Something Else to Avoid That Which I Should Do

I was just thinking about a concert I attended last week. It was one of those landmark concerts...you know, an artist you MUST see before he or she retires, dies, or gets rich tryin'. Ha. Anyhow, it was Sinead O'Connor.

I've been going to concerts off and on for 15 years now. My first was a music festival hosted by my favourite radio station at the time...the infamous HFStival. It used to be you would have to shell out $10 or so which was cheap even then...and see a lot of bands. Now it's bigger bucks for a few bands. Even the radio station I listen to here (on minor occasions) has a festival. $25 for about six bands. Only one I like...SKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPP it!!!

So I've seen the Indigo Girls a few times, Tori Amos twice, the Cure once...and now Sinead.

She tops them all. Sory C...but Moz didn't come close. This is for a rather peculiar reason I must admit.

I felt such a light and wondrous presence at this concert. Damien Dempsey opened up and he's so positive. He alone would have been awesome. Then Sinead arrived on stage with her band. She is a cute and beautiful person. Wow. I felt the Spirit so strong there. Kind of funny...she's been such a little ball of chaos for the past how many years? But she's so grounded in her beliefs. Granted she's not of the same belief system I am and I'm not going to say she's wrong in some of her beliefs...cos yes...that's what they are...HER BELIEFS. But what she brought was warmth and joy. I started to cry. If I need peace, I will listen to her music...especially Theology. If I need rage...FTW it is with Nick 13.

the importance of...(never dealing with BOA and Verizon)

Okay. As whoever has read the whole jolly thing knows, I have had a very BAD, EVIL experience with Bank of America Credit Cards and their collections department. I fulfilled the terms of the settlement plan offered me in May. However, the followthrough on BOA's end was less than spot on. Perhaps you could say the one thing they were spot on about was being incompetent and as unhelpful as possible. I talked to 2 people that were completely nice and genuine. My kudos to Alfred Robinson and Keith. The rest of you.... Mr Robinson swears that I will get a letter confirming I am through with those jokers in 15-20 business days. If this is a lie, I say lawsuit. I'm tempted to file complaints up their collective arse.

Next stop. Verizon. I do third party verifications for the landline customers. Here's what I say to Verizon...and other customer service reps.

1) Always make sure you cover all the bases you possibly can. Let people know when to expect fulfillment of your end of the bargain.
2) Don't blame others. If you cocked it up, own it. Own what the company did. You work for them. Thus it is an extension of YOU. Take some responsibility.
2a) I will note that this can be as simple as an apology. If this is impossible (you're in perfectly scripted job like me), express it in some way.
3) Be proactive. If this means research, do it. If this means getting back to the customer, let them know what you need to do...and DO IT. Take care of the customer that first time...don't diddle around doing nothing to increase the wrath.
4) If the customer asks for something...please do it. If you can't do it and whoever can is not avaliable...take a message.

This isn't just issues with Bank of America and Verizon. Customer service is a sad misnomer. I do what I can. But it's not just up to me and my friends. You need to help too. This is most specifically for dealing with TPV agents.

Don't curse at us. We may sound like machines, but we're not. We have feelings. If we say we can't answer questions, LISTEN. That's the most important thing. LISTEN. If you listened, you wouldn't have the problems that you seem to be having. It's not that I'm not sympathetic...I most like am. But once you tell me "fuck you bitch" or even a simple "fuck you"...you just lost whatever sympathy I felt for you.

is it possible that i'm reading too much into this?

i have a good friend. the friend happens to be male. i try my darndest not to read too much into the relationship. but as a woman, i must overanalyse all things. it's simply in the job description of someone with mammary glands.

it's not that i don't love this guy. if i wasn't already on the "in line to get married" list (engaged, ok?), and he asked me out...i'd be tempted. he has one of the nicest hearts i've had the pleasure of knowing, he's hot as hell...but not perfect. no guy is. that is prolly the hardest lesson to ever learn...don't be puttin' yer man or woman friends on pedestals.

anyhow, we've known each other about three years. the curiosa festival was the starting point and the cool shoes just helped. let me tell you, these converse all-stars are prolly some of the most obnoxious shoes ever...they are basically black with converse all-star written all over them in light blue, red and pink. let's buck the trend here. it was a funny beginning. but i'm glad for it.

