Just thought I'd give a few tips for those who call call centers for service and support…..

remember this??

http://mypetpeeves.com/blog/p,7274/

well, today I get a letter in the mail saying that my claim was denied and that the asshole that hit me was NOT at fault!!!???  and now MY insurance has to not only pay for my damages BUT HIS TOO!!??

but that's only the beginning, I have now found out that the policeman LIED to me that day.  wow, can you believe it?  I was told that the other driver was getting a speeding ticket ALONG with the ticket he was giving me for "reasonable vigilance".  he told me he was giving him a ticket for speeding when I asked him what the hell reasonable vigilance meant while I signed my ticket.  and not only did the other guy NOT get a ticket, he made it seem like I was backing out on the street when he hit me!  I was NOT moving and was STILL on the parking lot, not even off the CURB when he hit me and the first thing out his mouth was, "I didn't see you"  but that's NOT what the police report says.  of course, HE says that he "observed me backing out from a private lot onto the street and he was unable to avoid the movement of my truck and hit me…!!!???"  WTF??!!  I SAW HIS ASS A HALF A BLOCK AWAY BEFORE HE HIT ME.  THAT'S WHY I WAS WAITING TO BACK OUT ON THE STREET!!!  NOW HE MAKES IT SEEM LIKE I WAS BACKING OUT AND NOT LOOKING AND CAME OUT ON THE ROAD IN FRONT OF HIM!  IF THAT WAS SO, THEN WHY WAS I STILL ON THE CURB, STILL ON THE PARKING LOT!!??  I don't know how clear this will be for you to see but this is a copy of what was on the report.   

maybe if you right click on it you might see it larger.well, I don't know how to make it larger, it's hard to see it like this.

and oh, yeah, my insurance will probably be paying for my co-worker's truck too since I was PUSHED into her truck when he hit me and I dented her truck!! 

this whole thing was twisted and turned around and makes me look like I did something wrong and makes me look like the bad driver in this whole mess and I was so pissed to the point of tears because it's so UNFAIR!  I looked when I backed up.  you have to back up a little bit in order to see around the cars parked on both sides to see what's coming.  I did that and stopped when I saw that that asshole was coming half a block away.  what kind of stupid would I be to keep backing out when someone was coming??  and how do you hit someone who's not even in the street???

and I go to court on jan 14 for my ticket.  so if I win, then does my insurance still pay??  this is a mess!

Judge allows civil suit over co-worker's perfume

DETROIT – A federal judge says a Detroit city employee can proceed with a civil suit claiming she couldn't work because of a co-worker's strong perfume.

The Detroit News says U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff determined Susan McBride has a potential claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The city is asking to have the suit dismissed.

McBride says she's severely sensitive to perfumes and other cosmetics. She says the perfume worn by a co-worker in the city's Planning Department made it difficult for her to breathe.

She says the co-worker also used a plugged in room deodorizer.

The suit says the co-worker later agreed to stop using the room deodorizer but kept using perfume.

___

Information from: The Detroit News, http://www.detnews.com

Warrant, cocaine lead to job seeker's arrest

JACKSON, Mich. – A mid-Michigan man who'd been looking for work found trouble after an arrest warrant popped up during a background check at a police station. Police also found cocaine in his pocket. The company the man was applying to required a police background check.

The Jackson Citizen Patriot reported that after running the 29-year-old man's name through their computer system Wednesday, police learned he was wanted on a domestic violence charge.

Deputy Police Chief John Holda said that while searching him at the station, an officer found several rocks of cocaine.

The man was being held in the county jail and will be arraigned on the domestic violence charge and possession with intent to deliver cocaine.

___

Information from: Jackson Citizen Patriot, http://www.mlive.com/citpat

It seems like everyone is breathing into the phone, it drives me nuts! It's just as bad to me as fingernails on a blackboard.

Alright, I will start with the one that began on fire! He was always quick to ask questions, always willing to help, you know, the 'perfect' employee.

Well THAT lasted about three days, since then he turned into the MOST lazy worker I have EVER seen. He is ALWAYS asking when his break is EVEN AFTER HE HAS ONLY BEEN WORKING FOR AN HOUR!!!

