The General Conversation Area

Kite said:
The difference between Netflix and Amazon is that when Netflix introduced the tier with adverts included is that it was at a lower cost where customers could choose to downgrade to save money (although at the same time as increasing the cost of the other tiers and limiting use across other devices)

Rather than the standard tier getting adverts with customers forced to pay more to avoid the adverts
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Neither are ok in my books but Amazon are definitely the worse of the two by forcing ads on the standard tier; regardless ads really have no place in a paid subscription.
 
Feel free to ignore this so I just wanted to vent for a bit.

It feels like it's been a while since I posted anything but pretty much the workload at work has been stacked these past few months. I generally don't bring it up publicly as I felt it was out of character, but it has been a mess in all honesty. I have worked the last nine days straight (as my job often involves working weekends due to an event) and this month alone I've spent an additional 28 hours overtime. It's been rough so I want to briefly talk about how things are.

Now the thing about my role is that I am conflicted. I do enjoy the tasks that I have on my schedule, but the problem is that ever since early last year, the workload has doubled and I'm the only person available to get it done with no time during office hours to sort it out. To provide some context, my responsibility involves marketing, admin and sometimes video editing and data analyst type stuff for a specific field. What I do has a pretty big impact on the business, especially for the investment team and the boss, but there is no backup plan or additional staff to support me. I am on my own in this role of responsibility, so if I get ill or take time off work on the wrong days, the business takes a hit. While it sounds funny saying that, in reality it means I can't take time off like anyone else can. As I mentioned, I work our weekend events at times which is done virtually so I work from home, but this past weekend something went wrong so I had to work in the office alone. I do get the food expenses sorted at least.

Whenever I want to take time off or finish for the evening, I often receive notifications via WhatsApp because it's a platform that my boss loves to use for various discussions and topics for communication. I do get its usefulness but I had to mute it for my mental health, because while from their perspective it doesn't need to be done immediately it does make you think that its urgent and nobody wants to think about work on their personal time. As much as I hated how mismanaged my last job in 2018 was, at least I didn't have to do anything the moment I left the office each day. Now I have a work phone but it's not yet ready to be used since there's some stuff left to sort out on it.

Honestly the only reason I work hard is that I can keep the earnings going. The overtime that I have done for the past year has thankfully been paid (the first year wasn't due to a miscommunication on the contract, I blame the PA for that because they put 'overtime is not paid' when it is, it's just poor wording on their part), but in reality this also reduces the time that I have outside work. If you wonder why I don't actively post daily on the AUKN Discord or on the forums? It's because I am exhausted from work and don't have the energy to interact as much as I want to, like I would watch anime each night but I can't currently. Technically I can, but it might not be the best experience unless it's one that is highly anticipated that I am looking forward to watching for the sake of it.

During my spare time outside the job I also often work on my blog, and even though it doesn't receive any revenue whatsoever, I still find it rather rewarding. I do think the motivating factor for why I have kept my blog going for the past 11 years is because the stuff that I pick up often has a positive impact on the community, for instance helping others pick and choose what's available and see more of what to expect on the disc or packaging. This does take time to sort out in itself and I do my best to make the posts age well. The overview/unboxing field for stuff like this is rather niche so it's a fun little side project.

I am still motivated to continue building my collection of anime, games and whatnot, but I just wish my job was better managed. Last year I had a great team of staff who have all decided to resign from their roles, some weren't perfect but it was a shame to see them leave, though I wouldn't want to force them to stay for the sake of it. The new team is still solid but whether the business will grow and improve I have no clue. Earlier in the month I asked for a salary review in regards to how hard I've been working for the past year and the tasks that I had managed to sort out, however the manager felt that the review request was motivated by the excessive workload and they think that workload should be dealt with first before suggesting a pay raise. I understand their reasonings, but using the workload as an excuse for not paying me more is pretty stupid considering how integral I am. To me it feels like I am not valued enough I suppose.

After hearing those results, I have started preparations to look into other opportunities. This has been brewing for a while now but after working in the business for almost two and a half years I think I have enough skill to avoid the generic 'you need experience' excuse that recruiters have, however because of how varied my role is I don't have an easy path to take next - it could be data lead, marketing, admin, I have no clue. But unlike my co-workers I am not going to resign for the sake of it. I want to have that next opportunity secured before moving on, because to me it's better to have that planned out than just suddenly walking out with no idea what to do next and screw yourself over later.

To conclude this discussion - I suppose I am a workaholic. I work hard and want to be rewarded for it. At the same time, this role as it currently stands is not a healthy position, with the numerous amount of overtime and weekends being taken from time to time. I like to plan ahead so I am hoping to have 2024 be an interesting move for my future opportunities.

