What made me unhappy today ?

[Rath Darkblade]

Can't get enough sleep. :-\ I'll tell you my luck, you tell me if it sucks. OK?

After tossing and turning, I'm finally out like a light. No kids, no worries. I'm like that for maybe 6 hours.

Then some jerk outside roars past on a motorbike. I open one crusty eye and realize how thirsty I am.

I get up, have some water, happen to glance at the microwave. 5:37 am. Groan. Another 23 minutes before I have to get up.

So I try to get back to sleep, but my stupid brain interferes:

Brain: Hey, remember that cool bit of music you were listening to last night?
Me: (muzzily) Yeah, but we're trying to get some kip.
Brain: Here it is up to 11!
Me: Nooooooooooooo!!!

Rinse and repeat for the next I-don't-know-how-long until I finally drop off. 10 seconds later, the alarm clock rings. Groan.

And that's why I spent the morning rush hour hating everything. ;-P

 

[Madman Starryteller]

Can't get enough sleep. :-\ I'll tell you my luck, you tell me if it sucks. OK?

After tossing and turning, I'm finally out like a light. No kids, no worries. I'm like that for maybe 6 hours.

Then some jerk outside roars past on a motorbike. I open one crusty eye and realize how thirsty I am.

I get up, have some water, happen to glance at the microwave. 5:37 am. Groan. Another 23 minutes before I have to get up.

So I try to get back to sleep, but my stupid brain interferes:

Brain: Hey, remember that cool bit of music you were listening to last night?
Me: (muzzily) Yeah, but we're trying to get some kip.
Brain: Here it is up to 11!
Me: Nooooooooooooo!!!

Rinse and repeat for the next I-don't-know-how-long until I finally drop off. 10 seconds later, the alarm clock rings. Groan.

And that's why I spent the morning rush hour hating everything. ;-P

It sucks when you can't sleep. An active brain just keeps you up for no good reason.

Have you tried having camomile tea when you can't sleep?

 

[Socks Fox]

Angina, it is a wickedly nice day outside, and I have the day off. Nature is mocking me. Why nature? I appreciate you!

 

[Rath Darkblade]

It sucks when you can't sleep. An active brain just keeps you up for no good reason.

Have you tried having camomile tea when you can't sleep?

I tried it last time I couldn't sleep, but it didn't do much.

This has been happening for the past 3 days in a row. (My brain was being active only the first night. On the second and third, my body just woke up for no reason). *shrug* Very sleepless.

But I have some melatonin tablets, and they've helped before. I just didn't want to be dependent on them. :-\ But I'll try taking one before bedtime.

 

[Dante Dases]

Why can't students hit deadlines?

I set today aside for marking. Fourteen students owed me work, deadline 27th March. I waited until today because I knew, from long experience, that their view of deadlines is Douglas Adamsian. I was marking work as it was completed, reducing my workload for today - for if students even mostly hit the deadline today would be a gargantuan effort to get through everything required. Fourteen students, average wordcount each somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 words on family law. Add to that, if students see me live marking it acts as a motivator. They know that if they do it, I'll do my part very quickly and they can relax.

Prior to today, two students were complete, marked, the lot. Some admin remains, but that's next term's problem, when the bulk of marking is complete and we're talking instead about dotting is and crossing ts. They're no longer a concern. Two more have completed work and have a limited amount of marking to be done. Ten have completely missed the deadline. One of those is little more than half done. There is an external deadline in 20 days. I can mark what has been done, of course, but some of them are so far behind it's almost comic. I've taken a day out of my holiday to sort out their coursework, and they can't get it in in time. So I'm going to have to send chaser emails and messages home - in the holidays! - and then take another day away from family and actually nice activities to catch them up.

 

[Homer Potvin]

Why can't students hit deadlines?

What are you going to do? Flunk everyone? You school will go out of business.

Why couldn't any of my employees be on time or meet deadlines? What was I going to do? Fire everyone? My company would have gone out of business.

Promptness and deadlines were always an illusion. Once everyone realized there were no consequences, it kind of went away. Fun while it lasted, though.

