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Monday, July 25, 2005
Here it is
it happened again
just when I am about to go crazy, just when I need time alone,
the family goes on a trip while I work.
I hate being alone, then again, it's nice in some ways....
what am I going to do?
Funny how the night seems longer and the sleep is shorter
...someone save me
from myself
Posted at 08:57 pm by AnotherMan
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Tuesday, July 19, 2005
...what to write, what to write today.
I haven't a clue, nothing wise or witty to say.
Here I sit and ponder my day, wondering where some tidbit of earth shattering news is to be found.
The ship sailed smoothly today, the seas were calm, the crew was alert.
Nope, nothing today.
But then, there is all that is me.
I love my wife and I love each of my children beyond all that is me.
Pretty simple, eh?
Life should be.
Mine is.
Today.
Posted at 08:22 pm by AnotherMan
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Sunday, July 17, 2005
...sunny Sunday on the Beast
The sun finally poked out this afternoon. I was able to find time to fire up the Beast and take a ride. It was nice. Went to the middle school and practiced my turns, stops, starts, u turns, hard over turns, etc. Each time I ride and do the little practice sessions I feel better. I am starting to believe in the Beast. We are beginning to understand each other. I know I am still at it's mercy if something should go wrong.
But I ride, I keep riding. Every minute counts, each turn, stop and start is another lesson in the power in the throttle. Doing what you feel is unnatural and pushing out when you turn, pushing against the direction you are turning is so very abnormal. The more I do it though, the more natural it is. The trick is to not think or look into the turn, just to feel. Be natural, power and inertia in a turn. Such an amazing process, each and every time.
Posted at 06:49 pm by AnotherMan
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....small moments of insanity
An understandably upset customer called yesterday....very upset
Customer: "Mr Manager, I was in another of your stores last night and was upset when I found out that my checking account was frozen due to someone using my license in your store with another check. I want it fixed, it is not my responsibility and you need to correct it"
Me: "Well, I have an 800 number you can call and they will take care of all your problems. It's that simple"
Customer: "I already dealt with those idiots and I am not going to go through that. I want you to fix it. They told me that you, the manager, can have it fixed, so fix it."
Me: "Yes m'am, not a problem. I will call you back in a couple of minutes as soon as I get this resolved for you"
I quickly dialed the 800 number for Scan Data and began the conversation that sucked me into hell. On the other end was a curteous young man, international it seemed, due to his struggling to understand my Alabama redneck twang. He obviously was not from anywhere I have been.
Scan rep Troy: "Thank you for calling Scan. My name is Troy, how may I help you today?"
Me: "Troy, I am the manager of this store in Alabama and I need to help a customer get a check freeze taken out of the system."
Scan rep Troy: "I am sorry, please have the customer call our toll free number, we can only deal with them."
Me: "Well Troy, she did that and was told that I had to call to fix it."
Scan rep Troy: "If you are not the person on the check we can not help you. Please have the customer call us and we will work to help her."
Me: "Troy, as I said earlier, she tried that and you were not able to help."
Scan rep Troy: "I am sorry sir, but I cannot help you."
Me: "OK, some help you are, bye"
I then call the customer.
Me: "Mrs Customer, I contacted Scan and they informed me that you must call, and I would not be able to help from my end."
Customer: "I am not going to call them again. I was given a name and operator number for you to use, would that help?"
Me: (Well, duh!) "Yes m'am, if you could give that to me, I think I can fix this"
After getting the key to the mission, I then call Scan. Guess who answers the phone?
Scan rep: "Thank you for calling Scan. My name is Troy, how may I help you today?"
Me: "Hello Troy, this is the fellow that just called you a minute ago about a check from Alabama. I need to speak to a certain operator about this check, could you please put me in touch with operator 4180."
Scan rep Troy: "I am sorry sir, but do you have a reference number for your previous call?"
Me: "No, I don't think I do. In fact, you didn't give me one. Do you remember giving me one? You do remember me calling you a couple of minutes ago?"
Scan rep Troy: "I am sorry sir, I am unable to help you without your reference number>"
Me: "Troy, you did not give me a number. If you did, I would give it to you. Now, forget the number and lets fix this problem."
Scan rep Troy: "Ok sir, let me look on my computer and see if I have any records of you calling"
Me: (Is this guy stupid or a real pro in getting people off the phone) "OK"
Scan rep Troy: "OK sir, I have found it, how may I help you"
Me: "Troy, do I have to explain this again. Just give me operator 4180, her name is Alicia."
Scan rep Troy: "I am sorry sir, but you are not allowed to speak with her"
Me: (Shaking my head) "What do you mean I am not allowed to speak with her? Does she work there? I was given this number by the customer as a reference point, which she obviously gave out, now I demand to speak to her"
Scan rep Troy: "I am sorry sir, but you are unable to speak with her"
Me: "Troy, I have had enough. Tell me what I need to do to fix this account, who do I need to speak with?"