I do want to mention that I do try to reference my work here and there on places like social media and Discord, it's generally overshadowed and ignored by many, which I can completely understand. For many people's perspectives, they don't want to see that type of stuff brought up in a general chat or social media tweet line, and I get that - which is why I used the spoiler button on this post, so if you read all of this, fair enough I suppose you had time. I just felt that it was necessary for some of you to have some added context on how I've been doing considering everything that's been going on. Don't worry I'm not depressed or in a bad place or anything like that. I figured bringing this particular topic for once helps every now and then.
 
NormanicGrav said:
Feel free to ignore this so I just wanted to vent for a bit.

It feels like it's been a while since I posted anything but pretty much the workload at work has been stacked these past few months. I generally don't bring it up publicly as I felt it was out of character, but it has been a mess in all honesty. I have worked the last nine days straight (as my job often involves working weekends due to an event) and this month alone I've spent an additional 28 hours overtime. It's been rough so I want to briefly talk about how things are.

Now the thing about my role is that I am conflicted. I do enjoy the tasks that I have on my schedule, but the problem is that ever since early last year, the workload has doubled and I'm the only person available to get it done with no time during office hours to sort it out. To provide some context, my responsibility involves marketing, admin and sometimes video editing and data analyst type stuff for a specific field. What I do has a pretty big impact on the business, especially for the investment team and the boss, but there is no backup plan or additional staff to support me. I am on my own in this role of responsibility, so if I get ill or take time off work on the wrong days, the business takes a hit. While it sounds funny saying that, in reality it means I can't take time off like anyone else can. As I mentioned, I work our weekend events at times which is done virtually so I work from home, but this past weekend something went wrong so I had to work in the office alone. I do get the food expenses sorted at least.

Whenever I want to take time off or finish for the evening, I often receive notifications via WhatsApp because it's a platform that my boss loves to use for various discussions and topics for communication. I do get its usefulness but I had to mute it for my mental health, because while from their perspective it doesn't need to be done immediately it does make you think that its urgent and nobody wants to think about work on their personal time. As much as I hated how mismanaged my last job in 2018 was, at least I didn't have to do anything the moment I left the office each day. Now I have a work phone but it's not yet ready to be used since there's some stuff left to sort out on it.

Honestly the only reason I work hard is that I can keep the earnings going. The overtime that I have done for the past year has thankfully been paid (the first year wasn't due to a miscommunication on the contract, I blame the PA for that because they put 'overtime is not paid' when it is, it's just poor wording on their part), but in reality this also reduces the time that I have outside work. If you wonder why I don't actively post daily on the AUKN Discord or on the forums? It's because I am exhausted from work and don't have the energy to interact as much as I want to, like I would watch anime each night but I can't currently. Technically I can, but it might not be the best experience unless it's one that is highly anticipated that I am looking forward to watching for the sake of it.

During my spare time outside the job I also often work on my blog, and even though it doesn't receive any revenue whatsoever, I still find it rather rewarding. I do think the motivating factor for why I have kept my blog going for the past 11 years is because the stuff that I pick up often has a positive impact on the community, for instance helping others pick and choose what's available and see more of what to expect on the disc or packaging. This does take time to sort out in itself and I do my best to make the posts age well. The overview/unboxing field for stuff like this is rather niche so it's a fun little side project.

I am still motivated to continue building my collection of anime, games and whatnot, but I just wish my job was better managed. Last year I had a great team of staff who have all decided to resign from their roles, some weren't perfect but it was a shame to see them leave, though I wouldn't want to force them to stay for the sake of it. The new team is still solid but whether the business will grow and improve I have no clue. Earlier in the month I asked for a salary review in regards to how hard I've been working for the past year and the tasks that I had managed to sort out, however the manager felt that the review request was motivated by the excessive workload and they think that workload should be dealt with first before suggesting a pay raise. I understand their reasonings, but using the workload as an excuse for not paying me more is pretty stupid considering how integral I am. To me it feels like I am not valued enough I suppose.

After hearing those results, I have started preparations to look into other opportunities. This has been brewing for a while now but after working in the business for almost two and a half years I think I have enough skill to avoid the generic 'you need experience' excuse that recruiters have, however because of how varied my role is I don't have an easy path to take next - it could be data lead, marketing, admin, I have no clue. But unlike my co-workers I am not going to resign for the sake of it. I want to have that next opportunity secured before moving on, because to me it's better to have that planned out than just suddenly walking out with no idea what to do next and screw yourself over later.

To conclude this discussion - I suppose I am a workaholic. I work hard and want to be rewarded for it. At the same time, this role as it currently stands is not a healthy position, with the numerous amount of overtime and weekends being taken from time to time. I like to plan ahead so I am hoping to have 2024 be an interesting move for my future opportunities.

