Archive for the ‘Work’ Category

I’ve been quite a bit depressed lately, as its the Christmas season, AKA the “gift giving season”, when children all over the country (and a few other contries…) have want for new toys, etc.  I wasn’t looking forward to the bare tree in the living room without anything under it.  I’m super broke this year and the gift giving was going to be pretty lean.

Or, so I thought.  There were a few angels at work (really, at my place of work), who pulled a fast (but good) one on me.  When I came across the river at lunch time (1:45-2:45 - yuck) to get Caleb from school, a few little helpers brought a few things to my desk, er a few large boxes, that is.  They were filled with gifts for the kids, provided with what I can only describe as love.

Nancy, Lesley, Shannon, Barb, Lona, and whoever else was involved, I want to thank you for getting together to support a friend.  you are truly angels.  Merry Christmas to you.

So, today was the first day on the phones for the new client, a natural gas company.  In the beginning, it almost seems like the last three weeks of class didn’t happen, as I felt helpless (or nearly so) for the first few calls.  Thankfully, most of the questions were about transferring service from one address to another, which takes just a minute or two to do.  For those who have done this for a phone company, you know that this is a major undertaking, requiring 15 minutes plus.  Not with the gas company.  Woo!

We had a little get together of the class for the last hour, to compare notes and update, so to speak.  I was not released from my duties yet, so that’s good, I guess.  New things are always so overwhelming.  I’m sure that I’ll get the hang of it, though.  It is nice to know that when I am asked to do something, I can actually acomplish it, or at least get the right person on the phone to handle the inquiry.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings…

And now, live and in person…

I’ve got internet access again. In fact, I’ve had it longer than telephone, since the cable company installed everything on July 2nd. The phone was supposed to be installed on July 1st. That didn’t happen. I called and got the repair department on the morning of July 2nd and they said that the reason that the phone install (which was a simple circuit connection at the CO - no visit required) didn’t happen is because “Customer Service” didn’t complete the order, and that they could do nothing until they finished (sound familiar, John?) the order. That shouldn’t have happened. I ordered the move on 12 June and even got our new number on that date. The order went on hold as the current phone was still connected (what those in the business call a WLI - ‘working left in’). I was informed that I’d have to call later to get the order off hold. Tis is standard. Seems that the previous tenants (before the ones who moved out for us) had not paid their phone bill - which resulted in a disconnect for non-pay on 21 June. So, I could have ordered it then. I didn’t know that, so I waited until 29 June to finalize the transfer of service (T and F). I was informed by a bouncy rep that I could have that done in 1 July. The order was put in but not completed, resulting in me having no phone until Tuesday, 3 July. Why? Because July 1 was Canada Day and monday was the leiu day for that holiday. The call center was closed. If I’d known that Aliant would screw us like that, then I would have made other plans - which I did after I got connected (another call from a payphone to a barely responsive and reasonably INEPT rep, who didn’t seem to want to work that early in the morning) by telling the agent that I was getting phone service that day or I was going to make other plans.

I made other plans anyways. I’m taking my business to the cable company. There are a lot of things that I don’t like about the way my cable company does things (it’s Rogers, the only choice around here), especially if you’re a tad behind on the bill. But, they deliver the product. Sure, they throttle P2P traffic because their network is inferior and needs an upgrade, but they deliver fast internet speeds at an OK price. They provide more for the money than the sattelite companies as far as TV goes (a switch from our American neighbors), and now they provide home phone service. What’s more, they’re in when you call.I haven’t not gotten my questions answered by a Rogers rep. Sure, they may have transferred me around a few times. Sure, they may not have had the answer that I wanted to hear, but they always had the answer - and not only before 6pm (which is actually 5pm in Aliant time, because they don’t actually take calls for the last hour - or the first, for that matter).

that was the rant part

So, Caleb is still loving life in Nova Scotia with his grandparents (and they’re loving it too). He gets to play with his cousin Alyssa (my sister’s little girl) and they’re getting along famously. Alone, they can be a bit trying, although Caleb really likes the attentionhe’s getting from Grampy. I think that my dad’s a bit regretful about not spending more time with us when we were younger, and Caleb’s getting the benefit of that.

