In The Mood
Hello World,
Happy February! And I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone very happy Opening Ceremonies, because today is the day that the 2006 Winter Olympics get underway in Turin, Italy, which has apparently been renamed Torino for the occasion. I'm thinking that would surprise the centuries of pilgrims who journeyed there to revere the Shroud of Turin, but there you have it. In fact, the Shroud of Torino sounds like some sort of a motorcycle gang, and I'm pretty sure that Starsky & Hutch drove a souped-up Torino in their TV show. So at least for the Shroud people, my feeling is that changing the name of the town at this point lacks a certain wonderfulness, and I don't mind saying, no good can come of it. You watch.
The good news about the Super Bowl being in February now is that by the time you get to the week after the Big Game, you're a lot closer to those three most beautiful words in the English language, "Pitchers and Catchers." Why, at this rate, baseball season will be right on top of us before we know it. In fact, just yesterday, the newspaper had a story about the Yankees, I suppose, to get us in the mood. Although I feel it's only fair to point out, as I was trying to do to a co-worker when I said that we needed to start behaving ourselves in time for Lent, anyone expecting Lent soon would be surprised to find out, as I was, that Ash Wednesday is not until March 1st, believe that or don't. That tells you something right there about how late Easter is this year, and the baseball season will probably be three weeks old before then. So even though Pitchers and Catchers are right around the corner, Lent isn't, and for once we can all enjoy a decadent and indulgent Valentine's Day, without incurring the wrath of grouchy Christians who had given up chocolate for Lent. Let the junk food begin!
Meanwhile, in the "Things That Make You Wonder" category, we have the following, from a story in The Sound Report, which is a tiny local weekly paper for New Rochelle. The front page story was about a two-alarm fire at a house, where they made special mention of "...the blaze's intensity, fueled by asbestos shingles notoriously known to firefighters as 'gasoline siding'." Did I miss something somewhere along the way? Hasn't asbestos been historically used for its fire retardant properties, in construction, protective clothing and safety equipment?? How is it that all of a sudden now it's turned into a hazard to mankind, by short-sighted incompetent bureaucrats and foisted on an unsuspecting public, like aluminum wiring or lead paint??? I just can't figure that out. And I don't mind saying, I'm with Bill these days, when he says he's getting pretty darned sick and tired of all this revisionist history, thank you very much not.
People may or may not be wondering how things are going with our new temp at the hospital, and I will say that my attitude about work has certainly taken a turn for the better. I'm more relaxed and less harried, and I don't feel as overwhelmed and hopeless as I did a month ago, so that's the good news. On the flip side, I admit that it is true that I'm actually working longer hours, and part of that is the amount of "prep" time it takes for me to get things ready for her to do, which really eats into the time I have to do my own work. So whereas before there was one person trying to cover two positions, now we basically have two people both doing one job. Please let me know when this starts to make sense to you. In spite of it all, though, I still feel it's an improvement, if only because I don't feel so pressured or put upon. Why, I haven't thought about blowing anyone's brains out all week.
A better question to ask would be, "So how's that new phone system working out there?" And to that, I can answer that it's been a rousing success, and if only we had done this years ago, my whole life would have been completely different. At first, I wasn't expecting that much of a change, except that if I wasn't able to answer all the calls that came in at the same time, at least they would collect in my voice mail and I could retrieve them later. What actually happened was as baffling as it was unexpected. All we did, essentially, is add a menu greeting that says to Press 1 for one person, or 2 for another person, etc. We didn't say, go away, don't call us, there's no one here to take your call or anything unfriendly like that. So you would figure we'd get the same volume of calls as before, but that they would be directed in more specific ways to the people who could help them best. But that isn't what happened at all. Now, it’s like the phone never rings. Where previously I had to scramble to keep up with all the calls coming in, now it's become a very minor part of my day. What I notice most is the total lack of nonsense calls that I haven't gotten since it started. I have not gotten one single solitary call from any vendor about unpaid invoices, which used to be a huge component of my day. I don't know if they take their chances with the buyers instead, or just give up and call Accounting (or their lawyers) but I haven't spoken to a single one in two weeks. The bulk of my day used to be calls from other departments, who for whatever reason, decided that I was the right person to answer such queries as, “What's the extension for PCU?” “Who's the sales rep for the forms company?” “How do you spell the name of the new NCC in Maternity?” “I work in Medical Records, what's my cost center?” “I can't reach Payroll on the phone, do you know if they're out to lunch?” “Have you seen the courier?” “What was that P.O. number that you gave me yesterday?” “Is the Housekeeping supervisor there?” “Is the copier guy coming today?” “How's Helga feeling?” “What's the zip code here?” “How late is Receiving open?” “What should I do with this invoice?” “No one answers in the Mail Room, is Sally off today?” “Are we on credit hold with the water company?” And I realize now that it used to just go on and on like that all day, and it's no wonder that I couldn't get any work done. So now I'm thinking, without getting the instant gratification of calling someone to get an immediate answer to a question that you shouldn't have been asking them in the first place, I guess they say to themselves, “Well, I can't wait for anybody to call me back with that information, so I suppose I can look it up myself, or God forbid, get up off my lazy butt and go over to the department that I should have called in the first place.” Who would have believed that just giving people a menu greeting would have made all that much difference, but honestly, in two weeks I haven't gotten any of those calls that used to be pretty much my whole day. And I really never noticed before what kinds of stupid phone calls I used to get, until they stopped, like turning off a light switch, that Friday with the new phones. I mean, I realized that everyone in the world used to call me with stupid questions like the extensions of other departments, or their own cost centers, but it hadn't occurred to me how much of that there was during the day until it stopped happening. It's actually eerie not to keep answering questions like that all day. In fact, even the temp said to me, “You're like the Answer Man, you should put up a sign,” because people still walk over from other departments to ask these questions.
