Hey Everybody!
Mom has been here less than 5 hours and already I have TWO, count them, TWO, stories!! I believe these happened within the first hour of her being here.
First, as mentioned, she is not a fan of spiders. She checked her bathtub (where I thought there would be dead bodies) and she sees a live spider. She doesn't jump around or go up five octaves or anything, but, she allerts me to it and stares at it like it's Boo Didley from Super Mario Bros. 3, you know, so, like the antagonist in the Fortress of Desert Land, if one stares at it, it wont chase after you. I tell her don't touch it it's mine, don't touch it. When I leave, she is still staring at it.
I excuse myself to the kitchen to grab the needed instruments: a shot glass and a Glad Ware Soup & Salad lid.
I go back to my mom's bathroom and attempt to bring the little guy to safety via the clever means I have avaliable to me.
I start to get a little scared because he keeps evading me and the lid that's trying to chase him. I don't want him to get aggitated and bite me because I didn't know what kind of spider I was dealing with and the light wasn't on. I try a different tactic and put the shot glass down and at one point I think I smoosh him, but, fortunately, I didn't. It is so important to get the spider out of the bathtub because a spider who lands in a bathtub is certain to die. I don't know how they get in there, but, for some reason, though they can crawl on ceilings and fit into tight places, cannot crawl up the sides of a bathtub. It is very sad and very tragic.
I manage to get the spider out and most of its web on me. I was very upset (as I am sure so was he) because I destroyed his cubbord/refrigerator.
I notice that it has, I think, if I recall correctly, yellow and blue stripes on it. I saw in the bathtub that it had a slender body. I want to show my mom. My mom retreats into my room and tells me she doesn't want to see it, just get it outside.
She follows me down the hall, I'm still holding the Glad Ware lid atop which sits the perfectly docile spider encased in a shot glass that fits the center hole perfectly. My mom and I are talking and a few times she becomes increasingly panicky/short tempered and pleads that I put the spider outside already.
I demonstrated for her that the spider has two barriers: 1) Plastic and 2) Glass. The spider isn't penetrating either.
I show the spider outside and tip him out of the shot glass. I am pretty sure I appologized. I know I asked him to sneak back in when he could.
My mom gets upset at me because I turn the outside and inside light on. I have this silly little quirk about liking to sewhere I'm going.... I don't want to step into any of the prehistoric bugs they gots down here, which is why my mom wants me to turn off the lights, so we do not attract bugs in the house.
....Seems to me that if any of those nasty bugs get in the house, a spider would be good company....
Anyway, story two:
While cleaning out a server, a server where every drawer and cabinet is the motley drawer and motley cabinet, I come across a Rx bottle for my Papa Carmine from 1979.
1979.
Nineteen-Seventy-Nine.
My grandparents moved here in '76. It was a bottle from a Doctor in Blue Island, IL. I guess they were on vacation or something when my Papa needed the Rx.
Anyway, I told people about this: that it's such an old bottle, that nobody has gone through this place, that I'm going to save it to show mom so that she can see that this crap needs to be cleared out.
Everybody's overwhelming response: Thow it out. Throw it out, throw it out, throw it out. Why are you saving it? Throw it out.
Last night I show my mom this bottle. A-Ha!, I think, this will show her that we NEED to go through stuff here and get rid of this junk and update things et. al.
Her response...."I can use this bottle," and she pockets it.
RAWERERERJAELKRJEWLKJROARIJK;LEAJFMKAOEWKLJ.DKE;/FJOI4[Uedowj!!!!!!J Why didn't I just listen to everybody else?!!!!!!!!! WHY!!!!?
My mom claims she can put pins or dimes in it.
Mark this day, Follower & Lurkers! I predict, that in the future, I will see that empty bottle shoved in the back of the clothes drawers here as I clear them.
In other news, yesterday was Michael Jackson's funeral. I missed it seeing as how I didn't get to bed until 0900 when the adrenaline ran out and, even if I was up, I probably would have been watching Mugglenet.com's live coverage of the London premier of HP6.....if I wasn't frantically cleaning.
Anyway, I missed it, but, not to fear: Every. Single. Channel. was covering it and rebroadcasting it (at least them cable news ones were). I saw people dancing in tribute.
Michael and dancers were supposed to be dancing for the new tour about this time, but, there were instead, people dancing in honour of his life.
It's not what we were expecting but, we are seeing Michael Jackson's dancers in early July.
Life is perfect, Life is the best.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Not as lonely as 3 A.M.
It is around 5:30 in the morning, Harry Potter 6 opens next Wednesday, and I'm not in the least bit tired.Also, my mom is coming to visit me/attend to needed repairs.
She gave me an ultimatim a few days ago. I don't kill spiders. Spiders are our friends! I haven't had a problem yet, and though I see them crawling on my bedroom ceiling and walls and elsewhere in the house, I typically let them be. The only time I intervened was when they were in the kitchen. I transported them to the dining room.
Anyway, my mom knows my affection for spiders so she told me if she sees a spider, it's going outside (which, is, I know, a compromise). I am uncomfortable with it going outside because I don't know if the spider will be acclimated to the outdoors; at the very least, birds and snakes are outside.I began to argue with her and she told me, "Then I'm not going to come down there! I'm not living with spiders!" Yeah mom, great. Give me a scenario where I choose a side of this line in the sand you drew. Hard to say which side I'll come down on, the spiders I live with or....
My mom also told me I can't leave the house at midnight when she's here (I go shopping between 2300 & 0300). What's she going to do if I do, send me to my room?
I'm sure I'll C&P this all on my blog, so, if you read my blog, don't read the above.
Nope! Not tired in the least!
She gave me an ultimatim a few days ago. I don't kill spiders. Spiders are our friends! I haven't had a problem yet, and though I see them crawling on my bedroom ceiling and walls and elsewhere in the house, I typically let them be. The only time I intervened was when they were in the kitchen. I transported them to the dining room.
Anyway, my mom knows my affection for spiders so she told me if she sees a spider, it's going outside (which, is, I know, a compromise). I am uncomfortable with it going outside because I don't know if the spider will be acclimated to the outdoors; at the very least, birds and snakes are outside.I began to argue with her and she told me, "Then I'm not going to come down there! I'm not living with spiders!" Yeah mom, great. Give me a scenario where I choose a side of this line in the sand you drew. Hard to say which side I'll come down on, the spiders I live with or....
My mom also told me I can't leave the house at midnight when she's here (I go shopping between 2300 & 0300). What's she going to do if I do, send me to my room?
I'm sure I'll C&P this all on my blog, so, if you read my blog, don't read the above.
Nope! Not tired in the least!
Monday, June 22, 2009
____ YOU, Krebs Elementary School!!!!
May you burn in the lice infested cesspool torrent that can be created just for you!!!!! May you never get public funding again and may the children you teach intimidate you to your core until you crumble.
Whoever decided to put on the outside sign, "First Day of School: August 13," needs to be drug out into the street and shot.
Honestly, we're just at the beginning of Summer (and I meant to write this when I first saw this two weeks ago), and again, we have this public reminder to suck all the Summer out of Summer.
You're not cool, you're not funny, go to hell Krebs Elementary.
