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Thank you for using easyedgeSM Picture Messaging by U.S. Cellular. See www.uscellular.com for info.

Ice is Not so nice!

Just keeping the phone charged means taking it to the car & charging it via the battery. after the ice we gathered had melted & we dumped it down the toilet the kids agreed to go get more ice for annother flush later- after being bribed with a dollar each. I had met a neighbor on the way to the store & they had told me they had power I called the electric co. again -I had called when it went out the night before- they're 100% automated when you call now & after a bunch of number pressing an automated voice told me they hope to have everyone restored by midnight the 15th! well thats just great!I HAVE to go to work tommorow though no one is going to be thrilled to smell me! When the kids were gathering ice the 2nd time they found these very remarkable pod like things encased in ice they're from a tree in the yard & the kids filled annother bucket full of them because they were so
enamoured with them. Im going to send a few pics along of them without text. To save my cell phone battery!

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Icing on the cake..

We lost alot of tree limbs in this storm but no actual trees. the power wasnt back in the morning- since we heat with kerosene we had heat but no running water. So first thing I took the little ones outside & we gathered as many icicles as we could. we filled my 3 gallon pot & a 5 gallon bucket with chunks of ice & set the pot on top of the kero. heater to melt for water to flush the toilet with {I had stored 8 gallons of bottled water for this sort of emergency & the gallons we keep in the fridge were both filled too} while we were outside I also got all the ice off the padlock on the shed & got the camping stove out.
17 made french toast. I was going to try to go to work late but after a test run to the store for groceries & kerosene I thought the better of it I didnt like the idea of leaving the kids with no power & using the propane cookstove & kerosene lamps for light. So I called back to work & said I wouldnt be there at all. everything is such a challenge with the power out

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Lights Out!

I took this picture Tuesday night when the power being out was still a novelty. the ice began accumulating in earnest at about noon, the kids got sent home at 1245. We had our lovely dinner of beef borginon, yeast rolls & cinnamon pears for dessert. I even did the dishes- well most of them- I was folding clothes & watching tv. Getting ready to go take a shower when the lights went out & stayed out. after a quick flurry of activity getting the kerosene lamps lit, locating the flashlights for the younger ones & getting as much water as possible out of the pipes for toilet flushing- I should have filled all our buckets & pans earlier but I didnt think about the possibillity of losing power at all {truth be told I was more concerned with the possibility of a tree falling on the house & breaking it up} Everyone went to bed early I read in bed by lamplight till about eleven & went to sleep
reflecting on how long it took me to get used to the dark & the lack of noise when I moved here.

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Arrgh!
Now Playing: Clocks by Coldplay
Topic: General Diatribes

Yes, I know I've said it before, I know I've bitched & complained to no end here & in the lighter blog about my job, the new computer program, the customers who are idiots, the company acting like they're doing us a favor by 'letting' us work there. All of it. 

This time though, they've done it, they've really done it, I'm looking for a new Job. I've got an application for a job some of my co-workers left to do & they say the place is hiring now. They're getting about 3 thousand dollars more a year to do something similar to what I do now, with less stress, regular 8-5 work schedule & did I mention the less stress part?

Well I'm not going to fly off the handle & quit my job. (did a lot of that as a teenager & young adult & watched Rick do it for 8+ years after that)  But I'm going to put in that application & do some online & newspaper searching. I started a list while at work of the things I hate about my job & I only got as far as the customer issues, the really bad thing about my job is that there are so MANY stresses,

1. You've got customers calling in constantly (that is what the job is about after all) call after call & they're bitching about this that or the other thing. (don't get me started on the variations on that theme because I'll be here all night) I'll save the in depth for annother post.

 2. You've got management saying you can't take too long between calls to finish your notes, but you HAVE to leave notes on every call, you can't log out more than 5 minutes before your end time & you can't log in before your appointed start time But at say, 9am in my case you're expected to have the computer up, all programs ready to go to take calls even though you're not going to get paid until 9am. 

3. You have the delicate balance of enforcing the business rules to the customers but yet, when monitored still giving 'world class customer service' BAH! Customer service includes (they tell us) never telling a customer no or that you can't do something- although if we don't follow the business rules we can get fired!

4.  Overtime, Overtime, Extra time, The last is our corporate euphemisim for over time which is supposed to make us feel better about being there more than 40 hours a week & I admit if I need money it's nice to have the option but I still feel the words Mandatory & Overtime should not be in the same sentence. Ever.

