Oops, I thought it was only a couple of weeks

So I'm going for extended hiatus here. I just checked and it's been over two months since I've put anything up here. Dang. And to think I thought I'd start doing it more in 2007.

I really just haven't had the motivation to write anything here. It's not that there isn't anything happening, I'm just not into the whole recapping it thing. Perhaps it's because I deal with the Internet all day at work.

Speaking of work, I did get a promotion already to what's called Tier 3 tech support. It's a higher level of high speed Internet support and we do the digital phone troubleshooting (it's not VOIP). I'm also learning about the drawbacks of working for a large corporation as a opposed to a small or mom and pop type establishment. The flipside being the pay is really good and a great health insurance plan that allowed me to had Phrank (without going into detail, we had perfect timing getting on the plan). Another bonus is that I don't have to deal with video (or billing) calls if I don't want to. Those video calls are getting transferred out away from me. The only calls I get that escalate into supervisor calls are video calls (I actually had a lady demand a supervisor when I told her that it would cost her 29.95 to have a field tech come to her house and program her TV remote).

A month or so ago I got a new phone that has a camera, that's where the photo came from. What you can't make out is that one of those mountains in the background is Pikes Peak. When I took the pic I was more interested in the colors (and I was surprised how well they came out when I got the pic on my computer).

I did manage to get a closer look at what may be the best ditch to skate around here. It needs a bit of cleanup before I can skate it but it's nothing a push broom can't take care of. I'll try to remember to get a few pictures of it next time I'm out there.

Anyway, I'll try not to let three months go by next time. If there are any of you left that is.

QA

It's like I forget this thing is here it seems. I just looked and it's been a month to the day since the last time I put anything up. And to think that I was going to start doing it some more.

Let's see, we made it through the holidays relatively unscathed but afterwards have been a bit, well, something.

One good thing is I seemed to have settled into a bit of a groove at the call center. Today I had what's called coaching (it's where my supervisor sits me down and goes over how I'm doing). It seems I'm doing fine other than I talk too much. Apparently, I have an ability to calm down most angry customers or at least not let them escalate the calls. Now if the company could get enough people on the phone to keep people from waiting an hour to talk to me.

I still feel sorry for some of them. It's kind of amazing just how much people depend on the Internet now days. Heck even ten years ago it wasn't like this. I was still using dial-up and residential high speed Internet was something that I read about on Usenet. Now the livelihood of people hinge on it (both Phrank and myself wouldn't be doing what we're doing if it weren't for it). Of course most of them accept that there can be disruptions in service and they're the ones who I seem to have the most sympathy.

Completely unrelated, I think I'm ready for winter to end. Or at least the snow to melt all the way out of the bowls at the skate park. For some reason the snow just piles up on the good transitions.

Up in smoke

I'm approaching six months with out a cigarette. It's been long enough that I don't remember what I felt like when I did smoke (or what I smelled like). The fingers I used to hold my cigarettes have lost the yellow tinge that I thought was going to last forever. It seems that my sense of smell has improved, I can tell when I wake up late at night if the downstairs neighbors are smoking or not.

There are very few times I even think about wanting a smoke. The other day I was telling Phrank that one of the few times I find myself wanting one is after mopping the floors. She thought that was odd, I think. Although, the post mopping smoke was a habit I had for many years at the various gas stations I worked at. That's the thing about smoking, smokers use a cigarette as a reward or a moment to catch their breath (ironic as that may be).

The big test for me was probably driving back to Indiana by myself. I've been told over the years that road trips are a big deal breaker for people trying to quit. I can see that. I'd tried the drive before without smoking and it was pretty tough but this time I'd been off them long enough that it wasn't so bad. There were those moments late at night after the coffee had long stopped working that I would want one. Just as something to keep me awake.

Anyway, it seems that I'm going to keep this not smoking thing up. I kind of like not having to be outside when it's freaking cold. And my clothes don't seem to smell as bad, not to mention my car. Well the car still smells but that's just that french fry I lost.