Whoever decided to put on the outside sign, "First Day of School: August 13," needs to be drug out into the street and shot.
Honestly, we're just at the beginning of Summer (and I meant to write this when I first saw this two weeks ago), and again, we have this public reminder to suck all the Summer out of Summer.
You're not cool, you're not funny, go to hell Krebs Elementary.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Why We ALL Hate Dealing With Looking For Work.
This was originally an email sent to friends over a year ago.
On Thursday May 8, 2008, I was contacted by Camerin Strange, Office Services Recruiter, from The LaSalle Network. He said he saw my resume on CareerBuilder.com and wanted me to come in to interview for two phone position assignments they had availible. He went into a brief answer for each. I forgot what the first one was, but, I wasn't thrilled by it so I then asked him what the second one was , which was an Answering Service position they had for a client of thiers. The hours would be 3p to 11p at their client's location, Monday through Friday.
'AH' I thought. 'This is great!' I will be at an answering service, a job that I love and at which I am good, and my kind of hours, nonetheless. PLUS, no weekends; Camerin told me that for this position, there would be no weekends. I got to thinking about it and for a temp assignment, there wouldn't be, even though, should I have lasted to get hired on fully by that company, I probably would.
Let me interject now and say that I have interviewed at another answering service and am waiting for a call back from them. It has been one week since they said they would call me back one way or another and two weeks since I originally filled out an application. I say this for two reasons: 1) I have yet to give up home that they will call, and 2) The woman made it clear that, should I be hired, I would have to work one day every weekend. No problem.
I asked Camerin Strange, Office Services Recruiter for the LaSalle Network, which is a staffing agency, who told me about this temp-to-hire position, if anybody had ever been hired to working for this client from their temp status. I was assured that yest they have, that there would be room for growth in this company, and that there were benefits with this company (their client) as well. Camerine then sent me an e-mail confirming the interview and reminding me what he told me over the phone:
"3. Three Items to Bring to Your Interview
a. Two forms of government identification (driver's license, passport, SS card, etc.)
b. The names and phone numbers of two past supervisors that we can contact for a reference.
c. Clean, hard copy of your resume, in addition to the resume you will e-mail to our office assistant as requested above. Her e-mail again is: chicagoresumes@thelasallenetwork.com."
So, if we are all paying attention, they will have three resume's of mine in total by the time I got there, the one as seen on carrerbuilder.com, the one I e-mailed to them, and the hard copy I would bring.
Camerin also told me to look at the attachment included in the e-mail.
I couldn't see the attachment and although I e-mailed him my resume on Thursday, I waited until Sunday night to e-mail him about the attachment (because I wanted to make sure that there wasn't something I was mising as there was something that gave me the option to, "View," but, it didn't open) as well as I couldn't remember if he said the attire was business casual or business professional, and, even though they would have 3 copies of my resume, would they need me to fill out the application on their website (although I didn't say it, it would have been to save time).
Camerin called me at 9:29 Monday morning saying that the attire was buisness casual, that he would re-send the attachment, and that I didn't need to fill out the application online.
I got a reminder call at 4:53 that day from a young woman who works at the LaSalle Network saying I had an 11 a.m. interview the next morning and a few things to remember, 1) The dress is business professional, 2) Bring in two forms of identification, 3) Bring a hard copy of my resume, 4) Get there 1/2 hour early to fill out an application.
Some of you may be rolling your eyes at this point because I wanted to fill out the application online to save time and they clearly told me I didn't have to do that but now they wanted me to come in early to fill out the application. It is probalbly because the online application meant nothing overall and that they wanted a hard, hand written copy, of the application. The online application was possibly no more than an announcement to the LaSalle Network that one is looking for a job. There has not been a staffing agency to which I have been that didn't require one to fill out an application. Furthermore, even with looking for a job online, if I provide a copy of my resume in html or text form, they still want me to fill out the stupid application that the site provides. Some even specify, "Do not type [write], 'Please see resume.'"
Besides, if you start rolling your eyes now, you wont be able to read the rest of my adventure.
The LaSalle Network is in Chicago. 200 N. LaSalle St, Ste 2400, which is 7/10 of a mile away from the Metra Station. It's a straight walk down, don't even have to cross over to the other side of the street, so, it wasn't too bad of a walk, but, I'm not a fan of the 1 hour 20 minute train ride and was considering driving to the prospective job (if I interviewed well enough to get that job), desptite having to possibly pay to park, because even though I didn't know where the client's place of business was, I knew, from Camerin, that it was a little north of 200 N. LaSalle. IF I got that position/assignment, hours 1500 to 2300, and the next train on the Metra Rock Island District Line leaves at 11:05 pm, I would have to wait until the last train of the day, which leaves at 1230 in the morning, which, technically, is the first outbound train of the day. I would have had to possibly have walked past homeless people, but, all in all, it's not like it would require me to go through a shady area. I would have had to wait a while though. I'd get off the train at 1:29, should the train run on time and I'd be home at, on average, 1:50 in the morning.
I get to the building and after checking in with security and getting on the wrong elevator and going past security and explaining that I had agreed too hastily the first time about where I was going, he told me the right way to go.
I get up to Suite 2400 and, lo and behold, Camerin has done his job well!! There were so many people when I went to the desk to check in, after they greeted me, they gave me a stack of paperwork to fill out, and told me that they were sorry and that there were no pens left and did I have a pen? A staffing agency with no pens. They're on the ball, they are. To be honest, I was lucky I had a chair and a clipboard.
I filled the things out and handed them back. I was told that as soon as there was a free computer, they would test my skills.
I am pretty sure I checked on the one sheet that I knew MicrosoftWord, but, they did not test me on it, something I thought was odd, but yet thinking, 'Well, it's not like I'll have to do this for the answering service, I was grateful for because that rest would have taken more time. I was tested on General Office knowledge, one minute timed typing test, and a three minute timed typing test. I scored 41/47 on my General Office test (I wonder if it was the math or the spelling that I had the most trouble with, a 56 wmp on the one minute test with two mistakes, so the actual score was 54 wmp, and a 61 wpm on the three minute test with 0 mistakes, meaning, that for three minutes, on average, I typed over a word a second correctly. I was told before I began testing that they would throw the lower of my scores out and that I didn't need to print, they would worry about that.
I went back up to the desk and told them that I was done with the testing. I think the girl was trying to print out the tests, but, for some reason, it was giving her trouble. To make use of the time not printing (I couldn't see the computer, for all I know she could have been checking her e-mail), she asked me for my two forms of ID and had me fill out tax forms, with the, "Super happy fun pink pen!" It was a sparkly pink pen with black ink, but, at least they now had a pen, which was I think one of the messages she was trying to tell me. I filled out the tax forms at one of the desks (one of them was now free), where my IDs were returned to me.
I was impressed with filling out the tax forms because I though, 'Surely this means I'm going to get hired for the position. Maybe I wont even have to interview because they are so impressed with my resume that they are offering me the job right away.'
I completed those forms along with one of all their rules as an employee of theirs I had to initial and returned it back to the desk.