I do want to mention that I do try to reference my work here and there on places like social media and Discord, it's generally overshadowed and ignored by many, which I can completely understand. For many people's perspectives, they don't want to see that type of stuff brought up in a general chat or social media tweet line, and I get that - which is why I used the spoiler button on this post, so if you read all of this, fair enough I suppose you had time. I just felt that it was necessary for some of you to have some added context on how I've been doing considering everything that's been going on. Don't worry I'm not depressed or in a bad place or anything like that. I figured bringing this particular topic for once helps every now and then.
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Yikes, it looks like you are propping up poor management and understaffing on your employer's part.
 
For what it’s worth, I always check your blog before making a blind buy, the logic being that if I’m taking a risk on a series, might as well be happy with the packaging etc. So thank you for your service and such 🫡

Sounds bad, but you seem to be entirely aware and already looking for a solution, which is probably the best thing to do in your situation.

I can’t relate to being a workaholic but beware of this current impasse of keeping up your current job while looking elsewhere doesn’t burn you out, even more so with all the overtime you do.

I hope you find something more rewarding sooner rather than later.
 
NormanicGrav said:
Feel free to ignore this so I just wanted to vent for a bit.

It feels like it's been a while since I posted anything but pretty much the workload at work has been stacked these past few months. I generally don't bring it up publicly as I felt it was out of character, but it has been a mess in all honesty. I have worked the last nine days straight (as my job often involves working weekends due to an event) and this month alone I've spent an additional 28 hours overtime. It's been rough so I want to briefly talk about how things are.

Now the thing about my role is that I am conflicted. I do enjoy the tasks that I have on my schedule, but the problem is that ever since early last year, the workload has doubled and I'm the only person available to get it done with no time during office hours to sort it out. To provide some context, my responsibility involves marketing, admin and sometimes video editing and data analyst type stuff for a specific field. What I do has a pretty big impact on the business, especially for the investment team and the boss, but there is no backup plan or additional staff to support me. I am on my own in this role of responsibility, so if I get ill or take time off work on the wrong days, the business takes a hit. While it sounds funny saying that, in reality it means I can't take time off like anyone else can. As I mentioned, I work our weekend events at times which is done virtually so I work from home, but this past weekend something went wrong so I had to work in the office alone. I do get the food expenses sorted at least.

Whenever I want to take time off or finish for the evening, I often receive notifications via WhatsApp because it's a platform that my boss loves to use for various discussions and topics for communication. I do get its usefulness but I had to mute it for my mental health, because while from their perspective it doesn't need to be done immediately it does make you think that its urgent and nobody wants to think about work on their personal time. As much as I hated how mismanaged my last job in 2018 was, at least I didn't have to do anything the moment I left the office each day. Now I have a work phone but it's not yet ready to be used since there's some stuff left to sort out on it.

Honestly the only reason I work hard is that I can keep the earnings going. The overtime that I have done for the past year has thankfully been paid (the first year wasn't due to a miscommunication on the contract, I blame the PA for that because they put 'overtime is not paid' when it is, it's just poor wording on their part), but in reality this also reduces the time that I have outside work. If you wonder why I don't actively post daily on the AUKN Discord or on the forums? It's because I am exhausted from work and don't have the energy to interact as much as I want to, like I would watch anime each night but I can't currently. Technically I can, but it might not be the best experience unless it's one that is highly anticipated that I am looking forward to watching for the sake of it.

During my spare time outside the job I also often work on my blog, and even though it doesn't receive any revenue whatsoever, I still find it rather rewarding. I do think the motivating factor for why I have kept my blog going for the past 11 years is because the stuff that I pick up often has a positive impact on the community, for instance helping others pick and choose what's available and see more of what to expect on the disc or packaging. This does take time to sort out in itself and I do my best to make the posts age well. The overview/unboxing field for stuff like this is rather niche so it's a fun little side project.

I am still motivated to continue building my collection of anime, games and whatnot, but I just wish my job was better managed. Last year I had a great team of staff who have all decided to resign from their roles, some weren't perfect but it was a shame to see them leave, though I wouldn't want to force them to stay for the sake of it. The new team is still solid but whether the business will grow and improve I have no clue. Earlier in the month I asked for a salary review in regards to how hard I've been working for the past year and the tasks that I had managed to sort out, however the manager felt that the review request was motivated by the excessive workload and they think that workload should be dealt with first before suggesting a pay raise. I understand their reasonings, but using the workload as an excuse for not paying me more is pretty stupid considering how integral I am. To me it feels like I am not valued enough I suppose.