Catching a sound wave

It's just my luck that I discover that Sleater-Kinney was one of the greatest rock bands several months after they go on indefinite hiatus. The local library system has several of their albums and if I see on I'll grab it to give it a spin. Last Sunday, the album The Woods from 2005 (which apparently is their last album) was in so I grabbed it. I kind of don't want to return it. When I finally popped it in I was blown away. I've liked the other records I've heard by them but this one is something different. It seems to have all the elements of noise that make a good rock record for me. Just enough dissonance, catchy hooks and lyrics that seems to tell stories (and I'm beginning to think there is a theme to this album).

Due to such a wide selection of music at my local library (and a fresh stack of CDs from Paradox that cam in the mail yesterday) I am once again completely behind in my music. It going to be time to play catch up. And that doesn't even take into consideration the actual albums I've been picking up at thrift stores and garage sales.

There could be far worse things than having a lot of music to catch up on. And Phrank did get me one of the better Sonic Youth albums (Murray Street) to come out in the 00's (on CD and vinyl no less). That one I've actually listened to enough to come to that conclusion (and if you don't have it, get it).

And I still have plenty of room on my iPod.

Voices on the phone

So I finally got the customer I was waiting to get. That would be the one that couldn't spell CNN. I'd been waiting for her since I hit the floor. There have been other people I've talked to who probably shouldn't have computers or access to the Internet. My coworker, Larry, was lucky in that he got her is first few days but that time she couldn't spell HBO. His was even better because that time he had to tell her HomeBoy Out to get her to spell it right. I just told her CharlieNancyNancy.

I use CNN.com as a test page because the page updates every thirty minutes or so. That way I know that it not a page loading from temporary files. Sometimes I get the guy that thinks I am trying to brainwash him by directing him to that site. Usually it's something like "you know they are part of the liberal media" or "I get my news from Fox, bub." Amazingly I have to explain that I didn't pick CNN because of their content but the fact that the frontpage stays pretty current. Although I have this sneaking suspicion that one day someone is going to be seriously offended that I've asked them to go to CNN and get so mad they'll want to talk to my supervisor.

I'm not sure about all of those people that live in Southern California.

Soul Sucking Jerks.

It seems that winter has started. The cold hit finally. I don't mind it so much but defrosting and scraping the car in the morning can be a pain especially if I'm running late.

This new job of mine is sucking the life out of me I think. I never realized how much I dislike highly structured work environments until working here. Add to that the fact that no one ever calls when they're happy. The past four days were spent in a room they call the Icebox. And that's a literal description. I think I've begun to get sick from sitting in there all week.

And what's even better is everything we were taught this week in training is going to be obsolete within a month or so. WooHoo!

You know I should probably think of something nice to say about the place but I just can't. Okay, some of the people that work there are nice.

I really think I had something else to say when I sat down here but I can't remember.

Customer Disservice

I've decided I would really hate to be a customer of the company I work for or at least certain customers. It seems that the standards are set in such a way in the call center that some customers will get stuck in an infernal loop of transfers that a resolution to their problem is impossible. Most of this is due to the fact that we as agents can only be on the phone for so long, and to keep call times down people get transfered. I'm new enough that my call length by far exceeds what is expected of agents on the floor. It seems that if we weren't trying to keep our times down so much we may be able to take care of many issues without transferring people.

Although after being on the side of the phone I am now, I can see why at times it's taken several calls to some companies to get a resolution. It completely depends on which agent you get calling a given call center. There is a lot for agents to know and not all of them even know the basics. It seems I have a fair handle on what I'm supposed to know and can come to a resolution for a customer much of the time. But I still get those questions that stump me. Most of the time it turns out to be Windows issue or something unrelated to my job. Like the fellow who wanted me to setup his printer over the phone.

The really funny thing about having this job is that I really hate answering the phone. Ask Phrank, she'd tell you. Or any of my past roommates that I've shared a phone with. I really can't answer why I took this job other than the benefits are good and I might pick some things up for the next step.

Boring email

Ever since I've started on the phones I've been asking myself a question. Why the hell would anyone use an email address provided by an ISP (Internet Service Provider)? I can't count the amount of calls I've taken where people are having issues with their email. Due to the ever changing nature of the telecommunications industry it doesn't make sense to me to use an email address where the potential for the address to change several months from now is high. Not only that but most ISP have stingy limits on the storage space on their servers. The company I work for had a max limit of 100 megs, that's tiny! Not to mention the amount of spam they seem to receive. There really is only one advantage that I can see and that's the ease of configuring email client programs (and even that is a lame excuse).

