Let's talk about data entry!
I guess I've neglected to post here that I have a full time job now. I am terrible at keeping up with journals! And I suspect nobody pays attention to livejournal anymore anyway.... anyway I am doing data entry at a company that deals with insurance claims. I've actually kind of been looking for data entry work for a while because it sounded like something easy and it really is so I'm not sure why so many places want you to be experienced with it. Years of IM have given me a pretty impressive wpm rate I think, and being a grammar/spelling nazi has provided me with the attention to detail necessary. I think I may have learned how to do 10-key at my grocery store job ages back too. So I'm pretty good at it I think? I get all my work done too fast and run out of it though. I think they want to train me to answer phones and stuff though...they tried to go over it with me today but just thinking about it made me want to have a panic attack. Ugh.
Anyway, basically what I have been doing is looking at long lists of stuff that people have lost due to disasters, fire, thieves, or whatever and typing them into spreadsheets for other people to work with trying to get them taken care of. This means sometimes I have to decipher terrible handwriting, which is possibly the worst part of the job so far. (if anyone reading this ever finds themselves having to fill out forms that are to be faxed and possibly put through some sort of data entry, please please please write in print, very clearly, preferably with a black pen. I don't care if it's a long list of something and you're getting tired at the end, someone is going to have to read the last line just as well as the first.)
It's kind of interesting having to go through what seems to be a complete list of someone's possessions. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't judge these people I will never meet based on what they have written down that they have lost. I think things like "you are a spoiled little snobby princess" or "your taste in video games sucks" which is probably terrible. I just can't conceive of ever owning all these designer clothes or so much valuable jewelry. Second-hand thrift store crap is good enough for me, and who the hell needs Vera Wang bathroom decor? I guess I will never understand normal people though.
Another thing I find myself thinking about while doing this is how much of a complete asshole you have to be to break into someone's home to steal their shit. This actually happened to someone I know, too, and I can't even imagine what would make someone think that doing that to someone is an awesome idea for making a quick buck. I'm sure if anyone decided to break into our house we'd suddenly be short 3 or 4 game systems, not to mention a laptop or two. Of course we don't have any kind of insurance, so we'd pretty much be sol. And omg if my computer disappeared I wouldn't even know what to do, since EVERYTHING is on it. Pretty sure I'd have to cancel all cons forever since without that, I have nothing to print out and sell. Not to mention my portfolio files are on that, if I ever want to get a real design job. bluuuugh I don't even want to think about it.
Anyway, that tangent aside. This is a pretty okay job, and theoretically I should be able to stay in it for a while. Maybe this will be the job to break my three month record, who knows. Although I almost kind of want to look for something in the design field after I did a couple days freelancing for a packaging company and started to miss it, I think I'd feel bad leaving so soon after starting here, so I'll stick around for at least a while and see how it goes. Hopefully I will be able to start saving up money and helping with bills. Unfortunately I've already started buying frivolous things with my first paycheck and the one from the freelance job, but hopefully once the novelty of having that money to spend wears off I will go back to feeling like I can never buy anything useless again. Hahaha.
Anyway, basically what I have been doing is looking at long lists of stuff that people have lost due to disasters, fire, thieves, or whatever and typing them into spreadsheets for other people to work with trying to get them taken care of. This means sometimes I have to decipher terrible handwriting, which is possibly the worst part of the job so far. (if anyone reading this ever finds themselves having to fill out forms that are to be faxed and possibly put through some sort of data entry, please please please write in print, very clearly, preferably with a black pen. I don't care if it's a long list of something and you're getting tired at the end, someone is going to have to read the last line just as well as the first.)
It's kind of interesting having to go through what seems to be a complete list of someone's possessions. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't judge these people I will never meet based on what they have written down that they have lost. I think things like "you are a spoiled little snobby princess" or "your taste in video games sucks" which is probably terrible. I just can't conceive of ever owning all these designer clothes or so much valuable jewelry. Second-hand thrift store crap is good enough for me, and who the hell needs Vera Wang bathroom decor? I guess I will never understand normal people though.
Another thing I find myself thinking about while doing this is how much of a complete asshole you have to be to break into someone's home to steal their shit. This actually happened to someone I know, too, and I can't even imagine what would make someone think that doing that to someone is an awesome idea for making a quick buck. I'm sure if anyone decided to break into our house we'd suddenly be short 3 or 4 game systems, not to mention a laptop or two. Of course we don't have any kind of insurance, so we'd pretty much be sol. And omg if my computer disappeared I wouldn't even know what to do, since EVERYTHING is on it. Pretty sure I'd have to cancel all cons forever since without that, I have nothing to print out and sell. Not to mention my portfolio files are on that, if I ever want to get a real design job. bluuuugh I don't even want to think about it.
Anyway, that tangent aside. This is a pretty okay job, and theoretically I should be able to stay in it for a while. Maybe this will be the job to break my three month record, who knows. Although I almost kind of want to look for something in the design field after I did a couple days freelancing for a packaging company and started to miss it, I think I'd feel bad leaving so soon after starting here, so I'll stick around for at least a while and see how it goes. Hopefully I will be able to start saving up money and helping with bills. Unfortunately I've already started buying frivolous things with my first paycheck and the one from the freelance job, but hopefully once the novelty of having that money to spend wears off I will go back to feeling like I can never buy anything useless again. Hahaha.