2 to 50 -- 2009

[vanillafluffy]

One of the beneficial side-effects of the call center job (aside from the upgrading of my wardrobe) was getting over my Fear. When I started, I got physically nauseous when I thought about the commute. I'd start getting queasy about noon when I had to go in, and I'd go out into the parking lot at 11:40 (after a quick use of the restroom) and hyperventilate. Gradually, that wore off. There were occasional close calls, but after going back and forth for months on end, in all kinds of weather, the terror eventually left me. Churchill was right; now, from a distance, I remember how paralyzing the fear was, how every car that whooshed past me made me catch my breath, how sure I was that every car I saw was being driven by some reckless idiot who was going to try to kill me. I remember it---distantly. I don't feel it anymore.

All good things must come to an end. I didn't particularly want my job to come to an end---it was the best phone job I've had---but they decided to persecute me for my handle time, saying I needed to have a shorter call time. Never mind that my sales numbers were excellent, or that I regularly got customer compliments. Nope, handle time was too high, bye-bye.

The timing was good, I have to say that, because within a matter of weeks, GK and I were informed that Kat's cancer had gotten more aggressive. I was needed to liase with the doctor's office, as she was also showing signs of dementia...she had been exhibiting aphasia for a while, but chalked it up to side effects from her chemo. It was heart-breaking, watching her decline. Her younger son got married in October, and we didn't think to oversee her packing, so she ended up with the clothes she was wearing and the suit for the wedding and nothing else. The night before she left for Texas to visit her 96-year old mother in december, I went over and packed for her...only to find out from GK, who flew in and met her plane and drove her to G'ma's, that Kat had repacked my packing. *sigh*

Not the greatest year I've ever had, that's for sure.


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Comments

[gwylliondream.livejournal.com]

You just can't catch a break! :(

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

I'm a better pitcher than a catcher. By which I mean, I've got a pretty good aim as long as my arm holds out.

I definitely need to shuffle things around and get more Justified icons!

[joker-satx.livejournal.com]

One of the major reasons I will not go into Management. It seems to me that when one switches to Management, the O2 gets depleted quickly and the thinking stops.

That really sucks...here you are doing a good job and they can you because you are on with the customer's too long? How long too long? I mean, you weren't spending hours with them were you?

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

They wanted an average below 5 minutes per call, and I was consistantly around 7---but that's because I was polite and willing to be patient even when the customers were totally clueless. It's why my sales numbers were awesome, but they didn't see it that way. Plus, for some reason, my boss's boss had it in for me.