My Call Center Blues

There are 3 things I can honestly say I hate in life. In no particular order:

1.  asking for anything, 
2.  awkward phone conversations (beyond 10mins), 
3.  asking for money.

I work at a call center to meet ends meet. ...and you guessed it!... all 3 of these things are currently very much a part of my life. But Wait!... it gets worse, my shifts are from 2pm - 11pm. (*sarcastic yaaaay*) ... (sigh). Today was interesting though, unlike my usual loner behavior (don't socialize outside your small cubicle and stare at the wall behind your computer screen and wait for the next call to come up, till I abort the suicide-mission), this older man from India would constantly peep onto my screen to check out my stats. I noticed it, and honestly didn't care cuz ...well.. you guessed it, I really don't give a sh!t. lol

 Mos Def w/ Lee Fields & The Expressions - Honey Beef (Steely Chan's Blender Mash) by Steely Chan

As the shift progressed, he kept asking me some questions. ...really generic questions at first. If I was a student, what I studied, why I'm working at a call center since I just graduated from University. ...I tried to be vague but the questions kept on coming and  the combination of being a horrible liar and multitasking the possibility of keeping up with a plausible lie and answering phone calls through my headset seemed too much of a challenge given my fatigue and apathy, so I decided to go towards the honest/open route. I told him about why as someone bilingual I settled into this call center w/ horrible hours, I told him about my upcoming opportunity abroad and my desperate need for quick cash, I told him my honest opinion as to why I think I got it, and what I hope to get with it.

He told me he thinks the entire education system in this country is messed up. He told me that he sincerely thinks it's useless. He didn't believe in the education system to prepare us for the real life. He too found it absurd to spend 5 years investing $50,000.00plus into an education and have none of it return to you after graduation. He believes that schools kills creativity.... He told me he believed in Passion, and following that passion and that joy. He told me he doesn't believe that money or fame bring joy but rather passion does.

... you get where this is going. ...the dude was spitting STRAIGHT knowledge. I meant to ask him questions too, but the conversation we were having was kinda deep considering I never told him what my name was. lol... I peeped his on his computer screen. (lol)... his name was Dinesh. I remember him telling me he was from India ...
I think the most memorable portion of our conversation was when I made a comment about my trouble of explaining to my parents about passion and the dead-endness of this rat-race for recent grads to follow the zombie-esqueness of 9-5s. He said:

"Even in this rat race.. you're still a rat" 

.......... like #pow. 

....(take it in)

I had NEVER thought about this up until he said it. and I swear I probably have had a conversation similar to this one with a lot of my close friends... but never saw it that way. ... it's oddly yet obviously eerie, dark and truthful. Though he was quite militantly against school and the education system beyond it's utility to teach us how the read and write. lol... I found it very hard to ignore most of his arguments. 

hmmm.. maybe this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship? lol

 Higher Love by jamesvmcmorrow