God Bless!
Cat
God Bless!
Cat
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0
comments
I’ve mentioned it a time or two on this blog about being
bipolar. I have been a highly functioning
By nature, I am an inquisitive, hyperactive person. I am
constantly having to do something…usually something mental. For example, my job
is mental. I am a problem solver and I write technical articles for our support
service vendor. I also am working on finishing my Bachelor’s with my eyes set
on graduate school. Along with 6 credit hours of upper level classes and a full
time job, I also have a highly functioning special needs 23 year old who is
struggling to find a place in the world for himself and maneuvering the
wonderful world of voc rehab, a 19 year old who cannot figure out what to be
when he grows up and can’t NOT break something on his car or slow down, and a
16 year old with a social life. We also live far out of town so everything
requires driving and gas money.
This past November I participated in the National Novel Writing
Month and completed it! Woo Who! Talk about mental! Add on to that, that I have
started to have some medical issues that have not made me sick but have
required test after test after test and lots of waiting. Then add to that,
difficulties of others not playing nicely at work…between departments, systems
office, employees and just people in general. Toss in a side of one income and
lots of bills with a splash of Christmas gifts and what do you have? One cycle
crazy bipolar struggling not to snap.
Let me just add that I am not the crazy up on the bell tower
picking people off with an AK something or another. No, other than the random
snapping at you biting your head off I am the crazy lock myself in my room and
sleep for days or go shopping and spend the mortgage money crazy. I am border then
whole snapping at people and going to sleep for a month at the moment. I hate
this feeling. Everything is stressing me yet I have enough knowledge of my…heck
what do you call it? A disease? A disorder? A case of the crazies? Whatever you
call it I have enough knowledge of myself to know I walk a fine line. I know
that everyone cannot possible be this annoying and idiotic (although some are
very close to my perception at the moment). I would give anything sometimes to
be “normal”. Of course, I would probably have to give up my creativity, my
think way outside of the box approach and I would not have the wild moments of
bravery that lets me venture out into the world unafraid.
Why am writing this post about being basically on the line
to being insane? Because I guess I just want someone to know I am fighting it
and if there’s someone else out there in the same boat, we can form regatta of
off kilterness. (Yes I know that isn’t a word). For all those, who don’t have a
handle on the mental issues that strike you, just know you are not alone and
there is help. I know I am blessed by my support system and the knowledge that
I have gained over the years. I also know the moments when you can’t tell if
your paranoia is justified or if it’s in your head. I also know that feeling of
complete and utter uselessness. It doesn’t have to always be that way.
So tonight while I want to scream and shout and let it all
out. I sit here and type this; hoping for relief from this downward cycle. I
know it is temporary and I will swing back up to a level balance and life will
be ok again. Never perfect. Never too bad. Never not fixable. And that my
friends is basically all I have. Perhaps I’ll go find something to distract my
racing mind as it slides down the corridor of negativity and remember for a
brief moment, the many blessings I have. The tricks of the trade…distract my
mind. I’ll smile and remember it’s ok not to be fixed…it’s ok to be broken.
If you suffer from depression or if you just need help please contact your local mental health provider or visit http://www.nami.org/ for more information. Education really is power.
Category:
Bipolar,
NAMI
0
comments
Guess who has two thumbs and decided to join the insanity this month with NaNoWriMo?
That's right! This insane girl. I wrote 50,199 words of pure crap! But it was the first crap that made it out of my head and off of an outline and into some kind of form. It's amazing how consumed I became of this challenge but I did it. My first novel is penned. Now it's time to do rewrites, editing, a lot of crying over the kind of crap I thought was decent and maybe, just maybe, I may have something that resembles a decent story.
I had a so much fun (and headaches) with the challenge. Most of the high points involved the awesome group page on Facebook for my region. Sprints, pub crawls, words of encouragement, and great laughs. Will I do this again? Yes! It is just the catalyst I needed to remember what I love....writing. (What? Did you think I was going to say sleep derivation and lack of social life?) Yea, those too.
That is my big news. I'm so excited! So as I sit here bragging on myself, sipping my sangria, and listening to the winter storm roll in, I feel almost like a real writer. Watch and we shall see!!