 

[big soft moose]

Fire everyone and replace them ? Fire the worst three as an example?

 

[ps102]

Promptness and deadlines were always an illusion. Once everyone realized there were no consequences, it kind of went away. Fun while it lasted, though.

Wait, what? So, in the USA, if a university student doesn't meet deadlines, they don't get punished?

In the UK and most of Europe, not submitting on time (even a second later) means that you fail. It's as simple as that. There are measures in place to protect students who had unforeseen circumstances happen to them, but I'm pretty sure you need to be clear about those before the deadline.

 

[Madman Starryteller]

@Dante Dases
Give each of them a stone and a club. One out of ten stones should be white. The ones with white stones should be battered to death by the ones who got the black stones. This will increase discipline.

 

[Homer Potvin]

Wait, what? So, in the USA, if a university student doesn't meet deadlines, they don't get punished?

In the UK and most of Europe, not submitting on time (even a second later) means that you fail. It's as simple as that. There are measures in place to protect students who had unforeseen circumstances happen to them, but I'm pretty sure you need to be clear about those before the deadline.

Dante is in the UK, I believe. In the US, college is massive for-profit industry (just like healthcare) that has migrated into the realm of customer service over the years. And the student body is rapidly declining as fewer and fewer kids attend college, mostly because of the debt incurred, but also because many of the degrees and disciplines are borderline useless. Even twenty years ago when I earned my history degree there was never a thought of me being renumerated. I made three times as much as a server than a teacher did, and the PhD tenure path was already getting narrower.

End of the day, if college is too "tough," even fewer kids will attend and that will be the end of universities. At least in the US. They made be screwed anyway at this point. I have five of them in my backyard almost and they are hurting like you wouldn't believe to get attendance.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

What are you going to do? Flunk everyone? You school will go out of business.

Yes, please. Churning out people with useless, unearned degrees is a self-perpetuating disaster and as big a fraud as one can find in the business world.

My patience for people who miss deadlines is damned near non-existent. I worked for an attorney who waited until the last minute to do everything, then laughed uproariously as every paralegal and legal secretary in the firm busted bones to get his briefs, pleadings, and discovery printed, compiled, and filed on time. Once he pointed with pride to a time stamp of 5:00 p.m, the last possible moment to file and still make deadline. This was back when paper documents had to be taken to the courthouse and filed in person. Once too often, he procrastinated too long for anyone to make up for his laziness. Caused a client no end of problems. Got his butt sanctioned by the court and tried to blame missing the deadline on incompetent staff. Didn't fly. It's a small district and everyone knows everyone else,. Word gets around and makes it hard for idiots to hide behind excuses. The truly unforgivable thing: the guy was a good attorney when he wasn't goofing off or tripping his paralegals and leaving them for bear food while he escaped.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Why can't students hit deadlines?

I set today aside for marking. Fourteen students owed me work, deadline 27th March. I waited until today because I knew, from long experience, that their view of deadlines is Douglas Adamsian. I was marking work as it was completed, reducing my workload for today - for if students even mostly hit the deadline today would be a gargantuan effort to get through everything required. Fourteen students, average wordcount each somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 words on family law. Add to that, if students see me live marking it acts as a motivator. They know that if they do it, I'll do my part very quickly and they can relax.

Prior to today, two students were complete, marked, the lot. Some admin remains, but that's next term's problem, when the bulk of marking is complete and we're talking instead about dotting is and crossing ts. They're no longer a concern. Two more have completed work and have a limited amount of marking to be done. Ten have completely missed the deadline. One of those is little more than half done. There is an external deadline in 20 days. I can mark what has been done, of course, but some of them are so far behind it's almost comic. I've taken a day out of my holiday to sort out their coursework, and they can't get it in in time. So I'm going to have to send chaser emails and messages home - in the holidays! - and then take another day away from family and actually nice activities to catch them up.

Because some students, like some people, are lazy. I should know. I spent four years (instead of three and a bit) in university because, in my first term, I had no idea what I was doing. Tried to study, didn't understand the subject material, flunked. (Mind you, I was a stupid 18-year-old ... which I know is often the same thing).