Shortly after that, my name was called (correctly, something which Camerin couldn't do either call and something I had to correct the one girl when I was first incorrectly addressed) by "Steve Mikrut, Director Call Center Staffing & Recruiting" as it says on his card.
I was told in the e-mails and the literature I got while I was at the LaSalle Network that I would be meeting with at least two, possibly three people who would interview me.
I followed Steve to an interview room, a room where the wall with the door and the wall perpendicular was painted blue and the other two walls were painted yellow. There was a round table in the room and two chairs.
I told him I was there because I was told about the answering service position from 3p to 11p which I was interested in and that I am looking for a carrer and not a job, and not just an assignment. He asked if I was interested in perm-to-hire positions and though I think I hesitated, I said that I was interested as long as they would result in me being hired outright by the company who was using my services, but, I was there for the answering service position.
Very quietly, and I empnhasize this because he had not been this soft spoken prior, he said, "Our client filled that position yesterday."
He then went on, "I don't want you to leave The LaSalle Network thinking that we brought you here under false pretenses..." I did not think they had, to tell the truth. I thought that, at best, there was a failure to communicate. However, assuming that they DID get me in there under false pretenses, they still don't want me to leave thinking they did.
Steve asked me what I knew about The LaSalle Network. I told him I knew it was a staffing agency, and asked him if there was more to it. He said that yes there was because even though they were a staffing agency, they were better than that, they were a higher class staffing agency. "I'm not going to compare us to ManPower. I cannot promise that we have a job out there for everybody." "That's all right," I said, "I've been through ManPower and they weren't able to find me any work, either. If you want to distance yourself from them, that's okay."
It turns out, that they are in the same boat as ManPower because neither was able to find me work.
I kept emphasizing that I was looking for a career at this point in my life, that I am ready to settle down, and I do not want assignments, but, I was told that (and he asked me if I spoke with Camerin) there was the answering service position and that that company has hired people from The LaSalle Network in the past as full time for them. I told him that I was particularly good at that type of work and any over the phone work that they may need, I can talk to people in person if they needed me for that type of work, but, I am good at over the phone. "But, what about customer service?" "Yes, I can do Customer Service positions."
I asked him if he was going to check out my references, as they would provide him with the truth (that I'm a good worker, that, except for two staffing agency assignments, which I left, the only reason that I hadn't had any long term work was because, even though I was told some of my assignments would be temp-to-hire, my assignment was always up by day 88 (if I was there for 90 days, the company would have to have brought me on to their payroll full time), and in one case (two, actually, but, I forgot the second), the one company called me back two more times, that I am punctual, that I am respectful, and that I was always at work when needed). He looked down, between my application on the table and his chest with a panicked, wide-eye look as if his mind was thinking, "How am I going to tell her I'm not going to check out her references?"
We were going over my resume and job history and I told him that I have been through three staffing agencies and I told him once or twice, "You know how it is, it is either feast or famine with staffing agencies; they either have a few assignments lined up or it's months of waiting inbetween." He nodded at this.
We got through talking a little bit more, "But have you ~EVER~ worked in customer service?" I told him yes. After high school and after college I worked at Catherines/Plus Sizes and Phillips 66, respectively. In addition to that, I also did over the phone customer service through a staffing agency.
He told me that the competition is fierce and that it's tough finding a job out in the world (he was saying all this after he didn't think I had the correct qualifications). Really? Hadn't noticed.
I think it was somewhere around this time he took objection to me calling him, 'sir,' incidentally, and wanted to be reffered to by his name, which is fine.
We got to discussing my application a little bit more and the gaps in my employment history, and this was when I told him about the assignments I left early, one being the one for a car dealership where I had to get people to come in to the dealership promising them they could leave with a car, even though their income was negative.
"That's what I don't get!" he said. "Why do you have this down on your resume if it's a job you didn't like?"
Perhaps he meant if it's a job I left, but, I told him, it is because it is one of my most recent jobs and if I put down something else, my resume would look that much shadier, making hiring people wonder, 'did she not work for these 16 months?' He should have known, by common sense in his field and because I kept hinting at it and explaining it to him, that I had some assignments that were only a day or so as well as these bigger week(s) to month(s) ones.
"But, WHY?" he asked me; why did so many of my assignments end prior to 90 days? I told him they just ended, but, if he checks out my references, especially the ones from the staffing agencies, where, hopefully, they have a complete record of my time with them, they could give him more detail.
AND, note, instead of him seeing that I was called, again and again, for different assignments, he asked why didn't I ever have a static assignment, when that's not what having an assignment is about.
He asked if I was looking for permanent work at this time (not now, but when I was working through assignment agencies). I confessed I was not. He asked why. I told him it was so I could be avalible for the next assignment and I wanted to get in experience. He said at this point that, "It seems to me, that experience comes with the longer you last at a job. They'll give you more responsibilities." "Yes, I understand that now, but, I didn't then. For example, my last job, for three of the five months I was there, I was training the new girls, and I say new girls because there was only one guy working there at that time."
So, even this point, that for over half the time I was there, I was a trainer for the job, and I'm reliable, and even though, I scored a 61 wpm with zero errors on the test, and I am polite and mindful, if not respectable to authority, apparently, because of my work history, I was told, "I won't be able to place you." He told me that his clients want to see people with work histories denoting that they have been at their jobs at least 6 to 8 months.
"When you say, 'I wont be able to place you, do you mean, 'I, Steve, will not be able to place you,' or, 'The LaSalle Network will not be able to place you'?"
Very quitely, he said, "The LaSalle Network will not be able to place you."
He asked if I had any other questions.
I asked him if he would have a talk with Camerin.
*pause*. Very quietly, "I will have a conversation with him."
I told him that if there was a recording of the conversation, to go back and listen to the recording, because I could have sworn that is the reason I was coming in to the interview today.
You know how when somebody tries to sell you something, they talk fast and they use buzz words to explain something? And if you try to ask them for clarification, they just repeat the same phrase using the buzz words? That is typically what happens when I go to an interview, especially at a staffing agency, but, that didn't happen this time. As a matter of fact, Steve was looking at me with a deer in the the headlights look on his face and in his eyes. He was quieter at times than others, and he seemed kind of, in general, nervous.
He seemed relieved when I was very understanding about not being able to be employed there. I'm not that fussed about it to tell you the truth. I mean, if they wanted people with 6 to 8 months at least of experience in any one solid job, just to assign them to something that would be temporary, and not that familiar with how staffing agencies work, then I clearly would not be the best fit for them.
During the walk of shame back to the train, a woman asked me for money for the train. She said she was not homeless but just got out of the pen. Even though I was just rejected for employment, I gave her money. And, if she was in the pen for a while and had a job while in there, who knows, if it was over 6 months long, perhaps she can go to The LaSalle Network and they could place her.
On Thursday May 8, 2008, I was contacted by Camerin Strange, Office Services Recruiter, from The LaSalle Network. He said he saw my resume on CareerBuilder.com and wanted me to come in to interview for two phone position assignments they had availible. He went into a brief answer for each. I forgot what the first one was, but, I wasn't thrilled by it so I then asked him what the second one was , which was an Answering Service position they had for a client of thiers. The hours would be 3p to 11p at their client's location, Monday through Friday.