I had a so much fun (and headaches) with the challenge. Most of the high points involved the awesome group page on Facebook for my region. Sprints, pub crawls, words of encouragement, and great laughs. Will I do this again? Yes! It is just the catalyst I needed to remember what I love....writing. (What? Did you think I was going to say sleep derivation and lack of social life?) Yea, those too.
That is my big news. I'm so excited! So as I sit here bragging on myself, sipping my sangria, and listening to the winter storm roll in, I feel almost like a real writer. Watch and we shall see!!
Category:
NaNoWrMo,
writing
0
comments
So maybe more like "Post it" haste. My creative muse has now escaped my mind and taken up residence on my bedroom wall and a traveling notebook that's at my side at all times.
It's been such a long time since I've had more than an inkling of inspiration. So this weekend when it hit I went with it. First just jotting down a few outlined things on paper...several pages in I quickly realized I couldn't keep all straight.
Hello story boarding!!
Everything became so much clearer. After an hour or so, I was ready to at least start my thoughts on virtual paper. By the end of the night 6,000 well organized words came to life on the page.
Now the trick is to remember when I'm out in the real world that the world in my head isn't really out here. Ha! Ha! That's just a hazard of being who we are. Writers don't get to be 'sane'. If we did, the world would be a very boring place.
As for now, I'm still writing and planning. Only now I'm balancing work, family, and two classes to boot. I have faith though. While I doubt it'll ever become a published work, I do believe it'll be one of the greatest contributions to my million words of crap!
Happy reading...& writing!
Cat
Category:
ramblings,
writing
0
comments
I wrote this poem with thoughts of my grandmother. A small moment in time that seared this imagine in my heart. I hope you like it.
Paper Doll
By Catherine Russell
Soft paper-like skin
lays over vessels glowing
translucently under
a thin veil of tissue
pulsing the remains
of life left in an aging body.
A snow white cap
peaks over eyes
containing within them
miles of memories
of a life lead.
Lines divide and connect
the contours edging a smile
of gaiety that covers
a deeper sadness.
Cool brittle hands
flutter up to cover
a mouth of missing teeth
as cackling laughter
escape the lips.
A warm flush spreads
across the cheeks
just below the surface
of the thin paper veil
that is her skin.
Eyes of gray
glisten in the crevices
as a tear of joy
escapes the corner.
A simple moment
in this paper doll’s life
A memory forever
in my heart.As always this is my intellectual property and cannot be shared without my expressed written permission.
Category:
Poetry
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Not Seen
by Catherine Russell
You look but don’t see.
You peer through ill fitted glasses,
Through filtered reality.
Blinded by a fantasy that will not come.
An exterior of superficial desires
but not into the soul.
You never see what’s really there.
Only the window dressing.
An image you have created
that is nothing of the truth.
Blinded to what is before you
What truly composes the canvas.
Oh the things you have missed
right before your very eyes and heart.
All is there yet invisible to your perception.
There in plain sight yet not seen.
**This is not only my intellectual property but also and extension of my soul. Please do not reproduce this work without my expressed permission.
Category:
Poetry
0
comments
I've decided to step out on a limb. Make a motion and put a little piece of me out here. A friend once told me that poetry was like walking down the street naked. It bares the soul for all to see. That's probably why I never want to let it out there. Nothing worse than that dream we've all had being naked on the school bus. UG! However, I'll never move forward if I don't put this out there. So without further rambling from me, here's a little piece of my naked soul.
Copyright by Catherine Russell
Do not reprint without expressed written permission from the author.
Broken
By Catherine Russell
Shoes that are scuffed
A hem that unraveled
A blouse faded and frayed
All the outward signs
That I am broken.
Facial lines deepening
Lips embraced by a frown
Eyes settled with sadness
All the outward signs
That I am broken.
A dented fender
A wobbly tire
A cracked windshield
All the outward signs
That I am broken.
A loving heart
A forgiven soul
A mind filled with knowledge
All the inner signs
That I am not broken.
A warm desire
A tender moment
A twinkle of the eye
All the inner signs
That I am not broken.
