I looked at it but decided not to respond to the request which they needed by 9am today.
I come in early to work so I can have a coffee and relax while I do things on my phone or read things online, not to work so from now I'm going to pull the breakfast card on people if they bother me.
Anyway when I came back in from outside at 9am that person sent me an email came up to me as I'm taking my coat and stuff off and asked if I had gotten to their request and I played ignorant and said I hadn't looked at my emails.
I'm finding people have reallly no respect for work boundaries and private personal time.
Good approach. I generally don't reply to anything that comes in after 4 pm. I might read it and prepare a reply, but not sending it till the following morning.
The overlap between work-private life has become a bit blurred since Covid and WFH becoming normalised. I'm clawing back my own time more and more cause I've become guilty of working longer hours.
Good on you for pushing back. Where I come from that kind of request is typical and educators especially are somehow required to be perpetually available. It's abhorrent and it only takes a few to have loose boundaries before it becomes a norm
I actually got a little bit annoyed last night so I had some time to think about how I'd go about it. I really wanted to show that I don't look at my emails outside of work hours, especially weekends and that I actually have others things to do when I arrive in the morning that take priority. IE. my coffee and socialising.
They're also knew that I get into work early since we arrive roughly at around the same time so I don't know if they were trying to take advantage of me like that but I'd be damned if I was going to do any work before 8am.
This reminded me I needed to set Quiet time for mobile Teams and mobile Outlook on the new phone. Having work on my phone lets me be more free with my day where I can leave my PC/apartment and still keep on top of things, but everything goes night night between 6pm and 8am and all day Saturday & Sunday.
I've turned off all notifications from my work emails so none of them pop up on screen or notifications because people have a bad habit of sending emails way after works or very early morning like at 5am - 6am waking me up.
My brother recently had an issue with a co-worker who would send an email at 4 am, then follow up at 6 am with a phone call asking why my brother was being so lazy and using very abusive language. On weekends. Issue was referred to Fair Work and after much drama was resolved by the sacking of the co-worker for being unprofessional (well that's what it amounted to). Keep records of this shit if you feel inclined. Took my brother about 7 months to amass enough evidence of the co-worker's abusive work habits to convince Fair work. The co-worker was doing it to others too. Not the public service - a non-govt service provider. Co-worker had to pay triple time per hour for the weekend calls/work as a fine to each person he was doing this to, and double time for calls during the week but out of normal business hours as specified in the work contracts. Added up to a nice large sum over the 7 months. I understand the abuser had to sell his house to pay all the fines.
Felt like I was gonna spew on the train. Got up and stood by the door to get some fresh air and do some deep breathing. Realise I’m all twisted up inside. “No worries, I can deal with that”. do some more focused breathing and reach out for that core self. Connect to the inner me, sync up. Aaaaand “fuck”, immediately realise I’ve been running on autopilot for a while and the defences are running hot and my brains agitated af. So now I gotta spend a day or 2 trying to calm all that down. Still, focus on the positive: I was able to do all that myself.
I have a job interview in a few hours and I'm still lolling around in bed pretending it's not happening... zero engagement with life. Ugh. I better try and freshen up at least
Interview was had, I'm not sure I'm the greatest candidate or that I'm so keen on the role tbh - more customer interfacing than I expected. But we'll see. Think I might inquire about casual roles with some private firms too today
e: universe is responding, just saw an ad come up for a perfectly good part time position, god I don't want to go for a full time rols
No unfortunately, and my role is actually not IT at all anyway - I mention that stuff but it's ancillary to what I do. I've heard hiring has slowed down these days though
Hays is the one I’m familiar with. Getting more messages from recruiters this month so market must be picking up. (I’m not looking but it’s a nice feeling)
Power still out. Cat is sleeping in, still in bed. I’ve tried to hide the lack of sleep eye bags with make up. Not sure how to hide the “sleepy brain not working” tho….. today gonna be shitty.
If it's still out by tomorrow I would look into the government assistance package that you ma be entitled to for having no power for 1 week.
"The Victorian and Australian Governments will make available a Prolonged Power Outage Payment to households and small businesses without power for 7 days as a result of last Tuesday’s storms.
