The Vent and Rant Thread

[HomeInMyShoes]

^I don't think you said anything to put them in a bad light. Pets get out and losing one is terrible.

[pendragginp]

Agree.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Ugh. It's -27C and -36C with the windchill and the streetlight was out at my bus stop. I couldn't even read while waiting for the bus in this hinterland.

[ProfCrash]

Time for a Paperwhite...

Yeah, it is cold here but not that cold. Then again, snow from Tuesday has kept the schools in the area closed. Again.

To clarify, kids in my area have missed:

1 day of school for a predicted snowstorm that did little to nothing. It snowed and melted in the same day

2 days of school because it was too cold to have them wait at the bus stop. No ice, no freezing fuel, just too cold at the bus stop. Never mind that the parents who wait with them have cars and people could wait in cars. With heat.

3 days of school over a 5 inch snow fall that started sticking at 2 in the afternoon and the primary roads where clear and the secondary roads were treated the day after. But it is really cold so we don't want kids waiting at the bus stop.

So 6 days of missed school for really no reason.

You know, it makes me feel old, but when I was a kid we rarely used all of our snow days in a given year. And it got cold and it snowed and we sucked it up, wore our coats, gloves, and hats and stood at the bus stop and went to school. I have no idea what is happening now, maybe the schools are afraid of law suits but this is freaking ridiculous. And I doubt that the teachers and students are going to be happy come the summer when they have to make all of this time up.

I am going to be really annoyed if the have school tomorrow because a one day school week? Really? Just cancel it please.

And there is another storm predicted for Sunday. Which probably means school will be closed on Monday.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I still don't trust the freeze/thaw cycle with my e-reader. I read paper when out in the winter.

In other news it is supposed to rain a bit tomorrow and then it will be -30 overnight on Sunday. I might skate to work on Monday.

[poohbear_nc]

Scenario: my day at work with widespread internet outages with Time Warner Business Class ....

It seems I broke the interwebs .... and am expected to:

1. explain to everyone just what happened last night to cause the outage
2. know how to fix it, or, failing that
3. stay on the phone support line for hours b/c no one at TWC is answering their calls
4. fix the internet
5. figure out how my boss can read his email and surf YouTube without an internet connection
6. make it work now!
7. fix the internet


Get the picture? If you look at the current TWC outage map you'll see that ....... I'm going to have a longer day tomorrow ...

[orlok]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Scenario: my day at work with widespread internet outages with Time Warner Business Class ....

It seems I broke the interwebs .... and am expected to:

1. explain to everyone just what happened last night to cause the outage
2. know how to fix it, or, failing that
3. stay on the phone support line for hours b/c no one at TWC is answering their calls
4. fix the internet
5. figure out how my boss can read his email and surf YouTube without an internet connection
6. make it work now!
7. fix the internet


Get the picture? If you look at the current TWC outage map you'll see that ....... I'm going to have a longer day tomorrow ...

I am astonished that you still work there pooh. Seems to be above and beyond the call of duty to me.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by orlok

I am astonished that you still work there pooh. Seems to be above and beyond the call of duty to me.

I'm looking ... believe me .... but the market for 'mature' manager types is still fairly slim - hoping the economy continues picking up here ... openings may develop as tax season approaches ... I'm a damn good number cruncher .... aka, accountant, IT person, general dogsbody ....

[orlok]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I'm looking ... believe me .... but the market for 'mature' manager types is still fairly slim - hoping the economy continues picking up here ... openings may develop as tax season approaches ... I'm a damn good number cruncher .... aka, accountant, IT person, general dogsbody ....

It's a shame more businesses don't recognise the value of 'mature' managers (I speak from personal experience). Just keep plugging away and it will come..

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by orlok

It's a shame more businesses don't recognise the value of 'mature' managers (I speak from personal experience). Just keep plugging away and it will come..

Thanks ... ageism is a real problem in job hunting here (surrounded by 3 major universities with LOTS of young graduates).

I also have Plan B - we're living very frugally and accumulating a cash nest egg to allow me to take early retirement if needed - and survive until Social Security & Medicare kicks in - the cost of my migraine meds have more than doubled this year under our new health insurance policy. So I may be able to dump this horror of a job and if necessary take a part time job for a few years. Keeping all options open for now ....

[CRussel]

Believe me, pooh, I get it wrt ageism. Why I finally gave it up and went to full time writing.

[cromag]

Ditto the ageism. And the many ways it can be disguised. (Sigh.)

[poohbear_nc]

This must be my week for completely idiotic encounters!

My phone rings and one of my least favorite co-workers asks "What's our Fed-Ex account number?"
Me: "We don't have a Fed-Ex account. We just phone for pick-ups when needed."
Co-worker: "I have a lady on line 6 at Fed-Ex. She says we do have an account but can only release the number to someone in authority."