A song in my head
A spring in my step
A smile growing within
All the inner signs
That I am not broken.
A day begun
A day lived through
A day coming to an end
All the inner signs
That I am not broken.
Copyright by Catherine Russell
Do not reprint without expressed written permission from the author.
Category:
creative writing,
Poetry
2
comments
You should date a girl who reads.
Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes, who has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.
Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she has found the book she wants. You see that weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a secondhand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow and worn.
She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.
Buy her another cup of coffee.
Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.
It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas, for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry and in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.
She has to give it a shot somehow.
Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.
Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who read understand that all things must come to end, but that you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.
Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.
If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.
You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.
You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.
Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.
Or better yet, date a girl who writes.”
~RM Uriquico
This was organically a personal Facebook post between friends. Uriquico's friend asked to post it to her Tumblr account, and as it is with much of the world today, it went viral. Nevertheless, Ms. Uriquico says it so well for all us bookworms and to all the young and not so young, men in the world.
Category:
Quotes,
RM Uriquico,
Sunday Sanctuary,
Sunday Sayings
1 comments
Greetings and salutations! I love that greeting. We just don't use awesome sounding greetings anymore. Thank you technology. I didn't do any end of the year wrap ups for 2012. Actually, I barely posted in 2012. I've been so absent this year.I, myself, have wondered what has happened to me. Well, I'm a live and well. Very well actually. That's part of my absence actually. Long story short = came down with mono several years ago + killed my immune system + constant illness ravishing my entire system = death to my dental health. Basically, my extended illness caused my teeth to begin to die from the inside out. My mouth actually began to look grey and much like something you'd see in a 3rd world country. I remained ill with a constant infection and was taking antibiotics like Pez. After a long discussion with my doctor and dentist, I made the HUGE step and had all my teeth pulled. This is not something I had ever thought I'd do, let alone at the ripe ol' age of 40. Having said that, it was the best decision I could have ever mad. Other than a slight cold that lasted roughly a week & no work missed, I have been well!! YAY ME!!! I have not been on antibiotics in three months. I've been to work with only taking off to go back to have my new plates adjusted. Due to my immune system, I have to go with the old fashion dental plates but I've been told if I continue to regain my health as I have been, I can look at implants in the future. Regardless, I feel like I'm on the road to humanity again.
I also started my BA program in Humanities. Yes, I did lose my mind again. It's been a great program so far. It's been pretty open on what courses I take. Having brought in an Associates in Arts, I only have to work on a few hours of required courses (all 300 & 400 Humanity courses) and several electives. I didn't do any amount of writing with being proud of. Two great ideas that I outlined and several poems but fevers and illness kind of killed the creative creature that resides in my heart. As far as work, I got a promotion of sorts. More work, same money but I was overpaid for what I was doing anyway...shhhh don't tell them I said that. I've really put a lot into work and feel like I accomplish things when I leave no instead of just push buttons and answer questions. Both of which are important but after several years of the same job I was ready for the change.
So what's in store for the year ahead?
I'm reading again (if I can stay off of Netflix...Curse you Netflix and all your British splendor). I'm also working on writing again...slowly. Too slow really. I hope that will pick up this semester when I audit a creative writing course we teach. It's a great platform to push your writing and to get feed back instantly and honestly from your peers. Family and friends are just too dang nice when it comes to constructive criticism with the exception of my dad. He loves to tell me what's wrong. Got to love him for that. One more thing I'm working on for 2013 is knocking of a few items from my bucket list. Yes, I'm that big of a dork. I have a bucket list. That's a post for another day. Let's not forget the same promise I make every January...to post more regularly. I'll work on that...promise.
I hope everyone had a great Holiday season. I say Holiday not because I'm afraid of offending anyone but because it's shorter to type than to include all the holidays we go through from October 31st through Jan 1st.
I'll close out with an after shot of my beautiful chompers. Why? Because I'm in love with myself. No just because I can't get over the difference in not only the appearance of my smile but how much better I feel. I hope everyone has a great January and I'll be back soon with more boring babble to entertain you.
Happy reading!
I have chosen to be HAPPY because it is good for my health.
