The poor widows' cry, though it reach to heaven, is scarce heard here upon earth...(Reginald Scott)

[beboots]

"So what's new with Beboots?"  You may be wondering, if you too aren't bogged down by schoolwork. Why, I shall inform ye! (Also, everyone on facebook, check out your language options - alongside English (UK) there's English (pirate). So awesome...) Anyway....

First of all, I'm writing this on the oldschool family computer. Why? Because my laptop has died... for a second time. I mean, it was freezing up for a day or two, then gave me the bluescreen of death, then "repaired" itself, then went back to freezing... so it's in the shop. I'm told it has like several viruses. But... I probably won't lose anything. Just as well, because I've been paranoid ever since it died a few months ago and so everything's backed up anyway. Take heed, all you readers: back up your files! Especially those essays that you're working on!

Speaking of essays... I got my essay on Cardinal Wolsey back: B-. Not bad, but not as good as I was hoping. It was mostly little errors that bogged me down. A satisfactory essay, but not a stellar one. But since I hated every minute of writing that thing, i guess that's to be expected. Anyway, I'm working on a new one for that class, which is on witchcraft (that's a quote of it you see, up there), and so is automatically way more interesting than Cardinal Wolsey could ever be.

I have not yet caught any of the various illnesses flying around campus yet, and I remain hopeful that I still won't have by the time that midterm month is over. I can dream, can't I?

Also, I get much less time to work on things this month than anticipated. Why? Because Superstore is no longer going on strike. ;_;

So here's the deal: originally, we were going on strike for various reasons, most of which was because the union was screwing the employees who had been working there for the longest over for wages. Like, we should have been getting many more raises, considering what they had initially promised us upon being hired and what with the inflation and the economy and all... anyway, essentially, people like me, who have been working for the company for just about four years, were making a bare 10 cents more per hour than the guy who had just walked in off the street. Plus, they were going to take away our shift premiums (like, the extra 1$ you make on Sundays, the extra couple bucks you get for being on nightshift, etc. So, there's no incentive anymore to take sucky shifts). There were other issues, including health and safety stuff, but that was pretty much it.

So, we were all ready and rarin' to strike on Monday evening (we've been stewing and on strike alert for months) because the offer that they gave us was beyond pitiful. Sure, they gave us all a 2$ an hour raise, but in the fine print you read that you'd no longer get shift premiums, which meant that on most days I'd be making 50 cents LESS an hour than before. Plus, they agreed to give people like me back pay... over the course of SEVEN YEARS. And you can probably bet that if you'd quit, they would stop the payments, you know? 

That offer was shot down. Like, it was in flames. 96% of people voted against it.

Anyway, so we were about to strike, then they gave us a last-minute offer on Friday evening. Then, of course, we had to vote on it... and vote we did. Ashley and I got lost in Edmonton trying to find the place where we vote for it, and after listening to the arguments and reading the propaganda/contract, the two of us voted against it.

But apparently it was good enough for some people, so it passed "in favour" at something like 56%. It's not all bad, I suppose - apprently my next paycheque is going to be massive because I get all of my backpay all at once - an extra 60 cents for every hour that I've worked since August 2006. Can you say sweet? :D Also, we all get an immediate raise (I can't remember by how much), which is better than nothing. However, they've only promised to guarantee 6 months of shift premiums. Then, they could take it away with little warning. But hopefully I'll be out of there by then.

So... there you have it, I suppose. I'm dissapointed we didn't go on strike - I could have used the free time to study for midterms and write papers... and my novel, actually. :D I can't wait for Nanowrimo! On the forums, we were writing 15 word summaries for our novels. Mine for this November is the following:

"Two vampires (an extremely old child and a mildly depressed former accountant) figure out life."

How does that sound?
 

Comments

[anyjen.livejournal.com]

Well, that's tough, but at least you're going to get a sweet amount of money at once. That will surely help, won't it? Maybe to save for your next trip... :)
And yes, it's me. I finally decided to get a LJ account... though to be honest, I've been using it mostly to post comments on the fics I read with cute avatars on them. XD

[beboots.livejournal.com]

You know, that's exactly why I myself got LJ way back in the day. ;) There's so much good fanfic to be found here!
Also, for the purposes of mental identification... what is your real-life name? I know that I know you, but I can't put a name to a face. D:

Also, I'm rather sad because there are more things wrong with my laptop than originally thought - now it's probably a problem with the motherboard, which means I either spend several hundred dollars to replace it, or replace my whole computer for only a little bit more. D: I want to choose neither!

