Transitions and Explanations

I realize I've been completely ignoring the good ol' BAFW since February of this year. Just to reassure the one or two readers that might have been following this blog on a semi-regular basis: nothing terrible happened to me. I didn't break all my fingers or lose the ability to string words together to form sentences that in turn form paragraphs that turn into postings.

What I've been going through is a period of transition. As some of you might have known already, when I was writing regularly, I was employed by a bank. That relationship ended in February of this year. In case anyone was wondering, I worked at the time for Bank of America. And for the most part, despite being a thankless and totally unrewarding job, it payed the bills and I didn't hate it. Well, there were days when I wish I could personally knock on some of their customers' doors to give them a piece of my mind due to the way people tend to treat complete strangers over a phone line. I like to call that "telephonic courage". Some of the things Bank of America customers said (and in some cases, yelled at me) over the phone I've always wondered if, being face to face with them, they would have acted in the same manner.

I was with Bank of America for 3 full years. If you were to track down any of my managers they would have told you that I was hard working, results-oriented and goal driven. During my first year as a customer service representative for the Checking and Savings dept I was awarded with their prestigious "Associate of the Month" award in May of 2007. Mind you that I had only started working there around the end of February of the same year, and at the time, Bank of America's training program lasted 2 months. So right out of training I was already, in their eyes, great. I continued to do good work in that dept, always ranked in the top ten amongst my peers. This is no hyperbole.

I transferred in November of 2007 to the bank's credit card dept. There, I worked early to mid-stage to late-stage collections. I hit every single goal they presented me with, not missing bonus a single month, and, with the efforts of my team-mates, saved the bank millions (yes, millions) of dollars in potential credit card losses. Even when the whole housing market crashed and people were getting laid off, I was still able to save a large number of accounts and I actually helped a ton of people either repair their credit with reduced payment programs or offered them a way out of their debt with very generous settlements that ranged in the 20 - 35% of their total debt with the bank.

In September of 2009 I felt like I needed a change, and an opportunity arose in the then fledgling new Mortgage dept that was created when the Countrywide and Bank of America merger was completed. I didn't spend much time in this dept, since my working relationship with the bank ended the following February, but while I was there, I felt like I was doing some pretty excellent customer service. Not a day went by when at least a couple of customers thanked me profusely for being so helpful.

But, my time with the bank ended on a sour note. I made a misstep. And I willingly admit that it was a lapse in judgment. If I hadn't done this, I would not be typing up this blog entry right now. What ended my career with the bank? Did I steal customers' social security numbers? Did I steal money from the bank? Was I giving out false information to customers? Nope. None of that. This one silly little mistake prompted Bank of America to just cut me loose without considering all the good things I had done for the financial institution. So . . . what did I do??

I hung up on an irate and verbally abusive customer. A customer that from the start not only was mad at the bank for whatever reason, but for some reason decided to attack me as a person, completely unwarranted. Now, when something like this happens, a customer service rep is supposed to get a manager and pass the call along, but I don't know if I just had had enough by then and maybe that's what made me ignore protocol, but after repeatedly asking the customer to please stop verbally attacking me, I just hung up. He called back, got in touch with a manager, and pretty much told them I was rude and condescending and that I had hung up on him because of his Indian accent. Total bullshit. I hung up on him because he was an asshole and he deserved to be hung up on.

Big mistake I guess. The following day, I get pulled out of my cubicle by the Unit Manager who starts his interview with me about the incident by saying these words that are forever etched into my psyche (and I'm quoting you Hugo Ayala, if you have a problem with this, you can drop me a note in the comments section, that is, if you're not too busy trying to look like you're a member of the Buena Vista Social Club): "What made you think you had the right to hang up on a customer". As soon as he said this, my heart started pounding. I knew I was in deep shit. I tried to explain what happened, even went so far as to ask for clemency and practically (short of getting on my knees and kissing this bastard's feet) begged for my job. Mostly out of fear of the uncertainty that comes along with unemployment in an economy where the unemployment percentages are in the double digits.