A payment of $1,920 per week will be extended to all eligible households (residential customers) that remain without power as of 12:01am Tuesday 20 February 2024.
Households who may be eligible will be proactively notified by their distribution business. Funding will be allocated through a payment application process, by which residential customers will be invited to apply for the payment. The payment will be administered by distribution businesses and will help families buy much-needed basic items and find alternative accommodation to get through this difficult period.
For small businesses (those with a Victorian payroll less than $10 million a year) who are affected, payments of $2,927 per week will be made.
Payments for households and businesses will be available for up to 3 weeks.
Distribution businesses will proactively message impacted customers, and publish information on their website on eligibility criteria, as well as information on how these payments will be applied."
WTF?! In a few weeks I will have been at this workplace for 25 years. They now want certified proof I’m not illegal. Some of this compliance stuff is bonkers..
Got a presentation that's turned into 'due today, do today'. I'll just have to lock in and get it done. It was nice the hot weather got pushed from the weekend to the middle of this week.
I don't know how I did such a nice job on my very first charcoal pencil whenever that happened... Beginners luck maybe. This time it's a bit more fiddly plus my mind wandered, causing the charcoal core of one to snap and me to shave a chunk out of the core of another. Changing to a new sharp hobby blade helped but I think it's a matter of experience, better tools, and not doing this stuff when distracted.
I'm completely avoiding my responsibilities. But I've not been doing art either from pressure or feeling terrible, and figured rather than toss and turn or force myself into the big stuff I would do small chunks of prep work. Get things ready for when I'm feeling ready, so to speak.
6 still need to be smoothed and I shaved one thinner to try and fix the missing chunk. I left three untouched for when I have a proper blade for the purpose. But once I smooth those out that's a bunch ready to go whenever I have the urge to pick them up.
Melbcat is ordering me to bed so that can wait. She says 'vcf jn'
I learnt how to mirror things from my phone to the tv using Smart view. 😎 yep I'm moving up in this world. There's still buttons I need to learn though.
Thanks RustyRaven. A friend has lent me a generator so I can get some work done during the day. And grab a hot shower. The things we take for granted…until they are taken away.
Nearly three year I have had and looked after my car like its my child and today I put my first scratch on him :( (well first done by me) I was already having a bad day and now I am gutted.
Watching a video on the history of floppy disks and some comment says kids would probably be asking "why is this man pulling out weird DVDs from a 3D-printed Save icon"
In ten years time even that wouldn't make sense any more...
I don't think anyone who used punch cards professionally is still working. we had to do a cobol assignment in the early 90's with cards, and even then they were ancient history. I doubt anyone was still using cards after about the mid-80's.
Do not recommend. But they really do give you an appreciation for a keyboard and monitor. Kids these days honestly take them for granted.
Cards are fucking difficult! I dread people retiring just because of cards. You either end up writing trite pap that has nothing behind it, or utter gibberish. Doesn’t matter if you like the person or not, words just don’t work sometimes.
You write something short and sweet. Even google a nice quote on love and source the author.
eg:
"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet." - Plato.
You make me feel like a poet. I'm lucky to have you in my life.
You know him best. The consensus on the sub seems to be dudes just awkward AF and bad at communicating, but it’s really gonna be up to you if you think he’s being malicious with it or just a well meaning idiot.
But, respectfully: if you think things have run their course (and again, only you can answer this) then end it. Drawing things out just makes it take longer to heal. And being alone is a lot better than being in a bad relationship.
You're right, it is a weird card and it probably would be good to leave. But it sounds like you're going through a rough trot and are fairly isolated. If this is a decision you're not ready to make and it's causing you extreme anxiety, you do have the option to not go ahead until you feel stronger.
In the meantime though, while you have this decision on the shelf or you choose to stay, you could also do some nice things for yourself and perhaps hang out with other people. I know it's not easy. Groups can be a bit exclusive especially in Melbourne, people could be toxic, money may be tight, hidden depression may make it hard to get joy from anything. Seeing someone trained might be a good move if that last one is the case.
But it would be good if there were a few small joys in your life you could regularly count on. Or at least a few moments where you could forget about your worries.