[anyjen.livejournal.com]

Uh, I don't think you know my real name, so it wouldn't help you much. I'm Anyjen from ff.net, you beta my fics... "Dreams and Realities", "The Woollen Monstrosity"... Doumeki/Watanuki goodies... all that stuff. ^^U
If you still want my name I could tell you, but in private. I don't really want this account to get any associations with it. Security reasons, you know. ^^

[beboots.livejournal.com]

Right, right! I feel silly for not recognizing your name, now. ;_; Sorry!

...speaking of your stories... have you written anything lately...? ;)

[anyjen.livejournal.com]

Well, I've tried, but my muses are giving me the cold shoulder. I only have a couple of snippets, but nothing even resembling a fic... Oh, but how I wish I was one of those writers that can write a little bit every day and it's all great. If I try to force it I only get rubbish. :P

[beboots.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. D: I've been trying to write, but it's even harder now because my laptop died. Like, kaput, no longer working... ;_; Plus, I really just need to buckle down and get my two papers done... and stop checking my e-mail/LJ when I should be doing research. D:

[anyjen.livejournal.com]

Why is it that some of get such lousy muses? No wonder the Greek started their odes by invoquing them... and judging by the results, not always got an answer from them. :P

Hope those papers go well. *cheers Beboots forward*

BTW, I love your icon... :)

[beboots.livejournal.com]

Why thank you! :D I made it myself. :3

Must... keep... writing... D: Although, the topic for one of my papers is witchcraft in Elizabethan England, so it's not boring, at least. ;)

[anyjen.livejournal.com]

I also make my own icons. It takes time, and they never come out very well, but it's worth the effort, at least for their uniqueness, right? :3

Good luck on that. I have some articles about the topic, but they're from a dubious source, so they wouldn't be much help in a formal paper... Darn plagiarists. They always have to spoil it for us. :P

[beboots.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your offer of help! I think that I'm okay for it, though... I've just got to work hardcore after I get home from work today...

So did you make that Doumeki/Bento icon too? :D It's adorable! Are their "names" underneath an umbrella...?

[anyjen.livejournal.com]

Well, then... Ganbare! :)

Yep, it was made by me. And yes, it's an umbrella... You see, in Japan, when a lovesick person writes or carves their name together with their loved one's somewhere, they don't do it in a heart like we do. They place their names side by side under a little umbrella... since sharing an umbrella is one of the most common, and oldest, public shows of affection in emotionally-repressed Japan. That's why you will see a lot of Japanese fangirls squealing about the fact that Doumeki sort of shared his umbrella with Watanuki when the latter lent his to Kohane-chan. Can you say subtext? :)
I just thought it would be funny to do it with "Bento", since he loves eating Watanuki's food so much. XD
But because I knew most western people wouldn't get it without a little help, I added the "OTP" and the little heart. ^^U

[beboots.livejournal.com]

Ah, yep, I knew the significance of umbrellas in Japanese culture. :3 It's relatively little-known, and I do love to tell random facts to people who don't know them. But you're probably just as informed as I am in this case. ;)

Yep, OTP is universal in the English fandom. ;)

... Okay, I'm going to stop slacking now and actually do my homework... I swear... D:

[anyjen.livejournal.com]

...well, if you happened to know when this umbrella thing originated, I'd love to hear it... so far I only know that going out to take a walk in the rain is considered the perfect excuse to walk side-by-side with your loved one, all huddled together under the same umbrella... After all, nobody can blame you if you forgot to bring yours and you had to share, right? And umbrellas these days are smaller than they used to be. ;)

But after you've done your homework!!

[beboots.livejournal.com]

I've heard tell of women who delibrately forget their umbrellas, for just such an excuse... ;)

But, I'm afraid I'm as clueless about the origins as you are. It's got to be a relatively old practice, because the Japanese have had umbrellas/parasols around for ages, haven't they?

[anyjen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I thought, too... maybe it was a natural thing? It was frowned upon for a couple to be alone together, but nobody could blame them if they were caught in the rain and were forced to share an umbrella, so they started doing in on purpose...
in Spanish we have this saying; "Hecha la ley, hecha la trampa", which is similar to "Forewarned, forearmed", in that it implies that once the rules are outlined, it's excepted of you to find the way around them. ;)

[beboots.livejournal.com]

Ooh... that is a good saying. :3 I love proverbs and odd expressions... Here, have an obscure one back (it's a French expression that's rarely used in English, but cool anyway: "violon d'Ingres": "an occasional pastime, an activity other than that for which one is well-known, or at which one excells," 1963, from Fr., lit. "Ingres' violin," from the story that the great painter prefered to play his violin -- badly -- for visitors instead of showing them his pictures.
"Une légende, assez suspecte, prétend que le peintre Ingres état plus fier de son jeu sur le violon, jeu qui était fort ordinaire, que de sa peinture, qui l'avait rendu illustre."
(Taken from Etymologyonline.com, which is a wicked awesome website and has clarified many a word in my Tudor Regime assignments...)