but i'm not here to rehash the friending of one bad jacket and mr guy here. simply put, it's a friendship that i'd rather not lose during our mutual lifetimes. (hmmm, i do like that phrase)

we're buddies. a person the other likes to talk to on occasion. txting and in person. the other night...a night of great rains in my neck of the woods (it was so windy that the rain was almost sideways) that didn't really stop for over 3 hours...i got invited to halloween in july. i always wonder why july, but i guess it's due to an acquaintance's birthday and he likes halloween...why i'll never know (my personal loathing of the holiday is another story) but whatever floats his boat. he also likes to wear flip flops and has incredbily ugly feet. most people who like flip flops do...which is why i try not to look down in this state because many people ... you get the drift and i digress... anyhow, so i asked mr guy if he was doing anything that night cos i was concerned for his safety. a manual drive and water don't mix too well...especially if you're gonna be a bit liquored up. so yeah, he says he hasn't seen me in a while (a week or two) so i should come to the party.

it really bothers me that he should miss me.

yes, i know friends like their friends and are allowed to miss them. i miss a couple of girl friends every now and then.




but this is a guy friend.



this is also a party where people sometimes get a little freaky and start removing items of clothing.



this could be embarrassing. he's hot. i said that already.



i didn't go to the party as i have no real means of dressing up. funny thing was, i could have gone as a punk or some such. and guess what mr guy was?

he was a punk.

it's not that we think alike or anything. never.


but the point of everything is...he likes to hang with me sometimes. it's not like he gets fresh...if anything, not fresh. he'll hug me if i hug him. but i've received a drunk i love you from him. and drink can be a truth serum.


but i'll never be able to confront him about his feelings for me. i just let him say what he wants when he wants. so for now, we're good friends. that's all.

call me divine

that's a reference to john waters' muse...i'm not saying i'm fabulous and wondrous. in fact people have me feeling just the opposite lately. i know, i know...those who "know" say that you allow people to destroy you becos you are the owner of your feelings.

let's get real here. i'm supposed to sit here and take it when i'm doing what i need to do alleviate myself of a debt (that in the BIG scheme of things isn't huge...like the Nation's pile of money) and i am obviously paying it down now. but no, since i'm in collections, i can be harrassed and harrassed and harrassed.... there is something wrong with that business plan. you and i both know the more you are pushed to do something, the less you want to do it. they want me to set up an automatic payment plan so i don't get harrassed. i've prolly become one of those people they dread when i call. oh no, it's that (MY NAME INSERTED HERE) person. she's got a temper, she's rotten, she's...

this effects you when you're in a bad place already. they break the law. you want to take names and kick butt.

then i work in a place that for some reason they could have a computer doing my job but they prefer humans...even though that's more expensive. but people treat you like that stuff your dog does in the back yard, front yard...anywhere he can. yeah. crap. folks i have a script. i have to stick to the SCRIPT. or if i don't, my pay goes down. i get in trouble. so yes, please abuse me and call me stupid, idiot, and all other names you can pick out of the hat. it makes my everlivin' day. i laugh so hard. some of you are just so stupid and if you looked back at what you did, you would not believe it. your mother would be ashamed of you. would you like it if i went to your job and thoroughly abused the crap out of you? i didn't think so. i am human...and i HAVE FEELINGS!!!

Add those together and with the crap piling on crap...it gets very stinky. and i push away out of my life. i don't want to deal with anyone.

thanks america.

disgusting politics

I received an e-mail (needless to say a forward) from someone who I thought was freethinking enough to avoid such utter...crap. It was stating the "facts" about Barack Obama.

Good grief, he has Muslim heritage. Big deal. Let's look at the Articles of Faith of my religion-- I am a proud Latter-Day Saint, aka a Mormon. But call me LDS. Number 2. "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." This is to say we should be punished for what we do as individuals...not for the sins of our fathers. This is not to say that being a Muslim is a sin. It is a religion with some very good beliefs. As with any belief system it has been corrupted over time by certain individuals who end up giving it a bad name.

I haven't sorted out just who I want to vote for yet, but I do know I will do my research. Anyone that places hatred as a way to try and get my vote will be on the heck no list. It disgusts me that we have to stoop to such horrific levels. Remember. Once the Catholics were a reviled religion and for some people they still are. But we got John F. Kennedy in the White House and he did some good. Not as much as he could have, but when your life is cut short...it's a viable excuse. There were worries that the Pope would control JFK's doings.

Now we have the issues of an LDS candidate for the White House. I don't like Mitt Romney's politics so I will not be voting for him. I have my free will...my right to say No to him. Just because someone is my religion does not make him OR her the perfect person.

And then there is Obama. Study for yourself and do not blindly accept a candidate just for the religion he or she believes (or does not believe) in. Do not blindly accept a person because of his or her political affiliation. Learn who best supports what YOU believe in...and sincerely study it out.