Scan rep Troy: "Sir, if you call this other 800 number for national account customer service, they can help you"
Me: "Thank you, it's about time"
I hang up and quickly dial the new number, blood pressure lowering, knowing that I am finally going to get this over and my life can move on.
Account rep: "Thank you for calling National Accounts. My name is Troy, how may I help you today?"
Me: (About to reach through the phone and choke someone. Heck, I am glad noone was near me, I might have chocked them!) "Troy, it's me again. Why did you give me another number? I can only hope you remember me from three seconds ago. Are you going to fix this ladies check this time?"
Account rep Troy: "I need you password please"
Me: (It is too late. The cork just popped) "Damn you Troy, do you remember giving me a freakin password? No, you did not give me a password. You never mentioned that when I had to call you back on another line that I needed a password, Troy."
Account rep Troy: "I am sorry sir, I will not be able to help you on this line without a password"
Me: (Trying to reel my sanity back in, realizing I am aruging with a live version of an automated machine) "Troy, I want to speak to your supervisor. I know you have to have a supervisor. I hear other voices in the background, so get your supervisor on the phone, right now!"
Account rep Troy: "Just a minute sir, I will try."
Scan rep sup:"Hello, thank you for calling Scan, my name is Alicia, how may I help you today"
Me: (Quick, call me an ambulance, I am dying!) "Alicia, is this Alicia, operator #4190?"
Scan rep sup: "Yes sir, it is, how may I help you?"
Me: "Alicia, first I need to know why Troy would not let me speak to you when I specifically asked for you by name and number? Never mind. I don't really care. I am so fed up at this point. Alcia, I need help in correcting a problem with a customers checking account. Will you be able to help me?"
Scan rep sup: "Do you have a password? I will need your password to help you today sir"
Me: (A low growl starts to emerge, I begin to think I now know the meaning of the matrix. I am caught in a phone version so twisted, that it has to all be in my mind, this can't be real. How do I find a way out?) "Alysia, permit me to comment on the fine service your company has offered to me today. You guys don't have a clue. You are the most brainless people I have ever dealt with. I can't take anymore, have a great day pretending that you are a person, goodbye"
Scan rep sup: "Thank you for calling sir"
At that point I hung up the phone. Thirty minutes spent in phone hell. My blood pressure was beyond control. I stewed for a while before calling my customer back. I apologized to her for apparantely going through her own version of phone hell. She laughed at me only after knowing I had delved deeper than any human before me. After working from another direction I eventually was able to take care of my customer and resolve her issues.
My lesson from this episode, to anyone that may stumble across this. I know while most of you hate corporate answering systems, be calm, be patient and remember, that Troy and Alicia are out there, lurking, waiting for you to call.
Is There Anybody Out There?
(Roger Waters, Pink Floyd)
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody out there?
Posted at 08:49 am by AnotherMan
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Wednesday, July 13, 2005
....is it me, or is it the movie?
One of my favorite movies is the Bill Murray classic, Groundhog Day. The main difference between my life and the character Bill Murray portrays is that, I will never learn why I am doing what I do. I think about it every morning, every morning when I walk into the door at work. I walk in the same door, every morning at the same time, every morning day after day after day. It never seems to end. The smell, the sights, the reflection of the sun through the windows, the same mental process each and every time.
Every time I walk in the building, it seems as if I just did it and for some sick twisted reason, it is happening again. Then, naturally, I then begin to wonder the purpose of this action every day.
Where is it leading me?
Why is this happening again?
Isn't there more to life than doing this every day?
Who designed all of this?
Who thought up this routine of working as a purpose for life?
Who?
What??
Why???
Someone please make sense of all of it for me, I can't. There has to be more.
Posted at 10:07 pm by AnotherMan
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Monday, July 11, 2005
.....tonights time machine
OK, I admit it...I thought the whole concept of the Live 8 program kind of silly. Get several old groups together and raise money for the world poor. I didn't want to get into the political silliness of it all, so for the most part I intentionally ignored all of the hype.
There are only two great musical bands in my lifetime. Two such bands that can make me wish I was young again, no matter where I am or what I am doing. Any time I hear them, I am guaranteed a passport to the wild days of youth.
Then tonight, as I logged on to AOL, there it was. An advertisement to watch any performer or group playing any selection from the show. I was tempted. I knew they had played. I knew they were there. The group of my youth, the group that defined my times. After twenty four years, half my life, of never playing together, they were once again going to perform.
Would they still sing, the group of now old men? Would they still find the rhythm they had as the group they had when they were young men? Would they.....could they stir my soul as strongly as they had when I was young? Was it still in them, was it still in me?
