I’ve worked in customer service all of my adult (and partial teen) life. I know customers can be frustrating, so when I’m in the position of being a customer, I try to be very polite and understanding. Especially when I call at the end of the workday, because I know the customer service rep is probably tired and counting the minutes until they have to go home. I’ve been there. But my politeness and understanding wears out quickly when the person I’m speaking with doesn’t have two braincells that function at the same time.

I called my dental insurance company today, just to confirm that the bill they sent me covered the months of September, October and November*, since the bill had no dates on it, just amounts.  The conversation went a bit like this:

Me: Hi! I received a bill from you and I’ve just written out the check for it. However, there were no dates on the bill, so I was calling to confirm that this payment covers everything I owe through November.

Him: Please wait.

<3 minutes of dead silence later>

Him: You owe $XXX.

Me: Yes, I’m aware of that. I have the bill here, and have already written the check. But the bill doesn’t have a date on it. Is the $XXX for the months of September, October, and November?

<silence>

Me: Hello?

Him: Ma’am, you owe $XXX.

Me: Yes, we’ve covered that. Does the $XXX cover me for September, October, and November? That’s all I need to know.

Him: Your account will be current when you pay $XXX.

Me: Ok, current through October? Current through November? I just need to know what months I’m paying for.

Him: Ma’am, I just told you that you owe $XXX.

<lather, rinse, repeat no less than 4 more times.>

Finally…

Me: I’d like to speak with your supervisor please.

It took his supervisor less than 10 seconds to confirm that yes, the amount covers me for those three months. Halle-freaking-lujah! Though why he couldn’t answer that question remains a mystery to me.

*Switching to COBRA from my previous company’s insurance gives me 60 days to start making payments, so I wasn’t past due on my account. However, it took the insurance company 50 days to send me a bill. Think I can wait 50 days to send them a payment?

Since I started buying homemade cards to snail mail to people, I’ve found a couple shops that have quickly become my favorites. Carrie’s Cards is one of those shops, and Carrie herself is as nice as could be. She makes great cards, as well as magnets and coasters in all different patterns and colors.  She’s fantastic to work with too!

I started buying from Carrie in March when I went through my obsessive card buying phase, and I was always really happy with the cards I got from her. I’ve steadily purchased from her ever since then, and I’ve never ever been disappointed. I recently purchased some more Thank You cards, as I’d almost exhausted my supply and I was planning on sending them out for anyone who’d donated to Step Out.  I contacted her to ask if she would be willing to make a couple more cards in a couple different colors than she already offered. I could not have been more surprised and thankful when she generously offered to donate some cards to me, since I’m sending them out to anyone who donates to Step Out.  I received the cards today, and WOW are they fabulous! I cannot wait to send them out!

I want to thank Carrie again for her generous donation, as well as thank all of you who’ve donated so far. If you haven’t donated yet, you still have a little more than a week to do so. The cards are first come first served, so don’t delay! Not only will you be helping to find a cure for Diabetes, but you’ll be getting a beautiful handmade card and my sincere thanks for your help!

Also, if you’re in the market for great greeting cards of all types (and really, the world could use more happiness spread through snail mail), check out Carrie’s shop. She’s great!

I am no longer employed.

Writing that tiny sentence is more painful that I imagined it would be. I keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason, but I still don’t believe it. I was laid off from my job of almost 8 years last Thursday, and a week later I’m still not sure it’s sunk in yet. Business has been getting bad, and we’d had a lot of layoffs in the last year. But I’d just heard that we were doing “ok” and so I thought that really meant “ok”. I had no idea it meant I’d be out of a job. I also thought there were people who would go before me. People who have been there significantly less years than I had. I was obviously wrong.

My first reaction when they told me was “How could they do this to me?” and still, it’s the one question I keep repeating in my head. I know I can find another job, so I wasn’t as worried about that. But I felt so betrayed. Still feel so betrayed. My favorite part about my job was the people, hands down. It was family owned and operated, and my coworkers came to be part of my family. We had game nights, we went to the movies, we swapped organs.  So when I was abruptly dropped from the family, I was understandably (in my opinion) hurt. I know I’ll get to the point where I’m not as angry, not as hurt, and can understand that this was a financial business decision and not a personal attack. But I’m not there yet.