~Voltaire~
Category:
ramblings
0
comments
Guess who has two thumbs and just lost her mind? This girl! (points thumbs at self) Ok so that may not be news to most of you. If you've read at least one of my posts here you know I've always misplaced a bit of my gray matter. However, about an hour ago I took the plunge and signed up for NaNoWrMo!
For those not familiar with this, it's basically writing a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. It's not really to get a quality bestseller cranked out but to get people writing. I'll write everyday (hopefully) without going back and editing, revising or thinking what the heck was I thinking? It's a way to get people to remember what they love, to write. So I have no clue what to write but I have half a month to coming up with a plan. I don't know whether to write something of fiction or whether to work on that autobiography piece of being a bipolar parent. That one might be a bit emotional to work on in one month, especially right before the holidays. My mind is racing like crazy trying to figure out my game plan, my story idea, my plot, my everything. It'll be fun! I decided when I turned 40 this year to stop saying someday. So TODAY I'm pledging myself to this endeavor. I'm going to give it a whirl! (love that saying)
If you're participating this year and looking for 'buddies' my user name is composingcat. (Big surprise, huh?) I'd love a buddy or two. We can all use as much support as we can get. I'll try to keep everyone updated. I have to be held accountable or I'll flake lol I'm off to find some cool mojo word count keeper for the blog because I'm that much of loser lol As for those of you who have participated and completed, I'd love some tips. And for those of you who started it but didn't quite get there or even quit, let me know what went wrong or what you'd advise to do it differently. I"m really excited. I don't think it'll really be worth reading but hey, it's something on my Bucket List so why not, right?
Wish me luck...and my family too...they're going to need it!!!
Happy Reading!
Category:
NaNoWrMo,
writing
2
comments
I remember when my mom went through that hellish period we all call "the change". It was a scary time for everyone. She was happy one moment then mad as a hatter the next then would wrap it up with a face full of tears. That's what I remember. It took my mom almost 11 years to make it through it. She was is in her late 30s early 40s when she started this torment. She was in uncharted territory. You see, my grandmother, her mother before her, and her mother before her all had had to have hysterectomies either at childbirth or shortly there after. There was only once child born to each of them...including my mother with me. My mom was the first woman in our family history to have to go through the change. Bless that brave woman's heart. She suffered both mental and physical hell that I can not imagine. She went through this for 11 years before she completed this rite of passage. She's an amazing woman with a big heart and a hug for everyone. I don't know how she made it but she did. I think it made her even sweeter; although, she says she can't cry since she went through it. I am a crier. I cry at sad stories on Facebook and don't get me started on those old OnStar radio commercials. Just thinking about that has me tearing up.
I tell you all this because I am so afraid I'm starting to enter into this wonderful rite. I'm not sure; like I said, mom was the first woman in our family to do this. Here's why I think this...I have had the usual abnormal TOM for most of this year. (If you don't know what TOM is...goggle it) It's been all out of whack and while it's back to normal within in the time frames it's always something different. At first, I contributed it to what a havoc Mono had left my body in after last year. As I said, it's back on a normal time schedule but each time it's something different. I won't go into details. You're welcome! I know, that's just something normal especially with what I went through with Mono. So why would I think I'm starting to go through this wonderful change crap? Well, recently I can't shake being hot AND cold. It's a lot like how you feel when you're getting a cold but it comes in waves. I feel clammy most of the time and I've always been one of the paranoid people about smelling. I don't wear perfume, although, I do wear vanilla lotion and body spray. To make this worse, I am not a sweater. I practically boil inside my skin because I don't sweat. I know, I know. I shouldn't complain but while all you sweaters are out there complaining about getting sweaty and all I'm sitting there boiling my brain holding in my body heat. This is why I love winter. It's my friend. (Just not my arthritis' friend...btw: I've had Arthur as a visitor since I was 15 thanks to multiple knee and ankle injuries...it's not just an old person's pal). But back to my point. I am constantly feeling like I'm sweaty but of course, I'm not but at the same time I've got goose bumps/flesh on my arms. The hair on my arms stand straight up!