It may seem silly, to watch a delayed broadcast and expect to really enjoy it. But again, I was curious. It started, and immediately I knew it could happen. I could go back in time. They still had the power to hypnotize me, the power to pull out long lost emotions from my youth. They were not as tight as the original album mix, but I'll be damned if they didn't still have the power. The power to capture, the power to feel.
It struck me as so powerful, the memories. I caught myself with tears rolling down my face, I was so happy. "The Sailing Organist" (Richard Wright), "The Golfing Bassist" (Roger Waters), "The Petrolhead Drummer" (Nick Mason), and "The Airborne Guitarist" (David Gilmour). Tonight, I traveled back in time.
I was comfortably numb, once again, with Pink Floyd.
Posted at 07:48 pm by AnotherMan
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Sunday, July 10, 2005
Well, today is the day of Dennis. He is outside, swimming around in the gulf, coming for a vist. We are ready for him. Boarded up the house yesterday, bought all the supplies and here we sit, waiting. This one, according to all the folk on tv is a mean one. So, out of boredom, I once again will try to update as we go along.
9:30 a.m. Outside is actually calm. It just seems like the normal rainy day. The kids are watching movies, with Belinda on her machine, me on mine. There is only so much of the online world I can take. Oh, and thanks to Angel Ameria....keeping me calm online, making me laugh. This storm better get moving.
10:00 a.m. Good news for us. The storm has slowed down to 140 and is now headed for Pensacola. In less than one hour it has taken a turn to the north. This is two in a row aimed for us. We hit another foul off to Pensacola. I wonder if they are going to start a war with us for doing this again?
11:00 a.m. Still calm out there. No wind, just some rain. Is there really a storm out there?
12:30 p.m. First signs of the storm finally. The wind is picking up, the trees sway in rythym now. We can actually hear the wind in the trees. The front door just creaked from a blast of air. The rain is picking up. It's almost show time.
2:30 p.m. The power has been out for about an hour and just came on again. Still the trees sway and the rain is light. Hope the power stays on for a while, this house heats up pretty quickly when out. WHen the power went out it was pretty funny. My seven year old son was sitting next to me, when suddenly it goes dark in the room. A boarded up house is dark, even in the light of the day. He jumps straight up and proclaims for all, "It's here!" He is pretty worried about this storm. I try to tell him it will all be fine, but he doesn't stray far from me.
3:30 p.m. This reporting is hard work. Time for a nap!
10:00 p.m. Been a long day, wasted. To wrap things up, this was the storm that never was. I tried to call the news station to get a camera crew to the house to recap the devastaion, two twigs on the driveway. We all gathered around them and gave thought to how this would impact our lives. It is a memory I wanted to make sure my kids kept forever. Total cost at home, one power source on one computer, in addition to the two twigs we found on the driveway. To the city of Mobile, they all evacuated for nothing. I had to drive up to work to check on my location and all was well. I am tired, I am calling it a day. Good night world, Mobile is once again safe. Thanks also to our governor and mayor, our lives have been spared.
Posted at 09:27 am by AnotherMan
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Saturday, July 09, 2005
Yesterday, with great thought, planning and preparation, our governor and city mayor both declared that our county is officially under a mandatory evacuation order due to the scare from hurricane Dennis. You, the reader, sit and think, "so what, a hurricane is on the way, maybe you need to leave." Quoting the governor, "Don't even think about riding this one out." I know, I know, you think this is normal. We should all be in a state of panic and run. Well, let me put you in this situation. Let me share a few facts with you.
This area seems to always have two to three hurricane scares a year. This is nothing new to the people of this area.
The evacuaton order was made while the hurricane was on the other side of Cuba. Pretty good insight, knowing that we are the direct target. Even the professionals at the hurricane center aren't that good.
This area has never been evacuated. Based on past history, we had no warning that this could or ever would happen.
With one day to get out, was any thought given to where everyone was going? 500,000 people and only 39,000 hotel rooms in this state. 40% of those rooms are in the evacuation areas.
Was any thought given to how most people could afford to flee. Many families can't even afford to travel for a vacation. How were they going to leave to go to another state to seek shelter?
So if we are in a mandatory evacuation area, why are we opening shelters within that area? Why not in the neighboring counties? Why open one in the red zone, as they have with one of the local high schools found below I-10?
This order was made on a Friday evening, for Saturday morning. How the heck is anyone supposed to make arrangements that fast? What if I want to protect my home and board up windows before I leave? How am I going to buy lumber if they close all the stores due to the evacuation order?
Anyone give any thought to over 100,000 vehicles all hitting the road at the same time. My understanding is that many of the gas stations in the area are low or out of gas. What is to happen on the highway? Will there be adequate gas?
Was this really being done to test the evacuation procedures they have been dying to test the past few years? Great press to see all the traffic going one direction.