I mean, I could see writing this as a funny Valentine's, but that is in context of my own partner and I.
You seem to have already had conversations about sincerity, and from my own perspective I wouldn't say this is sincere. I mean, it's just references to sex.
I don't think it's a malicious card, like he wrote it just to upset you, but it is thoughtless in the context of your previous conversations with him. Communicate you feelings about this to him, and his reaction will tell you what to do.
But, also take this with a grain of salt. I ain't no relationship expert, just a potato on the internet.
@RustyRaven@CEOofmyhouse56 I'm 49 and heavily addicted to caffeine but take a few months break every 12-18 months. My time from decaf to more energized is 5 weeks.
When I have cut out caffeine in the past I've done it with a much longer time tapering down, but this time I'm doing it much quicker and the impact today is quite noticeable. Hopefully tomorrow won't be quite as bad, I feel tired enough to go to bed already.
Made some Mango bread over the weekend. I've gotta say, it was the BEST thing I've ever cooked, and I'm half decent in the kitchen. Not too sweet, perfect density. Just... amazing. Deffo busting that out again for special occasions.
It is very important to step over the gap slowly and deliberately to make sure you don't accidentally stumble and get trapped between the train and platform. Once you have ascertained you are safely aboard it is then necessary to survey all available seating and standing options in order to select the most advantageous position. It is only once the selection has been made and the most direct route to that location has been calculated that it is appropriate to move further into the carriage.
Someone from work sent me am email last night.
I looked at it but decided not to respond to the request which they needed by 9am today.
I come in early to work so I can have a coffee and relax while I do things on my phone or read things online, not to work so from now I'm going to pull the breakfast card on people if they bother me.
Anyway when I came back in from outside at 9am that person sent me an email came up to me as I'm taking my coat and stuff off and asked if I had gotten to their request and I played ignorant and said I hadn't looked at my emails.
I'm finding people have reallly no respect for work boundaries and private personal time.
It's the 4th time in 3 weeks this has happened.
Good approach. I generally don't reply to anything that comes in after 4 pm. I might read it and prepare a reply, but not sending it till the following morning.
The overlap between work-private life has become a bit blurred since Covid and WFH becoming normalised. I'm clawing back my own time more and more cause I've become guilty of working longer hours.
Also, the absolute audacity of that person!!
Good on you for pushing back. Where I come from that kind of request is typical and educators especially are somehow required to be perpetually available. It's abhorrent and it only takes a few to have loose boundaries before it becomes a norm
I actually got a little bit annoyed last night so I had some time to think about how I'd go about it. I really wanted to show that I don't look at my emails outside of work hours, especially weekends and that I actually have others things to do when I arrive in the morning that take priority. IE. my coffee and socialising.
They're also knew that I get into work early since we arrive roughly at around the same time so I don't know if they were trying to take advantage of me like that but I'd be damned if I was going to do any work before 8am.
Great work! Is it worth ditching email on the phone?
Haven't hard work email on the phone in over 5 years. Best decision ever.
This reminded me I needed to set Quiet time for mobile Teams and mobile Outlook on the new phone. Having work on my phone lets me be more free with my day where I can leave my PC/apartment and still keep on top of things, but everything goes night night between 6pm and 8am and all day Saturday & Sunday.
Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.
I've turned off all notifications from my work emails so none of them pop up on screen or notifications because people have a bad habit of sending emails way after works or very early morning like at 5am - 6am waking me up.
My brother recently had an issue with a co-worker who would send an email at 4 am, then follow up at 6 am with a phone call asking why my brother was being so lazy and using very abusive language. On weekends. Issue was referred to Fair Work and after much drama was resolved by the sacking of the co-worker for being unprofessional (well that's what it amounted to). Keep records of this shit if you feel inclined. Took my brother about 7 months to amass enough evidence of the co-worker's abusive work habits to convince Fair work. The co-worker was doing it to others too. Not the public service - a non-govt service provider. Co-worker had to pay triple time per hour for the weekend calls/work as a fine to each person he was doing this to, and double time for calls during the week but out of normal business hours as specified in the work contracts. Added up to a nice large sum over the 7 months. I understand the abuser had to sell his house to pay all the fines.