But I realised I messed up, spent less of the rest of my time there goofing off and more actually studying, persevered, worked hard, graduated ... and then realised (again) that a bachelor's degree means naff-all in the real world. ;-P

At least uni taught me one thing that helped out here in the razorblade of life: do the job that's in front of you, and don't make excuses.

Wait, what? So, in the USA, if a university student doesn't meet deadlines, they don't get punished?

In the UK and most of Europe, not submitting on time (even a second later) means that you fail. It's as simple as that. There are measures in place to protect students who had unforeseen circumstances happen to them, but I'm pretty sure you need to be clear about those before the deadline.

Agreed. I used to bust my butt to submit work on time. Then I realised that if I started the work early enough, I could finish it early too, and not have to bust my butt.

@Dante Dases
Give each of them a stone and a club. One out of ten stones should be white. The ones with white stones should be battered to death by the ones who got the black stones. This will increase discipline.

Ah, the old decimal punishment.

Dante is in the UK, I believe. In the US, college is massive for-profit industry (just like healthcare) that has migrated into the realm of customer service over the years. And the student body is rapidly declining as fewer and fewer kids attend college, mostly because of the debt incurred, but also because many of the degrees and disciplines are borderline useless. Even twenty years ago when I earned my history degree there was never a thought of me being renumerated. I made three times as much as a server than a teacher did, and the PhD tenure path was already getting narrower.

Sigh. The question is, why are college (and healthcare) treated as massive for-profit industries? Answer: so that successive governments don't have to fund them as much. Pass the buck down to the people who can least afford to pay.

It used to be that college wasn't just for rich kids. Now healthcare is getting that way, too, even here in Australia. :-\

End of the day, if college is too "tough," even fewer kids will attend and that will be the end of universities. At least in the US. They made be screwed anyway at this point. I have five of them in my backyard almost and they are hurting like you wouldn't believe to get attendance.

Heh. Any kid who thinks college is too "tough" should spend a few years in the workforce. Anywhere in the workforce. Dealing with bigots, idiots and assholes.

Yes, please. Churning out people with useless, unearned degrees is a self-perpetuating disaster and as big a fraud as one can find in the business world.

Agreed 100%. I dealt with enough entitled, lazy idiots when I was a student (mostly other students, while I was doing team projects).

Then I went into the workforce and dealt with entitled, lazy idiots ... one or two of them coworkers, one of them (sadly) a former boss, and the rest clients. Just had to bite my tongue and say "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir."

Can't call a client an idiot, even if he is one.

My patience for people who miss deadlines is damned near non-existent. I worked for an attorney who waited until the last minute to do everything, then laughed uproariously as every paralegal and legal secretary in the firm busted bones to get his briefs, pleadings, and discovery printed, compiled, and filed on time. Once he pointed with pride to a time stamp of 5:00 p.m, the last possible moment to file and still make deadline. This was back when paper documents had to be taken to the courthouse and filed in person. Once too often, he procrastinated too long for anyone to make up for his laziness. Caused a client no end of problems. Got his butt sanctioned by the court and tried to blame missing the deadline on incompetent staff. Didn't fly. It's a small district and everyone knows everyone else,. Word gets around and makes it hard for idiots to hide behind excuses. The truly unforgivable thing: the guy was a good attorney when he wasn't goofing off or tripping his paralegals and leaving them for bear food while he escaped.

Good riddance to bad rubbish! ;-P

I used to have a boss who blamed all of us day-to-day grunts whenever things went pear-shaped, but when things were good, she took the credit to the CEO (who she was in cahoots with). It drove me, and the rest of us, nuts.

One time, the father of a coworker of mine was in hospital with a heart attack. She had to take time to be with him. The boss threatened to sack her. The coworker walked out.

I put up with more being yelled at than was good for my mental health, all for the sake of my mortgage and keeping my sanity. Just kept my head down and did the work. Couldn't be yelled at for that.

I was eventually let go because this nutter of a manager played favourites, and wanted one of them to take over my job. Only I didn't give her any excuse to fire me (and I was a permanent anyway), so she and that CEO gave me notice and severance.

