Learning appreciation


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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland » Central
June 3rd 2014
Published: June 3rd 2014
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Sitting in my little cubicle I hear the refreshing banter of atmospheric noise return as the frustration of the last call slowly fades from memory.

"Fuck that last guy, his internet would be fine if he would just, y'know, pay his bills. I can't wait to get out of here."

Bleep.

The ominous sound of another disgruntled customer who obviously doesn't understand the concept of "paying for service" or who thinks that they are calling the magical internet factory in the sky, calling through to me to fix his shit and make him feel all gushy inside is making gravity feel exceptionally weighty today. The headset which hard-wires his whiny voice directly into my brain isn't much of an incentive to work my mouth muscles into a smile either.

"Yeah, g'day, I called in yestahday to order a phone and... hold on... SHUT UP MICK! HEY! MICK! MICK! SHUT UP MICK! OI SHUT UP MICK!"

Sigh.

This is going to be a long call.

As I endure the torment of Aussie outback drawl and obvious lack of technical nous to resolve an issue I couldn't care less about, a flash of color catches my eye. Something something something scheduled break.

That's all I need to know. It's my scheduled break, the one I can't take earlier or later than is scheduled and still get paid for and I'm tethered to someone I'll never know and their incompetence on some level. Also, it is becoming astoundingly clear that Mick will not shut up.

"Yes sir, I definitely agree on all fronts, it sounds like we've possibly mucked something up here, so why don't I call you back in fifteen after I've had a chance to investigate this further? It sounds like you may also need to sort Mick out so we can have a proper uninterrupted discussion about this matter. Call you back in fifteen? Great."

Click.

Disengage.

Exit.

Flick.

Inhale.

"Hey bro I hear you're leaving soon? Where to?"

"Thailand for three weeks then UK for 2 years."

"Oh shit! You're like, leaving leaving? Like leaving the country leaving?"

The surprise in his tone of voice makes me think about how quickly I hear gossip about others in this place and never say anything to their face about it. He's either clearly surprised, or he should pursue a career in film because aside from my natural predilections at assuming the worst in everybody, I suspect he's genuinely interested and this is the first time he's heard.

"Yup."

"That's so exciting, but Thailand... phew, bad timing bro..."

"Yeah, I don't cope too well with constant sun. It feels like all my body atoms escape through sweat pores in my skin until my skin sweats itself out through the pores and then the pores themselves exit through themselves in the form of sweat also, and I'm left just a puddle of B.O. on the ground. Plus I'm not an avid fan of machine guns."

"You should be fine if you stay away from the protests and stuff though."

"That's what I'm hoping for, that and I'm going over with as little expectation as possible. If my expectations are met, oh well. If they're exceeded, then that's even better."

"So why do you wanna go?"

"My Mrs wants to. And I want to be with her."

"Oh cool. I'm sure you'll love it. You never know how sweet it is here until you go overseas and see how it is there. Aight, I better get back on the phones."

Exhale.

Flick.

Enter.

Reengage.

Bleep.

"Hi you're speaking with Jonathan..."









Despite slight exaggerations with my ability to actually use big words and articulate things in a social context, the above is relatively accurate.

I'm now super duper keen to have my horizons broadened and develop more of an appreciation of my homeland, people around me and those who otherwise aren't in the know (as clearly, I can get annoyed with people quite quickly).

Life learny stuff, come at me bro.

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