One advantage is that I get a work out. I remove and replace my jacket at work a million times a day. Which brings me to today. I decided after we went hiking yesterday that I would continue the physical activity and get back into working out in the gym that is directly below my office and free. I know. I know. I have no excuse for not being in peak physical shape but I'm human. So I took it easy and just went down stairs and road the cycle for half an hour during my lunch hour. Holy cow! That made the hot/cold atmosphere within my body go wild! I felt wet and clammy and like I was about to break out with a horrible flu. It wasn't until I got home and put a tank top on that I got some relief. Now does this mean I'm getting all changey or does this just mean I've shorted out my internal thermostat? I don't know. Most of my female friends are younger than me and those that are older say I'm too young. Who knows. I'm not hateful. I'm no more moody than a bipolar princess should be. So I guess I'll just keep going like I'm going and just layer for work until it either stops or it breaks me.
It's so odd how our bodies try to tell us something but we just didn't get the manual. For now I'll just keep on being me. I'm already a whack job mentally so I don't really think the change will mess with my mind any more than my normal life has. I guess I can thank Bipolar Disorder for something good ha! ha! I'll do my normal nerdness and look up the signs and symptoms and remedies I can use to get through it when it does come. Until then I'll just keep a jacket and fan close at hand. Maybe I'll warn my kids or maybe I'll have fun with them. Bawahahahahah!
I'll keep you up-to-date in case I end up in an orange jump suite picking up trash on the side of the road on work release. Thanks for listening and if anyone has any tips or advice for whatever I'm going through or will be going through, let me have it.
Category:
ramblings
0
comments
I woke to the sound of the rain dancing on the tin roof above my head. What is it about rain that awakens my inner Muse? I'd love to sit by the window, listening to the liquid inspiration fall to the cool ground below me and write until my Muse drops from exhaustion. Atlas, I must be a grown up...well, maybe not completely. Errands to run this morning; then home again to jot down the plethora of images flooding my mind. Please let the rain continue for the day so I can finish my duties and then come out to play!
P.S. Once I came home the rain went away and the sun came to stay. My Muse took a nap. My she'll wake up, perhaps!
Category:
ramblings
1 comments
"I'm shy" "You?" laughs ensue. "There's no way YOU can be considered shy. If you're shy, so is Lady GaGa."
This is an actual conversation at a training I attended last month. Our group was looking for a spokes person. I was immediately chosen. Apparently, during the week long training I had showed myself to be outspoken. That's really not that big of a surprise for those around me now but it was the first time it really sank in to me. You see, growing up I was painfully shy. I was always hidden behind my mother's pant legs. I was that little toe-headed girl peaking around her to see who was there. Sure, when close family and friends were around I was relaxed and semi-outspoken. I've always had a wild imagination and loved to make up stories. I was a military brat who only let people get so close because while we didn't move a lot others did. In high school I hid myself with Olive Oil like long skirts and long sleeves before they were the "in" thing of the 90s and hid my long lanky body behind a mound of books. Flash forward a few decades and I'm the outspoken women who finds herself nominated to speak for the group.
The situation triggered some self inventory (personally I hate this term when workshops say it but I get it). I realize that while my toe-head hair may be going to more of a brown with sprinkles of "arctic" blonde and I've got more padding on all areas of my body...I'm so much more comfortable in my skin than I ever have been in my life. Yes, I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up but that's only because I don't want to grow up. Yes, I'm still a student and you know what? I will be for the rest of my life simply because I LOVE learning. (Reminds me I've got to make some posts about my Supernatural Folklore class I took this summer...amazing!). Yes, I drive a 97 Jeep Grande Cherokee with the front rubber bumper slightly amiss and the roof lining sagging a bit. Yes, I work in a cubicle the size of a refrigerator box (I kid you not) & have no jazzy titles. Yes, my house is way to small for me and the two giant boys with feet the size of John boats and one mini boy with a huge heart and a collection of end of the world survival items. Yes, I have dental problems, leg pain, bipolar, low blood sugar, need bifocals, and have inner ear issues that cause me to fall...a lot. And yes, I live within shouting distance of my parents and I'm 40 years old. (Just to clarify, I don't live with my parents just on the same property).