That was just the kick up the arse I needed. Worked my butt off for 9 years in contract jobs until I finally found a place, now, where I am actually valued.

Last I heard, that former boss got the sack not long after me. A few months later, the board of that company fired the CEO and hired someone competent.

Like I said: good riddance to bad rubbish! ;-P

 

[defaux]

Fire everyone and replace them ? Fire the worst three as an example?

Not sure if it's the same elsewhere, but it's actually very difficult for an employee to fire an employee these days. There's all sorts of protections, them have to have warnings, performance management plans.

Mostly what I've seen done is referred to as "managing them out" whereby you adjust their responsibilities to the point they no longer want to be here. But this too must be handled delicately.

 

[Set2Stun]

Not sure if it's the same elsewhere, but it's actually very difficult for an employee to fire an employee these days. There's all sorts of protections, them have to have warnings, performance management plans.

Mostly what I've seen done is referred to as "managing them out" whereby you adjust their responsibilities to the point they no longer want to be here. But this too must be handled delicately.

That's not the case here in Ontario, it turns out. I presumed there were protections, but no, you can be terminated for no reason at any time, provided the employer provides sufficient notice and/or severance as required by law.

 

[Socks Fox]

My phone decided they needed to shove a subscription ad into the start up of my music app, locking my account. Three emails, fourteen texts, eleven codes, and one password reset later these fools finally believe that 'Yes, it really is me.' Seriously who else would even care about this. I went scorched earth, full meltdown because these idiots seem to think I give of flying fart about their new promotion. Nope. All I want is what I have to actually function as it has been designed to do. My app worked fine this afternoon, this was some stupid update banner they try to force people to use to get to their app. Leave things alone. Stop assuming people want what you're trying to force.

 

[Dante Dases]

What are you going to do? Flunk everyone? You school will go out of business.

Why couldn't any of my employees be on time or meet deadlines? What was I going to do? Fire everyone? My company would have gone out of business.

Promptness and deadlines were always an illusion. Once everyone realized there were no consequences, it kind of went away. Fun while it lasted, though.

Schools are not businesses, despite what certain economists and political thinkers seem to be pushing people towards. We're here to educate, and a basic tenet of that is that students are expected to do the work, to do it on time, and to buy-in to their own education. If a student fails because they ballsed it up, because they missed a deadline for no good reason, because they didn't put the work in, then that's on them.

Because some students, like some people, are lazy. I should know. I spent four years (instead of three and a bit) in university because, in my first term, I had no idea what I was doing. Tried to study, didn't understand the subject material, flunked. (Mind you, I was a stupid 18-year-old ... which I know is often the same thing).

But I realised I messed up, spent less of the rest of my time there goofing off and more actually studying, persevered, worked hard, graduated ... and then realised (again) that a bachelor's degree means naff-all in the real world. ;-P

At least uni taught me one thing that helped out here in the razorblade of life: do the job that's in front of you, and don't make excuses.



Agreed. I used to bust my butt to submit work on time. Then I realised that if I started the work early enough, I could finish it early too, and not have to bust my butt.



Ah, the old decimal punishment.



Sigh. The question is, why are college (and healthcare) treated as massive for-profit industries? Answer: so that successive governments don't have to fund them as much. Pass the buck down to the people who can least afford to pay.

It used to be that college wasn't just for rich kids. Now healthcare is getting that way, too, even here in Australia. :-\



Heh. Any kid who thinks college is too "tough" should spend a few years in the workforce. Anywhere in the workforce. Dealing with bigots, idiots and assholes.



Agreed 100%. I dealt with enough entitled, lazy idiots when I was a student (mostly other students, while I was doing team projects).

Then I went into the workforce and dealt with entitled, lazy idiots ... one or two of them coworkers, one of them (sadly) a former boss, and the rest clients. Just had to bite my tongue and say "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir."

Can't call a client an idiot, even if he is one.



Good riddance to bad rubbish! ;-P

I used to have a boss who blamed all of us day-to-day grunts whenever things went pear-shaped, but when things were good, she took the credit to the CEO (who she was in cahoots with). It drove me, and the rest of us, nuts.