Perhaps it's a generational thing, it does seem that it's the over 55 set that uses the company's provided email more than the younger ones. There is that age group that still believes one can trust the companies one does business with.

Who's to say? And if you made it this far, sorry about your eyes glazing over. But I'm having to work myself back into this blog thing. I'll get better I promise.

I'm not even sure which circle it is...

I imagine by this point writing anything here is probably like talking to myself. I've pretty much forgotten about this little section of the Internet. The truth is I've been far more interested in being a passive participate out here on the Interwebs lately.

What's new? Well since you asked, I've left the print industry. And yet I've still managed to descend into a new level of customer service hell (hey it's a start). If you're reading this from the LA region then I represent what most likely is your local cable company (for job security I think I'll leave it nameless) and I am answering your angry phone calls about why you can't get online. Yep, it's a call center. In the high speed Internet division.

The thing about this job is that nobody ever calls us when things are going good. And some people are really freaking pissed when they call. I guess the advantage is they aren't able to physically do any harm.

It's only been a month. I do like the fact that I have coworkers again. That's nice.

Something tells me this new job could provide ample ground for new gripes here at Surly Pump Monkey. Like the lady that couldn't spell HBO (Larry took that call).

Home again

Two Fridays ago, I was informed that the following Monday was to be my last day. Now I had given a two week notice that would have taken affect tomorrow. So I was going to have almost two weeks of downtime. What's a boy to do? Well, this boy decided to go home, to Indiana that is.

So last Wednesday, I hopped in the Surly Mayfly and headed to parts east of here. Living down here the Front Range cuts the drive time by close to six hours. I showed up at my folks house at six in the morning. I don't even know how long I stopped and slept.

It was a cool visit, I could have actually had a few more days and I did manage to jack my heel the first day at the Bloomington skate park. That's what I get for trying to drop into the big bowl. I also got to meet my brothers newest addition, an Italian Greyhound named Burney (Magpie named him after Mr. Burns). Got a bunch of new music. We're not going to talk about what format it's in.

I managed to make it back to Colorado Springs but the Surly Mayfly didn't. The alternator went out and I made it just east of the city. So into the shop it goes and I'm going to suck it up and get the timing belt replaced.

This was the first time in a long time that I've had someone back here waiting on me to get home. And I was ready to get back to our life here. It's been awhile since I missed someone like that. Anyway I'm glad to get back but once again I'll miss Indiana for a few days.

One ring

The future Mrs. Surly Pump Monkey has been asking me for a couple days now when I'm going to blog again. I guess I have been remiss but at least this time it's only a week.

I'm not sure if the reality of being engaged has sunk in all the way yet. I do know the ring looks pretty on her finger and I keep finding myself looking at it (perhaps partly to reassure myself this is happening). We went with a sapphire partly because I'm poor and partly because I have issues with diamonds (as in I don't like them and hate the DeBeers Corp. and it's marketing schemes). The thing is it looks really good on her finger.

This is all new to me but I don't mind it. It's comforting to know that I have someone with whom I want to spend the rest of my life with and we've made a step to insure that it happens.

It still strikes me as funny in a way that this all started here on the Internet. Oh our modern world.

Pablo will no longer be a bastard

Yes, yes, I fully intended to get here earlier but I got distracted. But my character is now a level 51 psionist and a level 40 cleric. Yeah, I shouldn't be wasting my time playing that game but I am somewhat entertained by it.

I managed to get back to Steamboat for a day or so. If I didn't see you sorry, it was a rush trip. I was there to marry off Brett and Nikki. It was good to see those who I got to see though, Paradox and Penny's parents. Apparently the ceremony went off well even with my having to ad lib part of it.

I met Phrank's mother this weekend, it was interesting. Phrank and her mother aren't that much alike but there are some things that they do exactly the same (I'll probably get slugged for that). Anyway, her mother was nice and if nothing else fawned over the cats.

In other news, I have ordered a ring for Phrank and as far as I know we will get married someday. Or something like that. Knowing that I'd never be able to find anyone quite like her and seeing that she wants this to work I figured it was time. Perhaps a bit soon but compared to my grandparents we're waiting forever (they got married the day after they met).

