Winning the small battles

Won my first battle in my new position at work today.

One of the things we do is offer loaner headsets for agents that forget theirs for some reason. Each headset had a name. Pink zip tie and orange zip tie are simple enough, but it got confusing when you got to “paper orange zip tie.” It’s something that’s driven me nuts since I started working back at the WFO desk.

“Why can’t we just number them?” I asked. I was told “That would be too easy.”

Well, today I got most of our broken loaners replaced with new ones from the group at work that controls them.

Then I got to label them.

I took a post-it note, folded it into quarters, put it around the top of the headset, and stapled it. Then I wrote numbers on the labels.

I even grabbed the one we didn’t replace and put a number on it.

I won!

Back to blogging

I haven’t done this in a long time.

And I realized tonight that that’s a damn shame.

So much has changed since October.

I got two promotions at work, I moved up from just a regular agent to an ICU agent, meaning I dealt with harder stuff. Then about six weeks ago I moved out of the production side of the call center and spend my days buried in reports, Excel sheets, and the like as an analyst.

It’s one of those kinds of jobs that opens your eyes to how things really work.

It’s also found me with a lot more time to fill, since Jen and I are working vastly different schedules now.

Which brings me back to the blogging thing. I’ve suddenly got more time to spend on it since I’m going to wind up being up until 2 or 3 AM on this 2-10 PM schedule.

But did you miss me?

Yea, didn’t think so.

So, Justin, what’s been going on in your world?

Oh, nothing really.

Just that after the wedding my left eye started acting up and got scratched pretty bad. Not sure how it happened. Eye docs said I had some cornea swelling and that it made me more susceptible to the scratch.

I’d had my corneas replaced as a toddler as part of cataract surgery and I’d known for a few years that I’d have to have some more work done with them eventually. Basically eventually came, and the docs here recommended that we do a partial transplant where the layer that’s acting up would be replaced with another donor layer.

Anyway, I had the surgery (just a 20-minute procedure) on Monday and I’m slowly recovering, seeing a little better with the new one each day. I’m still struggling to read things clearly, but I’m seeing improvement each day and I think I’ll be good enough to get back to work in another week or so.

And then maybe I’ll blog a little more.

Or maybe not. Who knows.

The wake up call

Jen and I just got back from Vegas and our wedding.

It was a lovely ceremony, a great time and a ton of fun.

Well, until we got this unexpected wake-up call at 4:30:

New year, new shift

Today, I got the results of the shift changes that they’re doing at SUPPORTCO, and I got my #2 pick… 7:30-4 Monday-Friday.

Yes, that’s right, I’m going to have normal hours, not this 3-11:30 PM business I’ve been pulling since I started in June. Which brings up one important battle…

I must become a morning person.

Thankfully, I’ll have a long weekend to sort of adjust my internal clock, since I’m taking both New Years Eve and New Years Day off.

This’ll be an adventure.

California

So, this Sunday Jennifer and I are taking a trip out to Cali. It’s just a brief trip to do the haunted houses at Knott’s Berry Farm, but it’s a trip nonetheless.

And I’ll bring my camera, which means there should be some pictures of the festivities.

But will Friday Photo return?

It’s funny how things work sometimes

I’ve always heard that everything happens for a reason, but I wasn’t sure if I always believed it.

As most of y’all probably know, I up and moved to Phoenix about five months back.

Well, this story begins long before that.

If it wasn’t for a lightning strike that hit the pole outside our house in Beaumont and sent everything haywire.

It, of course, happened on a Friday so we were stuck with dealing with most everything being wonky all weekend. Which sucked, but Twitter’s @jpenaz sent me a direct message that said to text her if I got bored or miserable or whatever. So I did…

And, from that, a friendship grew and turned into a relationship that grew into me coming out just after Christmas. Which was a great trip that convinced me just how amazing a woman Jennifer is.

That led to my coming back in April, which led to my staying here and getting my job with SUPPORTCO, which I enjoy most of the time.