One time, the father of a coworker of mine was in hospital with a heart attack. She had to take time to be with him. The boss threatened to sack her. The coworker walked out.

I put up with more being yelled at than was good for my mental health, all for the sake of my mortgage and keeping my sanity. Just kept my head down and did the work. Couldn't be yelled at for that.

I was eventually let go because this nutter of a manager played favourites, and wanted one of them to take over my job. Only I didn't give her any excuse to fire me (and I was a permanent anyway), so she and that CEO gave me notice and severance.

That was just the kick up the arse I needed. Worked my butt off for 9 years in contract jobs until I finally found a place, now, where I am actually valued.

Last I heard, that former boss got the sack not long after me. A few months later, the board of that company fired the CEO and hired someone competent.

Like I said: good riddance to bad rubbish! ;-P

Pretty much this.

Anyway, my biggest gripe is actually setting the time aside to mark the work - which meant a day away from family. Then to find they hadn't done it, meaning that I didn't see my family as they were going having fun elsewhere while I did something else, and will now have to find time to do it all over again.

The biggest thing is that there has to be a balance. If work is late without reason - not excuse, reason - it should automatically fail (which is an issue from my perspective, as the kids know it won't, so no consequences). But where there are genuine reasons there should be common sense. Extensions, amended grades, different deadlines, that sort of thing. From my perspective, be hard but fair at all times. A couple of years ago I instituted a ruling that if a student was late to lesson without good reason, they would be asked to go to the workroom and catch up at a later time. It sorted the problem of punctuality pretty much then and there, made them accountable, and they appreciated it if truth be told.

Further, 21st April is an external exam board deadline, by which time everything has to be marked, certified, internally verified, administration done. That's quite a process on a piece of work this size, hence the internal deadline to avoid too much stress too close to that external deadline.

 

[defaux]

My phone decided they needed to shove a subscription ad into the start up of my music app, locking my account. Three emails, fourteen texts, eleven codes, and one password reset later these fools finally believe that 'Yes, it really is me.' Seriously who else would even care about this. I went scorched earth, full meltdown because these idiots seem to think I give of flying fart about their new promotion. Nope. All I want is what I have to actually function as it has been designed to do. My app worked fine this afternoon, this was some stupid update banner they try to force people to use to get to their app. Leave things alone. Stop assuming people want what you're trying to force.

Hey, at least you got a poem out of it

 

[Homer Potvin]

Not sure if it's the same elsewhere, but it's actually very difficult for an employee to fire an employee these days. There's all sorts of protections, them have to have warnings, performance management plans.

Mostly what I've seen done is referred to as "managing them out" whereby you adjust their responsibilities to the point they no longer want to be here. But this too must be handled delicately.

That's not the case in the US. Most states are "at will" meaning anyone can be terminated for any reason at any time with no cause or notice needed. You can't fire somebody for discriminatory reasons, but that's almost impossible to prove so long as the employer doesn't state a reason for termination. "You services are no longer needed," are the only words anyone ever says if they're smart. But workers are almost never denied unemployment benefits. Maybe two or three times have I seen that, and that was due to theft situations.

You can also quit at any time without penalty under at will.

Unions are a different story. And other contracted employments.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Wyoming is an at-will state. Two-edged sword.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Just wondering, because I've been hearing this phrase more and more lately: do at-will employers frequently bemoan "No-one wants to work anymore" when people leave?

I'm sure some people are genuinely lazy / drunk / unemployable / whatever (take your pick), but that's sometimes (maybe often?) true for employers, too. (I've no idea how often, though - I've had loads of bosses over the years, and only maybe two or three of them were bad enough to call out).

Obviously I'm not old enough to remember this, but I remember reading that in 1920s, when employment opportunities for women were starting to open up, many women were working in factories or became secretaries etc., and a lot of upper-class and middle-class private employers tutted because "nobody wants to work as a scullery maid anymore." Gosh, Mabel. And we offer them food and board, too. How ungrateful. ;-P

The more things change, perhaps?