Monday, January 30, 2012

Quiet Again

After spending almost 8 hours answering the phone at work, I am generally happy to come home and be quiet. Being an introvert, I've used up all my energy being on for the people I'm talking to. I get home and I want to collapse and not move or talk much more than necessary.

Ace is trying to adjust to that some, I think. He's used to me talking his ear off occasionally, and right now I'm more likely to send him an IM than to say something out loud.

I don't have a lot else to say right now, I just wanted to be sure that I posted something, even if it's just to say that I'm probably going to be a lot quieter here than I have been in the past. After work, I just don't have much left to say right now.

Friday, January 27, 2012

The Bright Side

After complaining about my job for 2 days, I figure I should post something positive about it. After all, it's not all frustrating people and stress.

I had one person calling about her refund who apologized for any frustration her husband was causing us about checking on their refund. She called me Sweat Pea. She made me smile. It was one of the nicer calls I've had.

I also had one of the guys at one of our stores banter with me a little and he made me smile. He understood my frustration at the IRS situation and just cheered me up by being happy to hear from me. It was a bright spot in a somewhat frustrating day. It made it easier to smile and talk with customers.

There are the people who seemed less frustrated and upset after talking to me that have encouraged me. I may not have been able to give them what they want, but I was able to help them understand what is going on and to know that the company I work for does care about their situation. Their stories will probably never fully leave me. These are the people I wish I could do more for. But I know that letting them rant helps some.

There are plenty of bright spots in my day to make it possible to do this job. And those bright spots outshine the problems. It's just a little harder, at the end of a long, frustrating day, to remember all the bright spots at first. The complaints and the frustrations have to be purged so that those people who help make me feel like I can continue doing this job can come back to mind.

I doubt I'll ever love this job, but I like it most of the time. If I get on here and complain, I'm just trying to vent my own frustrations so that I can go back to work and be cheerful again. (I am still looking forward to the end of tax season.)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Let's Hear It for the IRS

After my slight frustrations yesterday, the IRS decided to drop some exciting news on us today. They had problems with some new filtering software. This is causing delays in refunds.

There were many frustrated and disappointed people. Nicely, most of the people I talked to were being reasonable about it. They weren't happy, but they seemed to understand that it was the fault of the IRS.

I'm happy that I have tomorrow off. I won't be having to spend another day explaining to people that their refunds won't be available until next week. I won't have to hear them complain that they should get a discount on their taxes because of a problem the IRS has. I won't have to apologize to people all day long.

Hopefully next week will be more fun. Hopefully next week will be me telling a lot more people that they can come in and pick up their checks. If nothing else, I get to have time alone with Ace next Friday (his parents will be out of town and I will be off). And I get paid next Friday. Next Friday is looking very pretty.

But I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank the IRS for how the day went. Hopefully they won't be surprised when they get a bill for chocolate and a massage in the mail.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

"Maybe You Should Take Some Chocolate with You"

I love Ace. He's a wonderful husband. I don't think I'll be taking his latest advice though.

After I got home, after a day that felt long, I wanted some chocolate. To help drop the stress off some. Ace suggested I take some chocolate with me to work. If I did, I'm pretty sure it'd be gone with my lunch. And it's not like my day is that stressful, it's just been busy.

People are starting to call in to check on their refunds. I spent most of the first hour I was at work answering questions about refunds. I'm beginning to get tired of hearing the word refund. And I still have lots of tax season to go. (Yay! *starts crying*)

I'm not actually that frustrated with work, I'm just not happy with the one or two people each day that feel like bitching me out because they are frustrated or stressed. Part of me wants to yell at them that I'm human too and I have times that are frustrating, but I deserve better treatment than they are currently giving me. Instead, I try to gracefully finish the call and then blow off frustration by talking with co-workers.

But while I won't be taking chocolate to work with me, I will enjoy it when I get home. It's a wonderful ending to a long day answering the phone.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Home Early

Yesterday, I just felt terrible emotionally when I got home from work. I was taking a few things far more personally than I probably should have. It was just a bad day for me. And it wasn't helped by an unexpected shopping trip right after work.

Today, I ended up home from work early. I wasn't feeling great physically (hopefully it's just something minor and is mostly my body rebelling at being forced to get up early and sit somewhere else). There had already been someone else who came in feeling fine and then had to leave because she didn't feel good today. The boss was concerned that something might be making it's way through the call center.

I held out until lunch, which I ate as soon as possible. But, as I was eating, it was obvious that my icky feelings weren't just related to skipping breakfast and my period trying to start. So, here I am at home, resting and hopefully feeling just fine again tomorrow so I can work Monday (I did promise that if I wasn't feeling well Monday, I'd stay home and call in sick, because my boss was obviously worried about me coming back too soon and getting other people sick).

Before I left, while grabbing my coat, hat, and purse, I wiped stuff down with a Clorox wipe to kill any germs. It was a good just-in-case thing to do, and I wasn't feeling quite so bad that it was too much to ask of me.

And now, I'm thinking of taking a nap. Because my body obviously needs the rest.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Things Get Better

After my second day of work, I'm feeling less stressed about the whole thing. And oddly enough, it was after spending the day doing something that normally makes me freeze mentally.