Now, as his manager, I have spoken to him about becoming the person we hired, the person he showed us at the beginning. I am not the only one, the other managers have noticed including the GM. His time is coming soon, VERY soon. I think he only wanted a job so he could get unemployment. That or he wanted to 'escape' his home where his infant and GF are. Who knows? Personally, I don't care, I don't want to hire a replacement for him (I start going through applications today when I get to work), but I am not stupid, he is what he is, therefore, he gets NO MORE ROPE FROM ME!!!

Now the second hire is a 'harder' case; I told you all that he is an recovering alcoholic. Apparently that isn't all, he is also a recovering Dope Head (I believe they call it Heroin or something these days). He lived in a recovery home for addictions of all types. I say 'lived' because he was soo excited to be moving out ('out' meaning across the street)!  I was also happy for him because that meant he crossed some sort of border to becoming a more productive person.

Well he told me yesterday that he is leaving town because he couldn't afford where he was living. He then went on to tell me he spent the night under a tarp in the back of a truck WHILE IT WAS RAINING! He was saying he was homeless! I asked him if his old home would take him back, he said he wouldn't be allowed back for another 60 days because he slipped up and took some DOPE! He said it made him sick (which is what those drugs do) and put him out of his home (another thing those drugs do). He didn't move out 'voluntarily' but was KICKED out for breaking the BIGGEST rule of that place! So, despite my instincts yelling not to, I gave him enough money for a motel stay ($60) so he wouldn't be on the streets AND he would be able to come to work this next week. Realistically I had an out to let him go right there, I didn't have to talk him into staying, but I NEEDED him for at least another week while I covered for the 4 employees that quit or was fired last week (all for unrelated reasons). I figure the $60 was an investment in keeping my job 'easier', my customers not suffering as much, and my final 'good deed' for the year!

Anyway, I gotta go get ready for work. Gotta a lotta stuff to do. 

I was having a really bad week but things are better now.

My Weekly Peeve:

We have a lady in our office who complains that no one ever wants to do any office party sort of stuff. We had an office Halloween buffet yesterday, can you guess who refused to participate?

don't even know where to start!  I'm at work and we have a buzzer for people to ring so we know to get up and help them but like this one lady, some people sit there and say "hello, excuse me".  but whatever, so I get up and ask here what she needed.  now BEFORE I go on, I need to give you background info of my job.  I work at bunny bread and there is a thrift store next door to us that sells bread items/desserts and it is also where people who have set up donations of bread to be picked up need to go to pick up their requested donations.  this lady then begins to go off the handle about "WHY CAN'T I GET SOME HOT DOG BUNS?!"  I asked were there any in the store and she said yes BUT she wants to know WHY all these white people are walking out with trays and trays of buns and why can't she?  now of course at this point you know she's black and older, about late 50's, early 60's.  but that has NOTHING to do with it!  those people had set up donations beforehand!  she asked how she could do that.  I said you need to fax a letter on the company or business letterhead requesting this.  and she said well I don't think people in the african american community know this.  I want a letter stating the procedures on this.  **OMG**  I'm ready to choke her now.  I told her that all she needed to do was call and ASK!!  so I gave her the phone and fax # for future ref.  and she proceeds to say how she needs to buy buns for 42 schools?!!  IS SHE CRAZY!?  the day BEFORE Halloween and she wants to find enough buns for these people?  who the EFF does that???  the whole southeast La. won't have enough buns for this lady!  why did she WAIT til last minute??  lots of churches and schools are doing things for Halloween so we had to order extra to compensate for that BUT even we have a limit.  we don't want to have too much and risk it going bad. I mean yeah we're a bread factory BUT we don't have an OVERLOAD of buns on hand!  certainly NOT for 40something schools!!! unless it was planned already for them!!

Have, errr, HAD this young employee tell me Saturday that she MIGHT be quiting next week for a job she has been offered since June. The only thing in her way of said job, is her passing a drug test (she claims she knows what will wash the drugs out of her system so she can pass this test) and her age (she is now 17, but will be 18 next month).
Now I told her that IF she ever wants a good reference from this company OR me, she better give her notice in written form at least two weeks ahead, but I would allow her to make it a week if she does so by Monday. She, being 17, did not understand what the 'big deal' was, and then she asked that she was afraid that if she did turn in her notice, and she didn't get the job, she wouldn't be allowed to take her notice back. LOL I congratulated her on feeling the apprehension of being a 'real' adult and told her if she turned in her notice, that showed responsibility and would likely be allowed to cancel her notice. Great right? She agreed to tell me Monday (today) IF she got the job and if I needed to cover her shifts NEXT week. Fine fine fine, just as we discussed. Still with me? Good, because apparently this responsible appearing young lady must have forgotten our discussion:

She MISSED her shift yesterday! Day manager texted her (wow, NEVER thought I would EVER say that as a way to reach someone!) and she texted back that she was up in Sacramento buying a car, had to leave earlier that day and had no time to call in. Then she followed that lame excuse with, 'Sorry, hahaha'.