Loewhaley on instagram has great videos addressing these types of issues…
Felt like I was gonna spew on the train. Got up and stood by the door to get some fresh air and do some deep breathing. Realise I’m all twisted up inside. “No worries, I can deal with that”. do some more focused breathing and reach out for that core self. Connect to the inner me, sync up. Aaaaand “fuck”, immediately realise I’ve been running on autopilot for a while and the defences are running hot and my brains agitated af. So now I gotta spend a day or 2 trying to calm all that down. Still, focus on the positive: I was able to do all that myself.
Dealing with a pretty severe case of the don't-want-to-work's. Ideas?
Follow the 20-20-20 rule. Work for 20 mins, drive for 20 mins to the airport, then fly for 20 hours to your holiday destination of choice.
Have you tried not working?
If my condition doesn't improve in the next 15 minutes I think I'll try it
So….. what you doin ? I need answers.
I am working. It's busy. I have regrets
Slay..!💪
Coffee mug full of rum
I prefer coffee in the coffee mug, but just Irish'd up a bit as a nod my heritage.
Yes, Irish'd is a word now.
Culturally required.
That's what I tell HR at least.
sickie
I have a job interview in a few hours and I'm still lolling around in bed pretending it's not happening... zero engagement with life. Ugh. I better try and freshen up at least
Interview was had, I'm not sure I'm the greatest candidate or that I'm so keen on the role tbh - more customer interfacing than I expected. But we'll see. Think I might inquire about casual roles with some private firms too today
e: universe is responding, just saw an ad come up for a perfectly good part time position, god I don't want to go for a full time rols
Do you know of many IT recruiters? I've been trawling LinkedIn and added a bunch but haven't had much luck.
@Gibsonisafluffybutt @just_kitten
Here's a few, reasonably IT focussed
https://is.gd/aRsIm3
https://is.gd/ti4jwA
https://is.gd/oG7q0o
https://is.gd/HxmIXl
https://is.gd/13afy5
https://is.gd/MoeklL
https://is.gd/QeZB5j
Legend!!!! Thank you ❤️
No unfortunately, and my role is actually not IT at all anyway - I mention that stuff but it's ancillary to what I do. I've heard hiring has slowed down these days though
Hays is the one I’m familiar with. Getting more messages from recruiters this month so market must be picking up. (I’m not looking but it’s a nice feeling)
Glad to hear it! Yeah it's been slow going so far this year.
I'm decluttering and boy have I found some relics. Play-Doh that was once pliable are now rocks.
I did the same with my pantry some time ago.
Soft strawberry and cream lollies were all rocks as well. :(
Yeah. Banana lollies turn into clinkers when old too.
Power still out. Cat is sleeping in, still in bed. I’ve tried to hide the lack of sleep eye bags with make up. Not sure how to hide the “sleepy brain not working” tho….. today gonna be shitty.
Oh Mittens that's rough. I hope your power comes back soon.
Bugger, has it been out since last Tuesday?
Sure has. Latest incident update says “under construction” so doesn’t sound like a quick fix.
If it's still out by tomorrow I would look into the government assistance package that you ma be entitled to for having no power for 1 week.
"The Victorian and Australian Governments will make available a Prolonged Power Outage Payment to households and small businesses without power for 7 days as a result of last Tuesday’s storms.
A payment of $1,920 per week will be extended to all eligible households (residential customers) that remain without power as of 12:01am Tuesday 20 February 2024.
Households who may be eligible will be proactively notified by their distribution business. Funding will be allocated through a payment application process, by which residential customers will be invited to apply for the payment. The payment will be administered by distribution businesses and will help families buy much-needed basic items and find alternative accommodation to get through this difficult period.
For small businesses (those with a Victorian payroll less than $10 million a year) who are affected, payments of $2,927 per week will be made.
Payments for households and businesses will be available for up to 3 weeks.
Distribution businesses will proactively message impacted customers, and publish information on their website on eligibility criteria, as well as information on how these payments will be applied."
Source: https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/safety/power-outages
I think this makes you eligible for the rebate if it’s still out tonight?
