Just as I suspected, I received no comments here, so I am going to assume that there really is only one person who reads this, and I am going to stop posting weekly.
This past week was interesting.
I started feeling sick on Sunday night, and ended up calling in to work (for the first time in a year and a half) due to an intestinal issue (I won't go into detail).
When I got to work on Tuesday, I heard that three others had dealt with similar issues starting on Friday night and going through the weekend. Another co worker was off Tuesday for the same reason.
We had our annual performance reviews (the first time we have actually had them in about 3 years). After hearing glowing words about my superior work ethic, I found out that they want me to start answering phones on top of everything else that I do.
My late boss, despite the issues between us, always said that I had too much to do to answer phones. Now she's gone, and they are going to train me.
I always said I'd quit if they made me answer phones.
Gawd, how I dread it. I reacted to seeing it in my review, and the supervisor said "Does that give you anxiety?"
I said "Yes, yes, it does." She said that I am the only person in the billing office who doesn't provide back up on phones or front desk.
That's true, but there is a reason for that. I CAN'T work the front desk, because I am the double check person for payments that come in, and I don't answer phones because my work is largely concentration-intensive.
I provide "back up" in that I reconcile all of the work done by the payment posters, and give them back their mistakes to correct. How am I supposed to do that, and be interrupted by phone calls?
I listen to the call center people taking calls all day every day, and the people who call are generally angry and rude. This is why I do NOT work customer service, and never have.
Now, I no longer have a choice.
But...I need to stay through this year, due to time off that I want to take to go to my nephew's wedding, and to take our annual cabin camping trip.
On Friday, Dave had to go to Tulsa for the first part of a corporate-wide class on "emotional maturity." He dreaded that as much as I dread working phones. It requires being in a group of people he doesn't know, or doesn't like, and talking.
He's anti social, and a misanthope, and this is his worst nightmare.
He was home by 2:30, though, and went and had a couple of beers while I finished my work day. As we were driving home, he started to feel bad.
As it turned out, he had the intestinal issue that I had dealt with at the beginning of the week, and he was up much of Friday night. He felt better by noon, but was feeling pretty exhausted.
We were supposed to go to our friends' Swiss National Day party last night, but we did not go.
Because he had felt bad Friday, we didn't go out and do our errands like we usually do, and because there was nothing in the house to make dinner, and we usually grab something out on errand night, we ordered some salads delivered from Jason's Deli, and ate at home.
Then, yesterday, I got up and out and did the errands myself. This is a source of anxiety for me, and it was good for me to do it.
I took care of everything myself when I lived back home, before and after my divorce, but I have become overly dependent on Dave going with since moving here TEN years ago.
The times that I have gone by myself have felt like little triumphs, and yesterday was no different.
Today, Eric's friend Rickey is going to help Dave go get a new TV for Pop and install it in his room. His current TV was our old TV from when I first moved down here, and it is starting to fail.
Since watching TV is basically all Pop does, he needs a good one.
This is one reason we still have a credit card for Pop's account.
While they're gone, I will get my weekly chores done, and hopefully practice dance. I missed class on Monday, and we have a show coming up at the end of September.
Speaking of Eric, he and his girlfriend, and some other friends, are on vacation in Italy, and Eric proposed. She said yes!
Looks like I will finally have to meet his mom. IF he invites her... which he may not do. Don't know.
It's been a lovely morning here, after a couple of days of clouds that lowered our temperature. No rain, unfortunately. Everything is turning brown. Unfortunately, it will be back up in the 100s again by the end of the week.
My sister and brother in law got back safely from the UK on Monday night. Hopefully, I will get to talk to her today and hear all about it.