I found out the next day that they decided, between all of them, to let me go. I fell into a slight depression. A man needs to work. If I can't provide for my family, then what good am I to them? At the time though, I thought that this was "end-of-the-world" bad. That I was going to lose everything. My wife and I would be out there, living in the streets. But, of course, that's not how it turned out. And to tell you the truth, getting fired from Bank of America is one of the best things that happened to me. I'm not going to go and thank the fuckers for letting me go. But in retrospect, it has led to bigger and better things.

About a month after I got fired, I got a communication from a recruiter from AFLAC. Yeah, the duck you've seen on commercials. I figured I had nothing to lose other than an hour or two of my time while I was out job hunting. I met with a Regional Sales Coordinator in an orientation that was supposed to be for a group of people, but I was the only one that showed up. So I had a very positive meeting with him, but since his office was in the LAX area, and I live at least 45 minutes away, without traffic (and that's Southern California traffic, the worst traffic known to man) he didn't think that I would like driving so far every day. So he referred me to the office that I now work out off in Pasadena.

That second meeting with AFLAC went well as well. I was encouraged to take the Life & Health certification class. I did it. I went to the California Insurance office in downtown Los Angeles and took the test and passed it on my first try. I was appointed to work with AFLAC on April 12, 2 months to the day that I lost my job with Bank of America, and I have to say that I am now much much much happier than before. I'm a small business owner now. I have no hours that I really need to adhere to and the support I get from the AFLAC folks is second to none. I now have a career, instead of a job, and I find it extremely rewarding, specially since I'm actually doing something that helps people in their time of need.

So . . . that's what happened. That has been a condensed (yeah, this post could have been longer) version of the last 4 months or so of my life. Now that things are settling down and I'm getting into a routine that I'm comfortable with, I should be able to come back to the good ol' BAFW and post things from time to time. I toyed with the idea of just ending the blog and deleting it from its little corner of the internet. But I changed my mind. I want to keep this going. I don't just want to throw almost 5 years of blogging away, casually discarding it like Bank of America casually discards their quality representatives for really minuscule offenses (in my case with no previous track record of misconduct).

But I'm not bitter or anything. They also lost a customer, but what do they care right?

Hello 2010 & 2009 Holiday Wrap Up

Yes, BAFW has been on a sort of hiatus while I was on vacation the last couple of weeks of December 2009. What was I doing? Pretty much enjoying some much needed family time. Christmas came and went and it was better than last year. So that's a plus. My wife told me she didn't need to return/exchange a single present I gave her for Christmas, which is a rousing success for me, since in the past I've gotten her things that have left her scratching her head wondering if the gift was really for her.

And don't get me started on what she got me. I won't list everything, but she got me comics, videogames, movies and some other geek-related goodness. That woman knows me well.

After Christmas, we ventured to Las Vegas for the third time this year, but this time, we got comp'ed rooms and we came back without any of our gambling money, but all of our entertainment money was still intact. So, it's not exactly breaking even, but we had a great time there. Set us up with massages at a spa and get us some penny slots and we're in heaven in Sin City.

We didn't stick around for New Year's in Las Vegas. I've done that a couple of times and it's never been great. Just crowded. And drunky. We found our own crowded and drunky spot here in Los Angeles at my wife's friend's work party. Open bar and free food guaranteed our presence. And for the most part, the party was fun, but we did leave before midnight. Why? We felt like it. And we're non-conformists . . . OK, we just got tired and wanted to get back home.

Other than that, not much else happened. I've been back at work (ugh) since Monday of this week, not really loving it, but I realize it's a necessary evil. I should start posting again within the next couple of days. Don't worry, trailers and funny videos will make their way onto BAFW soon enough. 'Til then, later.

September Doldrums

Yeah, in case you hadn't noticed, September's been a pretty lean month when it comes to posting around the BAFW. You could say that I'm getting a little bit on the tired side. But it's mostly my day job killing my writing ability by exhausting the shit out me. And it's not even having to work extra hours, because all that beautifully expensive (for the company) overtime we used to work has dried up as of late. No, just going in to work and doing the same thing over and over again is what's doing it.