Good you've all recovered.

We haven't set a date. A year, yes. Sometime in 2008.

Wow, I've never done this before.

slugs

I'm not sure how I feel about myself these days. There are quite a few times when those thoughts of self-doubt and self-loathing creep into my head and I just can't seem to shake them. When I screw up or get my mistakes pointed out I get upset. Upset with myself but it perhaps appears as upset with other people.

The flip side to this is that my moods are affected by other peoples moods even though I try not to let it happen. When people around me are being crabby or grumpy towards me it gets to me even if I'm not the cause of it. I know that I'm not supposed to take it personally but sometime I do.

Over the years I've found myself going through various ebbs and flows of this stuff. Especially the self-loathing. It feels like it has to be peaking right about now because the insomnia is the worst it's been in a while and the thoughts that will be unnamed are the strongest.

I guess I should just remember that this too shall pass.

Hijacked!

Well, as you can see, this blog was hijacked yesterday by the lovely and talented Phrank. She says pirated, I say hijacked. I'm going to have to fix it so she can't get in here.

So what have I been doing instead of writing this here thingee? Let's see, you all know about the furniture, the fact that I talk in my sleep and I drool. Computer/Internet wise, I've been sucked into once again attempting to figure out UNIX with very little success. I can't even get the newsreader to work right. Not only that but I found a free VAX/VMS network to login into. Geez, the network OS of my youth. An aside to all you former BSU Refugees, I can't remember any of the old commands from VAX and it's just not the same in you can't tell where people are sitting any more. I know, geek, geek, geek.

The Surly Mayfly rolled over to 200000 miles this weekend. I was pretty excited about that. I even managed to get a picture of it rolling over. Although it may be considered cheating because I drove around the parking lot until it did. But now I need a new thing to obsess over.

I'll probably just stick with the UNIX thing for the time being. I'm way too distracted to write anymore right now.

ghostwriting--the wave of the 21st century

here's the thing, dear readers (that's right...you two guys over there), i've grown tired of checking keith's blog every morning thinking we might see a new post. sometimes destiny is what you make of it so here's a post. (you gotta think i'm going to get in trouble for this one!)

while the lug is still a snoring, drooling, babbling wad under the covers with a cat on his head, i've pirated his blog. funny, i don't feel like i pirate although i'm musty like one as i took yesterday off with the bathing gig. and the babbling...yes, he babbles in his sleep. being a good, often paranoid girlfriend, i used to try to break the code, so to speak, and figure out what he was saying. perhaps i would get some clue...some something...another woman's name or a location...(yes, yes i know the humor in this as keith is one of the good guys. he tells on himself for god's sake.)...i blame this all on aaron spelling and his 1980's and 1990's creations. damn you, melrose place!

i digress.

often.

today looks to be a day of bliss. yesterday we purchased new living room furniture as the existing futon could have been used as a torture device as its designer had obviously never heard the word 'comfort'. friday i went to the preview at the local auction house to find the perfect sofa. i found one that was perfectly aesthetically pleasing being a retro 1970's yellow and white flowered number. a bit too stiff though. i plopped. i sprawled. i reclined. and then i found it. (insert angelic mantras.) it's not pretty but it's not ugly. but, oh my. plus, the couch had two friends--an overstuffed recliner and an overstuffed rocker recliner.

so yesterday morning i took my barney rubble to the auction, pointed at various sofas and said, "sit there" and "what do you think". we agreed on the comfy sofa and his two friends. imagine how soft you'd imagine delta burke's bosom would be in her last two years on 'designing women'. the set is that soft.

the time came for bidding on my sofa and recliners. yes, i was already possessive telling grown men to please take their feet off of my couch. only one other bidder and myself were after the set. the other bidder was the owner of a shop who resold everything he bought. as the bidding got higher, i finally glared at the guy and yelled, "hey man, it's my couch and i'm poor!". the guy stopped bidding and we got the set for $85.

the plan for today involves lots of quality recliner and couch time. i'll make breakfast and read the sunday paper in my lovely recliner. after doing the morning dishes, i'll return to my recliner to enjoy today's race. i will nap and in my naptime, i will rejoice.

sweet blessed comfort.