So now I gotta cover her shifts (luckily there are plenty of people looking for her job, inside and outside the company) but what a FRUITCAKE!!! She thought I was kidding about her reference rating, I am not, I will do everything I can do (legally, of course) to wreck her employment life for at least the rest of this month, after that, I am over it.

Heck, just writing this has gotten me over it, but now I still have to handle the rest of the week with another 'headache' of mine at work. This new kid (kid is 28) started off like gang busters his first two days, but since has shown who he really is, a lazy, dirty, cantankerous (fill in the rest), back-talking (to the supervisors) little BOY! I have made him my personal project, either he re-impresses me or I will have his resignation 'on my desk'! (I always wanted to say that)

'Funny' thing is, of the two guys I hired last month, the one I thought would be the first out is the one that is actually trying the hardest to stay. He NEVER complains about the same thing more than once, he ALWAYS remembers what he was taught, and, other than how slow he is, is ALWAYS 'perfect' in executing his duties. Now if you ever saw him you would swear he was around 50 or 60 years old, but this guy is 43!!! But he is also a recovering alcoholic and his last twenty+ years were working in Arizona and Reno, mostly outside, so mix the sun and the drink, you get twenty plus years added on. His slowness I attribute to what the alcohol may have done to his brain over the years (no police record, but drunks don't need the police to get their heads bashed in, he isn't allowed a DL and he is just about to move out of his Alcohol treatment center home, so he is moving along with his life. Hope he keeps on this track. He is also going to get more hours, he is too slow to open, but he can close and work the mids well.

Anyway, gotta go to work now, got to call a purveyor that shorted my store but were happy to charge us for it! Somebody tell me what the best way to get through CS without getting mad at them, I am mostly sure it isn't their fault, but. . .

I work in an office where everyone sits in a cube. The walls for the cubes, however, are only about five feet high at some spots, four feet high at others. So, instead of picking up the phone or walking over to the next cube, people in my office have the habit of shouting over cube walls to communicate with one another. Um, don't they realize that they are shouting? Even worse, people stand in front of my cube and shout over my head to talk to the person sitting behind me! Give me a break! Does this happen to anyone else? Does this bother you? Do people even realize that they are shouting and possible disturbing other people? And it's not as though it happens only once a day. Oh, no, this goes on all day long! It gets so bad that if I have to read a report, I leave my cube and go to the other end of the office (where no one sits) just so that I can concentrate.

So I'm at work, and all is going well. I should realize that this means something bad is going to happen, but no, I actually believe this is going to be a good day.

My coworker - one of the techs - goes in the supply room, and when he leaves he doesn't turn the light off. I've said something 800 times (ok not 800 but it sure feels like it) about turning the light off. So this time I get up, turn it off, walk out of my office, look at him and say "Is it hard to turn a light off". He flips. "You're not a ****ing manager, you have no authority around here" I say "I've been told about lights and if they're not needed we are supposed to turn them off (management said so)". He says "You have no ****ing right to talk to me that way, you're not a manager. You're not my ****ing mother, you can't tell me what to do". Finally when I get a word in again I said "You don't pay the electric bill" and he flips "You don't either, so shut the **** up and stay in your office and do your ****ing job". So then I told him "Management has said NO UNECESSARY lights on". He flips, I started to ignore him, then he comes in MY office and shuts my office light off. So I said, as a smart ass "At least you're ****ing learning how to turn them off now". Then he mumble bitched some more and walked away.

Seriously HOW F**KING HARD IS IT TO SHUT A F**KING LIGHT OFF?? I could see if you were going back in there, but he wasn't. What a dip ****! 

And I'm making a f**king sign "SHUT THE LIGHT OFF"

I thought of you today, and did something for you. I answered the phone (our new receptionist starts Monday) and the guy was in the middle of explaining something to me and he said "Hold on a minute" and placed me on hold. 

I looked at the phone, said "What the fuk" and hung up!!! It felt GREAT!