And don't think I don't know what everyone out there is thinking. How could we have had the phone guy in our area working his magic, and climbing all over and under our desks, with the Christmas tree still set up and decorated in the spare office? Riddle me that, Batman! The sad fact of the matter is that I finally got so tired of it somehow always being exactly where someone needed to go, that I cleared a space for it and pushed it directly into the closet, just as it was. Now it looks even more as if I actually took it down and packed it carefully away for the season, although once again, nothing could be further from the truth. And we already know that having the temp there hasn't managed to free up any time during my day, so at this rate, it doesn't look good for it actually getting packed up and put away for real. Although I admit to harboring fantasies of turning this job over to the temp, who seems to go at everything like a house afire (with asbestos shingles, no less!) and would have that tree all packed up in jig time.
In other news, or rather lack of it, I recently got a list of personality traits from a cyber-friend in West Virginia that were based on the month of your birthday. I get a lot of stuff like this, and I'm always glad to play along, although I admit that I'm more than a little concerned about mine, as follows --
=================================
MARCH - Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decor. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.
=================================
So, if you've been paying close attention, it says that I'm "Sexy and affectionate," while also being "Shy and reserved." I'm "Naturally honest" plus "Secretive." It appears that I "Love peace and serenity," except for being "Easily angered" and "Revengeful." In fact, I seem to be all over the map here, according to these people, so it's no wonder that they wrap this up with the aptly succinct description: "Moody." I'll say! If I had any more moods, I'd be in a strait-jacket! Anyway, I did thank her for sending along my laugh of the day, although you know what I always say about things that are too true to be really funny. I guess it's sort of the way that firefighters think of asbestos shingles.
Happy February! And I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone very happy Opening Ceremonies, because today is the day that the 2006 Winter Olympics get underway in Turin, Italy, which has apparently been renamed Torino for the occasion. I'm thinking that would surprise the centuries of pilgrims who journeyed there to revere the Shroud of Turin, but there you have it. In fact, the Shroud of Torino sounds like some sort of a motorcycle gang, and I'm pretty sure that Starsky & Hutch drove a souped-up Torino in their TV show. So at least for the Shroud people, my feeling is that changing the name of the town at this point lacks a certain wonderfulness, and I don't mind saying, no good can come of it. You watch.
The good news about the Super Bowl being in February now is that by the time you get to the week after the Big Game, you're a lot closer to those three most beautiful words in the English language, "Pitchers and Catchers." Why, at this rate, baseball season will be right on top of us before we know it. In fact, just yesterday, the newspaper had a story about the Yankees, I suppose, to get us in the mood. Although I feel it's only fair to point out, as I was trying to do to a co-worker when I said that we needed to start behaving ourselves in time for Lent, anyone expecting Lent soon would be surprised to find out, as I was, that Ash Wednesday is not until March 1st, believe that or don't. That tells you something right there about how late Easter is this year, and the baseball season will probably be three weeks old before then. So even though Pitchers and Catchers are right around the corner, Lent isn't, and for once we can all enjoy a decadent and indulgent Valentine's Day, without incurring the wrath of grouchy Christians who had given up chocolate for Lent. Let the junk food begin!
Meanwhile, in the "Things That Make You Wonder" category, we have the following, from a story in The Sound Report, which is a tiny local weekly paper for New Rochelle. The front page story was about a two-alarm fire at a house, where they made special mention of "...the blaze's intensity, fueled by asbestos shingles notoriously known to firefighters as 'gasoline siding'." Did I miss something somewhere along the way? Hasn't asbestos been historically used for its fire retardant properties, in construction, protective clothing and safety equipment?? How is it that all of a sudden now it's turned into a hazard to mankind, by short-sighted incompetent bureaucrats and foisted on an unsuspecting public, like aluminum wiring or lead paint??? I just can't figure that out. And I don't mind saying, I'm with Bill these days, when he says he's getting pretty darned sick and tired of all this revisionist history, thank you very much not.