'AH' I thought. 'This is great!' I will be at an answering service, a job that I love and at which I am good, and my kind of hours, nonetheless. PLUS, no weekends; Camerin told me that for this position, there would be no weekends. I got to thinking about it and for a temp assignment, there wouldn't be, even though, should I have lasted to get hired on fully by that company, I probably would.
Let me interject now and say that I have interviewed at another answering service and am waiting for a call back from them. It has been one week since they said they would call me back one way or another and two weeks since I originally filled out an application. I say this for two reasons: 1) I have yet to give up home that they will call, and 2) The woman made it clear that, should I be hired, I would have to work one day every weekend. No problem.
I asked Camerin Strange, Office Services Recruiter for the LaSalle Network, which is a staffing agency, who told me about this temp-to-hire position, if anybody had ever been hired to working for this client from their temp status. I was assured that yest they have, that there would be room for growth in this company, and that there were benefits with this company (their client) as well. Camerine then sent me an e-mail confirming the interview and reminding me what he told me over the phone:
"3. Three Items to Bring to Your Interview
a. Two forms of government identification (driver's license, passport, SS card, etc.)
b. The names and phone numbers of two past supervisors that we can contact for a reference.
c. Clean, hard copy of your resume, in addition to the resume you will e-mail to our office assistant as requested above. Her e-mail again is: chicagoresumes@thelasallenetwork.com."
So, if we are all paying attention, they will have three resume's of mine in total by the time I got there, the one as seen on carrerbuilder.com, the one I e-mailed to them, and the hard copy I would bring.
Camerin also told me to look at the attachment included in the e-mail.
I couldn't see the attachment and although I e-mailed him my resume on Thursday, I waited until Sunday night to e-mail him about the attachment (because I wanted to make sure that there wasn't something I was mising as there was something that gave me the option to, "View," but, it didn't open) as well as I couldn't remember if he said the attire was business casual or business professional, and, even though they would have 3 copies of my resume, would they need me to fill out the application on their website (although I didn't say it, it would have been to save time).
Camerin called me at 9:29 Monday morning saying that the attire was buisness casual, that he would re-send the attachment, and that I didn't need to fill out the application online.
I got a reminder call at 4:53 that day from a young woman who works at the LaSalle Network saying I had an 11 a.m. interview the next morning and a few things to remember, 1) The dress is business professional, 2) Bring in two forms of identification, 3) Bring a hard copy of my resume, 4) Get there 1/2 hour early to fill out an application.
Some of you may be rolling your eyes at this point because I wanted to fill out the application online to save time and they clearly told me I didn't have to do that but now they wanted me to come in early to fill out the application. It is probalbly because the online application meant nothing overall and that they wanted a hard, hand written copy, of the application. The online application was possibly no more than an announcement to the LaSalle Network that one is looking for a job. There has not been a staffing agency to which I have been that didn't require one to fill out an application. Furthermore, even with looking for a job online, if I provide a copy of my resume in html or text form, they still want me to fill out the stupid application that the site provides. Some even specify, "Do not type [write], 'Please see resume.'"
Besides, if you start rolling your eyes now, you wont be able to read the rest of my adventure.
The LaSalle Network is in Chicago. 200 N. LaSalle St, Ste 2400, which is 7/10 of a mile away from the Metra Station. It's a straight walk down, don't even have to cross over to the other side of the street, so, it wasn't too bad of a walk, but, I'm not a fan of the 1 hour 20 minute train ride and was considering driving to the prospective job (if I interviewed well enough to get that job), desptite having to possibly pay to park, because even though I didn't know where the client's place of business was, I knew, from Camerin, that it was a little north of 200 N. LaSalle. IF I got that position/assignment, hours 1500 to 2300, and the next train on the Metra Rock Island District Line leaves at 11:05 pm, I would have to wait until the last train of the day, which leaves at 1230 in the morning, which, technically, is the first outbound train of the day. I would have had to possibly have walked past homeless people, but, all in all, it's not like it would require me to go through a shady area. I would have had to wait a while though. I'd get off the train at 1:29, should the train run on time and I'd be home at, on average, 1:50 in the morning.
I get to the building and after checking in with security and getting on the wrong elevator and going past security and explaining that I had agreed too hastily the first time about where I was going, he told me the right way to go.
I get up to Suite 2400 and, lo and behold, Camerin has done his job well!! There were so many people when I went to the desk to check in, after they greeted me, they gave me a stack of paperwork to fill out, and told me that they were sorry and that there were no pens left and did I have a pen? A staffing agency with no pens. They're on the ball, they are. To be honest, I was lucky I had a chair and a clipboard.
I filled the things out and handed them back. I was told that as soon as there was a free computer, they would test my skills.
I am pretty sure I checked on the one sheet that I knew MicrosoftWord, but, they did not test me on it, something I thought was odd, but yet thinking, 'Well, it's not like I'll have to do this for the answering service, I was grateful for because that rest would have taken more time. I was tested on General Office knowledge, one minute timed typing test, and a three minute timed typing test. I scored 41/47 on my General Office test (I wonder if it was the math or the spelling that I had the most trouble with, a 56 wmp on the one minute test with two mistakes, so the actual score was 54 wmp, and a 61 wpm on the three minute test with 0 mistakes, meaning, that for three minutes, on average, I typed over a word a second correctly. I was told before I began testing that they would throw the lower of my scores out and that I didn't need to print, they would worry about that.
I went back up to the desk and told them that I was done with the testing. I think the girl was trying to print out the tests, but, for some reason, it was giving her trouble. To make use of the time not printing (I couldn't see the computer, for all I know she could have been checking her e-mail), she asked me for my two forms of ID and had me fill out tax forms, with the, "Super happy fun pink pen!" It was a sparkly pink pen with black ink, but, at least they now had a pen, which was I think one of the messages she was trying to tell me. I filled out the tax forms at one of the desks (one of them was now free), where my IDs were returned to me.
I was impressed with filling out the tax forms because I though, 'Surely this means I'm going to get hired for the position. Maybe I wont even have to interview because they are so impressed with my resume that they are offering me the job right away.'
I completed those forms along with one of all their rules as an employee of theirs I had to initial and returned it back to the desk.
Shortly after that, my name was called (correctly, something which Camerin couldn't do either call and something I had to correct the one girl when I was first incorrectly addressed) by "Steve Mikrut, Director Call Center Staffing & Recruiting" as it says on his card.
I was told in the e-mails and the literature I got while I was at the LaSalle Network that I would be meeting with at least two, possibly three people who would interview me.
I followed Steve to an interview room, a room where the wall with the door and the wall perpendicular was painted blue and the other two walls were painted yellow. There was a round table in the room and two chairs.
I told him I was there because I was told about the answering service position from 3p to 11p which I was interested in and that I am looking for a carrer and not a job, and not just an assignment. He asked if I was interested in perm-to-hire positions and though I think I hesitated, I said that I was interested as long as they would result in me being hired outright by the company who was using my services, but, I was there for the answering service position.
Very quietly, and I empnhasize this because he had not been this soft spoken prior, he said, "Our client filled that position yesterday."
