Pavlov's Cellphone

I was drinking drinking tea with one of my friends. Unlike me, some people are so socially busy that they have the compelling need to constantly check their phone even when they are with someone else.

(Yes, I know, I've complained about this before. This situation is different so please, bare with me)

While we were talking her phone rang quite a few times. What was particular about this situation was her ringtone. Every time she got a message, her phone vibrated and made a bell sound. After five or six messages, she was still talking to me but I could no longer focus on what she was saying. It was too late, the parallel between Pavlov's bells and dogs had been made.

For those that didn't study psychology, Pavlov was a scientist that discovered classical conditioning with dogs. Shorty, every time Pavlov fed his dogs, he would ring a bell. The dogs would associate this bell with food and soon became to salivate when they heard the bell without any food needed.

Now I'm not calling this girl a female dog. She is a highly intelligent individual with nothing canine about her. Nor was she salivating every time the phone rang. Her conditioning went further. It was rooted deeply on an emotional level. The inevitable and normal question was of course: ''Is whatever happening on that phone so important and interesting that she needs to check it right away?''. Any respectable person would get annoyed (if not mad). However, I did not. All I could think of was: ''Poor girl, she is so possessed and conditioned by her phone that she doesn't realize what she's doing''. I still didn't do anything about it.

Hear Me, If You Dare!

The worst thing about class is when your friends don't show up and don't tell you about their ''skipping'' plans. Of course, this happens to me every now and then. Last German class, my dear friend K didn't show up. G did, but his usual state of tiredness was amplified by the hash brownies he had ingested right before class. ''What an idiot'' I thought.

I was sitting quietly waiting for the teacher to pronounce the dreadful words: ''Jetzt darfen sie zusammen arbeiten. Fragen ein ander was er macht in alle seine Zimmer'' (Now you may work together. Ask each other what you do in each room). That was the worst. It's especially bad when you're friend isn't there and you have to awkwardly turn around to see if there isn't another soul, a fellow compatriot, in a similar situation willing to work with you. To my left, two girls were already working. To my right, G was sleeping. I turned around. I was surprisingly greeted by a warm smile.
(For the convenience of my readers who don't speak German, the following text in italic was said in German)
-Hey! How are you? Wanna work together? I asked, quite awkwardly, looking away from those deep blue eyes.
*The girl nodded*
-Do you want to start?
*She nodded again*
-Well, go ahead, ask me...
*Another nod* My impatience was growing. I started to wonder if this girl was making fun of me.
-Did you understand what we have to do?
*She took a deep breath and gave me a look similar to the ones puppies give you right before you adopt them*
-Well? Are you going to speak?
-I... I...
-What? Come on! Don't be shy! I don't bite.
-I... can't hear you. She muttered under her breath.
That's when I noticed her earpiece. This happens rarely, but I panicked a bit and said ''sorry''.
-What are you sorry about? She asked me, surprisingly calmly.
-I uh... Well...
-ES IST SOWEIT! WER WILL MICH ANTWORTEN!? (IT'S TIME! WHO WILL ANSWER ME!?) Said the teacher, so loud that he startled me. This meant that I had to turn around for another 30 minutes of German lecturing.

I couldn't stop thinking of how badly I screwed up. While the teacher was preaching in his monotonous and very typical German voice, I made a million plans on how I was going to befriend this girl. I was going to ask for her name, then I would compliment on it, then I would invite her for a cup of tea... My thoughts were interrupted by people standing up. Was the lecture over? Even G, whom I could swear was still sleeping only a few seconds ago had already packed up and was looking at me like some perplexed animal.
I turned around swiftly, the girl was already gone.
''I guess not'' was my last thought before I walked out of class and plugged in my earphones.

Calling Online

I just got fired from yet another job.
This time, I worked a total of three hours for a calling company. In all honesty, I must say that I'm glad not to be working there. Here is why:
1. The stench in the room was unbearable. Imagine this, I am stuck in something that looks like a computer programming classroom only between me and my "classmates" is a solid plastic wall that prevents me from looking at anything else than your computer. I felt claustrophobic and nauseous. The people around me are exhausted. The room is poorly ventilated. I felt like one of those chickens placed in a cage for transport.
2. I like chicken, but I didn't like the big Ostrich, the manager, whom had nothing better to do than to stroll up and down the chicken cages, forcing us to work harder, better and faster.
3. The whole job doesn't allow you to think. If by any chance you have the misfortune of doubting the efficiency or the use of the BS you're unloading on the poor customers; I guarantee that you'll not only be revolted, you'll want to speak about it to your manager - that will get you fired.

I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever be able to find a job that I like (or that I can do, with my inability to work in loud or crowded places)
Coming up next - pet shop work...
Hopefully.