But, I start a new assignment October 5th. I won't really have to deal with customers for about 2 months while I'm being trained for my new position at my job. Which is great. I should be feeling a little more refreshed and posts will just flow a bit more naturally then. I'm hoping. Keep your fingers crossed.

So, let's just ride out September. It's just a shitty month for BAFW. And is anyone else in Southern California? What the hell is up with this heat wave? I hate you Santa Ana winds!

The Downfall of the English Language Plans a Snack

So, I get this e-mail at work. From an adult. Someone that should know how to write an e-mail without making him/her-self look like a complete idiot. But hey, I am surrounded by retards at work, so this really shouldn't surprise me too much. There are good intentions that come along with the e-mail, but that first sentence, and what follows, completely takes my mind of what this person was trying to do, and makes me feel bad for the mangling he/she is giving the poor English language. I will italicize what makes me feel sorrow for the language that I love.

Please due not feel obligated!! …… But, for those that are interested…. I was thinking of bring in some muffins, juice and fruit tomorrow for those who want to contribute $2.00 each. I know we all get in early in the morning and be a little hunger so I will pick up some breakfast snacks… I will be in tomorrow at 8am. So if you are interested please give me your $2.00 today I leave at 5pm……. Again please do not feel obligated this is just a suggestion if anyone has any other thoughts or suggestion please let me know…..

I'm not going to even get into the punctuation. All the random "..." just makes me wonder if my employer should require more than just a high school diploma or a G.E.D equivalent.

November 24th - 29th

Get ready for very little to no posts this week folks. It's going to be crazy around here, with rushing to meet deadlines and goals at work to ensure proper payout of bonuses and with the Thanksgiving holiday looming over the horizon . . . it's putting a lot of pressure on the time I have free to post silly things found on the interwebs. That and the new "Gears of War 2" videogame for the XBOX 360 is pwning my face right now. There are just too many great games that I haven't even cracked into, like the new "Call of Duty: World at War" game and the new "Fallout 3". Argh! I'd kill to have a few days off again. And I just had a vacation at the beginning of this month.

So, do what you gotta do to avoid withdrawal. There's a ton of shit in the archives. If you're a new reader, then it's almost like new material for you to go through. Sure, some of the pictures are gone and most of the videos might not work properly anymore. But there's still some good, quality stuff in there. Check it out. I'm done patting myself in the back now. Gotta get to work. Yes, it's not even 4:30 AM and I'm saying "gotta get to work".

Don't envy me.

The End of A Week that Felt Like an Era AKA: BAFW Vacation Pre-Cursor Post

I'm sure you've heard (or in this case read) me harp about my disdain for the end of the month. My job gets intense around then. Everything kicks into high gear and my teammates and I are doing anything (within the realm of federal and banking regulations) to meet and hopefully exceed or goal to ensure a nice fat bonus check the next month. Two fifteen hour days (5 AM - 8 PM) followed by a 5 AM - 2 PM day that caps off what I like to call "Collections Hell Week".

Today was specially tough on me as not only did I have to get through that, but I also needed to prepare to take a trip out to Utah to meet my wife who flew out there Thursday morning. My work obligations kept me in Los Angeles until now. But that meant that, after work today, I couldn't really just kick my shoes and vegge out in front of my big screen. No. I had to get to the store to pick up some stuff up that I needed for my 12 hour drive (I heard I could probably do it in 10) tomorrow morning. Which means I had to get my car in tip-top shape. Oil change, tire rotation, etc. I also had to drop off my dog at my mom's, who graciously offered to dog-sit for me over the weekend. I also had to take my wife's car to the body shop to mend a fender bender so that my wife could have her car back by the time we're back in town, which also meant I had to take public transportation (gasp!) home after that.

