears, and finding faults with proven reliable, responsible employees are, in truth, destroying the machinery of the workplace.
I know the saying, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease", but honestly, when the squeaks become deafening, and the grease is constantly going onto the same wheel, the rest of the parts will soon stop running smoothly, and that greased wheel will run your company right into the ground.
I expect if I ever was an employer, I would be despised. The only thing I would expect from my employees would be a full days work. I do not need to pay for a friend, I have all the friends I need, and they do not require a pay check. I no longer understand the workplace. I fear that I will never reach the top rungs of any job, simply because I do not savour the taste of Butts.
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