He then went on, "I don't want you to leave The LaSalle Network thinking that we brought you here under false pretenses..." I did not think they had, to tell the truth. I thought that, at best, there was a failure to communicate. However, assuming that they DID get me in there under false pretenses, they still don't want me to leave thinking they did.
Steve asked me what I knew about The LaSalle Network. I told him I knew it was a staffing agency, and asked him if there was more to it. He said that yes there was because even though they were a staffing agency, they were better than that, they were a higher class staffing agency. "I'm not going to compare us to ManPower. I cannot promise that we have a job out there for everybody." "That's all right," I said, "I've been through ManPower and they weren't able to find me any work, either. If you want to distance yourself from them, that's okay."
It turns out, that they are in the same boat as ManPower because neither was able to find me work.
I kept emphasizing that I was looking for a career at this point in my life, that I am ready to settle down, and I do not want assignments, but, I was told that (and he asked me if I spoke with Camerin) there was the answering service position and that that company has hired people from The LaSalle Network in the past as full time for them. I told him that I was particularly good at that type of work and any over the phone work that they may need, I can talk to people in person if they needed me for that type of work, but, I am good at over the phone. "But, what about customer service?" "Yes, I can do Customer Service positions."
I asked him if he was going to check out my references, as they would provide him with the truth (that I'm a good worker, that, except for two staffing agency assignments, which I left, the only reason that I hadn't had any long term work was because, even though I was told some of my assignments would be temp-to-hire, my assignment was always up by day 88 (if I was there for 90 days, the company would have to have brought me on to their payroll full time), and in one case (two, actually, but, I forgot the second), the one company called me back two more times, that I am punctual, that I am respectful, and that I was always at work when needed). He looked down, between my application on the table and his chest with a panicked, wide-eye look as if his mind was thinking, "How am I going to tell her I'm not going to check out her references?"
We were going over my resume and job history and I told him that I have been through three staffing agencies and I told him once or twice, "You know how it is, it is either feast or famine with staffing agencies; they either have a few assignments lined up or it's months of waiting inbetween." He nodded at this.
We got through talking a little bit more, "But have you ~EVER~ worked in customer service?" I told him yes. After high school and after college I worked at Catherines/Plus Sizes and Phillips 66, respectively. In addition to that, I also did over the phone customer service through a staffing agency.
He told me that the competition is fierce and that it's tough finding a job out in the world (he was saying all this after he didn't think I had the correct qualifications). Really? Hadn't noticed.
I think it was somewhere around this time he took objection to me calling him, 'sir,' incidentally, and wanted to be reffered to by his name, which is fine.
We got to discussing my application a little bit more and the gaps in my employment history, and this was when I told him about the assignments I left early, one being the one for a car dealership where I had to get people to come in to the dealership promising them they could leave with a car, even though their income was negative.
"That's what I don't get!" he said. "Why do you have this down on your resume if it's a job you didn't like?"
Perhaps he meant if it's a job I left, but, I told him, it is because it is one of my most recent jobs and if I put down something else, my resume would look that much shadier, making hiring people wonder, 'did she not work for these 16 months?' He should have known, by common sense in his field and because I kept hinting at it and explaining it to him, that I had some assignments that were only a day or so as well as these bigger week(s) to month(s) ones.
"But, WHY?" he asked me; why did so many of my assignments end prior to 90 days? I told him they just ended, but, if he checks out my references, especially the ones from the staffing agencies, where, hopefully, they have a complete record of my time with them, they could give him more detail.
AND, note, instead of him seeing that I was called, again and again, for different assignments, he asked why didn't I ever have a static assignment, when that's not what having an assignment is about.
He asked if I was looking for permanent work at this time (not now, but when I was working through assignment agencies). I confessed I was not. He asked why. I told him it was so I could be avalible for the next assignment and I wanted to get in experience. He said at this point that, "It seems to me, that experience comes with the longer you last at a job. They'll give you more responsibilities." "Yes, I understand that now, but, I didn't then. For example, my last job, for three of the five months I was there, I was training the new girls, and I say new girls because there was only one guy working there at that time."
So, even this point, that for over half the time I was there, I was a trainer for the job, and I'm reliable, and even though, I scored a 61 wpm with zero errors on the test, and I am polite and mindful, if not respectable to authority, apparently, because of my work history, I was told, "I won't be able to place you." He told me that his clients want to see people with work histories denoting that they have been at their jobs at least 6 to 8 months.
"When you say, 'I wont be able to place you, do you mean, 'I, Steve, will not be able to place you,' or, 'The LaSalle Network will not be able to place you'?"
Very quitely, he said, "The LaSalle Network will not be able to place you."
He asked if I had any other questions.
I asked him if he would have a talk with Camerin.
*pause*. Very quietly, "I will have a conversation with him."
I told him that if there was a recording of the conversation, to go back and listen to the recording, because I could have sworn that is the reason I was coming in to the interview today.
You know how when somebody tries to sell you something, they talk fast and they use buzz words to explain something? And if you try to ask them for clarification, they just repeat the same phrase using the buzz words? That is typically what happens when I go to an interview, especially at a staffing agency, but, that didn't happen this time. As a matter of fact, Steve was looking at me with a deer in the the headlights look on his face and in his eyes. He was quieter at times than others, and he seemed kind of, in general, nervous.
He seemed relieved when I was very understanding about not being able to be employed there. I'm not that fussed about it to tell you the truth. I mean, if they wanted people with 6 to 8 months at least of experience in any one solid job, just to assign them to something that would be temporary, and not that familiar with how staffing agencies work, then I clearly would not be the best fit for them.
During the walk of shame back to the train, a woman asked me for money for the train. She said she was not homeless but just got out of the pen. Even though I was just rejected for employment, I gave her money. And, if she was in the pen for a while and had a job while in there, who knows, if it was over 6 months long, perhaps she can go to The LaSalle Network and they could place her.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
For the love of all things Holy....
I was fired from the job I had for a month this morning. I will blog about that later. I say this to segue into the following. It is the epitome of all firing stories. A friend I have loves it so much that whenever I am let go she compares it to this story and some of the time when I mention religion she mentions this event.
The event is as such:
Once upon a time, Attia didn't have a job. Attia loves God and Attia saw in one of the bulletins of the church she went to that they needed Religious Education Teachers. It was volunteer, but, it was at least a reason to get out of the house.
I don't remember what grade it was, but, I called up to inquire about it, and was told that somebody had already taken that grade, but, there was another grade (I think 6 or 7-8), would I want that one? I said yes.
I was informed later, by the Director of Religious Education that somebody had just taken that one (after it was offered to me, meaning, I got it, but, then, because somebody else wanted it, it was given to them), how would I like 2nd Grade? BUT, not any second grade. THIS second grade was for the newly newly mostly non-practicing Catholic children. There was another second grade for the practicing Catholic children, but, the one I would be teaching would be continued through next year (when the children could receive the Eucharist).
These children were blank slates. I could teach them.
I hate curricula. I had to teach them from approved texts. These texts didn't have an Imprimatur or Nahil Obstat. ....Which is what one would expect from a church with a DRE.....