Mostly pain free now, just so very tired still. Still hurts a bit to walk.
Reading testimonials from sciatica sufferers I am surprised most are really young.
maybe all the old people have already had spine operations. 🥺
WTF?! In a few weeks I will have been at this workplace for 25 years. They now want certified proof I’m not illegal. Some of this compliance stuff is bonkers..
The fuck did you get a role of that longevity in this day and age
Very specific skill set, sandstone institution
like liam neeson ? 🤐
I promise I am not, nor have I ever been Liam Neeson
Sounds like something Liam Neeson would say.
I'm in my 24th year. Same org, different roles. I'm too lazy to go elsewhere!
Got a presentation that's turned into 'due today, do today'. I'll just have to lock in and get it done. It was nice the hot weather got pushed from the weekend to the middle of this week.
I don't know how I did such a nice job on my very first charcoal pencil whenever that happened... Beginners luck maybe. This time it's a bit more fiddly plus my mind wandered, causing the charcoal core of one to snap and me to shave a chunk out of the core of another. Changing to a new sharp hobby blade helped but I think it's a matter of experience, better tools, and not doing this stuff when distracted.
I'm completely avoiding my responsibilities. But I've not been doing art either from pressure or feeling terrible, and figured rather than toss and turn or force myself into the big stuff I would do small chunks of prep work. Get things ready for when I'm feeling ready, so to speak.
6 still need to be smoothed and I shaved one thinner to try and fix the missing chunk. I left three untouched for when I have a proper blade for the purpose. But once I smooth those out that's a bunch ready to go whenever I have the urge to pick them up.
Melbcat is ordering me to bed so that can wait. She says 'vcf jn'
There is much to be said, for reading in bed. A cat asleep by your feet.
Almost a poem
There is much to be said,
For reading in bed;
A cat asleep by your feet,
The coolness of the sheets.
Like the phloem
Kitty transporting the goods.
Stopping the brood
Sleuthing the feet
No attempt to be discreet
I learnt how to mirror things from my phone to the tv using Smart view. 😎 yep I'm moving up in this world. There's still buttons I need to learn though.
Anxiety today got me feeling like I'm being hunted by God himself while I write my silly little emails at work.
Thursday needs to come and go already, so I can move onto whatever's next.
Usiku mwema
7th night without power.
Jesus Christ that must suck. Sorry you're having such a shit time dude.
That's tough. Although at this point I'd be hoping it stays off until after midnight so you can get your $1920.
Fingers crossed for you that it won't be too much longer.
Thanks RustyRaven. A friend has lent me a generator so I can get some work done during the day. And grab a hot shower. The things we take for granted…until they are taken away.
I can't help thinking you should be paid a daily rate.
Dude! That's insane. I gather you aren't within the metro area?
Up in the Dandenongs, with Puffing Billy, which hasn’t been running either.
I'm doing science! Linguine in pumpkin soup with cracked black pepper.
A couple of chillis in there and 👌
It did seem like it needed something. Maybe chillis is the answer. Still, not bad!
Hear me out - a squeeze of lime or lemon maybe to cut through the pumpkin?
You've gone crazy. GUYS KITTEN HAS GONE CRAZY.
Yeah nah. No lemon needed
This is uncanny. Yesterday I had one the dry-style spicy ramens served in pumpkin soup!! It was actually really good
I mean, a pumpkin risotto is basically the same thing, no? Just a couple of pieces of roasted pumpkin with it.
Nothing wrong with that! I do the same thing sometimes with mushroom soup and spaghetti!
Nearly three year I have had and looked after my car like its my child and today I put my first scratch on him :( (well first done by me) I was already having a bad day and now I am gutted.
Watching a video on the history of floppy disks and some comment says kids would probably be asking "why is this man pulling out weird DVDs from a 3D-printed Save icon"
In ten years time even that wouldn't make sense any more...
I was there 3000 years ago.
When we used cassette tapes
punch cards
I don't think anyone who used punch cards professionally is still working. we had to do a cobol assignment in the early 90's with cards, and even then they were ancient history. I doubt anyone was still using cards after about the mid-80's.