So as most of you know, I posted a while back about my husband may be laid off from Alcoa. I also told you that Alcoa and their energy supplier Luminant are going to be holding talks soon. They can't get sustainable energy to keep the potlines up, so they have to shut down lines, and lay of people. Well when I wrote that I think it was like a month ago. They are FINALLY holding a meeting TODAY in NYC. There can either be a positive change or a negative change. They will either re-open the lines, or they will shut the ENTIRE plant down. They have been firing people left and right out there, all the "orange hats" who are still under their probationary period, and others who have not been doing their job. So on the up side this means that since the employee list is getting a little smaller, the layoff list is also getting smaller. Hopefully they will reopen the lines, and the list will dwindle down below my husband's spot and he will not get laid off. The deadline to lay off is August 21st, I believe, and school starts the 25….so hopefully we will not have to move before or durring the time our daughter starts school. Damn I hate this.

NOW someone  'respectable' is coming forward about ALIENS!!!

Well, let's continue the saga of my summer.

To-day, I start my shift as usual only to walk into my bldg only to find out there is work being done on the roof.

Picture this, hammering, drilling, jack hammering, now tarring the roof. This has all been going on since 6AM. My shift starts at 7AM. This goes on for well over 2hrs & try dealing with customers on the phone with that.

Oh well, as I say, it's amazing how one has to earn a living to survive.

as an employee,however, this MIGHT be a 'good' thing!

Check out the button in the upper right hand corner that reads, 'Boss is Coming'!!!

http://www.tnt.tv/dramavision.jsp?cid=40379  

I don't know if any of you have already seen this but it really makes you look a little differently at all the things we complain about!

I AM THANKFUL:

FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S EGGS N BACON TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED .

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME .

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH. .

FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

Well, this is just one of those weeks I am guessing. After my ****ty day Tuesday, I woke up Wednesday and my neck ended up super screwed up in the first hour of my day. I went all day in severe pain until I could finally go see my chiropractor. Still in pain, but have a much larger range of motion, and it's even better today. Sorry if this rant is long, but I have to get it all out, and it's better to tell the whole story then just part.

Anyways, yesterday at work the Receptionist called off. Typically when our receptionist doesn't come in the dispatcher and GM answer phones. Well the dispatcher decided not to come in as well. Being I had nothing to do I went down an answered called to save the GM a MAJOR headache (he now has to take ALL dispatch calls). Not to "toot my own horn" but I'm an AWESOME receptionist, and I don't mind doing it OCCASIONALLY as it's a nice change of pace. If it paid what I get now I'd do it too, but I have school loans and a car loan to pay off. Everyone has always said it too, every person at every job tells me it. I don't think it's hard to be good at it either. You treat people how you would want to be treated. A friendly voice that wants to help! Well this is not how any of the receptionists have been, and the dispatcher is HORRIBLE at being nice.

Including today I have been receptionist for a total of three days (two in a row right now, one from a while ago). Being in that position I see how bad our dispatcher is doing. I've heard from everyone, but now *I* am taking the flack from customers for what she isn't doing. This includes emergencies. When someone calls up saying "The fire department is getting sick of showing up for false alarms because my sprinkler pressure is messed up" - that's an emergency. When someone says "Something in my mechanical room has discharged" - that's an emergency. Situation #1 has been happening for two days, and #2 happened two weeks ago. So luckily these people got to talk to me, who WANTS to help them, and WANTS the company to do well (job security anyone?). We have a department that has not been scheduled to do any work this month. This is the same lady that bitches when she has a phone call, yet because of her position she gets 90% of the calls.

Today was "talk about the situation with the dispatcher" day. Her reason for being out the last two days?? "I'm tired"…. Yet she has a perscription for Xanax already… So the GM, owners daughter, and myself had a 45 minute chat about the situation. When the owners daughter got married, I sat around with department managers and was blown away by the amount of stuff she ****s up. When they try to tell her, she blows up at them. When the GM tells her, she blames the techs and cries. After us all standing around discussing it the owners daughter said that her father needs to know about it. Which he already does, but doesn't want to say anything. 

Just before lunch the GM took the owner into the conference room and had a "closed doors" meeting. I am hoping it has something to do with this dispatcher, being as the conversation about the receptionist being replaced was over before the owner even got there. There was also a 35 second discussion of "Should I go through a temp service or place an ad for a new receptionist" which makes me think they weren't talking about that.

