
Long time no see

date: 01/08/25
Hi! It's been a while since I've updated my blog lol
In my last post I was stressed about finding a summer job... well let
me tell you how that went.
I got a job at a callcenter... selling skincare products to an
overwhelmingly elderly clientele.
I absolutely hated it, but at least I learned more about myself and
what I am willing to put up with for money.
I quit after about a month of working there. The job made me feel
filthy, I felt so bad scamming these old women with the shitty creams
I was shelling out
. The boss gave us some of the products to test out and I couldn't
even use them!
They made my skin burn and the smell triggered my migraines
. I felt bad for the people who bought them, but I had to make rent
somehow. I stayed there just long enough to have money to pay for two
months of rent.
During my time there like 5 people quit, I think I was the last one to
leave from my batch of new hires. So putting that into consideration I
did well I guess?
During that whole callcenter experience I was looking for other jobs,
but surprise surpsise no-one would hire me.
Also during this time I was having a whole crisis because quitting
that job that made me feel weak, and that of course clashed with my
poor little male ego lol
But seriously, I felt like I was being a weak little bitch for not
being able to handle it.
I was equating my worth as a man and as a person to how much shit I
was willing to put up with.
And in my defense I can put up with a lot of shit, but for some reason
that callcenter job was just too much. It was soul crushing. Calling
elderly women, many of whom were ill, and trying to make them spend
the last of their pension on overpriced creams... Reminds me of
this
southpark bit.
This company was selling these skincreams in a SUBSCRIPTION MODEL...
like how fucking evil is that.
Thankfully I got out of that headspace, but I would be lying if I said
I didnt feel a bit guilty for quitting, since now I have to rely more
on my partner for financial support.
I'm very grateful for them, since they supported my decision to quit
because they saw how the job was affecting me. I feel a bit ashamed as
well for not being able to compartmentalize my work self and personal
self.
But I know that it's a stupid thing to feel ashamed about, I just know
that a lot of people are capable of it. Capable of doing anything for
extra cash. "Real men can handle it" right?
I guess I'm just a different kind of man and I shouldn't be ashamed of
that. I am emotional, I care and I have ethical standards. I think
thats the most important thing this experience has taught me about
myself
I mean I could have done any other job without feeling as shitty as
that job made me feel. Like at least as a cashier you are not
participating in predatory sales practices targeting one of the most
vulnerable groups in our society.
I gotta remember that I am working toward that job, where I feel I can
contribute to society in a positive way. It's just that as a student I
have to take what I can get, but I know in like 6 years a career in
education and research awaits me. I am working hard toward that goal.
A positive thing that this job facilitated was seeing my friends!
Since the job was in Helsinki, I was able to hang out with my family
and friends more often, which was super nice
. Without them I would have definitely gone more insane than I
already did.
Last month I went to Amsterdam!
It was a nice experience, especially after that job. Because of the
job being in Helsinki I also couldn't see my partner for a month so it
felt magical to be able to reconnect on a trip like that
.
We stayed in Zaandam, which was a lovely place. It was a bit far from
the city center, but we commuted there by bus and a free ferry! If
you're looking to stay in Amsterdam on a low budget I really recommend
checking out the Golden-Zaan hotel. May not be glamorous, but for a
student it will certainly be good enough lol
Now apart from enjoying the weed we also went to a bunch of museums!
Here's a little list:
- Kattenkabinet
- Arcam
- Stedelijk Museum
- Museum of prostitution Amsterdam
The kattenkabinet museum was awesome! A whole museum dedicated to
cats, with resident cats hanging out in the museum!
The place was full of cat themed art and artifacts.
The Arcam museum was also interesting, focusing on architecture. I
really enjoyed learning about the history of how the city was
developed since Amsterdam has so many unique buildings! During our
whole trip we kept staring at buildings and being amazed at the level
of planning that went into that city! It really feels like they
focused on making the city not only walkable and bikeable but also
feel very communal.
The Stedelijk museum was awesome! Since it was such a big museum it
had multiple exhibitions inside it, but my favorite one was "Liquid
Body" by Pamela Rosenkranz. I really loved the use of colored
lighting! It made the whole exhibition feel so moody, and everything
was so fun to look at. It was like hanging out in an alternative
reality. Also I loved the pink pool... I could have spent hours just
looking at it, it was so relaxing!!
Museum of prostitution Amsterdam was actually really informative! I
went there kinda with the expectation that it would be less about
education and more about making a spectacle of sex work, but I was
pleasantly surprised! They went over how sex work in Amsterdam works,
what problems it has and the whole thing was narrated by an actual sex
worker! I really appreciated that they really put effort into bringing
out the voices of the actual workers themselves. Also the museum,
although small, was decorated beautifully. Every room told a story,
and at the end of the tour there was a confession booth where you
could write down a confession and put it on the confession wall. A lot
of the notes were about sexual experiences, fantasies etc. which were
really awesome to read. There were also a bunch of notes expressing
support to victims of sexual violence, which was lovely to see.
We also visited the homomonument, which was quite an emotional
expreience for me. It was nice to see queer lives honored in such a
public way. Being there made me realize how much internalized stress I
have about being queer in public. We also visited the oldest queer bar
in Amsterdam, Cafe 't Mandje! It was a very small and cozy bar. It's
been active since 1927! It really warmed my heart to see all the queer
history in Amsterdam
.
Anyhow, now that I've been unemployed for a little over a month now I
have been able to focus on my art and this website
! I am working on developing my style and trying to come up with
projects to work on.
Right now I'm bouncing around an idea of a story with transgender
themes, perfumes, and occultism.
Also! Been messing around with linux a lot
! I just finished theming my Fedora distro to look like windows 7 on
Plasma KDE. It's been fun and I have learned a lot more about how
linux works. Even though I use a GUI, I love love love using the
command line to do things. I'm really tired of windows, I never
realized how much control it strips away from the user lol
Whew this has been a long blogpost. I hope you enjoyed reading it!
Have a nice day/night and remember to stay safe during this hot ass
summer!!