A pretty full day after having to wake up at 3:30 AM to get to work by 5 AM today. But now it's all winding down. I'm making a ton of CD's to keep me entertained (and awake) on the road. And it's also, officially the beginning of BAFW vacation # . . . . umm . . . I lost track of which vacation number this is this year. I know it's definitely the last one for the year. After this, I think I have 3 hours left which will shorten one of my days sometime between now and the end of the year.

So, I'll be gone for a few days. I'll set the robo-poster to throw out some video posts while I'm gone. There are some pretty cool things hitting theaters that you should know about. Keep posted while I'm gone for more details. In the meantime, I'm off to some relaxation and well deserved rest. I'll see you cool kids around.

BAFW Out!

Yes, a Seacrest joke. I was feeling ironic.

End of Month Wrap Up (Search Terms and Excuses)

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June Search Terms

I've been working quite a bit lately. That's the only explanation I have for the extremely lean posting week I've had recently. It's going to be even worse the next couple of days. I'm currently getting ready to work two 15 hour days back to back, along with an 9 hour day on Saturday. My brain is pretty fried as a result of this (just thinking about this monumental amount of work tires my brain out), so this is all I can muster for right now.

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Getting Jiggly With It

It's been a couple of days since I've posted anything here. It's the end of the month. I've just come off having to work 10-hour workdays back to back and today I have to be in the office from 5 AM - 2 PM to finish off the month. I do get some much needed time-off tomorrow. But, to make up for the absence of new shit here, check out this video of this fat guy dancing.

Merry X-Mas from BAFW

Hey fuckers. Enjoy your Christmas (or Kwanzaa) eve day off. I'll be at work, from 5 AM to 2 PM today, calling you people about your credit cards and why you haven't paid your bills in the last 2 months. Yeah, I thought that would be super fun times too. Thankfully, the bank gives me the day off tomorrow, but I am royally pissed off that it is not even 4:30 AM and I've already posted twice for the day, am about to leave the comfort of home for the next 9 hours, and I didn't really get much sleep last night. Bah fucking humbug.

A Breather

So, work has got me pretty ragged lately. I just came off a 6 week work binge that has left me feeling like taking an early retirement. I'm already looking at convalescent homes where I can spend my golden years. I just need to find one where they can puree my food, because chewing's for suckers. But, that's pretty much why posting is sparse these days. Sure, I try to keep it semi-regular, but some days I'm just too tired or trying to catch up on lost sleep in the morning. But, today, finally, I have a day off, and tomorrow I'm not scheduled either. I just wish there were more interesting things to post about. Everything is "Lindsay Lohan arrested" stories or "Britney Spears meltdowns" this and that. It's played out. Unless one of them actually kills someone, I'm not posting about them.

In work related news, despite having the worst work schedule known to man, I am excelling. I'm currently holding the 4th spot as far as our stats go in the whole customer service center. In previous positions that I've held, being number 4 might not have been such a big deal. With Earthlink, there were probably 45 employees in the department, and when I was working at Panda Software (not Express, I did not work in a Chinese fast food restaurant . . . yet), it was like 10 technical support agents (that was for the entire United States!), but now that I work for one of the biggest companies in the world, being number 4 is a pretty big deal. There are close to 150 associates in my center, and I've been consistently in the top ten. Which is padding my paycheck with bonuses.

And now that my wife is undergoing the training, I'm just waiting for her to hit the 6 month mark so I can get my $500 bonus. I'm such a mercenary sometimes. That's just the kind of world we live in though. Money money money. That's all that is important. I'm getting close to my 6 month of employment, which ends my commitment to Customer Service, so I'm also looking to move up in the company. I'll probably be meeting with someone to coordinate my career advancement within the next week. Damn, that sounds so fucking adult. Don't worry, I won't stop posting. I have noticed that traffic has increased this month exponentially. It's close to 24,000 page views just this month. What the hell are you people looking for? I don't even post the "Search-mania" entries which were pretty much designed to attract hits like flies to shit. I don't get it, but whatever. I'm not turning away free traffic.