5. Add to these, the added stress since May of a computer program which is cumbersome, sluggish, crashing constantly & routinely doesn't do all the things I get asked to do in a day in which I take 55-60 calls (as in the programers just say, 'sorry, this program just doesn't do that part, you'll have to have someone with the old computer program do that for you')

 6. On top of all this my boss got called into the General Manager's office last night for a quick heads up on things which are/will be happening very soon:    1. Among other things while we're already clocked down to the nano-second they're going to start handing out write ups if we're 5 minutes late or more coming back from Lunch. Breaks, where they're still paying me  while I'm not on the phone I can understand but during lunch I'm logged out, this is my time, I'm not being paid & I hurt only myself by not logging in at 230 or whenever. -My job is NOT life & death however much management would like to think it is- if it was they should put on a graveyard shift like I've been asking them to do for the past 5 & 1/2 years so I could go on it & be home for my kids every day, not just a few of them! (of course, I know myself, I'd sleep constantly if I was on third shift!)

 2. My boss told us the being (a LOT) more careful about breaks lunches etc stuff last night (Ok, I knew he had to go see the GM, had a guilty concience & after work pressed him to find out what he was told & he told one guy who always works late & was still there & me the above) However he neglected to mention the important part until our '5 minute meeting' this morning & that is that there is an 80% chance that we will be doing a full reordering of the whole business' schedules & it will mean that we will have to choose shifts again, it means the 'well oiled machine' my co-workers & I have been for 15 months will be taken apart again, we will no longer likely have our easygoing if a little vague coach & many of us could very likely lose our schedule. IF they even have this same schedule available- if it's available it is not unlikely I could remain on it since the 4 days 10 hours a day shifts are not as popular as you might think & I'm in the second to highes tier in our rankings which determine our monthly bonuses, (oh yes, there are reason$ I am still at that job in spite of the abuse, stress & frustration I experience there) myself I love the 4x10 shifts, especially since I currently get out of work at 8pm & am home to help even mr 7 with his homework. (don't all 7 year olds have a 930 bedtime?) it is also entirely possible that I could keep the same days off but be required to be at work until 10 or even 11 at night. No one knows, it could happen as soon as the end of February or it could be the end of March, but an 80% chance is pretty big odds, I have no doubt (especially with my job experiences there) that it WILL happen. The only question is how long can we keep this nice Friday, Saturday & Tuesdays off schedule? 

  I'm already second guessing myself, maybe I should wait til the shift bid, see what I get for a schedule & THEN change jobs if I don't like it! I'm so cautious with 3 kids to feed. I told one of my more hot-headed co-workers who was going off about 'f this I'm not going to change shifts again' (he just bidded onto this shift in September) that I have 11 more years before I can just quit a job & tell people to shove it. (that's when all of my kids are grown & I am raising them with the expectation that by 18 they should be able to take care of themselves & live on their own - I was living on my own at 17 after all!  

Yep, Sounds like me!
Topic: General Diatribes
Advanced Global Personality Test Results

Extraversion |||||| 26% Stability |||||||||||||| 53% Orderliness |||||||||| 36% Accommodation |||||||||||||||| 63% Interdependence |||||||||||||||| 70% Intellectual |||||||||| 36% Mystical |||||||||||||||| 70% Artistic |||||||||||||| 56% Religious |||||||||||||||| 63% Hedonism |||||||||||||||| 63% Materialism |||||||||||||||| 63% Narcissism |||||| 23% Adventurousness |||||||||||| 50% Work ethic |||||| 23% Self absorbed |||||||||||| 50% Conflict seeking |||||| 23% Need to dominate |||||||||||| 50%

Romantic |||||||||| 36% Avoidant |||||||||||||| 56% Anti-authority |||||||||||| 43% Wealth |||| 16% Dependency |||||| 30% Change averse |||||||||||||| 56% Cautiousness |||||||||||||||| 63% Individuality |||||||||||||||| 63% Sexuality |||||||||||||||||| 76% Peter pan complex |||||||||||||| 56% Physical security |||||||||||||||| 70% Physical fitness || 10% Histrionic |||||| 30% Paranoia |||||||||||||||| 63% Vanity |||||| 23% Hypersensitivity |||||||||||||||| 70% Female cliche |||||||||||||||| 63%

Stability results were medium which suggests you are moderately relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic. Orderliness results were moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment. Extraversion results were low which suggests you are very reclusive, quiet, unassertive, and secretive.

trait snapshot:
introverted, secretive, messy, depressed, does not like leadership, somewhat nihilistic, observer, does not make friends easily, unassertive, feels invisible, feels undesirable, hates large parties, does not like to stand out, leisurely, suspicious, submissive, abstract, unpredictable, intellectual, likes rain, likes the unknown, negative, weird, not a risk taker, unadventurous, avoidant, strange

Get your Own!

 

Well, Am I?.....Half dead I mean. I actualy dug out the record the song lyric is from. (Black & Blue btw, the song is called 'Hold on to Eighteen') & I was more than a little appalled by the imaturity of the lyrics though I still remember enough of my teen years to understand what they're trying to say.