Yet all those things make me appreciate so much in my life. Yes, I'm outspoken. No, I'm not shy anymore. Yes, I'm happy with where I am because it's getting me to where I'm going. I'm glad that in a group of strangers I'm recognized as being outspoken in a positive way and that the shy little girl who's second grade teacher told her parents she need psychological evaluation for being to introverted now is not afraid to ask strangers questions or stand before an entire mall of people to make an announcement or even act goofy in front of strangers. I'm so comfortable with being me. With being where I am...right here...right now. So yes, I'm a spokesperson for being comfortable with who you are. If you aren't who will be? and if you aren't why not? Not to drag religion in but God loves you so who cares what anyone else thinks! Be happy with who you are, where you are.
Category:
ramblings
3
comments
Do I write yet another MIA post? Here's the condense version:
- New position at work that is part of a large system wide pilot program..leaving little room to not stress or to eat lunch anywhere but at my desk.
- Began my program at WKU taking intense summer classes that involved research and homework from the time I came home from work until I passed out in my bed.
- I lost faith in what I came here to do. (this one is a work in progress)
- My son cabbaged my laptop most days leaving me with but pen and paper.
- I don't know if I'm coming or going
- I'm a loser who didn't do it.
I'm sure there's a few other issues in there that I could bore you with but I won't. I will say that I have enjoyed my summer courses at Western Kentucky University. I didn't realize how much I missed academia. I know I needed the break especially after my lovely round of mono but a taste of knowledge, class discussion, and a research paper has made me thirst for more and more and more and...well, you get the idea. Fall session begins on the 27th...I've already got the plethora of books required for just one class (6 books total) and then a book for my biterm class. Even school books make me giddy!
While I'm excited to be back in the game, I'm glad that there's a small break between my summer and fall classes. As some of you may know I work at a community college...which classes begin on Monday and my new position is in solution support for financial aid!!! It's a special kind of hell we work in. Exhausting and draining to say the least. It will be this way for about 2 more weeks and then class starts. I hope that somewhere in there I can find my way back here to share some kind of something...hopefully insightful or entertaining, or at least worth reading.
So that's it for now. I have so much more to say but you haven't done anything to be tortured that bad.
So have a great Sunday and happy reading!
Cat
Category:
ramblings
1 comments
It's been an insanely busy day at work. More than half the office called in on a Monday morning which just happened to be the first day of Summer session. In case some of you aren't my usual stalkers let me catch you up. I work in student services at a local community college. We operate a call center that answers questions for financial aid, admissions, business office and of course the central switchboard for eight campuses. First day of any session is crazy but with half staff it was almost a nightmare. No, it IS a nightmare. After a 10 hour day and 800 + calls later my head is pounding and my neck is tighter than Ebeneezer Scrooge but I'll live. This is why I get paid the big bucks. I've done this for over 6 years at the college and I've always worked in customer service in one way or another. I've had just about everything said to me...everything from explicit direction of what I could do to myself, to attacks on my intelligence or lack thereof, to my personal favorite "I'll drive this car right through the front door." That one was my favorite because in that particular office the front door was the back door and the back door was the front door. I'll let you ponder on that one.
Since most of my day is dealing with people who are either really excited about starting school or confused or frustrated or mad or just calling because either their child won't tell them what's going on or their parents are making them call, I have a lot of negative energy flowing towards me each and every day. I balance it some how. I have never lost my cool on the phone. I may make fists with my toes. I might even drop my head onto my hands but I never take any of my frustration out on the person on the other end of the line. I have been told I am good at what I do because of my patience. Here's my confession: I just remember that each call is a new person. They haven't called a million times (well, usually not) and I haven't told them this information before. Therefore, I treat each caller with respect and try my best to help them.
