September 2005
A long post...take it while it's hot
Sunday, September 25 2005 -- Posted by Bozorgmehr
Work at the theater last Friday was awesome. A few minutes before I arrived, I was asked to work projectors rather than to tear tickets and clean theaters. Needless to say, I took the offer without a second’s hesitation. It felt great to project again after a two week gap.
I feel like the early promotion to a projectionist has spoiled me since I don’t seem to enjoy the other jobs as much as I used to. I suppose some questions of interest are why did I enjoy the jobs before and what has diminished this interest? Or better yet, what “inspired” me to work at a movie theater? I’ll attempt to explore each in detail.
Up until the spring of 2004, I had never held a “real” job, and by real, I mean paying job out in the real world. Don’t get me wrong, I had done quite a bit of house chores and yard work, but I had no experience in an interactive environment where I was teamed with a group of individuals whose goal was to deliver a good or service to the public. I understand not all occupations are like this, but this was the essence of the working environment I was looking for. As a soon-to-be graduate from high school, the responsibility and challenges of living on my own slowly became a reality, seeing that I could not depend on my parents forever. More importantly, though, I wanted to gauge my working ethic. How would I compare to my peers in a demanding environment? Was I responsible enough to meet my employer’s expectations?
My goal before finishing high school was to find a job and work the entire summer. (A point of interest…I had begun job hunting relatively early, before the time when most people would apply; therefore, I had little trouble getting the place I wanted.) But finding a suitable job was by no means an easy task. Due to my situation, I had to take one main fact into consideration: I had no previous job experience. This fact alone lowered my chances of finding a high-paying and enjoyable job. Therefore, one of my few options was fast food, which would have paid decently but I would not have enjoyed it. My other option was to follow in the footsteps of past and present classmates and sell popcorn at our local movie theater, Showplace Cinemas. But why a movie theater? One word: movies. I enjoy watching movies, so what better way to enhance my movie experience than to work at a theater? In the end, this was the only place I sent in an application. I applied on the 25th of May, received a phone call for an interview a few hours later, got my acceptance right after my interview, came in a few hours later for training, and then finished my evening by graduating from high school.
When I first started working, my jobs included making popcorn (I now hold the secrets to making the best popcorn in the world), preparing orders, using a cash register, adding and subtracting (our registers would only add up the totals; we had to mentally calculate the change for the customers), restocking, inventory, and cleaning. My only two worries when I started working were burning popcorn and not being able to use the cash register. My first fear was gone as I found it easy to pour kernels and push a button for oil in the kettle. But then there was the cash register…for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to use it. I felt that I couldn’t process a customer’s order in time or I would push all the wrong buttons... Anyway, it took me three days before I finally pushed a button on one of those things (yes, count `em…three days), and then everything went smooth sailing from there.
To cut this story short since it’s 4:13am, I worked in the concession selling overpriced candy and drinks for three months. I enjoyed seeing and interacting with people, and the worst times at work were the days when we weren’t busy. I loved the busy days, the hundreds of customers all arriving at the same time, the chaos in the concession, and the amazing teamwork my co-workers displayed. When the rush was gone, we cleaned up, stocked, took breaks, and prepared for the next wave. I thoroughly enjoyed my job.
After three months, I was moved up to tearing tickets and cleaning theaters (known as a door worker). No longer was I confined to a small working area and surveyed under the strict supervision of Big Brother (cameras) and managers. As a door worker, I had the mobility to move around the whole building and work at my own (reasonable) pace. I could converse with all the other employees and “walk” movies at my leisure (one of the door worker’s job is to walk all movies and make sure the temperature, picture, and sound is optimal; once this was done, however, a door worker could watch any movie he wanted until it was time to clean theaters; the door worker really should be working during this gap, but you know...). How could any job get better than this?
One week later, I was moved up to the box office (called box workers), where my principle job was to sell tickets. Box workers have by far the easiest job in the building. Their daily jobs take no more than five minutes (I didn’t talk too much about this, but every position has a set of daily jobs that needs to be completed for that day), and once they are finished with them, they can read or do homework. The only drawback, however, is that they are confined to a very small space (smaller than concession), which has room only enough to take a few steps. I didn’t work this position very often (I prefer mobility and freedom over comfort), but when I did, it was a nice break from the other jobs (it's nice to actually sit at work every now and then).
