Thursday, September 22, 2005

i'm not a muslim, but i pretend to be one in the cafeteria so i don't have to eat their food.

since monday of this week, i've been training a new guy at work. and when i say "new," i mean totally green. i've got my work cut out for me here with this one. he thinks he will be in training until december. so, w/o trying to sound like a degenerate... he knows absolutely nothing.

but that's my only gripe. ignorance can be tolerated. he doesn't pretend to know everything. but he is scared to death of everything. timid to the max.

but the interesting thing is... he is the first muslim i've ever met. he's from the middle east (someplace sandy) and has a hard time with the english language sometimes, and can't tell what is in some american foods.

those three facts make work interesting. a lot of truck drivers at work are what i would consider "ignorant," too. but they act on that. and that takes them past ignorant and right into stupid.

the phone really kills my new trainee's hopes quickly as well. since he doesn't speak english as his first language, other people not only have a hard time understanding him, but he has a hard time understanding english-speaking people. and with a job that handles a literal hundred calls a night... that sucks.

last night, he was getting lunch from the cafeteria at work. i refuse to eat there anymore. i'll eat crackers from the vending machine before CANTEEN gets another dime from me. do you realize they actually charge money for styrofoam plates???

but back to my original theme... since he's muslim, he cant' eat pork. something i've never had to deal with. i totally forgot that sausage was a pork product, and told him to get the pizza. oops.

you see, i was the one telling him what to eat b/c he doesn't always know if there is pork in the food. can you believe he doesn't know what bacon tastes like???

this is definitely a trying time for me and my patience... but he is one of the nicest people i've ever met. the most charming muslim i've ever encountered.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

what 'cha gonna do when they come for you?

I wish everyone was more like my dog.

...asks to go to the bathroom, licks your face, sleeps at the end of the bed, likes to chew on stuff and lets me put a leash on her.

Ok, but on a serious note, she's got the best attitude of any creature I've ever encountered. When she meets a dog that rubs her the wrong way, she ignores it.

I've only seen her angry a handful of times, and her anger seems to flash and be gone within seconds.

I wish I could be a little more like that.