I did lunch today with a few coworkers who explained the situation more. This has apparently been going on for years, it just gets a bit worse as time goes on. They say nothing will happen about it, and that nothing will get done. They say that being the dispatchers son married the owners daughter the owner will not get rid of the dispatcher. I think that's bull, and I don't see why that would be grounds to NOT fire someone. If you're not doing your job you shouldn't have that job. I even told the GM to give me a promotion for a day to do the deed. Although I'm a great receptionist, I don't take **** from people.

This afternoon was quiet, but every time there was a problem with someone, it had to do with the dispatcher. I even had a lady call up about some past due invoices she got a letter about. She hadn't paid them so we were about to send her to collections. She tells me flat out "I have sent your company 5 letters saying NOT to do work at any of these locations. I will pay this bill but I am sick of you doing work where we are not authorizing it, and us being stuck with the bill". I realized this was a good opportunity. I told her flat out "Yeah, that's pretty messed up, and there is nobody to blame but the person sending them there. Here's what to do: with your payment include ANOTHER copy of the letter telling us not to work there. Next, I'm going to give you the owners name, and I would like you to send him a copy of this letter, and perhaps explain the situation. I think he should know what's happening". And I gave her the owners name. I also let the GM know, who said if he knew that's what was going on he would have asked her to send HIM one as well! Hard to argue with complaints in writting, crying bitch dispatcher or not!

After work I do the chiropractor, and decided to get Subway for dinner, something easy and I can relax when I get home. I go in and there's nobody in there. Just a lady with three children. Shouldn't be too long, right???  RIGHT???             RIGHT???   Holy ****ing half hour. I almost knocked this bitch out, but I didn't want to scar the kids. Now that I look back I think I should have knocked her out. Maybe the kids would have learned to either know what they want or let someone who knows go AHEAD of them. GGGGGGRRRRRR   If I knew that what I know now, things would have gone differently at Subway today.

Now I'm home, and my friend has sent me a package. His tracking number says it was delivered at 9 am, but I don't have it. I'm supposed to go meet a friend tomorrow night, but she's got a slight cold that I do NOT want to get. Man, what a ****ing week. TG tomorrow IF!!!!

Oh - on a side note I haven't been on during the day because the receptionists computer SUCKS donkey dick. And the GM and I are ready to place some bets that the receptionist AND the dispatcher BOTH call off again. My intentions of work tomorrow are to be receptionist again.

 Today is Thursday right?

I am sitting here in the office building all by myself. Granted I am always the first one in but…….start time for everyome else is 0630. It is 0730 and I am still the only one here. The phone hasn't rang at all, so nobody has called in sick/late. Hmmmmm…..it would be nice to have a quiet day with the office to myself. So, now I am thinking either today is Friday and I should be home in bed and not at work, I screwed up OR I am in the Twilight Zone. *twilight theme starts playing*

As you may recall I am looking to get a job with this company I have interviewed with. I was last in contact with their head of Human Resources and 'all' they needed from me at this stage was an application (emailed to me).

No worries, I'll just fill it out and FAX it to their headquarters in Minnesota, eh! So, I filled and faxed and waited for the call of offering all day Monday. I get an email from their HR person saying the fax didn't go through! Now, follow me; the headquarter received MY fax, but apparently THEIR fax didn't make it to the HR (which is actually based in San Diego, why? Who knows, but there it is). Headquarters even had some sort of 'proof' that the fax did come but what they sent was NOT my fax AND they apparently LOST my fax. So, I sent the fax again!

This time, MY fax wouldn't even connect to THEIR fax machine (still don't know why ) for about ten minutes. Guess what? IT DIDN'T GO THROUGH!!! I emailed the lady in SD to ask what was going on with my app (didn't know it hadn't gone through yet) when she emailed back saying she hadn't gotten it.

Now, I asked her if I should drop it in the mail or what since somewhere between here and Minnesota and San Diego there is a glitch. No, she answered just fax it to this number! This time she gave me a whole DIFFERENT number (I think it went directly to her this time)!

Why didn't she just GIVE me that number to begin with? She knows she is gonna offer me a job, THEY (headquarters) knows she is gonna offer me a job, I know she is gonna offer me a job! Just give me the 'quick' numbers and let's quit messing around with my SaNiTy!!!

Why do we need faxes when emails can carry the SAME info and be quicker and less likely to NOT go through? The people on the other side can make hard copies if they need, that will save a tree or two and etc.!!!!