So, that's what's going on. I might have a review of "Afro Samurai" today or tomorrow . . . if I'm not too lazy to finish the DVD I bought like 2 weeks ago. 'Til then, I'm going back to sleep. It's almost 8 AM, and I need a couple of hours of shut-eye before I can contemplate on wether I'm going to the gym or if I'm just going to toss money out the window on a membership I never use.

New Job Disclaimer

I start my new job tomorrow with one of America's largest (finest is still up to debate) financial instutions. No more technical support issues for me. What awaits is 6 weeks of what I can assume will be some sort of intensive training. Do I need it? I don't know. Possibly. Whatever the case, I want to go into my new position with all the preparation that I might need. Why do I bring this up? Well, in the past, my jobs have been pretty lax on internet policies. I was pretty much able to run around and do whatever the hell I wanted to. Production was never a problem, so my direct supervisors always let it slide that I was blogging on the job.

With this new job, I don't think this will be the case . . . until I find my niche. My little comfort zone which will allow me the internet creature comforts I have become so accustomed to. So, this might mean that posts are not going to be made 3 - 5 times a day like in the past few weeks. I've been on a veritable blogging binge as of late, so expect that to cool off. I will still be able to post something in the morning. My new shift starts at noon every day, so I can let you guess at what time I get out of work. Hint . . . it's not that early.

So, I wish I could say that's why the "Musically Inclined Mondays" is not up . . . but, no. I'm just lazy. And . . . it's President's Day. Gotta respect the holiday. Which I have, by sitting around in my underpants playing XBOX 360 all day long. Where's the wife you ask? Oh, the horrors of retail sales. She's getting close ending another day of work over at the national electronic goods purveyor chain, at which point, she will come home so we can watch some "Heroes" TiVo'd.

So, what was this about? Oh yeah, explanations and excuses. Got it? Good.

Will I Miss This?

Me: Thank you for calling Panda Software, may I have your client number?
Caller: Where would I find that?
Me: You can find that in the e-mail that you received from Customer Service. It came along with your user name and password information.
Caller: Let me see if I can find that.
(a couple of minutes pass by in complete silence)
Me: Ma'am, maybe I can use the e-mail address you issued to us during registration to find your account.
Caller: Oh, OK. Where would I find that?
Me: Where would you find your e-mail address? You should know that ma'am.
Caller: Oh, my e-mail address. It's . . . .

This happens more often than I am willing to admit. Some people should just be Amish.

Dodging the Training Bullet

I forgot to mention earlier during my ex-employer (as of tomorrow) rant about how I expertly dodged their "Hat Training" for the better part of a year. That, I can count as one of my great triumphs while being employed by them. Now, I was a bit leery when I heard that this company was using the L. Ron Hubbard Business Management model, but I thought it was just the way they ran the business, not that they wanted to impose this on their employees.

So, there's been this cat and mouse game with the training people and me. Most of it has been pretty low key, and I actually attended one class, which felt like a slap in the face to intelligence. But new hires have to go through this "training" which isn't actually relevant to the job they're performing. Say, someone starting a tech support position would still have to do this "hat training", even though there's no actual tech-training involved. It's more like on-the-job behavioral modification. A sort of brain-washing if you will.

And the effect that it has on people that go through it is fairly palpable. It would seem that they are encouraged to write and then distribute an e-mail to all staff as to how "enjoyable" the training was and how much this is going to help them not just at work, but in their every day lives. They're not fooling me though. I know that these pod-people employees have been modified by this crazy Scientology training. I'm not having any part of it.

The creepy headmaster of the program stopped by my cubbyhole this morning and, after actually noticing that I wasn't the guy he was looking for, told me that he wished me luck on my new position. It's kind of weird that he would not know who I was one minute, but then somehow knew the next. I could tell that running around in his brain was the same thought: "Damn, this one got away!". I sure did Creepy.

I sure did.