It is slightly over three months that I am trained for these three positions. A point of interest…once I had been trained on box, I thought I had reached the highest position I could obtain at Showplace. The next position, projectionist, did not seem available to me for at least a year since there were other employees there who had worked longer than I had. Three months after being trained on box, I was asked to project (and the reasons, for the most part – or as I’m lead to believe – were mostly circumstantial, e.g. I was the right age, I had a car, I could stay late in the evenings, etc.). I was grateful for the opportunity and accepted, but there came a point when I wondered (and still do, I suppose) if the decision was in my best interest.
It’s 4:48am, and I’m still writing this… This job was unlike any of the other positions I had held at Showplace. For one thing, average training time is one month (two for me, but I don’t want to talk about it now) due to the complexity of the equipment. Before I talk any more about my experiences as a projectionist, I suppose some people may be wondering what a projectionist does. A projectionist (at least in our theater) is responsible for putting together movies, starting movies, and cleaning projectors. The reason why I enjoyed this position is that it involves skill, and such a technical job has given me a feeling of responsibility, achievement, and professionalism. One cannot simply learn to thread a movie (threading means to set up a movie so it can run through the projector); one has to have knowledge about the sound, screen size, picture, and know how to fix something when a problem arises (knowing how to solve problems is the hardest part about projecting, and I still don’t have it all down). Aside from the technical skills, it’s very awesome to know how it all works, such as how many frames there are in a second (most people know this, though; 24), where the sound comes from (it’s read on the film), the clarity of a theatrical picture compared to a DVD or VHS, how to put together a movie, and so much more. In other words, I enjoy this position because it has enhanced my movie experience to a degree I never imagined possible.
As I look back now, I realize I have learned a great deal more than I originally expected when I first got the job and I am very grateful for it. I have learned that I am providing a service to the people, and it is my priority to deliver with as little trouble as possible. I know this sounds a bit cheesy, but let’s face it, it’s true. When you go to a theater, ideally you would like to get in quickly, purchase items in concession with minimal wait, and walk into your movie and hope it starts in a few minutes. If the movie starts late, you will be annoyed. If your movie is stopped half-way through (or better yet, you miss some of it), you will be upset. Your discomfort may make you think twice before coming back to the theater. Therefore, when we say your satisfaction is our number one goal, we mean it. Really. Also, speaking from the heart, watching a movie on the big screen, with stadium seating, Dolby surround sound, and a bag (we don’t carry buckets at the moment) full of popcorn should be a pleasant experience, and the only time you may feel disappointed is at the movie itself and not the individuals presenting the movie.
On some unrelated matter, these past few Saturday nights I've been in the lab attempting to grow and stain some bacteria. While this process has often been challenging, tedious, and long (last night I was there for a good five hours…fun times), I have been able to decorate my hands with an assortment of colors, some which are sweeter looking than the others. Yes, I realize you guys have been eagerly waiting to hear how I get my fingers dirty with different colors. In the end, though, I found 10 bucks.
And now it is 5:35am. Good nite (or morning).
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The passing storm...
Sunday, September 18 2005 -- Posted by Bozorgmehr
One of the greatest feelings in college is the week after tests. The weekend is most relaxing because there is almost nothing to worry about. Good times.
There are a few things I would like to talk about, but words seem to be eluding me at the moment.
Currently listening to Generator by Bad Religion.
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Living at home
Friday, September 2 2005 -- Posted by Bozorgmehr
I admit, living at home may not be the cool thing to do these days (during college, that is), but it definitely has its advantages. First, I have a great deal of space, which allows me to organize and spread out my stuff. Second, food is free at least half the time. Third, I don’t have to pay the extra money for room and board (although gas is now becoming a growing problem). However, there is one gianormous (giant + enormous) problem: parents. I still get the questions of when are you coming home, what are you doing, can you do such and such, and etc. But these are nothing compared to the family drama.
If you thought the paragraph ended prematurely above, then you are correct. I usually have a limit to what I say, so there ya have it. But I will say I had to cancel a get-together I had planned with my friends. I suppose such is the realities of life. We (as in the humans) are running around and trying to learn this thing called truth…I sometimes wonder if it would be better to be tumbling down the rabbit hole. At least if something bad happened, it would be nothing more than a dream.
Also, my brother spontaneously crashin` into my room and showin` me random stuff (I would consider this as another perk to living at home).
Anyway, it’s barely been a week since school has started and I feel like I have a whole lot of things to do.
Currently listening to A Dream by Jay-Z.
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