Tuesday, September 07, 2004
this is the end
nothing else to do might as well write something i'm at the corner of meihua lu and dongfeng lu. plum blossom and easit wind roads. nice names.
it looks like i quit my job. i guess i'm depressed about that. maybe i'm just tired. tired of all the bullshit. so much bullshit. don't let the bastards get you down. there's a police officer circling me. he has a stick. he picks it up and puts it down. he's so menacing.
i'm so tired. this is shit. the idea is to get that stick away from me you fuck face the idea is to write out the depression but i don't know it's so shitty and i'm so tired. the police officer is highly interested in my writing even though he can't read a word of it. i guess he's got nothing else to do. but it's bothering the fuck out of me. i don't like people with sticks. there he goes. no, he's back. his walkie talkie is annoying, too. i can't concentrate on how tired i am.
yes. look at me everyone. i'm so interesting. i'm white! can you believe it?! i'm tired and every day it hurts more and i'm tired of it hurting.
------
ok i feel better. i'm at my corner muslim restaurant and they treat you right. a heaping plate of beef fried noodles for 7 kuai. less than 1/100th of what i got stiffed out of yesterday.
yeah we're having lunch it's payday for me yeehaw party time and melody says you missed two hours so it'll be deducted from your pay. that's no problem i say will it be added to the next one after i make it up? bit of a communication issue but we got it sorted out the answer is no. ok how much exactly does 2 hours come to? 320 kuai. here's the thing: i get paid theoretically 8,000 a month but that doesn't start until the fifth month and that's only if i get the bonus which means all excellents which nobody gets. anyway, the first month i'm slated to make 5,500 but i had to pay for the body check which brought it down to 5,032. i work 25 hours a week but the hours are not contiguous so i gotta sit around and that doesn't count meetings, promotions, and class observations. but let's go with that your average month is 30 days that's 42/7 weeks that's 107 hours. i'm making less than 50 kuai an hour. that's the point sorry it took so long. i get less than 50 kuai an hour and they're docking me 160 an hour for the two hours i missed. why? because i didn't make them up before payday.
"melody, that is not acceptable."
"blah blah blah contract blah blah blah call when you're gonna be late blah blah blah i told you blah blah blah i'm covering my ass."
we take turns repeating our positions mine that is not acceptable hers fuck you after about the seventh time i get up and leave. i'm scheduled for work that afternoon but first i'm meeting donna at 12:15. it's 12:25.
here she is "i thought you forgot about me" not a chance "i'm sposed to have a meeting let's get out of here."
"are you sure?"
"yeah."
we go she's a good listener then we talk about other things. it's nice being with donna she's nice she makes me feel good i wish she were here right now.
2:30 rolls around. "you sould go to work."
"i'm not going to work i'm gonna go get paid and go home."
"are you sure?"
"yes."
i get on the bus to guangzhou maybe i'll quit maybe i won't no need to worry about it something will happen.
here we are canadian international hello tina i would like to get paid.
"you missed two hours, right?"
"that's right."
let's go to the cashier's office here we are at the cashier's office someone has informed the cashier that i missed four and a half hours. tina puts me on the phone with melody.
"hello melody."
"hello."
"why are we talking?"
"i don't know."
"tina, why am i talking to melody?"
"you missed 4 hours something something."
"it seems that i have now missed four and a half hours instead of 2."
blah blah blah contract blah blah blah did you tell anybody? blah blah blah i hang up the phone.
"four and a half hours will be just fine." i said it in chinese because no one in the room understands english.
great the calculations are made the funds are dispersed i get 5,032 kuai minus the 720 kuai penalty 4,312 kuai. four thousand three hundred twelve fuckin ren min bi for a month of work plus 4 days that is it i am out of here i am not doin that no more you can shove it up your ass.
there's a sign on the wall that says check your money so i'm checkin for watermarks and this guy comes in speakin chinese to the cashier "is this julien?"
"yes."
"winnie wants to talk to him."
"i'll get tina."
she leaves i finish checking my money i put it in my bag he laughs at my bag he's the first person to do that i speak chinese to him i go out of the room i go down the hall i press the button for the elevator i go down the stairs.