The End of an Era

My time at Panda Software USA is almost at hand. Yeah, that's where I have been working for since Earthlink decided it would be a good idea to send their Accounts Receivable department to India. While I can say that the people I met while working here at Panda have been quality folks, and I will miss them on occasion, I can't say that I will miss the actual job and the upper management structure that it set up. They just don't know how to take care of the employee.

I don't want to say anything bad about them . . . but they're witless morons, much akin to a chicken running around with its head cut-off. Except, this chicken is trying to sell you an anti-virus product at the same time. Disorganized? Hell yes. Totally unaware of how to wrestle away a piece of the market that Norton and McAfee capitalize on . . . absofuckinglutely. And do they know how to keep morale up while they try to squeeze production out of their workers? What's morale? I can tell you that I actually make less now, than when I started working here. How does that work? That's the miracle of mis-management.

And this is how it works (looks like my "not wanting to talk bad about them" is not working out very well). Panda had a great set up when I first started working here. They had monthly and yearly bonuses set up based on sales. They even gave me a raise 3 months into my tenure here. It was a small "Cost of Living" increase, which they said they would do every year, which helped. Then, the changes started coming. I got a promotion in May of 2006, which came with more responsibilities, harder work, etc. Panda said, wait 90 days, and your raise will come through. It's now the middle of February of 2007. That raise? That never happened. They tell me it was finally going to go through 3 paychecks ago, but that has yet to materialize. And I don't expect it to.

On top of that, I got a second promotion about a month ago, which came with even more responsibilities, and another promise of an increase in pay. But they're all empty promises to me. Even if they did come through with the original raise, I would still have to wait God knows how long until the 2nd raise came through. At least 90 days. If I'm lotto-winner lucky. Which I'm not.

Then, those nifty bonuses went the way of the Dodo. So, that nice extra 100 bucks a month went away. We did get a bonus at the beginning of 2006, for excellent sales in 2005. And it was substantial. There was only one problem. There was a little fudging on the actual wording that we were told and what we ultimately received. At the time that they established, the sum of the bonus was going to be "post-taxes". So, the bonus we were working towards, the actual amount that we were told, was actual money that we would get. The time comes around when it's time to give out the bonus, and we get a florid-worded letter from the President congratulating us on our hard work and letting us know that the amount we were going to get was pre-tax. So, that screwed us out of some money. Then, they told us to wait until March of 2006 to get our end of the year 2005 bonus money. We waited. March came around, and they let us know that we were going to get it in installments. Kind of a lay-a-way program if you will. So, for the next two and a half months, we got a slow trickle of bonus money.

Then, Panda decided that it would be a good idea to save on their medical plan. They touted this as savings across the board, for everyone. People that were paying for family members would pay less. At the time I didn't have to pay for my wife's health plan. This, would also change. While the company saved 30 grand/year on the plan, I started (and I believe I was the only one that suffered under this new change) paying 75 bucks every paycheck for something that I had not been paying for before. So that contributed to me making less money than when I actually started. It's ridiculous really. Not even the help of the HR department, who tried to get me a dollar raise to offset the cost helped. The proposal got shot down. Thank you upper management. You really sealed my loyalty there (please note the pungent sting of sarcasm in that last sentence).

Remember that cost of living raise I got at the beginning of the year in 2006. It mysteriously disappeared as well for 2007. Oh, and 401K matching also became extinct as far as Panda is concerned. Sure, you can still defer a certain percentage of your bi-weekly paycheck, but now they don't match a certain percent of it. Which is a total mistake. I can't really think of one successful company that doesn't do that. So even when it comes to retirement, they don't have my back.

You think that a company would want to keep its one and only Spanish-speaking retail technical support agent happy. Not the case here. It feels like they have done pretty much everything possible to force me to get a new job. I feel bad, on a very minute level, for the guys here in tech support who will have to deal with Spanish-speaking customers. Panda has systematically shot itself in the foot. And it's not a process that started and ended with me. There were 3 Spanish-speaking employees that left before me, and not by their own volition. They were fired. Good people too. One of them was "The Sal". Which pissed me off immensely, because they let him go just as I was going to get my referral bonus for getting him hired. $500 down the drain. I'm not mad at The Sal for that. But all of these things contributed to my decision.

