just thinking out loud

Think I might like this movie

Quantum of Solace clip - Boat chase

Survivor Snake

It’s my last day of work for this week. It’s forty past six AM and I just got back from work. I can’t go to sleep yet so I better put into words what’s in mind right now. These past two nights I was putting the foil cap on the bottles. The machine placed the cork in the bottle, I and my team, would then put the foil cap and then it passes through a fiery steel which burns the foil sealing the bottle.  Last night the machines were miraculously working properly most of the time and I thought to myself, “Is this gonna go on for three hours? I would surely be dead by morning.” I like it when the machines malfunction from time to time like the other night. First the cork machine stopped, 20 minutes later the bottles tipped, anothe half an hour later the filling machine stops. These accidentals are so much welcome because they give us a couple of minutes to stretch our backs. I keep thinking however that the managers wouldn’t probably be happy to see the machines act up so often. But like I said if everything goes well in between breaks which is three hours then I would be dead. Last night my eyes were like spinning staring at the constantly moving bottles. Gladly though it was only good in the beginning. As the hour progresses the machines keep working but we make the accidentals. When someone accidentally put two foil caps, the bottle will be too high to pass through the fiery sealant. As a result the bottle will tip and will cause a domino effect. So they had to stop either the filling machine or the cork machine so the bottles will not get stuck like a traffic jam in Bangkok on Friday night.

Yesterday I started work and miss my Today blog. But I’m going to tell you about my first day. I got a temporary work at a winery. I used to dislike the smell of liquor but after my first day at work I started to think that it smells like food. Well I have always considered liquors as toxins. Anyway, my work was putting the stickers on a pack. At the start I said to myself, whoa! This is so easy and fun–just stick the labels and that’s it. But after many hours of standing with limited movements my hips started to ache. I thought I was not going to survive it but thanks God I did. When I got home I felt so exhausted and battered.

In the winery I saw so much waste. They printed too many labels and then after an hour they changed the type of wine we are packing so we had to change the sticker as well. I was thinking that they would keep the stickers for another time but no, it all went to the bin. I was gasping in disappointment. I thought of the environment, I thought of the ink and sticker wasted. But what do they care? They only care about their profit.

Are all factories like this? It’s very saddening indeed.

I got too excited I forgot to call my agency that I got the boots required.

I went to submit my application form this morning and I was told I’m going to work in a winery and I need to get safety boots before I can start work. Unless I get the boots I couldn’t commence working. I called my husband to ask where I could get them and he told me to go to Magdalen Street. Well, I did find the boots but I didn’t call inform the agency right away.  When I finally called them in the afternoon there was already enough people to fill the work force. But I was promised to be put on the next day.

I chose to work on night shift so I work at the same time with my husband and we can see each other during the day. I’m excited toward this new development in my life. It’s my first time to work here in the UK and even if it’s just a minimum wage I’m still happy that I won’t be idle anymore. I really hate doing nothing and not earning a thing. I hate to be dependent. I want to earn my own money and be able to help with the finances and bills.

Here in the UK the government is trying all its best to fight obesity problems. The education department is getting involved in engaging school children to physical fitness in a bid to avoid getting obese later on in life.

But I think the government or the people should address the issue more directly. Fastfoods should be banned in selling fatty foods. Well, it really depends on the discretion of the individuals but the government can do better than just advise its discreet citizens.

Banning fatty foods from the shops is not totally violating people’s freedom to eat what they want. They can make them and eat them at home but at least there is no one else to blame except themselves.

Lately I have been enjoying treading on leaves. It is my first autumn ever and I feel so ecstatic about it. Everytime I take a walk to the library, city center, church, gym or the shop I purposely walk on the side where there are more leaves and I feel sad when I see the City Care sweeping the leaves. When the leaves started to change color I also started to get excited over the new experience. It’s so pretty to look at the autumn hues on the trees. And when the leaves lay on the grass they make the grass look prettier with their contrasting yet blending hues. Although it’s sad to see the trees getting bare but there is beauty on the leaves scattered on the ground. The season signals the coming of cold months but these constant changes makes the year lively and interesting.

This week my husband is sharing a car with his colleague at work. With the current economic situation and the present ecological issue that’s been beseting us, I think carpooling is one of the best things to reduce CO2 emission and help make this world a better place. It’s true the damage we and our successors have done is way to much to solve in just a matter of few years but at least we can stop contributing to its rapid advancement.

Here in Norwich they are encouraging people to use the bus instead of everyone driving. But sometimes bus is not cheap. With carpooling, people spend less petrol, less traffic and most of all less pollution or CO2 emissions.

Let’s go green, let’s carpool!

These past couple of weeks I have been scouting for a nice warm coat to wear to church or work. I saw a couple of them in Primark and got really interested in them. There was this really nice autumn and winter coat that I had been coveting to have for myself. However, when I tried them on I shrank at their sizes. Petit as a I am, I can’t fit in size 8 which is the smallest size in Primark. So when I tried them on and saw myself on the mirror I had a second thought. I definitely need a coat but it should be one that I can wear comfortably. Otherwise it would just stay in the closet if I couldn’t return it within a specified date. Finally, I decided that I better regret not buying it than the other way around. By the way, I think I better start looking at the kids’ section and find my size for less. 

After I received a letter from the Home Office stating that I can now seek employment in the UK I started looking for jobs and submitting my resumes. Then I saw an ad about bookkeeping for ALPHA GALLERY INTER@.

They claimed that they are into paintings, arts, crafts and the likes. Based in Belgium, they also claimed that many of their clients are not meeting their payment requirements and therefore they need representatives to receive payments for them.

Sounds an easy job, isn’t it? A couple of weeks later, I got an email from them that I was going to receive cheques amounting to $1500.00. True enough, I got them the following day. Three Traveler’s Cheque for $500 each. I was then instructed to encash them, get 10% for myself and send them the rest by Western Union or Money Gram.

It was unbelievable! How could someone send cheques by post just like that? I was more surprised to see that the person I was supposed to send the cash to was also based in England. Why couldn’t the person receive and encash the cheque himself?

Immediately I checked scam modis operandi and it turned out that I wasn’t the first and only one who had received the same cheques. Some have even lost their money because they deposited the cheque into their bank account and the cheque bounces.

Whew! I wanted to earn some cash and not lose them even before I could find them. Thankfully, I didn’t fall for it so easily.