This is the point I explain my title... Please be kind. Don't be a behind. When you call anywhere to do any kind of business, remember that while you may have a legit complaint with that particular business, the person who answered the phone did not do anything to personally attack you or cause you any personal harm. They have a job to do and for the most part people who work on the phone try very hard to help you. Remember they are given a certain amount of information to work with so please remember that while you are frustrated at your particular situation attacking their intelligence will not help. It will not get you fast results. It will not make the person on the other end of the phone instantly remove their head from their rump and magically find the perfect answer you want to hear. Remember that the person on the other end of the phone is not incompetent nor are they their to make you hold on the line long enough to put you into a complete tizzy in order to hear all the profanity you have learned since middle school. For the most part those who work on the other end of the phone are your sisters and brothers; your mothers and fathers; your wives and husbands; your sons and daughters; and basically your everyday person trying to work and feed your family. (Even if they are a continent away) Be nice! Remember the rules of the civilized world. Remember your rules you learned in Kindergarten. Treat the person how you would if you were looking them eye to eye in front of your mother. So from one tired customer service rep to the frustrated public, I leave you with one tidbit of advice:
Please be kind. Don't be a behind!
Thank you & have a nice day!
Category:
call centers,
customer service,
ramblings,
random,
venting
1 comments
I'm going to rant, vent, ramble, whatever you want to call it. I'm doing this here because quiet honestly I don't want to start yet another heated debate. One of many that have been raging for the past month or so in the county where I work. I don't live there but I spend most of my time during the week there with it's citizens. There's a special election in this county. It's actually for one of the cities there. The county seat to be exact. It's a wet/dry vote. Let me give you a little background and clarification if like me when I first moved here you have no idea what a wet/dry anything is. As a matter of fact, when I was first told this was a dry county my response was, "It'll rain soon I'm sure". After the laughter quit, it was explained to me that a dry county is one that prohibits the sale of alcohol. I am a Navy brat. Alcohol has always been sold where ever I've lived. I never really thought about it to be quite honest.
Back to my rant. This special election has created a verbal civil war for this small town. The Yes people are bashing the Bible thumping No people for stopping progress. While the Bible thumping No people are criticizing the Yes people for creating the downfall for the future of their children. No people are stealing Yes people's signs out of their yard and vice versa. Both sides are spouting off statistics to support their sides. One thing about statistics? When in the proper hands they can be powerfully misleading (on both sides).
I'm not saying which side is correct or which side is wrong. However, I want to say what I think without getting my dog in this fight and skinned alive for it. I don't think it should pass. Why? Am I Bible thumper? Well, I don't thump my Bible but yes, I'm a Christian (Baptist even wooo). Do I think alcohol is deadly sin? No. I even have a nip here or there. Does that mean I'm going to hell? No, not for having a drink once in a while. The Bible states not to be a DRUNKARD. It doesn't say alcohol is a sin. But this isn't my real objection to it. There is nothing in my faith that is leading me to be against it. It's practicality and the knowledge of how people behave. This community is not ready. It's not mature enough to deal with all the things that come along with alcohol sales. They barely have enough police to deal with the meth problems. The other thing is, the industry and fine eating establishments they think this will bring in will not have enough people to sustain them.
In the same county, just below the city limits, it's sister city went wet a few years ago. All the same promises of growth and industry were made. As of this past week, no new industry or big name business came. As a matter of fact, the grocery store (the one and only) closed. Several establishments have come and gone trying to keep up their liquor license but losing them to illegal procedures and employees. The town's own Mayor was involved in a police chase through 3 counties while driving under the influence of alcohol. Do I think it was the evils of alcohol that did this? No. I think it was irresponsibility. So why am I against it? Neither of these two towns are mature enough or rather evolved enough to handle a community with alcohol sales. This county has been dry since prohibition. Most of the residence have never lived in a place that sold alcohol. This is the same town that everyone still knows everyone's business. There isn't even a real mall and they have just recently became a 3G zone. They can't agree on the reasons for the alcohol sales and I truly feel that the town as a town has not yet evolved to the point that they can have alcohol sales and handle it properly.
Whatever happens, I'll be glad when June 26th comes and goes. The fight of brother against brother, church member against church member, and sign thief against sign thief will be over. I don't like this kind of thing. I know it's our American right to disagree and debate but I feel that progress will come when we work together. That's not what this community is doing. The vote will come and go. No matter what happens, it's going to take the citizens quite some time to recover and heal from all of this.
Category:
dry/wet vote,
ramblings
0
comments