Do not recommend. But they really do give you an appreciation for a keyboard and monitor. Kids these days honestly take them for granted.
cabinet of alphabetically ordered index cards
Not at home
reel to reel tapes.
All ahead full.
maybe he's just not good with words
Cards are fucking difficult! I dread people retiring just because of cards. You either end up writing trite pap that has nothing behind it, or utter gibberish. Doesn’t matter if you like the person or not, words just don’t work sometimes.
You write something short and sweet. Even google a nice quote on love and source the author.
eg:
"Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet." - Plato.
You make me feel like a poet. I'm lucky to have you in my life.
Yeh, that's my thought too. Seems like he's trying but is just awkward as fuck
You know him best. The consensus on the sub seems to be dudes just awkward AF and bad at communicating, but it’s really gonna be up to you if you think he’s being malicious with it or just a well meaning idiot.
But, respectfully: if you think things have run their course (and again, only you can answer this) then end it. Drawing things out just makes it take longer to heal. And being alone is a lot better than being in a bad relationship.
He sounds like he's really, really bad at communicating his feelings to someone he cares about.
It's a very muddled statement in the card, but from my very limited perspective I think his heart is in the right place. Maybe.
You're right, it is a weird card and it probably would be good to leave. But it sounds like you're going through a rough trot and are fairly isolated. If this is a decision you're not ready to make and it's causing you extreme anxiety, you do have the option to not go ahead until you feel stronger.
In the meantime though, while you have this decision on the shelf or you choose to stay, you could also do some nice things for yourself and perhaps hang out with other people. I know it's not easy. Groups can be a bit exclusive especially in Melbourne, people could be toxic, money may be tight, hidden depression may make it hard to get joy from anything. Seeing someone trained might be a good move if that last one is the case.
But it would be good if there were a few small joys in your life you could regularly count on. Or at least a few moments where you could forget about your worries.
I mean, I could see writing this as a funny Valentine's, but that is in context of my own partner and I.
You seem to have already had conversations about sincerity, and from my own perspective I wouldn't say this is sincere. I mean, it's just references to sex.
I don't think it's a malicious card, like he wrote it just to upset you, but it is thoughtless in the context of your previous conversations with him. Communicate you feelings about this to him, and his reaction will tell you what to do.
But, also take this with a grain of salt. I ain't no relationship expert, just a potato on the internet.
First fully caffeine free day. I am feeling very flat and lethargic. Miss Meow considers this to be a good thing as it leads to more lap time.
@RustyRaven @CEOofmyhouse56 I'm 49 and heavily addicted to caffeine but take a few months break every 12-18 months. My time from decaf to more energized is 5 weeks.
When I have cut out caffeine in the past I've done it with a much longer time tapering down, but this time I'm doing it much quicker and the impact today is quite noticeable. Hopefully tomorrow won't be quite as bad, I feel tired enough to go to bed already.
he was waiting until the right time, ie, when Trump and the GOP had to be scared into submission again
Made some Mango bread over the weekend. I've gotta say, it was the BEST thing I've ever cooked, and I'm half decent in the kitchen. Not too sweet, perfect density. Just... amazing. Deffo busting that out again for special occasions.
I need to find a new band. I'm writing all this music and I really want to perform it.
Like live? I'd definitely go to listen to that.
do every part yourself!!
Back down the bellarine. excellent swim.
water is warm as it gets. Don't even have to get used to it.
Now it is time for a shitty mcains supreme pizza.
It is very important to step over the gap slowly and deliberately to make sure you don't accidentally stumble and get trapped between the train and platform. Once you have ascertained you are safely aboard it is then necessary to survey all available seating and standing options in order to select the most advantageous position. It is only once the selection has been made and the most direct route to that location has been calculated that it is appropriate to move further into the carriage.
Breakfast 🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🫓🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙 🍗🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉🔋
Deep fried pizza please
🛢️🍕🛢️
🛢️🛢️🛢️
Oh mighty bacon, may I please request another huge coffee? Thank you 🙏
☕️
Mogwai is playing tonight, loudest and best concert I'd been to in the past. Take ear plugs.