The one big thing that ruined it for me as I sit here at the end of it was that I didn't do Tools all weekend. Or Thursday and Friday for that matter. I've fallen in to a trap of "I'm not doing the checklist and I'm going to stop progressing in tools until I master it or at least get better at it." After making this statement I promptly didn't look at the checklist for three days.

I did Tools today but I'm not sure how I felt about it.

My kids are separated by enough time that one is in high school and one is in grade school. As far as money is concerned it's kinda nice because the back to school cost is spread over a full month. Today was the high schoolers shopping day so we set out with some goals. New shirts, back pack, a couple of notebooks, and a haircut.

Well the haircut ended up being a trim and the owner did the cut and decided that it didn't warrant full price so she charges us 5 bucks for a 12 dollar cut. Which was cool. Then we went to the shoe store not for the high schooler but for the younger one as her shoes were in horrible shape. Upon hitting the door we saw a sign saying "20% off everything!." My first thought was "hot damn," then it became "I wasn't planning on it but 20% means we can get the boy shoes too!" So we did.

Then it was off to Wal-mart (for the record I hate Wal-mart for the way they treat their employees, I've known a couple people who worked there and they pretty much confirmed everything that I'd ever read about it) where we got everything we needed plus a backpack for the younger kid and socks for both. All for way less than I had budgeted for just the boys stuff.

Was an awesome day that made for a less than awesome blog post that was kinda rambly.

I find this situation to be unacceptable.

So take that piece of cake that you were going to eat until your remembered that coach told you not to, put it next your modem, and give thanks because 16 years ago the world changed.

I'm gonna go read my checklist.

I did and then I came here. Then I heard the FInal Fantasy victory theme in my head and saw that I had gained 150 XP for defeating the excuse. Take that foul beast!

The weekend is coming and for the first time in a while I don't think I have anything planned. If my wife is reading this then she'd better keep it that way or roll for initiative.

 In direct response to Mandy07: Using Google to research these machines is a good idea, thanks for that. The one hitch in it (and there is no sarcasm or feelings of superiority in my voice let me assure you) is that the office equipment industry is a scared and secretive lot. Information is shared only between people who are dealers and sometimes not even then. This is not to say that when a bunch of techs get together we don't swap stories and advice. It's just that as far as the companies we work for are concerned we don't share technical information with anybody ever.

Fortunately for me I have access to the Konica-Minolta equipment I work on but books can only take you so far and sometimes you really just have to dig in to the thing and turn some screws to really learn it.

In other news about my job I did manage to keep a fairly positive attitude despite managements misdeeds. All of the technicians were hauled in to a meeting today and given a four page document that essentially removes any autonomy that we had and fits us squarely into the "unwashed, unskilled barbarian children" category. Then they took our commissions away and instituted a "profit sharing" system which basically means that when I sell $4000.00 worth of stuff and my coworkers sell $1500.00 worth of stuff over the month I get no commissions for my work because the company wasn't profitable.

sigh 

Yeah, I'm done with this place.

So somewhat grudgingly we went and beyond having to deal with my mother I had an amazing experience. That is to say my child who has been locked up in the dark recesses of my soul forced his way out and made me remember sitting for hours playing with my Transformer toys when I was seven years old. Basically this manifested in me crying any time the robots were on screen.

You're mileage may vary.

Imagine this if you will. You get a job as a receptionist in some hypothetical company. You've done this before, so you know the drill. Answer phones and route calls or take messages. Direct visitors to the correct locations. Do it all in a professional manner.

Now imagine that you arrive for your first day of work. You great your boss who shows you to your desk and then disappears. On your desk are the typical items: phone, computer, maps, company policies, etc. The phone rings and you motion to pick it up only to find that nothing on the phone is labeled. No problem right, just find the phone manual. You look around, phone still ringing, and you find nothing but a post-it note saying "1. Pick up handset, 2. Say hello." You try this and nothing happens. Things are blinking, things are ringing and you have no clue what to do.

This is essentially what my day is like. It has been five years since I have had classroom training. Two generations of machines have come out since then. I've done all I can to stay up on my new equipment but without training materials you can only go so far.

I'm complaining I know. And I also know that complaining was one of the first things coach said we needed to stop but after the week I've had I needed to vent a bit. I'm just so amazingly frustrated that I can barely hold it in. Frustrated because my managers are oblivious to the needs of the company and the needs of the employees. Frustrated because I am the best at what I do and have been recognized and awarded by my peers in the industry in the past. Frustrated because it's been so long since I've actually communicated with my peers that nobody knows who the hell I am anymore. Including me.