People may or may not be wondering how things are going with our new temp at the hospital, and I will say that my attitude about work has certainly taken a turn for the better. I'm more relaxed and less harried, and I don't feel as overwhelmed and hopeless as I did a month ago, so that's the good news. On the flip side, I admit that it is true that I'm actually working longer hours, and part of that is the amount of "prep" time it takes for me to get things ready for her to do, which really eats into the time I have to do my own work. So whereas before there was one person trying to cover two positions, now we basically have two people both doing one job. Please let me know when this starts to make sense to you. In spite of it all, though, I still feel it's an improvement, if only because I don't feel so pressured or put upon. Why, I haven't thought about blowing anyone's brains out all week.
A better question to ask would be, "So how's that new phone system working out there?" And to that, I can answer that it's been a rousing success, and if only we had done this years ago, my whole life would have been completely different. At first, I wasn't expecting that much of a change, except that if I wasn't able to answer all the calls that came in at the same time, at least they would collect in my voice mail and I could retrieve them later. What actually happened was as baffling as it was unexpected. All we did, essentially, is add a menu greeting that says to Press 1 for one person, or 2 for another person, etc. We didn't say, go away, don't call us, there's no one here to take your call or anything unfriendly like that. So you would figure we'd get the same volume of calls as before, but that they would be directed in more specific ways to the people who could help them best. But that isn't what happened at all. Now, it’s like the phone never rings. Where previously I had to scramble to keep up with all the calls coming in, now it's become a very minor part of my day. What I notice most is the total lack of nonsense calls that I haven't gotten since it started. I have not gotten one single solitary call from any vendor about unpaid invoices, which used to be a huge component of my day. I don't know if they take their chances with the buyers instead, or just give up and call Accounting (or their lawyers) but I haven't spoken to a single one in two weeks. The bulk of my day used to be calls from other departments, who for whatever reason, decided that I was the right person to answer such queries as, “What's the extension for PCU?” “Who's the sales rep for the forms company?” “How do you spell the name of the new NCC in Maternity?” “I work in Medical Records, what's my cost center?” “I can't reach Payroll on the phone, do you know if they're out to lunch?” “Have you seen the courier?” “What was that P.O. number that you gave me yesterday?” “Is the Housekeeping supervisor there?” “Is the copier guy coming today?” “How's Helga feeling?” “What's the zip code here?” “How late is Receiving open?” “What should I do with this invoice?” “No one answers in the Mail Room, is Sally off today?” “Are we on credit hold with the water company?” And I realize now that it used to just go on and on like that all day, and it's no wonder that I couldn't get any work done. So now I'm thinking, without getting the instant gratification of calling someone to get an immediate answer to a question that you shouldn't have been asking them in the first place, I guess they say to themselves, “Well, I can't wait for anybody to call me back with that information, so I suppose I can look it up myself, or God forbid, get up off my lazy butt and go over to the department that I should have called in the first place.” Who would have believed that just giving people a menu greeting would have made all that much difference, but honestly, in two weeks I haven't gotten any of those calls that used to be pretty much my whole day. And I really never noticed before what kinds of stupid phone calls I used to get, until they stopped, like turning off a light switch, that Friday with the new phones. I mean, I realized that everyone in the world used to call me with stupid questions like the extensions of other departments, or their own cost centers, but it hadn't occurred to me how much of that there was during the day until it stopped happening. It's actually eerie not to keep answering questions like that all day. In fact, even the temp said to me, “You're like the Answer Man, you should put up a sign,” because people still walk over from other departments to ask these questions.
And don't think I don't know what everyone out there is thinking. How could we have had the phone guy in our area working his magic, and climbing all over and under our desks, with the Christmas tree still set up and decorated in the spare office? Riddle me that, Batman! The sad fact of the matter is that I finally got so tired of it somehow always being exactly where someone needed to go, that I cleared a space for it and pushed it directly into the closet, just as it was. Now it looks even more as if I actually took it down and packed it carefully away for the season, although once again, nothing could be further from the truth. And we already know that having the temp there hasn't managed to free up any time during my day, so at this rate, it doesn't look good for it actually getting packed up and put away for real. Although I admit to harboring fantasies of turning this job over to the temp, who seems to go at everything like a house afire (with asbestos shingles, no less!) and would have that tree all packed up in jig time.
In other news, or rather lack of it, I recently got a list of personality traits from a cyber-friend in West Virginia that were based on the month of your birthday. I get a lot of stuff like this, and I'm always glad to play along, although I admit that I'm more than a little concerned about mine, as follows --
=================================
MARCH - Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decor. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.
=================================
So, if you've been paying close attention, it says that I'm "Sexy and affectionate," while also being "Shy and reserved." I'm "Naturally honest" plus "Secretive." It appears that I "Love peace and serenity," except for being "Easily angered" and "Revengeful." In fact, I seem to be all over the map here, according to these people, so it's no wonder that they wrap this up with the aptly succinct description: "Moody." I'll say! If I had any more moods, I'd be in a strait-jacket! Anyway, I did thank her for sending along my laugh of the day, although you know what I always say about things that are too true to be really funny. I guess it's sort of the way that firefighters think of asbestos shingles.
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 7:29 PM
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