Not sure which category this falls under so I just pick out a few that are kinda close (no 'Faxes' cat!!! Don't need to make one, just know that there isn't one)

Picture yourself walking down a nice quiet path in the woods, you can hear birds chirping, but they are in the distance. Picture hearing a bubbling brook up ahead, you are calm, you are calm, you walk on. . . .

Now just picture yourself next to this brook, or maybe a stream, you are calm as you listen to the water running by, you are calm, you are calm.

Now picture yourself holding that <enter name here>'s head under the water, you are calm, he WILL stop struggling soon, you are calm, you are calm. Now there is nothing but silence, you can’t even hear the birds, only sound now is the stream as it carries your disruptions away, because you STAYED CALM, YOU STAYED CALM. (C:}

So, most of you know (well SOME of you anyway!) my wife has an antique store in Carmel. A few weeks ago she decided she wanted to be closed on Sundays. Well, since there are still tourists in town on Sunday, and most of them do not want to walk around with our items all weekend (or store it in their cars or hotel rooms), I always thought being open on Sunday makes sense. She did not and closed Sundays. Even though I argued that, as a retail store, perhaps she should close on Monday or Tuesday. She did not buy that argument either. I also pointed out that since I also have an MBA covering marketing and business, should MY experience plus that degree count for something? We remained closed on Sundays.

Last Sunday, I told her I was going to open the store, she was caught off guard when I told her (last minute, she saw I was getting dressed) and could not stop me as I have keys as well and know the alarm codes.

I sold a lot more than she had the previous two days, just as I thought because people had been waiting to go home before buying our items (well, they also bought some of the smaller items) but that fact is, we sold stuff on Sunday!!!.

So this morning, Francesca gets up, takes a shower and comes out and announces she is not going to open today. I told her that since there are still a lot of tourists in town (some big dog show and other attractions) I would go in and open. She looked a little resigned and say that she would go in and open.

So tell me, should I have just allowed her to not open? What if she doesn't sell anything and then she will NEVER open on Sundays again? What if, she decides I am a bastard for forcing her to go in and leaves me? Well, THAT'S not going to happen, but she could be mad at me for 'forcing' the store to open, couldn't she? I know she is tired, we had a roll out of some new maps of the area that she put together herself and spent all week placing them in the local hotels and other places (I worked the store while she did that). But, it IS her store, I have yet to meet a RETAIL store owner that doesn't pour more energy into the store than they would a 'normal' job. This is business, when you are your own boss, you make the sacrifices that you wouldn't make working FOR someone else.

This I tried to explain to her when she first wanted to open this store, this is what I continue to tell her she needs to do when she wants to close early instead of doing the books (who like doing the books, but paperwork needs to be done or else Uncle Sam pay a visit!!!

Oh well, can't wait until I start working!!! Should be by the end of this week, cross you fingers!!!! 

I don't think it should be possible. And being up here is such a hot spot for tourism, we get LOTS of interesting bugs going around. Summer is when the guys I work with travel LOTS (for weeks at a time) and they usually come back with something. 

Some of them have this head cold thing. Sounds rough, but I'm thinking I'd like it right now. My one coworker says to me today "Oh, you have the rumbling gut I had last week" and I knew who was to blame. I spent all day yesterday in the bathroom, and left work early today to spend some more time there. I did get a short nap, but I think that nap just helped set it in more. 

Thank god tomorrow is Friday.

Today at work…heehee, I said work, that felt good to say, but really, at work today I had orientation and that was boring BUT AFTER I went on a TOUR!!!  you remember where I work, right?  well, I saw the whole process and went into the warehouse and had to put a hairnet on and I got to see how the bread is made!!!!!!!   it was AWESOME and smelled SOOOO GOOOD!!  it's SO HOT in there and LOUD too.  I saw how it starts from dough to the conveyor belt where it's cut and twisted, twisted by hand by 2 people and it goes into a pan in the oven and after the oven the bread goes along a series of a LOT of zigzag belts way up high through a mile of belt in order to cool before it's bagged.  and guess what??!!  every Fri. they give us TWO loaves of bread!!!  I asked them for some of that Texas toast, the kind of bread that's twice as thick as reg bread, like at Sizzlers.  I LOVE my job!!!