For the past week I’ve been waffling as to what I want to do with my life. My first instinct was to go back to school and get a masters degree in something useful. A B.A. in Behavioral Sciences isn’t really something I can use.  So I called my old school to see if I could get in there. They’re not talking admissions for anything before Fall of 2010. So that’s out. I checked the local college, because they have a great sign language program (and being an interpreter has always been my dream job). ALL of the classes are full, but I got on the waitlist for a couple. Class starts next week. I’m not holding my breath, but it’s worth a shot. If I don’t get in, well then I put my nose to the grindstone and find a job.

At least now I know that having coworkers that are “family” is not job security.  Next time I just need to make myself irreplaceable.

8-31-09 Edited to Add: I have never felt, and will never feel that donating my kidney should have given me job security. She is my friend, plain and simple. It also happened that she was technically my boss, but that never came to play in my decision. It was the friendship that we have that made me decide to do it. I mentioned it solely to illustrate the close relationship I have with my coworkers. Not working with them will not change that. We are still friends, and will remain friends as long as humanly possible.

New site, same blog!

Welcome to my blog’s new home. I’ve been working on this move off and on since the beginning of the year, and I finally feel like I’m ready to open the doors. All of my old posts and pictures are here now, so if you’re new feel free to browse through the archives! And if you’re a loyal reader, thanks for making the move with me! If you notice links that lead to nowhere, or pictures that don’t show up, please let me know. I’ve done my best to fix them all, but I’m sure a few got away from me.

I am going to make a strong effort to post here much more often than I used to. Taking a three month break really made me miss blogging, and more importantly, all the people I’ve met and become friends with in the process.

This site is a work in progress, so I really appreciate any and all feedback you have for me.

Thanks!

Denora

I used to think that if you were seeing an artist or band in concert, it didn't matter where you saw them. Small venue, large venue, or somewhere in the middle: they'd be the same anywhere.

Boy oh boy was I wrong. Last Thursday I had the opportunity to see Brooks & Dunn at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino. The bingo hall doubles as a concert venue, and while the seats weren't terrible (we were all the way on the side, but in the second section from the stage) the concert was just…ok. I love Brooks & Dunn, and have seen them before, so I thought maybe it was just my assessment of the show. Turns out Donald didn't think it was all that great either. They weren't bad, just not all that great. If that had been the first time I'd seen them, I might not have gone back.

Then Sunday night I go to see them at Gibson Amphitheater with my mom and sister and they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! They were so full of energy that it was hard to believe they were the same two guys I'd seen three days earlier. They told stories and jokes and really seemed like they were having a great time. They brought out Reba to sing a song with them (have I mentioned my intense love for her? I cannot wait to see her on Saturday!) and they also had Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top come out and play guitar for them. It was a phenomenal show, and so very different from Thursday's that I can hardly believe it. Jason Michael Carroll opened for them, and he was great too. I didn't realize how many songs of his there were that I liked. (I'm sure there was a more grammatically correct way to phrase that.) My favorite song of his is "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead" and I highly suggest everyone give it a listen. Gloriana performed before JMC, and while I'd never heard of them, I really enjoyed their singing. They just got started being played on the radio out here, and I can't wait to hear more from them.

So, the moral of the story: Don't go see a band in a bingo hall. Splurge on a real venue, and you'll see a MUCH better show!

Someone tagged me to do this 25 Things post on Facebook, and I thought I’d cross post it here for your viewing pleasure. Since it’s something I wanted to keep easily available, I put it up as a page, rather than a post. You can find 25 random things you may or may not know about me here.

Just 25 random things about me.

1. I am painfully shy when you first meet me. It generally takes me a
while to become comfortable with people. I do not at all like large
groups of people, no matter how well I know everyone.

2. I went to my first Angel game when I was 4 weeks old, and have been a huge fan ever since.

3. I got married in June of 2005, but my divorce will be final in February of 2009. He and I are still friends. I learned a lot from being married
and more from getting divorced. I am not ashamed of it.

4. I did not want to go to college immediately after high school, but
wasn’t given a choice by the parental units. Therefore, I was
“academically disqualified” from San Diego State in 1998. Which is the
fancy way of saying I failed out. I went back to a community college in
2001, and finally graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 2007 with a B.A. in
B.S. Seriously.

5. I have great and amazing friends. I feel very lucky to have all of them.

6. I love to read. I’d rather read than watch TV or go out. I have
books with me wherever I go, just in case, and I’m always in the middle
of at least 3. I will read pretty much anything, though I have a
shameful love for Nora Roberts romance novels.

7. I have a completely irrational fear of E.T. I saw it when I had just
turned 3, and it scared me to my core. To this day, I have panic
attacks when I see it, and have been known to run from the room crying
if a commercial comes on. I have tried relentlessly to get past it,
knowing it’s completely irrational, but so far I’ve not overcome it.
It’s not something I’m proud of, and not something I can joke about.