Tuesday I start training for my new job. Where is it at? Well, I don't like to divulge where I'm working while I'm working there, so let's say it's one of America's largest financial institutions. I just hope that come 2008, I'm not writing a long post about how they have mistreated me. I'm sure that's not going to happen (crossing fingers), but if they do, rest assured it will be posted here.

Loss in Wages AKA - Why I'm a Masochistic Fool

So, I was discussing all the wonderful points that makes the company that we work for such a dandy place with a co-worker of mine over the MSN Messenger (hey IT, feel free to relay that to your overlords . . . Big-Brother'esque motherfuckers). And I get to a comment that I made that made me think. It is regarding the bonus money we finally got early this year for a year's worth of technically supporting the clients that the company has. Here's a direct quote . . . from me . . . about this.

[T]hat's understandable. It was miniscule. Like a hundred bucks is going to make up for all of the lost wages that I have incurred by staying with this company

Just how much money have I missed out on by waiting over 8 months for my $1/hour raise? I broke out the calculator, and started crunching numbers. Eight months times 20 workdays (on average, that's 4 weeks of 5 days of work) equals 160 days. Then, I multiplied that by 8 hours and got the figure of 1280. That, is, in dollars what would have been added to my wages in that period of time. And let's not mention the change in the health care package that my employer switched to late last year that has cost me about $500 dollars. So, added to that, and not counting overtime, the total amount that this company is holding out on me is . . . .

$1780, give or take a couple of dollars. So, why don't I look for another job? I am. It's a pain in the ass. Pimping myself out on interviews is not my idea of fun. But it has got to be done. I'm also lazy, which is why my job search is not currently in high gear. Recruiters call me but it's always for jobs that I am clearly not qualified for. I mean, I could do them . . . but I would need way more training than what I'm sure they're willing to dole out. Let's just hope my future prospects pan out. Otherwise, I will still be here, not making enough money, and hating every minute of it.

E-mail and Grievances

I got an e-mail today at work from a coworker who happens to read my blog. He/she (to maintain anonymity) took offense to a comment that was on a post that was directed towards someone else that I work with . . . a certain PC doctor's (or candy-striper if you ask me) whose then absence from work for a prolonged period of time due to "illness" was causing me a lot of stress. I think I had made a mention that his juniors were not working as hard as they should, and then I got this e-mail in my inbox today.

Jaime, if you have something to say about me or my work ethics, please take it up with me and my manager and not the entire world on your blog. I don’t appreciate being called names or being slandered on someone’s blog.

Now, here's the comment that he/she is having a problem with.

(G)et your ass to work. Your wonder twins are not doing a lick of work. They keep taking breaks to go to liquor stores and/or coffee shops with their BFF's.

A couple of things that I'm having a problem with here. Sure, I called him/her a "Wonder Twin" . . . but not which one? Maybe it was the one that turns into a bear or an eagle instead of the one that turns into a bucket of water or a letter opener. Secondly, the entire world is going to be looking at this? That might be a little bit of an exaggeration. Even if someone from Germany were to happen upon that particular blog post, they wouldn't even care because it's not a post about shize-movies starring a drunk Hermione from the Harry Potter movies. So, relax, the whole world is not in on it. Thirdly, the guy the post was directed to is your direct superior, so . . . in a round-a-bout way, I was taking it up with your "manager". And lastly (I'm pretty sure that's a word) . . . I don't mention any names, so how are you being "slandered" if no one knows it's you. And how do you know that I am talking to you now. It could be . . . someone else. That's the beauty of anonymity. I respect your desire to not be "slandered", but who's going to know it's you . . . unless you see something in that comment that has some semblance of truth.