Right now, we're calling clients to invite them to come back and have us do their taxes. I HATE making phone calls. I can answer the phone with no problems, but you want me to dial and talk? Um, no.

Except, when I'm making calls for a business, it's no big deal (Why yes, I am complicated and somewhat weird, what of it?). Who cares if these people aren't interested? They aren't rejecting me as a person, they just aren't interested in this company. It's this weird mental switch that gets thrown that makes things all right.

Today went much better. It helps that I wasn't getting overloaded with information. And there were plenty of people around for me to ask questions if I needed to. I was also able to take a few minutes and stretch more often, so my back doesn't hurt (at least not like it did Monday).

I'm not sure I love this job, but I think I might actually like it some. And that is progress.

Now if I can just figure out how to get over my intense issues with calling people for personal reasons (I'm pretty sure my dad would love to talk to me more often than just when I can come visit, but dialing that phone seems impossible).

Monday, January 16, 2012

So About this Work Thing

After my first day of work, a day of training, I have concluded that I am woeful out of shape (my back is so unhappy with me right now) and my brain is a bit frazzled because of all the information shoved into it. I'm so happy that tomorrow I have off to let my subconscious absorb all this info.

And Ace, once again, throws me for a loop with a change in what I expected on days he works in the office. Apparently I get to drop him off at work on those days (which means I won't have to wait for him to get there to leave). The other days, I'll have to wait for him to come pick me up, or we'll talk to my mother-in-law and see if she can pick me up.

And now, I'm going to go do something that requires less thought than typing out posts. My brain could use the break.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Employment Achieved

Starting Monday, I'll be working. I won't have a full 40 hours a week, but I'm not actually that concerned about it.

I'm still thrown that I never got interviewed for this job. Who gets a job that way? (Me, I guess.) The last time I had temporary employment (which this is), I had to be interviewed. On the plus side, I get paid a regular, hourly amount.

So, yeah. I'm a working woman again.

Yay?

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

It's a Bright Year

Despite the fact that we've only had 9 full days so far this year, this has been the best year so far.

Ace finally has people at his office over him that care about helping him to succeed in insurance sales. They are impressed by the time he's put into learning things on his own and they want to see him do well. It's been a change from the last boss he had (at the same office) who didn't seem to care about him at all.

Today, I filled out paperwork for a job. There was no interview, other than asking if I was still interested. I'll hear back Thursday as to when I'll be working next week, provided everything goes through smoothly (either way, I'll hear back Thursday). I'm going to relax and not think about it for now. I'll get to wear jeans to work, something that thrills me completely.

These two things should provide Ace and I a good chance to actually make enough money to move out in the reasonably near future. Not only that, but last night I had a fairly fun evening out with my in-laws (something that was almost a miracle).

While Ace and I had a bad day last Wednesday, when problems Ace had at work came to a breaking point at the time, we've had great year so far. Things have been going well and we are just feeling like this is our year. And for that, we are extremely grateful.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Calmer

Okay, since Wednesday, there have been a few changes around here.

Ace is continuing to work this job, but he's switching what team he's working on. Hopefully that will fix a majority of the issues that we were having with the lack of training going on. We're at least giving the whole thing a bit longer before we make any more decisions.

I am going on Tuesday to fill out paperwork for a job. Apparently, without being interviewed, I have gotten a job. It's a temp job, but it will provide us with some steady income while Ace is training and building his business. It'll be a great thing for us, and the only minor complication in this is that we'll have to figure out how to get me to and from work.

Things are calmer and better now. We're still a bit frustrated with how things have been, but we are focused on the brighter future that is coming up.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Just Be Honest

Ace and I are getting a bit frustrated with his job. When he was interviewed, there were certain promises made. During training, there were promises made.

Over 6 weeks later, none of those promises have been kept. Instead there are excuses as to why they can't be kept or caveats added to get those promises kept. Ace has been left to flounder until he either improves or quits.

Ace and I aren't asking them to magically make his life easy. We recognize that insurance sales is a business that takes time to grow. We think we've got fairly reasonable expectations. But we're both tired of people in the management part of the insurance business lying to us about what they can and will do.

If you aren't going to do X unless I do Y, tell me up front. Then I can make a better call as to if I can afford to do Y to get X. I can make a decision about whether or not my family can afford income coming from a commission only job or if we need to focus on finding steady income.

It's all a big headache and it's way more involved than my few brief words here. Ace and I will probably be having a long talk later. We need to figure out what we need the two of us to do. Most likely, I will be working a temp job (for tax accountants) the next few months (I should find out tomorrow). But everything is up in the air today.

Bosses of the world, please be honest with potential employees. Let them have all the facts so they can make the right decision for their families. I realize that may leave you with open spaces longer than you would like, but wouldn't you rather have the right person in the job than just the first available person who expects things (that you promised) that you can't or won't give them?

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!

Ace and I are both expecting good things coming from this new year. We're excited about 2012.

And I have about four other things I should be doing right now, so I'll post about our excitement about 2012 later. I just wanted to say:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!