8. I am a tomboy. I don’t like wearing skirts or dresses or doing stereotypical “girl” things.

9. My sister Jen is one of my closest friends. We didn’t get along so
well growing up, and it wasn’t until I moved out that we actually
started to like each other.

10. I always hated writing in school, but since I’ve started a blog, I
really enjoy it. It’s almost therapeutic for me, much like letter
writing is for other people. Because of the blog, I’ve also become
interested in a bit of web and graphic design. Just as a hobby.

11. I was born and raised in Buena Park, and moved out to Corona in 2003. I am still not very familiar with the Riverside/Corona area,
and often prefer to drive into Orange County to shop, since I know
where everything is.

12. My dad taught me to bowl when I was pretty young, but I didn’t
really get into it until I turned 18. I used it as anger management
therapy (you get to throw things! On purpose! And get points if you hit
stuff!) for a while until I started getting better at it. At one point,
I was bowling 6 nights a week, and was the highest woman average in 4
of the 6 leagues. I cut back to 1 night a week a few years ago, and
took this season off altogether. I plan on starting up again in the
summer.

13. When I was younger, I wanted to be an architect. At least until I
found out how much freaking math was involved (Sorry, Mr. Falk). After
that I decided to design houses as a hobby, using various design
software that did the math for me. I have about 175 “dream houses”
saved to an old hard drive, in case I get the opportunity to build my
own house someday.

14. I am my own worst critic. I am harder on myself than anyone else,
and constantly put myself down before other people can. This is
something I am trying to change.

15. I want to go to Ireland before I die. I have always been fascinated
with the country, and hope to visit in the next few years.

16. I love water. I can sit by the ocean or the river all day and feel
totally relaxed. I could swim before I could walk, and if not for an
unfortunate allergy to chlorine, I would have continued competitive
swimming after graduating high school and leaving the swim team. Now I
can only swim in chlorine free water, otherwise I will sneeze
constantly for days on end.

17. I was hit by a car in 8th grade. It was a hit and run, and I had to have knee surgery because of it years later.

18. I have a 5 1/2 year old pug named Mia, who I adore. She snores
loudly, and isn’t comfortable unless she’s laying down up against my
leg. She’s very fat and cuddly, and loves people.

19. I have worked for the same company for the last 6 years, and I was
with the company that my boss bought out for a year prior to that. I
love my job (most of the time) and truly like and respect the people I
work for and with.

20. I donated a kidney in March of 2008 to my friend Kelly. It was a stressful
experience, but I am so glad that I was able to do it. I have 5 scars
from the surgery: 4 on my stomach (that look like stab wounds) and a
4.5″ c-section-ish scar below my bikini line. When people ask me if I
feel any different, I often tell them that I feel a little lopsided.

21. I am not sarcastic. At all. No, really.

22.I want to have at least two children someday. If I had the choice,
I’d choose boys, but I know that I will be extremely happy with
whatever I get.

23. I have never had a dream in which I have children who can hear.
They are always deaf in my dreams, for reasons I cannot explain.

24. Last year I fell in love with a man who loves, respects, and
challenges me. He is, pardon the cliche, the greatest thing that ever
happened to me.

25. I want to be a better person when I grow up.

The comprehensive list of all the books I read in 2009 (In chronological order):

1. Bitter is the New Black – Jen Lancaster

The last day of NaBloPomo is finally here, and I couldn't be happier. I realize this is a voluntary torture program, but I really didn't want to give up on it, even when I had nothing interesting to say (which was a good 90% of the time, I know). I like blogging, but I'm truly not verbose enough to maintain a daily regimen of quality posts. And I don't really want to try.

Today was the last day of my 4 day vacation, and I tell you, it came way too quickly. I feel like I didn't have a chance to get anything done, though I know I had plenty of time to do it. It's the same thing every time I get a couple days off. I plan on getting lots of housework done, and then Sunday comes around, and I've done nothing I've set out to do. My dining room table is still covered with junk, my computer room is still filled with stuff that needs to be sorted, and the Christmas/Hanukkah decorations are still in their boxes. I did, however, have dinner with great people, spend time with Donald, take Mia to the vet, visit with my out of state relatives, hang out with friends, watch a lot of football, and go out to a hockey game. So it's not like I sat around like a bum all weekend (though that's exactly what I wanted to do).

And now, I am off to bed, because I seriously cannot keep my eyes open a second longer.