Were the police going to arrest everyone who didn't leave? If not, which we all know is impossbile, doesn't that make a joke out of the proclamations from our leaders. Leaders should lead, give answers and not give false or unrealistic direction. They should leave the sensationalism to the weather reporters who act like little kids trying to make sure their version of the story is more animated than the other guys.
In todays news conference, the mayor backed down and said I was not going to be arrested. I feel so much better now. I had my mind made up, if they knocked on my door, I was going to ask for $300 from the officer for expenses for me to leave.
I guess everyone else feels the same as I do. I drove through downtown Mobile today on the way home from work. Usually a desolate drive through town, with little traffic. Today, there was more traffic than I have ever seen. Everyone out driving to sight see, since the governor made all the businesses close and we have nothing else to do. Maybe they were all driving to the jail to turn themselves in and I was going the wrong way.
Oh, and thanks to the great people that work at Lowe's. They all, in unison, decided to violate the law today and stay open to help serve the needs of our community. I asked the young lady that checked me out how it felt to be a criminal? I told her, that in my eyes, her personal rebellion made her my hero.
Governor Riley and Mayor Dow..... define "mandatory" for us please.
Our leaders failed us yesterday.
Posted at 04:48 pm by AnotherMan
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Wednesday, July 06, 2005
....four kittens and early adventures
We are a family with several cats. Some that are ours, and some that we have somehow managed to inherit due to my wife and daughter who seem to feed any animal that comes our way, especially cats. Jessica could never resist a kitten, I sometimes start to think she is part cat. We have one that my daughter has taken as one of her favorites. Little Snoogums is the smallest of all the cats. She is a plain ol alley cat, with a plain gray coat with light striping. Somehow, due to her size she has always seemed to be a kitten, never growing,though she has been staying with us for some time now.
Like many cat owners, we found out the hard way that little Snoogums was grown, when all of a sudden her belly started to swell. It was then we figured out she was a soon to be mama. Silly us, not thinking that this could happen to her. When the day finally came, the natural instinct kicked in and Snoogums became the mother to four new kittens. She made a home in the neighbors boat, which was protected with a boat cover. We thought she had made a good safe choice. No chance of any strange animals or the enviroment affecting her or her new family.
Earlier this week, she decided to move them to a new location. Snoogums had moved them under our back deck. We were concerned with her choice, due to now being exposed to all creatures and weather. Belinda quickly covered that portion of the deck with a tarp, in hope of helping keep them dry. Then last night it happened. The rain moved in. Tropical storm Cindy came to visit and the rain and wind were more than most in our area expected.
Early this morning, Belinda let our dog, Charlie, out the back door. While inspecting his territory, he immedilately started to crawl under the deck to retrieve something. He finally came out and had a kitten in his powerful jaw. But Charlie, being the most sensitive dog we have ever known, laid the kitten down and begins to lick it. He was somehow, the new surrogate protector. Belinda looked under the deck to find the others only to discover they were all missing. Somehow, during the night, little Snoogums had once again started to move them. Everyone, including our neighbor, Kelly, looked high and low, but never found the missing kittens.
After giving up Kelly then had to leave and visit his wife at work. After driving all across town, down the interstate and arriving at her location, he began to hear the meow of kittens. He quickly opened the hood to his van to find one little kitten on the radiator and another on top of the fan housing. He was shocked and amazed the two were still alive. Not seeing the third missing kitten, he assumed that it had been lost in route on way to his destination. He then left the two found kittens with his wife and started off to work.
Once at work he again thought he heard another kitten. He searched all through the van, under the hood and the underparts to the van. He tested it out and noticed that every time he started the van up, he could hear a kitten. He then took his van to his service shop at work where they then lifted the van to check from beneath. There, inside the lower fan housing, was the last kitten. Unhurt, safe, yet scared, Kelley had found the last kitten, one that beyond odds had survived.
After hearing the story on the way home from work tonight, I knew my daughter would be excited. When I walked in the door, the first thing she did was run to show me the family that was at home again. Her little kittens were all home with their mother. They now had a new, safe home. Kelley also has decided to claim the last one, the last survivor, the last little kitten.
Posted at 07:08 pm by AnotherMan
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Monday, July 04, 2005
Another long hard day at work. A holiday to make it even worse. So after such a stinky day what do you think I would do? I rushed home to spend time with the Beast. I pulled it from the shed, driving it up to the driveway, where I immediately start to go to work on cleaning it. Cleaning isn't good enough actually, "Detailing" is the proper word. I carefully wipe all the road grime and dust from every hidden corner. Then I take the detailers wax and cautiously spray it everywhere to begin the first buffing stage. Next I take another cloth and buff every square inch of the beast to a wonderful shine.
Ok, ok....I know....it's only a motorcycle. But, it's "MY" motorcycle and could it be that I might be slightly obsessed?
You tell me.
Besides, what man doesn't want a clean ride?
Posted at 08:00 pm by AnotherMan
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