Abby seems to like our new place, which is definitely a good thing! She’s already got her room all messy. I wonder how they are going to get along together in there. He likes a night light. She’s used to none. He wants the fan on (even in the winter) and she hates it. I guess that there will have to be a compromise. We’ll see when he gets back in about 10 days.

Our washer died before we left, so we were faced with replacing it. Turns out that our landlord has one that he is willing to loan us until we leave. That’s one down - a big one. Thanks, Jeff. So, now we have to finish decorating, etc. We just got a magnetic curtain rod for the steel door, as it has a nice big window. That little device was $23!!! Talk about niche pricing. There are still boxes to go through and the grout on the tiles in our new “room” that the previous tenant said he’d finish, but didn’t. That’s par for the course when you don’t like apartments that have it already done for you (AKA unnecessarily expensive to rent).

Otherwise, Ange and I caught Click and Salvage, which I may get around to reviewing sometime. But, for now, we are taking it easy between unpacking tasks. Moving’s for the birds, I must say. I don’t recommend it, unless you have no stuff.

Sorry for the away time, but I hope that my sporadic thoughts over the last week were a near substitute.

…and MrCorey has left the building, folks. You can all go home…

bvecause of the troubles recently with my webhost, some of my files have the wrong permissions and a necessary file that needs to be writable by wordpress is being denied that permission.  I can’t fix it right now, as I’m at work and the port used to do so is blocked here.  I’ll fix it at home tonight, after y’all are likely sleeping.  Sorry if you’ve been trying to comment and have gotten 404’s.  Its a permalink issue.  Geeky! Run now!!!!!

 

EDIT: On suggestion from John I stopped the nice pretty permalinks temporarily, so you should be able to comment until I get home and make some changes

So I’m here at work, taking calls for the Health Insurance company that I work for. Our center has other clients as well, though, one being a gas company (actually a few gas companies). I’m taking calls as usual, and all of a sudden, I get calls destined for the emergency line of the gas company. What do I tell them? I attempt to transfer them to the right place and the call comes back to me! Wha! Thankfully, it was someone who just wanted some work done. Frustrating for them, though.

If you smell gas, folks, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!

So, have you ever been behind a transport truck doing 85mph on a wet road hovering near the freezing mark? I was (and, perhaps keeping up, but I’ll never really admit it, or will I?). Its a slightly scary thing to witness, since you’re the one behind which will plough into it if it jacknifes. Its not the easiest feeling that you’ll have as you watch the trailer weave back and forth on the road.

thebroker.gifSo, I am borrowing a book from a co-worker who just can’t get into reading it right now. Its the new John Grisham book, “The Broker“. I must say, that after 31 pages, I’m already hooked. This book is shaping up to be a great read. I’ve noticed that as the books get written, Grisham is taking a tack away from the “lawyer” stuff and going more towards the “international intrigue” direction. Perhaps I’m daft, but that’s what I see.

In his final hours in the Oval Office, the outgoing President grants a controversial last-minute pardon to Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years hidden away in a federal prison. What no one knows is that the President issues the pardon only after receiving enormous pressure from the CIA. It seems Backman, in his power broker heyday, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world’s most sophisticated satellite surveillance system.
Backman is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA will leak his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, and the Saudis. Then the CIA will do what it does best: sit back and watch. The question is not whether Backman will survive—there is no chance of that. The question the CIA needs answered is, who will kill him?

The above synopsis was taken from the back cover (or the website). Its still early, but I’m going to recommend this read so far, based on only 31 pages.

Yes, John, I’ve borrowed a book at work…to read at work! And, I picked up the book late in my shift…

As Tyra Banks has a belching contest on the TV in the background, I’m reminded that I’m not at work today. How about that. This zany mini-post exists so that something new has been posted to shake up the database. Spring break starts now for Caleb. His teacher will not be returning after, as she’s going to have a baby. She made a cute collage of pictures with win movie maker for the kids. It was cute. Oh, and its warmed up considerably. Its only -6°C right now.

BTW, I’ve noticed that Bad Behavior has blocked an extra 20 spam attempts in the last 2 days. If any non-spam comments didn’t get on the page, please email me about it.

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