After hearing those results, I have started preparations to look into other opportunities. This has been brewing for a while now but after working in the business for almost two and a half years I think I have enough skill to avoid the generic 'you need experience' excuse that recruiters have, however because of how varied my role is I don't have an easy path to take next - it could be data lead, marketing, admin, I have no clue. But unlike my co-workers I am not going to resign for the sake of it. I want to have that next opportunity secured before moving on, because to me it's better to have that planned out than just suddenly walking out with no idea what to do next and screw yourself over later.

To conclude this discussion - I suppose I am a workaholic. I work hard and want to be rewarded for it. At the same time, this role as it currently stands is not a healthy position, with the numerous amount of overtime and weekends being taken from time to time. I like to plan ahead so I am hoping to have 2024 be an interesting move for my future opportunities.

I do want to mention that I do try to reference my work here and there on places like social media and Discord, it's generally overshadowed and ignored by many, which I can completely understand. For many people's perspectives, they don't want to see that type of stuff brought up in a general chat or social media tweet line, and I get that - which is why I used the spoiler button on this post, so if you read all of this, fair enough I suppose you had time. I just felt that it was necessary for some of you to have some added context on how I've been doing considering everything that's been going on. Don't worry I'm not depressed or in a bad place or anything like that. I figured bringing this particular topic for once helps every now and then.
Click to expand...
João Gomes said:
For what it’s worth, I always check your blog before making a blind buy, the logic being that if I’m taking a risk on a series, might as well be happy with the packaging etc. So thank you for your service and such 🫡

Sounds bad, but you seem to be entirely aware and already looking for a solution, which is probably the best thing to do in your situation.

I can’t relate to being a workaholic but beware of this current impasse of keeping up your current job while looking elsewhere doesn’t burn you out, even more so with all the overtime you do.

I hope you find something more rewarding sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...
I second that, any time I'm unsure about a CE my first thought is to check your blog for the very useful reviews and unboxing! Not to mention all your hard work during the Christmas sales which is what brought me just a peek out of my social media shell to interact on any online forum.

I see your situation all the time with work and it's the sad truth that the management mindset tends towards rewarding (punishing) efficiency with more work. It does sound like you've been very mature in your dealings with the bosses about being renumerated for your efforts, whilst keeping your options open and looking for better opportunities. Such problems seem endemic in society, just given the strikes across so many sectors and industries, but it just doesn't seem that productive and professional work that keeps the cogs turning is valued to quite the same extent as it used to be. If only I could learn to kick a ball real good. Anyhoo, for what it's worth, you are not alone and do continue to look after yourself.
 
Bit of a random question, but does anybody have any recommondations for software to rip music from CDs. I normally use iTunes but that is having a hissy fit with my external CD drive and just freezes up, so I want to see if it's the software or if it's something else causing the issue
 
Kite said:
Bit of a random question, but does anybody have any recommondations for software to rip music from CDs. I normally use iTunes but that is having a hissy fit with my external CD drive and just freezes up, so I want to see if it's the software or if it's something else causing the issue
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I just use the windows media player on my computer when I want to rip cds, never had a problem.
 
Gemsy-chan said:
I just use the windows media player on my computer when I want to rip cds, never had a problem.
Click to expand...
I shall give that a go. I think the issue I've got with iTunes is that it isn't talking with the servers for some reason so is freezing up when it is trying to pull down the CD titles.
 
Kite said:
I shall give that a go. I think the issue I've got with iTunes is that it isn't talking with the servers for some reason so is freezing up when it is trying to pull down the CD titles.
Click to expand...
Do you have two-factor authentication switched on for your Apple account? I recall iTunes having a hissy fit about various random things until I activated that (though of course it didn't tell me that was the problem).
 
Dai said:
Do you have two-factor authentication switched on for your Apple account? I recall iTunes having a hissy fit about various random things until I activated that (though of course it didn't tell me that was the problem).
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Nope, I will give that a go this evening.

I only use iTunes as I like the interface & use an ancient iPod for music on the go.
 
Nope, account set up for two factor authentication, when I try to sign into iTunes all I get is "error connecting to the Apple ID Server". Might try it again tomorrow but it wouldn't suprise me if Apple are trying to kill off the iTunes software to get people to use Apple Music, "because you will own nothing and be happy"
 
I visited the Japan House in Kensington.
The exhibit on the Ainu is very good and I would recommend it.
However, it is only one room. If you live in London fine but don't travel there just for it.
I was slightly surprised that they had a display of Golden Kamuy manga but I suppose I shouldn't have been. I was hoping though.
Plenty of videos playing as well as lots of clothes and knives.

Edit
Thought I'd add that I only posted to follow up that I was going to visit this and felt that an opinion was worth another post.
 

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