Last month I got myself back to Texas to get my stuff, and I went to see my eye doctor while I was there… finding out that I had a pretty big problem going on with them, so they referred me to a doctor in the Phoenix area to go to. I called and got an appointment scheduled with him the next week.

I met the new doctor the next week and I’m now convinced that I’m way better off going to see him than seeing the old doctor I was seeing in Houston. I’ve got nothing but confidence in Dr. Rabinowitz, who not only explained the situation to me in way more detail than my previous doctor, but made me feel pretty good about it. He simply told it to me like it is.

For now, medicine’s holding my condition in check, but I’ll almost surely need to have surgery done for it someday and I can honestly say that I’ve got nothing but a ton of faith in the doctors I’m seeing now… something I couldn’t say before.

Everything happens for a reason. I believe that now.

Just letting y’all know I’m alive…

…and well after the trip back to Texas.

I did learn a few things, though:

• Like just how big Texas really is… We left Beaumont about 8:30 AM and made it to the New Mexico border about 11 PM… and that includes a time zone change. It also includes about an hour and a half diversion off the normal route to see my aunt, but she offered a free lunch, an offer I couldn’t refuse…
• When the speed limit’s 80, it’s really easy to find yourself going 90.
• There’s a whole lot of nothing between San Antonio and El Paso.

Dear thunderstorms in the area…

Dear thunderstorms in the area,

Look, guys, I know you have an important job in giving the Valley of the Sun some much-needed rain during the summer monsoon season, but could you please stay far enough away from the airport this morning that you won’t mess up my flight? Because that would be awesome.

Sincerely,
Justin

Updated: Counting down

I’ve had the date for my return to Texas planned for a while, but I’d been seeing it as something that’s “still a ways off.”

Until I realized something this week: that it’s really not all that far off anymore.

It’s less than two weeks.

In all fairness, I’m only spending a few days back at home and most of the time will involve me packing my car and taking care of things.

But it’s still a few days with family and friends that I really hadn’t said “bye” to… after all, it’s not like I’d planned on staying in Arizona.

---

UPDATE: And, yes, Bruiser is coming with me on the drive back to Arizona.

Now that’s what I call a Sunday night!

Last night just might have been the best night I’ve had since I moved out to Arizona in April.

Thursday or Friday I made reservations at Ruffino’s, a local Italian joint that one of my girlfriend’s friends had recommended we try.

So we went… and although the prices there were a little higher than my sensibilities would usually allow me to pay for food, it was an incredible meal. Quite possibly the best Italian I’ve ever had.

As we drove home from that, we could see lightning flashes in the distance. Looks like monsoon season is on the way…

We weren’t done, though. We headed to the local movie joint a little while later to go see Inception. In IMAX. Though it did have moments where it felt a lot like Shutter Island, the last film DiCaprio did, it was just an amazing flick. To me, it’s amazing that someone could just think up a story like the one that movie told, much less make it work so well.

If you go see any movie out there this summer, make it Inception. Just trust me on this one. It’s amazing.

So am I “one of those people” now?

Today my lovely girlfriend and I joined a gym. Yes, that’s right, me… a member of a gym. I’m not making this up…

And, you know what? I’m kinda looking forward to getting started.

I’ve needed to get myself in better shape for years, after all…

So the adventure begins…

Friday Photo going into hibernation because of this oppressive desert heat. Or something.

OK, so it’s not really going into “hibernation” because of the oppressive desert heat… even if it is 1 AM when I’m writing this, and still 98 degrees outside.

Yes, that’s right, it’s 98 at 1 AM. It’s insane.

Anyway, the reason I’m really hibernating the feature is because my computer, and with it almost all of my photo collection, is still in Texas.

Anyway, I should be bringing it back sometime next month after I get my computer moved out to the desert with me.

Until then, I’ll try to blog a little more about other stuff… like my life in Arizona.

Diving into the trenches

Yesterday way my first day going solo on the phones at SUPPORTCO. It was… interesting.

First few calls were nerve-racking, but I got more comfortable as the night went on. I was actually feeling about as confident as a person doing their first day out there could be.