I was informed that addressing the children by "Mr." or "Miss" & their last name would be improper. I did this for the first class, anyway.
I was told not to do that and again, instructed not to sit at the desk, but, rather, sit at the table with them. This IS school, but, it's not.
At one point, I was asked a question about guardian angels and I didn't have the information memorized. I looked up the passages in the Bible (and I told this to a former Professor I had, and she was surprised that it was in the Bible at all....thought it was just something told to little kids...) and had each child (there were three) and myself read a passage about guardian angels and then I explained it a little bit more.
What was I told by the DRE? "Don't read from the Bible it will befuddle their little minds!"
Anyway, our lessons had to be approved by the DRE, so, I would submit my lesson plans to her. She would tweek them a bit to where they would fit in her approval.
I was called in one day to either come in on a Tuesday or Wednesday and submit my plans to her. I knew it wasn't the reason, I KNEW IT, but, still, I stayed at the library one Sunday to plan it all out.
And sure enough, she was letting me go. I don't remember everything she said, but, one of the prefaces was, "...I have given this a lot of prayer..."
I tell you, The Reader, this for one reason and one reason only.
My friend thinks it's hiLARious that this woman used the Holy Spirit as an excuse to fire me.
...I couldn't get over that I was let go from a VOLUNTEER position, myself....
Another thing, I was yelled at because we hadn't yet made our prayer cloth. Apparently, it's a craft project where the kids could paint or color this white cloth however they wanted and we would use it to open up in prayer each session.
......Forgive me if we had more pressing matters, like teaching them the basics of the Catholic faith....
Anyway, again, whenever I am let go or anything like this happens, my friend compares it to the excuse of I was let go FOR SOMETHING I WAS NOT BEING PAID FOR because of the Holy Spirit.
Of all the excuses, that one is still the most outrageous. Should anything top it, you all will know.
The event is as such:
Once upon a time, Attia didn't have a job. Attia loves God and Attia saw in one of the bulletins of the church she went to that they needed Religious Education Teachers. It was volunteer, but, it was at least a reason to get out of the house.
I don't remember what grade it was, but, I called up to inquire about it, and was told that somebody had already taken that grade, but, there was another grade (I think 6 or 7-8), would I want that one? I said yes.
I was informed later, by the Director of Religious Education that somebody had just taken that one (after it was offered to me, meaning, I got it, but, then, because somebody else wanted it, it was given to them), how would I like 2nd Grade? BUT, not any second grade. THIS second grade was for the newly newly mostly non-practicing Catholic children. There was another second grade for the practicing Catholic children, but, the one I would be teaching would be continued through next year (when the children could receive the Eucharist).
These children were blank slates. I could teach them.
I hate curricula. I had to teach them from approved texts. These texts didn't have an Imprimatur or Nahil Obstat. ....Which is what one would expect from a church with a DRE.....
I was informed that addressing the children by "Mr." or "Miss" & their last name would be improper. I did this for the first class, anyway.
I was told not to do that and again, instructed not to sit at the desk, but, rather, sit at the table with them. This IS school, but, it's not.
At one point, I was asked a question about guardian angels and I didn't have the information memorized. I looked up the passages in the Bible (and I told this to a former Professor I had, and she was surprised that it was in the Bible at all....thought it was just something told to little kids...) and had each child (there were three) and myself read a passage about guardian angels and then I explained it a little bit more.
What was I told by the DRE? "Don't read from the Bible it will befuddle their little minds!"
Anyway, our lessons had to be approved by the DRE, so, I would submit my lesson plans to her. She would tweek them a bit to where they would fit in her approval.
I was called in one day to either come in on a Tuesday or Wednesday and submit my plans to her. I knew it wasn't the reason, I KNEW IT, but, still, I stayed at the library one Sunday to plan it all out.
And sure enough, she was letting me go. I don't remember everything she said, but, one of the prefaces was, "...I have given this a lot of prayer..."
I tell you, The Reader, this for one reason and one reason only.
My friend thinks it's hiLARious that this woman used the Holy Spirit as an excuse to fire me.
...I couldn't get over that I was let go from a VOLUNTEER position, myself....
Another thing, I was yelled at because we hadn't yet made our prayer cloth. Apparently, it's a craft project where the kids could paint or color this white cloth however they wanted and we would use it to open up in prayer each session.
......Forgive me if we had more pressing matters, like teaching them the basics of the Catholic faith....
Anyway, again, whenever I am let go or anything like this happens, my friend compares it to the excuse of I was let go FOR SOMETHING I WAS NOT BEING PAID FOR because of the Holy Spirit.
Of all the excuses, that one is still the most outrageous. Should anything top it, you all will know.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Because I had a lot for which to answer....
Have I mentioned I have a new job? I've had it for a month now (four weeks, since the first Thursday in May). I am an operator at the answering service down here. I got it because the Manager here called the Manager at the service I used to work at and she gave me an very high review including the remark she'd take me back in a second (she told me this).
I love this work, it's not something everybody can do or wants to do or is committed to doing. One has to deal with all sorts of people (our clients and their customers), some who are nice, some who are volitile, many different people with different accents, that we need to decipher via bad connections, without the use of body language or lip reading. One has to sit for long periods of time. Some of these calls have a high priority. A call that comes in on a line/account from a person saying they cannot breathe or their _______________ is on fire, needs to be called out right away......which is kind of hard to do here, especially if another call like that is on hold.
This service is different than the one where I was trained. Speed is essential here, not accuracy. One can play back one's own calls, though, as pointed out to others, if the call has static or a bad connection during the initial call, playback will not help, and it is necessary to ask the caller to repeat what s/he said. There can be four operators at most taking calls here. In IL, there could be up to 11 (typically, though, depending on the day shifts, there were between 4 and 9). Here, around 300 accounts; there between 400 - 500. Here, we see the calls holding via account and they go into a communal holding once saved. There, we saw the numbers holding, and each operator was responsible for fully finishing that call before he/she took the next one.
I wasn't getting the hang of things, really getting it, until this Monday. THAT is because I had been chewed out by a supervisor (to whom I apolgized because I was in the wrong), and had one on one time with her, her daughter, another worker, both overnight people, AND the trainer (all since being there). One of the overnight girls (the non-supervisor one) and the daughter of the other supervisor suggested, in my downtime, I go throught all the accounts and read how each client wants us to handle their calls, and if I have any questions, ask (this way I wont be caught off guard with a new call). Another girl gave me the advice to not use the mouse and to try to get these calls out in under a minute, and, do not say, "Yes, Miss," but rather, "Yes, Ma'am". The mother supervisor has stressed time and again and again (because I needed to be told repeatedly), try not to take calls that would require the person to call back to the office anyway. Offer to take the call, sure, but, these are calls that will be holding, and that is annoying.
I stayed for over 12 hours on Monday, the holiday (but, I only put in my 7 hour shift....which I got in the first place because another girl quit) to help the two senior operators (though, truth be told, I thought I'dve been more of a liability) because I offered because it would be them and a girl who had been there for under 2 weeks....who, I think, has already quit. That morning was hectic because we had old people calling in wanting to know if their nurses would visit them that day. By comparison, that afternoon/evening was easy.