Get over it. I don't see Britney Spears getting pissed off at the fact that I posted her upskirts on my blog. If you want to be mad at me, then go ahead. It doesn't bother me. But realize that I don't make shit up. I speak, or in this case, type my opinions that are based on some fact. I'm not going to make a big deal about this. I'm going to let it go. I don't want to keep having to use my 15 minute breaks to post explanations as to why I do the things that I do. You're an OK guy/girl. But I'm not apologizing for what I type.

Bonus?

A couple of minutes ago, as I was plucking away at e-mails from customers who can't figure out just how to make their computers work with their anti-virus program(s), I heard some "thank you's" and some "great work this past week". A group of higher-ups was walking around the dept, stopping at each mini-cubicle that we inhabit for 8 hours of the day, and giving something to the tech support employees. I'm thinking that it's got to be something not sucky. Maybe a small token of their appreciation for a year's worth of hard work and triumph over adversity time and time again.

When they got to me, I had no idea just how small that token was to be. Five Dollars. American. Five 1 Dollar bills were handed to me, by the manager of our entire division, with a big smile on her face, and then she thanked me for a great job. I looked at her, and holding back, using every little bit of restraint possessed by my being, I uttered the words "thank you". They went on to the next lucky individual and I sat there, on my chair, looking at this money that was just handed to me.

As soon as they left our office, everyone pretty much looked at each other and either started laughing, or started making jokes about how they'd hit the big time. I personally made a crack at how I can send my (non-existent) kids to college now. I mean, it is 5 dollars. This gesture symbolizes just how out of touch this company is with their employee-base. We do our work every day, for pay that is not equal to the amount of effort that we put into it . . . and this is what they do? Forget about approving the raises everyone that got a promotion should have gotten a couple of months ago. No, we're giving you poor, downtrodden motherfuckers 5 dollars . . . so you can almost buy yourself a lunch today.

Gee, thanks. I'll try not to spend it all in one place.

One of Those Days . . . . Again

You know, as the week progresses, my thoughts of murder keep getting more prevalent. I swear I could kill someone right now. Might be you. Watch your back. But seriously, why do I keep talking to the same morons. Customers that just don't get the "NO FREE PHONE SUPPORT" that is in their service agreements. Customers that when asked "Can I have your client number", they respond with "Do you mean my user name/password/social security number/height & weight/size of my last bowel movement?" NO MOTHERFUCKER! Your client number. I am speaking fucking Chinese? Do I look like Rosie O'Donnell. I could have sworn there were no "Ching-chongs" in my question to you . . . fuck-hole.

And it's only Wednesday. It doesn't get any better than this until the weekend, which is still a painful 2 days away. I'm not sure I can make it. I've felt like this before, and I have been able to make it, but today . . . I'm not so sure. While I'm typing this I can see the phone queue keep accumulating calls. And I know that every single one of those calls will be some stupid motherfucker that has no business anywhere within 100 yards from a computer. These people truly need take a trip back in time and hang out with Neanderthals . . . because spending some time with their intellectual equals might be a welcome change of pace for them. I know it would be a welcome change of pace for me . . . because I wouldn't have to deal with them anymore.

*Sigh* Rant over. Jaime has been fully vented. Anger levels dissipating . . . but they're still there. Next call determines wether I kill one of the wonder twins or not.

BAFW - Truant Officer Edition

You know who you are. You cocksucker. You're not at work and we're all paying for it. And on a Tuesday when you know we're understaffed already. What the hell kind of a "team-player" are you? And even though you take 1 call per hour because of your fondness of remoting into a customer's computer, that doesn't mean that our workload is light. We're fucking dying over here. And tomorrow, you'll stroll in at noon (if you do decide to show up) and smile at us and joke around like the last couple of days never happened.

You know what . . . Fuck you. And your PC doctoring ways. Don't even ask me to plug your site on my blog mofo. God I'm so pissed off. Here's a New Year's resolution for you. Show up to work more often.

Unless your intestines are leaking again. In that case, get well soon. But that's the only reason why I would show any degree of sympathy towards you. We're stuck here breathing the poisonous mold. So should you. Jack-hole.