[At this point I should have known better - this co-worker is infamous for needlessly complicating others' lives with unnecessary details, requests, explanations, etc.]

So I unwisely pick up the phone and speak to the lady at Fed-Ex:
Lady: "I'm showing in my records that your company does have an account with us."
Me: "I'm showing in my records that we haven't written a check to you in over 10 years."
Lady: "Yes, it's not an active account - there's no credit card associated with it. But you do have an account number."
Me: "Which is?"
Lady: "I can't tell you. There is a person of importance whose name is associated with your account. I can only release the number to that person."
Me: "What is the name?"
Lady: "I can't tell you. They have to call us to request the release of your account number."
Me: "How am I supposed to ask this person to call you if you won't tell me who it is?"
Lady: "You'll just have to ask around your company and find out who is associated with your account in our records."

At this point I hung up the phone.
[Disclaimer: This was a real conversation. She seriously expected me to spend my day asking everyone here one by one if they were the contact listed on our corporate Fed-Ex account.]

So, I phoned the wacko co-worker to tell him we couldn't get our account number.
Co-worker: "That's OK - I didn't really need it to schedule a pick up anyway. I was just curious."

I really wanted to smash his smiling face in at that moment.

And the day isn't over ..... yet ....

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

This must be my week for completely idiotic encounters!

My phone rings and one of my least favorite co-workers asks "What's our Fed-Ex account number?"
Me: "We don't have a Fed-Ex account. We just phone for pick-ups when needed."
Co-worker: "I have a lady on line 6 at Fed-Ex. She says we do have an account but can only release the number to someone in authority."

[At this point I should have known better - this co-worker is infamous for needlessly complicating others' lives with unnecessary details, requests, explanations, etc.]

So I unwisely pick up the phone and speak to the lady at Fed-Ex:
Lady: "I'm showing in my records that your company does have an account with us."
Me: "I'm showing in my records that we haven't written a check to you in over 10 years."
Lady: "Yes, it's not an active account - there's no credit card associated with it. But you do have an account number."
Me: "Which is?"
Lady: "I can't tell you. There is a person of importance whose name is associated with your account. I can only release the number to that person."
Me: "What is the name?"
Lady: "I can't tell you. They have to call us to request the release of your account number."
Me: "How am I supposed to ask this person to call you if you won't tell me who it is?"
Lady: "You'll just have to ask around your company and find out who is associated with your account in our records."

At this point I hung up the phone.
[Disclaimer: This was a real conversation. She seriously expected me to spend my day asking everyone here one by one if they were the contact listed on our corporate Fed-Ex account.]

So, I phoned the wacko co-worker to tell him we couldn't get our account number.
Co-worker: "That's OK - I didn't really need it to schedule a pick up anyway. I was just curious."

I really wanted to smash his smiling face in at that moment.

And the day isn't over ..... yet ....

ARGGGHHHH!!! I think that's what those leedle wolverine claws are meant to be used for .....

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

This must be my week for completely idiotic encounters!

My phone rings and one of my least favorite co-workers asks "What's our Fed-Ex account number?"
Me: "We don't have a Fed-Ex account. We just phone for pick-ups when needed."
Co-worker: "I have a lady on line 6 at Fed-Ex. She says we do have an account but can only release the number to someone in authority."

[At this point I should have known better - this co-worker is infamous for needlessly complicating others' lives with unnecessary details, requests, explanations, etc.]

So I unwisely pick up the phone and speak to the lady at Fed-Ex:
Lady: "I'm showing in my records that your company does have an account with us."
Me: "I'm showing in my records that we haven't written a check to you in over 10 years."
Lady: "Yes, it's not an active account - there's no credit card associated with it. But you do have an account number."
Me: "Which is?"
Lady: "I can't tell you. There is a person of importance whose name is associated with your account. I can only release the number to that person."
Me: "What is the name?"
Lady: "I can't tell you. They have to call us to request the release of your account number."
Me: "How am I supposed to ask this person to call you if you won't tell me who it is?"
Lady: "You'll just have to ask around your company and find out who is associated with your account in our records."

At this point I hung up the phone.
[Disclaimer: This was a real conversation. She seriously expected me to spend my day asking everyone here one by one if they were the contact listed on our corporate Fed-Ex account.]

So, I phoned the wacko co-worker to tell him we couldn't get our account number.
Co-worker: "That's OK - I didn't really need it to schedule a pick up anyway. I was just curious."

I really wanted to smash his smiling face in at that moment.

And the day isn't over ..... yet ....

Really? REALLY? You have NOTHING frigging better to do with your time than speculate about shipping possibilities!? Here's an idea.... How about we ship your non functional ass right out of here