#visex

[tauforged]

i do think transitioning is gonna be a funny process for me because all of my colleagues in AHD (animal health department) are women and the assumption is that i am too as i never bothered coming out at this job when i was in VisEx and ive been too busy to address that since i started here. i am going to have to cross that bridge at some point (and im not too concerned about it its a small department and everyone seems chill so far) but for now im giggling about the fact that once i do finally get all my ducks in a row and start transitioning for real it is going to be WHIPLASH for everyone else. especially if im able to achieve the look im going for like oh my god . going from lazy noncommital butch to just full on bear . please god let me have this its going to be so fucking hilarious

[neizerocha-blog]

Aquela melissa que vc respeita 👏 #visex @clubemelissanovaamerica @clubemelissanorte1 @clubemelissametropolitanobarra . . (em Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro)

[jimtheviking]

I’m not used to this

Applied for a permanent, full-time Visitor Experience job in Halifax. Basically the same thing I’m doing now, but at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which means talking about ships and technology and marine exploration and the whole lot. Like, I’ve only been at the museum here for a couple months, but I feel like I need, you know, something new? There’s just something about not having to pick up and move every three or four months that feels...odd to me.

I’ve also been given the chance to work on the collection at work (such as it is - we have no collections management system, so it’s an excel spreadsheet, and there’s like no contact info for donors or the like) which is cool, since that’s what I liked doing the most in Leicester - give me time to research and catalogue, and pay me to do it? Yes please! - but like...it’s supplemental to my VisEx stuff, so I a) don’t get paid extra for it, b) have to do it around my VisEx stuff, and c) won’t be titled something like the Collections Assistant/Exhibits Assistant for a few months at least. That last one is a bit of a stickler for me, because VisEx is great - I love VisEx, I love talking to people and telling them what sort of cool shit we’ve got in our collection, but our collection is...nonexistent, basically, and is rapidly deteriorating because we have no storage facilities for it. So because our CEO thinks collections are “boring and dusty” (that is a real goddamn quote from him at a community meeting) we have a bunch of pretty cool stuff literally mouldering away in an unventilated basement with no climate, light, or humidity controls.

I digress.

VisEx is great, but doing Collections Management is something that I would love to do, too, and if I stay here there’s a chance - however remote - that I might be doing that. But at the same time, unless I can convince these people that a museum, you know, requires a collection and can’t just be a rental hall with a few travelling exhibits and a kid’s play area. And, frankly, the VisEx I do here is more babysitting than actual museology (and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s definitely not what I expected.)

So yeah, I’m not sure as to what I should do; right now I have a permanent, part time job that may potentially lead to my doing something that I really enjoy, but at the same time, I feel like this opportunity doing something I would enjoy, but not as much as the Collections/Exhibitions stuff, is something I shouldn’t let pass me by if I get it?

I’m not sure.

[tauforged]

You have the fish job? - C

this is a late as hell response cuz i’ve had a busy week but Yes! and also no. but also Yes. it’s complicated

tldr for those who aren’t in the know about the fish job saga, last summer i finally quit my pet store job of four years and landed a job in visitor experience at a local aquarium, which, while a vital part of the aquarium’s functionality and also a very fun and exciting job under the right circumstances, is also basically just 99% of the same customer service bullshit as before, but with longer days and a longer commute. i applied for another behind-the-scenes job in a different department at the same AQ first chance i got and (thank god) got in and i’ve established a pretty good rapport with my new supervisor and coworker already, so my last day in VisEx is tomorrow and i start the new lab job on september fifth. it’s exciting! and a little scary, it’s technically my first ever full time job and i’m gonna be working with lots of equipment that i’m not familiar with and learning the system for a good while. but mostly exciting because i get to sit while i work and don’t have to deal with customers for 9hrs a day :D and benefits. i’m SO hyped about finally getting a job with decent benefits.