The next day, Tuesday, I was totally getting it. Most everything clicked. It just all fell into place. I was doing so well, the Daughter of the One Supervisor showed me how to edit information in accounts and how to put in information on other accounts on which one needs to be trained.
....Also on Tuesday, we, the service, received a call....let me rephrase, I, ~I~ received a call. I had never seen this account before in my life, I'm not even sure if I had been told about it, but, it is a VERY high priority company. The first question we are to ask after we answer for the company is, "Is this a life threatening emergency?"
I didn't know that.
I answered the phone per the greeting the client wants us to use and was informed right away, "This is a test....." The guy on the other end wanted to know how we'd handle a call and what questions we were to ask and who was on call in a state primarily and secondarily. It goes against everything we are trained to do to give out first and last name on call information...but, I did it anyway. I answered all his questions. One of the last things he said to me was, "Very good." It seemed like a passing statement. I did put on the account that it was a test (we doccument every call that comes in....mostly....I should probably start doing that...).
Like I said before, we have a communal holding for the messages. If there's a message holding, it comes up on a pop-up when we type in the command to see it.
My boss saw that message.
He typed in the chat (as we have a type of IM thing within the software at this location), "How did we do?"
An operator who has been working here for three years (the trainer), replied, "I DON'T KNOW, ATTIA TOOK THE CALL."
He replied, and I cannot emphasize enough how much of a direct quote this is and I don't know if he did it because of his confidence in me as an operator for him (which, again, hasn't been glowing), or because I was unaware of what to do because I had never seen this account, "ah crap.....Attia?"
I found it ammusing myself.
I had to play back the message to see what the guy said, because, apparently, it was a real test. We are supposed to right away ask if it's a life threatening emergency as soon as we give the greeting. I didn't know this. We were told by Trainer that sometimes they will not say it's a test, they will have a scenario set up where it's a caller calling in, just to see how the call is handled. Daughter of the one Supervisor said something along the lines of she might have been conflicted because giving on call info, especially last names, goes against all our training. We do not know who is on the other side of the line, and I have been told, there were times, when last names were given, and the caller would then look up the person in the phonebook and call the listed number.
So.......hopefully, we did well.
Other than that, a girl who was there for a few weeks has already quit....and, I don't know what happened with that other girl mentioned earlier. The night supervisor has a vacation coming up in two weeks, and the other night girl is leaving to get married and move to GA at the beginning of July....which, the manager has yet to know.
I mentioned that I want to work the afternoon/overnight shift, but, I don't think I'm ready. Though I have shown remarkable improvement, I think it may still be a bit premature to think I can handle being alone at this place, should everything go wrong at once (there are radios connected to some of our accounts, there's weather radios, that if something wonky is happening, I'd have to page it out, there is one account that uses an automated voice to call in case something is down in the field, there are pagers that go off in case something is down in the field, not to mention the emergency calls we would get from people needing a fire put out, an on call nurse, something has gone down in the field, or the non-emergency disgruntled people who are upset that I cannot help them with something, when they were told and the number they called says, "24 Hour Customer Support".
...And speaking about that last account, no, no I do NOT have an accent. Just because I ask people what TOWN do they live in and they hear TIME does not mean it's on my end.....Clearly it's their hearing....
I love this work, it's not something everybody can do or wants to do or is committed to doing. One has to deal with all sorts of people (our clients and their customers), some who are nice, some who are volitile, many different people with different accents, that we need to decipher via bad connections, without the use of body language or lip reading. One has to sit for long periods of time. Some of these calls have a high priority. A call that comes in on a line/account from a person saying they cannot breathe or their _______________ is on fire, needs to be called out right away......which is kind of hard to do here, especially if another call like that is on hold.
This service is different than the one where I was trained. Speed is essential here, not accuracy. One can play back one's own calls, though, as pointed out to others, if the call has static or a bad connection during the initial call, playback will not help, and it is necessary to ask the caller to repeat what s/he said. There can be four operators at most taking calls here. In IL, there could be up to 11 (typically, though, depending on the day shifts, there were between 4 and 9). Here, around 300 accounts; there between 400 - 500. Here, we see the calls holding via account and they go into a communal holding once saved. There, we saw the numbers holding, and each operator was responsible for fully finishing that call before he/she took the next one.
I wasn't getting the hang of things, really getting it, until this Monday. THAT is because I had been chewed out by a supervisor (to whom I apolgized because I was in the wrong), and had one on one time with her, her daughter, another worker, both overnight people, AND the trainer (all since being there). One of the overnight girls (the non-supervisor one) and the daughter of the other supervisor suggested, in my downtime, I go throught all the accounts and read how each client wants us to handle their calls, and if I have any questions, ask (this way I wont be caught off guard with a new call). Another girl gave me the advice to not use the mouse and to try to get these calls out in under a minute, and, do not say, "Yes, Miss," but rather, "Yes, Ma'am". The mother supervisor has stressed time and again and again (because I needed to be told repeatedly), try not to take calls that would require the person to call back to the office anyway. Offer to take the call, sure, but, these are calls that will be holding, and that is annoying.
I stayed for over 12 hours on Monday, the holiday (but, I only put in my 7 hour shift....which I got in the first place because another girl quit) to help the two senior operators (though, truth be told, I thought I'dve been more of a liability) because I offered because it would be them and a girl who had been there for under 2 weeks....who, I think, has already quit. That morning was hectic because we had old people calling in wanting to know if their nurses would visit them that day. By comparison, that afternoon/evening was easy.
The next day, Tuesday, I was totally getting it. Most everything clicked. It just all fell into place. I was doing so well, the Daughter of the One Supervisor showed me how to edit information in accounts and how to put in information on other accounts on which one needs to be trained.
....Also on Tuesday, we, the service, received a call....let me rephrase, I, ~I~ received a call. I had never seen this account before in my life, I'm not even sure if I had been told about it, but, it is a VERY high priority company. The first question we are to ask after we answer for the company is, "Is this a life threatening emergency?"
I didn't know that.
I answered the phone per the greeting the client wants us to use and was informed right away, "This is a test....." The guy on the other end wanted to know how we'd handle a call and what questions we were to ask and who was on call in a state primarily and secondarily. It goes against everything we are trained to do to give out first and last name on call information...but, I did it anyway. I answered all his questions. One of the last things he said to me was, "Very good." It seemed like a passing statement. I did put on the account that it was a test (we doccument every call that comes in....mostly....I should probably start doing that...).
Like I said before, we have a communal holding for the messages. If there's a message holding, it comes up on a pop-up when we type in the command to see it.
My boss saw that message.
He typed in the chat (as we have a type of IM thing within the software at this location), "How did we do?"
An operator who has been working here for three years (the trainer), replied, "I DON'T KNOW, ATTIA TOOK THE CALL."
He replied, and I cannot emphasize enough how much of a direct quote this is and I don't know if he did it because of his confidence in me as an operator for him (which, again, hasn't been glowing), or because I was unaware of what to do because I had never seen this account, "ah crap.....Attia?"
I found it ammusing myself.