I just watched an 'interesting' sight, a woman that worked at the restaurant where my wife's shop is just QUIT! She and the manager (owner?) ARGUED about why she was quitting OUTSIDE IN THE COURTYARD!!! Now, when I was a manager, I have had many people quit on me, and left angry. Not once in my whole life, would I have EVER considered arguing 'in public', that to me is the epitome of rude and unnecessary as well. And even worse, she was accusing him of treating her badly (unfairly) because she was a woman.

Alright, perhaps she had a point, but the place to argue that point was NOT in the middle of 'the street'! Am I somehow just too old and conservative about where people should 'air their laundry'?

As I write this, my wife just informed me the manager says she was apparently drunk as well, and this was the third time showing up to work this way!!! Dang Swedes, can't hold their liquor!!! 

YES, A JOB!!! FINALLY and I'm USING MY DEGREE for the FIRST TIME!!!

ok, I'll start from the beginning (this may be a little long). On Thursday, June 26, I went to this place just out of the blue AND it's near my house, like 5 mins away. I asked if they were hiring and the lady said only for production which is a night shift job..not for me. But she said fill it out anyway and see what happens. well, I'm so glad I did! THEY CALLED ME THE NEXT DAY!! I was so shocked they called on Friday morn around 10am and wanted me to interview that day! but we waited til Monday the 30th. the interview went well, if that's what you wanna call it. all they talked about was the company and what they offered and some background on the people who work there. he didn't really ask me anything except if I had any ques. for him. he told me that the job they were looking to place me in was called "controller in accounting"!! YAY! sounds im'POTENT! LOL!! SO, he said that I'd start in clerical to learn the ropes and see how things work and operate in the office. and when I say "they" it's because I spoke to 2 diff guys. so they told me that they had a couple other interviews after me and they'd make a decision that afternoon. so Monday went by and no phone call from them. no sweat, maybe they needed more time to decide. then Tues. afternoon comes and STILL no call. so David said that I should call and just inquire, but I didn't want to seem desperate and needy, even though I am! I called but there was no answer! WHEW!

NOW, today Wed. morn comes and at about 8:00 this morn they called!!! he said he wants me to come in and sign a consent form for education verification to verify that I have a degree! I told him that I could bring it to show him. he laughed and said that that's the company policy. and he also said that he wanted to talk to me as well. so I got there and he offered me the job! I had to go take a physical and drug test, which I did and passed! of course! they also do a background check and once all the info gets back to him and I'm cleared, then I start. I start out at 11.50/hr for the 90 days probation period and after that I get a raise. he said the probation period may last 90 days or 30 days, it would be up to the controller and how well I do. so I think I'm starting some time next week AND they also pay WEEKLY!!!! I haven't had a weekly pay job EVER!!! and I didn't really tell you guys about it till now cuz I didn't want to get my hopes up and jinx myself. but I'm good now!

here is the website for the place I'm working (physically located):

http://www.bunnybread.net/

and here is the site for the company that actually owns the company and several places like it all around the south:

http://www.flowersfoods.com/FFC_Brands/BrandDetail.cfm?BrandID=5

So I guess you can say I will be making the "dough" every day when I go to work! and it smells so GOOD when I go there, you smell all the bread baking, MMMMmmmmmm…

My husband works for ALCOA. It is an aluminum smelter in the town I live in. Alcoa can't reach an agreement on electricity costs to run the smelter with a local electricity plant "Luminate", so because Luminate won't seel Alcoa energy at blow cost rates, Alcoa is freakin laying off people. They are starting with 300….and Clint's name is on the list. F_U_C_K. He has been there quite a while, but now we are going to be in the hole. We didn't live above our means, but he had unlimited amounts of overtime he could pull in, so he usually worked about 64+ hours each week. Well now he can only get 40, and we won't know if he will be laid off until the middle of August. They have to legally post a list 60 days before lay offs occur, then it is kinda wait till the last minute before you know anything……..so now the fun of waiting begins.

On a lighter note; Reesie got her cast off on the 23rd, and she still walks funny, but hey, the cast is off…..so I am at least a little happier. Hope to run into you knuckle heads again soon.

Now it is really Friday, and since I thought yesterday was Friday, I am NOT being productive at all.  I am acting like it is Saturday, and I was forced to come in the office against my will, so I am protesting and just being here in body only! My productivity level is zero.

I keep thinking today is Friday.  That sucks. I am taking next week off, so I am over-anxious for the mini vacation to start.