If you want to vote for the vampire candidate...go ahead.

the heat is on...

well, luis approached me with the idea of moving to a true desert...Las Vegas...today. His friend says he can get him a really good job...corporate...oooh la la in that town of no shame. I gave him conditions...good job and i have to have a nice...and i mean NICE place to live. you know, with central air conditioning and a pool. so you see, crapholes like the current place don't make it. i have a swamp cooler. after all my 14 years here in Utah, it makes no sense to this easterner to cool yourself off with the aid of humidity. after all, it was a big factor in making my summers so miserable in maryland.

the next question is would i be happy there? yes, there's more going on...more concerts, more to do...and of course luis would be there with me. he's been in my life almost seven years now...and i'm not happy just cos of him. i have to find that within myself. i have to evaluate what really makes me happyi guess. (and yes, jack nicholson makes a kick butt joker...heath ledger...i don't know...) i suppose i could give anything the old college try. i know i'm sick and tired of feeling like i have lately. i was given the gift of almost one rather normal year.

but that's another story for another...time.

you've gotta blame it on something...

Oh dear sweet Governator...how I love thee. From the moment I first saw your campaign commercial whilst visiting my fiance's family, I knew you were the absolute bomb.


errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....yeah.



he is now saying that immigrants should turn off the spanish language el BoobTube. (Obviously I'm not soaking much in when my perfectly fluent bilingual fiance is watching it) I think this is grasping at straws. I've watched Japanese language tv...in Japan. And I've watched Telemundo and all the other fun networks here. Now looky here. I am good at learning languages. I've got awesome skillz in German...good retention even though I haven't taken it since I was 19. I'm currently 13 years later...and probably advanced beginner or low intermediate. I lived in Japan for a while...and I've watched the tv as I previously said.

I am no closer to understanding what's being said than I am to being crowned Queen of England.


I can read a bit of Spanish and speak even less. I'm not making a concerted effort I must admit. And I should. I really should. But if I plant myself down in front of the telly for months, years...on end...I will not quickly learn Espanol.

Please note that there are adverts for language learning cd's and dvd's on these Spanish channels...more so than you'll ever see on an English station. One makes it simple and helps people see how they can speak English using the Spanish sounds. Now that's how you say Sometaims[sic]. But the problem with these language tools is they are expensive. Why throw $117 to learn a language when that would go so much further in feeding your family? These people don't earn enough as it is...because they have the low-end jobs flipping meat with America's youth. And they're hard at work taking jobs away from us all.

thank you for scaring the customer

i work as a verifier on behalf of one of the major landline phone companies in this fair country. i do not answer questions about plans; i don't even know what the plans are for this company as i (thankfully) don't live in one of the areas this phone company is...at this time. today was a very hard day for me.

there is the theory that people go crazy at the time of the full moon. i was talking to the quality control person for my team after work and she pointed out today was a new moon. new theory...you can figure it out.

i had so many dumb bunnies that i had the most sincere pleasure to talk to today. one refused to be recorded and wondered why verification had to be done in the first place. legal purposes, so you don't get switched without authorization, blah, blah, blah. i guess i should add here i have certain scripts to read. and if i want good quality i may not deviate from them. i think they should be a little more polite honestly. also, you hear the same thing over and over you don't want to hear it again. i add inflections of apology as i read the said scripts. i really try. but there's only so much you can do.

don't yell at me. don't tell me i'm a horrid person and that you don't want to talk to me. i wonder if you'd give me the time if i could just show you what we do is not compromising you in the least. i have access to a very limited pool of information. the billing name, the phone number, the plan(s), and your birthday (for most places) when you tell me what it is. i don't give a crap about your social security number. that's none of my business. i also don't need to know maiden names and where your mother is buried. the representatives of this company obviously don't know what's really going on as many people i talk to are expecting some kind of long icky process.

also they can't seem to understand that "uh huh" or "mm-hmm" doesn't exactly mean yes. and just because you're the only one in the house doesn't make you authorized to change the account.

i ask these questions i have as eloquently as i can. but yet the customer doesn't listen. it's not like the phone company's reps do either. stupid people....

the truth about summer

i really hate going outside. you try to stay out of the sunshine so you don't get the negative effects of it (the sun, the burn, the tan, the uv rays) and then the bugs eat you alive.

maybe.

right now i'm at that point where i'm not sure if they're for real. you don't see the pesky little creatures, but you feel them flying on your body and the sting that they are there. but you don't hear the buzzing and you don't see their little probisci sticking where they don't belong--your skin.

so i lay here, scratching an itch that may be the creation of my wondrous imagination.

you know i have had horrible allergies this year as far as my fussy skin is concerned this year. usually i'm not bothered. but this year is more like a SEVEN year itch. at least i can breathe.