I had to play back the message to see what the guy said, because, apparently, it was a real test. We are supposed to right away ask if it's a life threatening emergency as soon as we give the greeting. I didn't know this. We were told by Trainer that sometimes they will not say it's a test, they will have a scenario set up where it's a caller calling in, just to see how the call is handled. Daughter of the one Supervisor said something along the lines of she might have been conflicted because giving on call info, especially last names, goes against all our training. We do not know who is on the other side of the line, and I have been told, there were times, when last names were given, and the caller would then look up the person in the phonebook and call the listed number.
So.......hopefully, we did well.
Other than that, a girl who was there for a few weeks has already quit....and, I don't know what happened with that other girl mentioned earlier. The night supervisor has a vacation coming up in two weeks, and the other night girl is leaving to get married and move to GA at the beginning of July....which, the manager has yet to know.
I mentioned that I want to work the afternoon/overnight shift, but, I don't think I'm ready. Though I have shown remarkable improvement, I think it may still be a bit premature to think I can handle being alone at this place, should everything go wrong at once (there are radios connected to some of our accounts, there's weather radios, that if something wonky is happening, I'd have to page it out, there is one account that uses an automated voice to call in case something is down in the field, there are pagers that go off in case something is down in the field, not to mention the emergency calls we would get from people needing a fire put out, an on call nurse, something has gone down in the field, or the non-emergency disgruntled people who are upset that I cannot help them with something, when they were told and the number they called says, "24 Hour Customer Support".
...And speaking about that last account, no, no I do NOT have an accent. Just because I ask people what TOWN do they live in and they hear TIME does not mean it's on my end.....Clearly it's their hearing....
Thursday, May 7, 2009
New Jaerb
Hey all. I was informed that "real" bloggers blog everyday. With that in mind and with me anxious to do a bit of typing, here we go. It'll be short, but, for all of you interested, and I know there are plenty, here it is.
I quit my old job after two months, one week. The short story (and I hope to expand on this one day), is the boss, after I asked her what time does she want me to come in tomorrow (which was Saturday), she said that's what she wanted to talk to me about. I had been working the past three days there for three hours a day, and it still seemed like I was putting in a full day's work. She asked me if I wanted the job and I said no. She asked me if I was looking for other employment and I said yes. She told me she wanted me to take the weekend and pray about it (i.e., do not come in on Saturday). We talked some more. Towards the end of the conversation, she asked me if I was coming in on Saturday (uh, no...you just said...). She didn't ask me as a test, I don't think, but, because she really is that loopy.
I called her house up on Monday (the shop is closed that day but she does door-to-door missionary work), and left a message saying I tender my resignation (and a friend, a grown friend with children encouraged me to say that because she probably wouldn't know what, "tender," means in this context....have I mentioned the "2:47" remark?) and I will be in on Friday to collect my paycheck.
And I did. I went in on Friday and she said she wanted me to read something. She handed me an envelope with the contract I signed, the things I wrote for her that I said I could do for her to make her business grow, and a slip of paper that said, "Remember the contract you signed." Yes. I remember. It said that if I quit on Janell before the six months I said I'd work for her, she has the right to keep my last paycheck. I remember because I typed it that way (before it read like if one quit or if one was fired...but, not those words). I told her, while she was styling somebody's hair, "Yes, I remember, and I worked last Friday for three hours. That is my last paycheck." "Oh, I'm going to give it to you. I just wanted to make sure you remembered." Heh. Yeah, I remembered.
Incidentally, my last paycheck, 3 hours at $6. She can keep that under $20 (although, by rights, legally I should have it).
So, I wasn't looking for work, really, but, taking the time to further unpack my stuff into this house (which I had to move stuff and pack stuff and throw away stuff in) to make it more mine. The only thing I did (and there's a little bit more to this story as well) was go to the city's Police Dep't the Friday of the week I didn't work and picked up an application to be the Dispatch/Operator here in town. It was 24 pages.
I figured I'd work on it over the weekend. It was due the 29th.
On Tuesday Morning, 0500, I still hadn't finished, I figured I'd go to bed, get some rest, wake up, finish it, and hand it in comfortably that afternoon.
At 0800 I got a call from the answering service here in town. They wanted me to interview there. There's more to this story, but, after checking a reference, they hired me. I began Thursday at 2200.
I will work part time afternoons (and weekends) for Oklahoma Minimum Wage. It is more hours and more money (and taxes deducted) than I was making at Janell's.
It's more high stress than the other answering service where I worked, but, I am still getting a feel for it.
I hope to blog more later. ...Perhaps tomorrow.
I quit my old job after two months, one week. The short story (and I hope to expand on this one day), is the boss, after I asked her what time does she want me to come in tomorrow (which was Saturday), she said that's what she wanted to talk to me about. I had been working the past three days there for three hours a day, and it still seemed like I was putting in a full day's work. She asked me if I wanted the job and I said no. She asked me if I was looking for other employment and I said yes. She told me she wanted me to take the weekend and pray about it (i.e., do not come in on Saturday). We talked some more. Towards the end of the conversation, she asked me if I was coming in on Saturday (uh, no...you just said...). She didn't ask me as a test, I don't think, but, because she really is that loopy.
I called her house up on Monday (the shop is closed that day but she does door-to-door missionary work), and left a message saying I tender my resignation (and a friend, a grown friend with children encouraged me to say that because she probably wouldn't know what, "tender," means in this context....have I mentioned the "2:47" remark?) and I will be in on Friday to collect my paycheck.
And I did. I went in on Friday and she said she wanted me to read something. She handed me an envelope with the contract I signed, the things I wrote for her that I said I could do for her to make her business grow, and a slip of paper that said, "Remember the contract you signed." Yes. I remember. It said that if I quit on Janell before the six months I said I'd work for her, she has the right to keep my last paycheck. I remember because I typed it that way (before it read like if one quit or if one was fired...but, not those words). I told her, while she was styling somebody's hair, "Yes, I remember, and I worked last Friday for three hours. That is my last paycheck." "Oh, I'm going to give it to you. I just wanted to make sure you remembered." Heh. Yeah, I remembered.
Incidentally, my last paycheck, 3 hours at $6. She can keep that under $20 (although, by rights, legally I should have it).
So, I wasn't looking for work, really, but, taking the time to further unpack my stuff into this house (which I had to move stuff and pack stuff and throw away stuff in) to make it more mine. The only thing I did (and there's a little bit more to this story as well) was go to the city's Police Dep't the Friday of the week I didn't work and picked up an application to be the Dispatch/Operator here in town. It was 24 pages.
I figured I'd work on it over the weekend. It was due the 29th.
On Tuesday Morning, 0500, I still hadn't finished, I figured I'd go to bed, get some rest, wake up, finish it, and hand it in comfortably that afternoon.
At 0800 I got a call from the answering service here in town. They wanted me to interview there. There's more to this story, but, after checking a reference, they hired me. I began Thursday at 2200.
I will work part time afternoons (and weekends) for Oklahoma Minimum Wage. It is more hours and more money (and taxes deducted) than I was making at Janell's.
It's more high stress than the other answering service where I worked, but, I am still getting a feel for it.
I hope to blog more later. ...Perhaps tomorrow.
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