We were told to not take a call after 10:45 and go back to our classroom to take care of some stuff. At 10:44 I literally had my finger on the button that logs me out of the phone system when I got a beep that told me I had a call.

It’s a call that should have taken about 10 minutes, but out of my stupidity it took about half an hour. Thankfully, though, I did get the issue resolved.

So, I learned two really big lessons today:

1. Always use the guides and cheat sheets we have… ESPECIALLY for Wi-Fi issues.
2. Never keep your finger on the logout button in anticipation of the computer’s clock rolling over to your time off. You’re destined to get a call.

And now? THREE DAY WEEKEND!!!

Mama I’m coming home… for a few days

On Monday I put in for some time off in August to go home and get my stuff and drive it all back to Phoenix.

Yesterday they approved my time off and I booked my flight home.

I’ll be coming in on the 7th, start the drive out to Phoenix (with my brother) the next Wednesday, get to Phoenix probably on Thursday, and he’ll hang out with us until Tuesday when I drop him off at the airport.

It’s all coming together! Giggity!

Looking forward to getting a little time at home.

So, Justin, how’s that whole job thing going?

I’m glad you asked, big orange text!

The first four days of training for SUPPORTCO (as I’m calling it) have been great. So far, I’ve aced all of the daily tests and tonight’s the final exam, that I get two chances to make a 90 on. I think I can manage.

Next week’s my last week of training and I’ll actually start taking calls towards the end of the week.

And then I’m released into the wild…

Food made with injustice is so tasty!

As I previously mentioned I would do, I went to Pei Wei during the protest. I’ll report on it in Random Thoughts style:

• When we got there, just a little after 6, there was one person from the protest inside talking to the manager about it. He tried talking to people inside about the protest, but was quickly run off for loitering. Not that i blame the guy for wanting to stay inside, it was 106 out there.
• Pei-Wei’s orange peel chicken is really, really good.
• People eventually showed up with signs: one said something about not eating food “made with injustice.” Refer to this blog entry’s title for my thoughts on that…
• When I walked outside to take the picture you see above, I pointed out that the fired employees didn’t call in to say they were missing work. One asked “So you want to join us?” I responded with something to the tune of “No, I think y’all are a bunch of idiots!” and walked back inside.
• By the way, more people showed after I took that picture. There were probably 10-15 folks there total.
• As we left, I talked a little with one of the protesters. Here are some highlights from that:
• He asked me if I thought employees should be fired for missing work. I said “absolutely.”
• He then asked me if I’d ever been fired (as if that was really relevant) and I said no. The guy went on to tell me that he has been four times. Which sounds crazy, he couldn’t have been much older than me and fired FOUR times, really? Wow.
• He then brought up the economy and how hard it is to find a job, as if he thought that it should have some sway on the issue. I simply told him “Yea, I know, I just moved here and JUST got hired after looking for a job for two months.”
• He then started talking about that “racist” SB 1070. I asked him “What part of illegal don’t you understand?”
• It was then that I was convinced that the guy should be a talking head on the Sunday talk shows. He was a master at dodging the crux of questions.
• It was then that I left, stuffed with food made from injustice.

So, what did I learn?

• Protesters are stupid, and…
• Pei-Wei’s got some awesome food.

And that’s all I’ve got to say about it. I’ll leave you with this picture of my meal:

It’s paid off

After planning to be here just for a couple of weeks, today marks two months since I came to Arizona.

It also marks two months of looking for a job and the frustrations that such a search can involve.

And it marks the day that search ended.

Yes, this morning I was offered a job and took it.

You have no idea how glad I am that that’s over.

Well I guess I’d better start responding to text messages more…

Last night I got a phone call from my mom asking if I was ok.

My brother had called her freaking out because I’d not responded to a text from him in a few days. He was worried that something like this was going on:

The Silence of the Lambs

Moral of the story? Always answer text messages.

Changes

After a lot of thinking, I’ve made a decision. A big one.

I mentioned a while back that I was going back out to Phoenix for another visit.

Well, that visit has turned into a stay.

Yea, that’s right, I’m finally nowhere near hurricanes!

WOO-HOO!!!