I haven't had time to take stock in a few weeks, I'm so tired all the time now it's starting to scare me (Mostly because of my mother's obsessive tiredness- I so do not want to be like her but I AM Tired!) The problem I have is I'm ok if I get 9 hours of sleep every night but if I get behind.... like I did driving to Mass, sleeping in my car, on floors & pull out sofas for 6 nights & driving back to VA. I was ok the whole time, not falling asleep driving or sitting (well, I think there was one nap on my mother's couch) Now that I'm home though... well I nearly fell asleep here at the computer desk playing Mahjong. (yes, I know many people would take that as a given but I really enjoy computer mahjong) 

I was so tired last night that I was in bed at 11, (I admit I read for annother hour or so though) & then this morning woke up at 9:45 & read in bed for annother couple of hours. (all the kids are on a completely hedonistic schedule & didn't stir until nearly 11am- though Lois says she was up & on the phone at 9 I find it hard to belive since when I was up at 1:30 to pee she was on the phone with John)  

Transitioning to the new schedule will contribute to my tiredness, 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on again & then 2 off. I think I'll like having Fridays off though, once I get used to it (E* Is change though, I may get used to it just in time for them to change it on us again) 

  I organized my dvds, videos & cds on my last day off & found I'm missing the Fellowship of the Rings dvd, I have the Two Towers & the Return of the King but the first one is gone, it was the nice one with the ridiculously complete double disk with all the movie stills, making of & other 'special features' the truly obsessed love. I wasn't able to get the special editions on the other two, either couldn't find them when I had the money or didn't have the money when I saw them. If I've loaned it to anyone & forgotten it please give it back, I was planning a nice long LOTR fest for myself during the coming ugly weather this winter. (I know it will get ugly, I just keep hoping we could keep this mild weather, too good to be true though)

 Today, as I said I stayed in bed a lot of the day, I was feeling not only tired but a little weak, My period began while we were in MA & ended Christmas, it came back though on Thursday & I've been emitting bright red blood with largish clots ever since. Last night & early this morning was the heaviest so far & included some pretty heavy cramps. I've been told by others that this is a by-product of having 3 kids & by others that it is no big deal. I know it's not a miscarriage but that's more what it's felt like, especially the clots (not a chance, it's been over a year & A has had a vasectomy anyway) I stayed on my back in bed reading until nearly 1:30 this afternoon (& yes, I was still falling asleep at 715) I have acomplished a bit though, I did a load of laundry, ( & I have about 3 loads worth to fold tonight) did the dishes, picked up around the house, harrassed Val & Cam into cleaning their rooms, read a whole BUNCH of chapters of my book. Went out & got some groceries, took about 20 bags of trash to the dumpsters- we'd been putting it off for awhile, this is the drawback to a garage, somewhere that you can store trash & not smell it, it builds up & then you have to devote an hour to getting rid of it all. The ex & I used to do that all the time in our rentals, at the trailer there was no place to put full bags so they went right to the dumpster. (especially in the summer)

  I don't usually do Resolutions, I belive the universe likes nothing better than helping you break promises & resolutions. But at the same time I know I need to start doing more about not eating sugar than I have been during the last 2-3 months (I was doing ok for awhile there) & I have got to fix my job stuff, I may not want to be there but I have to stop calling in & going home early or coming in late, the only reason I haven't been put on a written warning is because my boss is lazy & hates paperwork. I've also got to start sounding more upbeat in the mornings, when the quality people monitor it is always between 9 am & 11 am. I know this. I'm the one who thought to check the time for each call I'm monitored on over the last 2 years & realized they're catching me early in the day every time. I've got to remember to sound like I'm happy to be there so I can pull up my quality scores. the attendance & the quality are the only things I can do to get myself off the phone & that is what needs to happen. I truly believe this job is a quick-burnout type of job. The fact that I've been able to do it for 5+ years without losing my mind (well, officially at least) Shows that I have either no sanity in the first place!

 

 

Merry F-ing Christmas!

Having myself a little pity party here at work today. Yes I am at work & let me tell you if 1 more person calling in says to me 'why are you working on Christmas?' I'm going to lose it & point out that if they were'nt calling in I wouldn't have to be here! Don't call businesses on a holiday folks! Please! We are all begging to be sent home. If we sit around waiting for calls they send us home! I've worked 3 out of 6 Christmases & have always been sent home, sometimes 3/4 of the way through the day but never have I worked a full shift on Christmas. Im not holding my breath this year though. The people who worked yesterday were here until 8pm just like a normal day. I had a paid day off yesterday & was enjoying the chaos of 15 plus kids all unwrapping their gifts at the same time. The kids have each opened 2 gifts from me, everything they we're given yesterday & their stockings but are waiting 4 me to get home to do the real gift opening when I get there {whenever that is

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this is a test

The last few messages I've sent to this blog have not made it here. So I'm trying again since I may have to do remote posting again very soon.

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