What Was HE Thinking?

I went out yesterday with a friend I've known for about ten years. Now while I've never completely agreed with him in all this time (I never would call us a match made in heaven,but it's not a match made in hell either...) and his opinions, I never wanted to hurt him either...well, not too badly. But yesterday was the straw that broke the camel's back in one foul (the stench is overwhelming) swoop.

First of all, I am dating an immigrant. Not just any immigrant, but a Latino. He is Bolivian. I grant you he is not Mexican and he was never illegal. Immigration of any kind is a nightmare. If I didn't love him, I wouldn't have stuck it out this long. But he's been back in the USA since going to his home over 15 years ago. He's been here for over a decade. He could only apply for permanent residency when he hit the (immigration) lottery. Jackpot. You're the bigger winner--you get to cut through more bureaucracy! Now the reason, I make this clear is that a friend (?) made a very low scathing remark yesterday.

But I'll get to that.

I never agreed with him that English should be the "official" language of Utah. This means that official paperwork, government website, etc. is all in English. If I was in Germany, before I agreed with anything I would DARN sure want to make sure I understand it 100%!!! I know some German too...you could call me an advanced beginner/low intermediate level.

Then we have yesterday.

Walking out of the music superstore yesterday, we came across a book called Mitt Romney: A Mormon in the Whitehouse. We're both LDS-my friend and I. I'm more moderate in my political beliefs (yes, a fencesitter to anyone who cares)...there are certain moral issues I will not compromise on and there are political issues that I lean more to the liberal side. I'm not ashamed to admit this either. He came out of the closet some time back. I don't remember when even though I'm sure it was a momentous time for him. I suppose I should care and store it in my memory. Ok. So he opines it would not be a good idea to have a Mormon in the white house as he would be too conservative. Obviously this guy doesn't pay much attention to his world. Mitt's state is the only one where a homosexual couple can legally get married. Yes, this is a very conservative thought. My problem with Gov. Romney is not that he's Mormon and would shove his morality down America's throat. He waffles. It boils down to "I want to be everything to everybody." Well sir, you can't please everyone and you'll kill yourself trying. So I told my friend that Romney is a waffler.

We continue out of the store and he drives me home. This is when the crap hit the fan BIG TIME. Friends and opinions...I don't know if they mix too well.

So when where about 6 blocks from my house, we are behind an old person who has handicapped plates. "Handicapped people shouldn't drive...even mentally handicapped people." Ummm. Okay. I just softly said "Thanks a lot." I know I will be one of those old grannies that does not want to give up her driver's license when she reaches...the age that I should rightfully give it up. A car is my freedom. I have a hard time not driving for 3 months when I have to. I'm not completely right in the head and this is a handicap. Yes, I am disabled in some ways.

Then he starts in on the immigration movement. And let me tell you...his ideas are so liberal...yeah right!!! I think he should be the Gay Poster Boy for the Minutemen. Excuse me if that sounds rude but.... He stated that a flag that read "Arizona--the New Aztlan" is worse than the Swastika. Mind you, that's Hitler's swastika.... What the ... I was burning up. I realize that illegal immigration is illegal. Yes, they are breaking the law. But how is this worse than Nazis who killed so many people? This is a headscratcher.

It basically boils down to this. Americans blame someone else for their problems. Yes, there are horrible people that are illegal immigrants. This much is true. But Dahmer, Bundy, Gein....to mention a few...were horrible men who were citizens of this country. Yes boys and girls, you read that right. They were not illegal immigrants. Yet if you look, there's the pity these people who were hurt by illegal immigration. Yes, there is identity theft by these people. But this is also done by legal citizens. Think meth addicts. If we go about stereotyping everyone, we'll get nowhere. I think many of these people simply want a better life for their families. What was proposed were fines to be paid before applying for residency. That's fine. Like I said, yes it is illegal. But why load them all up and dump them in the already very clogged corrections system? Why send them back so they can come again and again and again.... It's time to fix what's broken and a Berlin Wall II (we fought against that because it wasn't a democratic country that put it up) just is not the way to go about it. Stop scapegoating people (omg, did I just say immigrants are people????) and accept responsibility.

After all, why should I feel bad for you when you leave your door unlocked for five minutes and have your stuff stolen. That's like feeling bad for you when you leave your keys in your car and come back to find it gone. It's an opportunity. And it's just stuff. Realize that sometimes life is sometimes inconvenient, but if you want to protect your things, it's just better that way. I'll feel sorry for you when you have your doors locked.