17 floors i don't care i got time i go out the building there's the back of tina and a couple other faithful employees i go the other way.
i walk a bit. i sit on the curb. busses pass. people stare. people point. people laugh. i don't care.
it looks like i quit my job. i guess i'm depressed about that. maybe i'm just tired. tired of all the bullshit. so much bullshit. don't let the bastards get you down. there's a police officer circling me. he has a stick. he picks it up and puts it down. he's so menacing.
i'm so tired. this is shit. the idea is to get that stick away from me you fuck face the idea is to write out the depression but i don't know it's so shitty and i'm so tired. the police officer is highly interested in my writing even though he can't read a word of it. i guess he's got nothing else to do. but it's bothering the fuck out of me. i don't like people with sticks. there he goes. no, he's back. his walkie talkie is annoying, too. i can't concentrate on how tired i am.
yes. look at me everyone. i'm so interesting. i'm white! can you believe it?! i'm tired and every day it hurts more and i'm tired of it hurting.
------
ok i feel better. i'm at my corner muslim restaurant and they treat you right. a heaping plate of beef fried noodles for 7 kuai. less than 1/100th of what i got stiffed out of yesterday.
yeah we're having lunch it's payday for me yeehaw party time and melody says you missed two hours so it'll be deducted from your pay. that's no problem i say will it be added to the next one after i make it up? bit of a communication issue but we got it sorted out the answer is no. ok how much exactly does 2 hours come to? 320 kuai. here's the thing: i get paid theoretically 8,000 a month but that doesn't start until the fifth month and that's only if i get the bonus which means all excellents which nobody gets. anyway, the first month i'm slated to make 5,500 but i had to pay for the body check which brought it down to 5,032. i work 25 hours a week but the hours are not contiguous so i gotta sit around and that doesn't count meetings, promotions, and class observations. but let's go with that your average month is 30 days that's 42/7 weeks that's 107 hours. i'm making less than 50 kuai an hour. that's the point sorry it took so long. i get less than 50 kuai an hour and they're docking me 160 an hour for the two hours i missed. why? because i didn't make them up before payday.
"melody, that is not acceptable."
"blah blah blah contract blah blah blah call when you're gonna be late blah blah blah i told you blah blah blah i'm covering my ass."
we take turns repeating our positions mine that is not acceptable hers fuck you after about the seventh time i get up and leave. i'm scheduled for work that afternoon but first i'm meeting donna at 12:15. it's 12:25.
here she is "i thought you forgot about me" not a chance "i'm sposed to have a meeting let's get out of here."
"are you sure?"
"yeah."
we go she's a good listener then we talk about other things. it's nice being with donna she's nice she makes me feel good i wish she were here right now.
2:30 rolls around. "you sould go to work."
"i'm not going to work i'm gonna go get paid and go home."
"are you sure?"
"yes."
i get on the bus to guangzhou maybe i'll quit maybe i won't no need to worry about it something will happen.
here we are canadian international hello tina i would like to get paid.
"you missed two hours, right?"
"that's right."
let's go to the cashier's office here we are at the cashier's office someone has informed the cashier that i missed four and a half hours. tina puts me on the phone with melody.
"hello melody."
"hello."
"why are we talking?"
"i don't know."
"tina, why am i talking to melody?"
"you missed 4 hours something something."
"it seems that i have now missed four and a half hours instead of 2."
blah blah blah contract blah blah blah did you tell anybody? blah blah blah i hang up the phone.
"four and a half hours will be just fine." i said it in chinese because no one in the room understands english.
great the calculations are made the funds are dispersed i get 5,032 kuai minus the 720 kuai penalty 4,312 kuai. four thousand three hundred twelve fuckin ren min bi for a month of work plus 4 days that is it i am out of here i am not doin that no more you can shove it up your ass.
there's a sign on the wall that says check your money so i'm checkin for watermarks and this guy comes in speakin chinese to the cashier "is this julien?"
"yes."
"winnie wants to talk to him."
"i'll get tina."
she leaves i finish checking my money i put it in my bag he laughs at my bag he's the first person to do that i speak chinese to him i go out of the room i go down the hall i press the button for the elevator i go down the stairs.
17 floors i don't care i got time i go out the building there's the back of tina and a couple other faithful employees i go the other way.
i walk a bit. i sit on the curb. busses pass. people stare. people point. people laugh. i don't care.