[tauforged]

but yeah i uh. i guess the head manager put in a good word for me already too 🫣 i was the first person she thought of when she heard the position mentioned… it’s a much better foot in the door to animal care than VisEx AND it’s something i’ve got a lot of experience in and honestly enjoy doing so i’m like. i’m thrilled but also scared lmao i’m gonna update my resume and apply when i get home from class

[tauforged]

i do like my work lanyard pin collection thus far though. all the visitors love it. either the ‘this is fine’ or the spongebob one or the tbh all seem to grab attention :) lots of shy looking kids will come up to me like “uh..um…. i like your uh. your pins…” and it always makes me smile. it sucks that working in VisEx comes at the cost of people using you as a punching bag because i love love love interacting with visitors like that. favorite interaction to date was seeing a kid clearly overwhelmed by the crowds on a very busy day and covering their ears and their parents didn’t seem to know what to do so i hustled over to the family and informed them we have sensory bags at the front desk with noise cancelling headphones and fidgets that they can borrow if they want. and the kid looked nervous and kinda self conscious so i was like “haha it’s up to you guys! i wouldn’t blame you for wanting one, though. i have to take a lot of breaks when we get this busy too. if you change your mind, just find someone with a lanyard or a nametag like mine and we can get you one ok? and if you need to step outside for some air, you guys can exit and re-enter as many times as you want today as long as you have your tickets!” and the kids face lit up. all day whenever i passed that family in exhibits or the lobby the kid would smile all big and wave to me and point at their headphones or hold up the fidget they were playing with. shit like that is what i mean when i say i love my job like yeah working with fish is cool but i really really love getting the chance to help kids have that aha moment of “oh, i’m not the only person who deals with this? there are grownups like me? grownups with cool jobs who are nice and can help? wow!” because i would’ve killed to have someone like that when i was a kid getting overloaded at the museum or whatever instead of having everyone look down at me weird. i’m way off topic but while i’m rambling every time a kid approaches me with a fish question i have to hold in tears of joy because they always ask the most interesting questions and they get SO EXCITED when someone listens and answers instead of shrugging them off. had a long convo with a little girl about what crabs think about the other day. after much deliberation about how we don’t know what goes on in their heads, but we can try to guess by thinking about what it must be like to be a crab and what they do all day, she decided that they think about what kind of sand is the most fun to walk on and which fish are nice to them and how many things they pinched today. she’s a visionary

[tauforged]

hoenstly i really should get around to like coming out at work and getting a new nametag but the truth is i’m lazy. and also a lot of people i work with have names that sound similar to ‘mac’ so that could cause confusion over the walkies idk… ultimately though i’m just too lazy to bother. i shouodve just started off with my actual name and pronouns cuz now people know me as [REDACTED] and it’s gonna be a pain to deal with the transitional period. it’s gonna have to happen eventually but right now i’m fine with girlbossing my way through VisEx. the women’s bathroom at work also has more stalls with functional door locks

[tauforged]

what do you like, DO at the aquarium? can you talk about that?

nothing crazy exciting tbh lmao, i’m in visitor experience right now - basically, in VisEx we do all the basic Dealing-With-The-Public stuff. checking tickets at the door, scanning tickets at the entrance and in the movie theater, walking around the exhibit area to make sure people aren’t harassing the animals or going where they shouldn’t, directing foot traffic on the plaza outside of the entrance and informing people when we’re sold out or if we’re doing timed entry, answering questions to the best of my ability when they’re asked of me. a classmate once described me as being a ‘bouncer for the fish’ when i explained it which made me smile cuz it’s pretty accurate. however i just applied for a position in [REDACTED] at the recommendation of my manager which, should it work out, would be a LOT more hands on and involved with the actual inner workings of the aquarium. i’m kinda scared to talk about it cuz i don’t wanna get my hopes up, i don’t have an education or anything (and while a degree isn’t required, it is preferred so i’m not super optimistic about my chances lmao) and it’s basically a leap of faith. but we shall see! we shall see :)

[tauforged]

just got to work and remembered it’s a vacation weekend for a nearby school district AND there’s hardly anyone else from the VisEx staff here rn so we’re likely to be short staffed as all hell

[tauforged]

i’m gonna make myself tough it out as best i can because if i ace this upcoming interview there’s a nonzero chance i’ll be changing job positions soon and who knows i might even end up missing VisEx somehow…. but i still really don’t want to have to deal with waking up early and driving in and being there all day. it’s annoying

i don’t wanna go to work tomorrow. this is bullshit

[neizerocha-blog]

Assistindo #frozen que amo e claro com minha #visex . . . #melissa #Melisseira #amomelissa #melissasale #AmoMelissa #clubemelissario #clubemelissa #clubemelissanorte1 #sociadoclube #colecaomaping #melisseiraporamor💕 #melisseiradoinsta #melissaoficial #melissaoriginal (em Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)