My Possible Date with Death

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the passing away of my Uncle Dave and it's got me to thinking about something that I keep in the backburners of my mind on low, and that is the possible family curse. Not so much on the family but on the Davids of the family, particularly my mom's side of the family.

My Uncle Dave is my mom's brother, her oldest brother, and he passed away from a brain tumor which he was diagnosed with about seven years before he died. He was only 37 years old.

My mom's youngest sister Carol married a David. He was the oldest of his siblings and he passed away in 1997 due to leukemia. He was 39.

You're all familiar with my first name.

I am the oldest of my siblings.

And, like it or not (I mainly say that part to myself), I am 33 years old.

None of the other siblings of my mother have passed away or had their spouses pass away from cancer-related causes.

I also think it would totally be ironic for me to get colon cancer as that is how Elizabeth Montgomery met her demise and I've always wanted to get to know her better, however, I wouldn't like to know what having colon cancer, or any cancer for that matter, is.

I know I'm being silly, but it still haunts me, that I'm the third David in the family and I'm getting close to the ages of the other Daves. I would like to say "third time is a charm" however, I also realize that deaths come in threes, and for such similarities between us Daves, I'm not thinking I'm going to be the charmed one.

My Review of Awakening Land, The (1978/TV) (3 DVD Set)

Originally submitted at WB Shop

Unschooled homesteader Sayward Luckett couldn’t read her name if you showed it to her, yet she fell in love with and married agnostic, book-learned frontier lawyer Portius Wheeler. Now it’s time to make a life with him in wild, wooded 1790s Ohio Territory. There will be children, seven in all; joy ...

Awakening Land, The (1978/TV) (3 DVD Set)

Great Liz Montgomery movie!

By David*P from Salt Lake City, UT on 1/27/2010

 

4out of 5

Pros: Informative, Entertaining, Engaging Characters, Original, Great Cinematography, High Production Value

Best Uses: Adult Viewers, Perfect Gift, At Home

Describe Yourself: Movie Buff

I've been waiting years for this awesome TV movie trilogy to be released and Warner Bros has come through! The picture quality overall is great, though there are few places where the film becomes a lighter blue.

And the only disappointment is finding out that in the first part on Disc 1 there are five minutes missing:( I hope Warner Bros can find a better copy of this first disc and make a way for those of us that purchased to get it.

(legalese)

Unicorns! Rainbows! Bunnies! Oh my!! PBBBBBBTTT!!!

Everyone always says that your day is what you make of it. I especially remember my Grandma Slack telling me when I'd complain about having to go to school, especially that part about waking up early, "Now, David, if you just tell yourself 'I'm going to be happy and have a great day' than you will."

BULL SH*T!

I have tried and tried these past couple months, every so often, to look at my job from a different point of view. I will honestly get to the point where I think, "You know? What are you complaining about? It's not that bad. In fact, it's good. You have great co-workers, you make money, and it's close to home." And then I'll take my first call of the day and that is not only blown to smithereens, but it's chewed, swallowed, digested and the crapped out in a big ol' lump of IN YA FACE!!!

Today was no exception. And I know everyone is tired of hearing me complain but I literally will go crazy and blow up if I don't! There is no where for it to go. So I've tried my damnedest since my last blow up here to not say anything about work, I've tried on Facebook and elsewhere, but I just can't do it. I figured that I would save my griping for those that truly understand and that would be my co-workers.

So today at lunch, after a harrowing morning of listening to bigoted blow-hards and crabby ignorant "people", I went into how much I thought it was a bunch of crap to have to put up with it when immediately one of my co-workers shoots me down and says, "You know we have to deal with negativity out there, and I'm sorry, but if you're going to bring negativity to the breaks, I'm going to have to leave."

*SIGH*

So really, I understand where she's coming from because she agrees with what I've been saying all along: it's nothing BUT negativity when dealing with our customers. However, I CAN NOT act like everything is OK, and that I'm fine with people telling me how horrible the company is I work for, how I essentially don't know anything, how I should even flinch at their not paying their bill etcetera. That's not how I'm designed! I'm designed to be me and guess what? ME doesn't give one rat's ass about something so STUPID as an unpaid bill, a broken piece of equipment, nor what you think about what you're paying for. I can't even ACT like I care. Now, were these people to tell me about how their wife is divorcing them, how they don't know how to control their kids, how they feel lost in life, how they enjoy mountain biking, THEN I would truly care.

I felt like Co-worker wanted me to come in and sing about unicorns, and candy, and kittens and clouds just so I can stay positive. Well, screw that!! Every time I do try to be positive, that energy is retaliated with more than double the amount of negativity coming from the customers and I'm not doing it!

I am in the midst of searching for other employment, but please understand, I am have to vent or I will literally have a melt down.

2009...eh!

So it's a couple hours into 2010 and all ready it's great because 1) it's not 2009 and 2) it's peaceful. As part of tradition here is a recap of the past year:

January

• Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America, the first African-American to hold that office. I stayed home from work to watch the inauguration and was so glad I did. The feeling of that day was priceless. It felt like one of hope and joy.
• Michelle's husband, Michael, moved here permanently and it's so nice to have him here.

February

• Mayson held my arm one night at Paul's and looked up at me and said, "Dave, I want to be you. You're funny."
• Bewitched Season Seven was released on DVD. It is my favorite season of Dick Sargent's because of the Salem-centered episodes and other great episodes.
• Went to HOT Katy Perry's concert with Michael and Michelle and it was a lot of fun. And did I mention she's HOT?!!!
• Mayson told me for the first time that he loved me when we had a very fun day playing games and watching Mickey Mouse. It was so sweet!
• Took Mayson to the Safe Kids Fair to see Spider Man. Mayson was so good and well-behaved and it was a lot of fun. We got our pic with the Star Wars characters.

March

• Mayson turned three!! I got him a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Playset that plays the "Hotdog Song" which he loves!
• Mayson's birthday party was held two weeks later at Classic Skating and I was having a really good time and doing really well at skating until dumb a$$ Pibby had to come up behind me and tickle me, not once, but twice causing me to fall down really hard. So then I lost my temper and since I'm such a girl I could only try to slap hit him and almost got kicked out by the manager. I was so embarrassed and I really wanted to end Pibby's life right there.

April

• It was so uneventful I didn't even bother to write about it in my journal.

May

• Paula Abdul released "Here for the Music" and performed it on American Idol. It's seriously such an awesome song and they played it like once on the radio.
• I was invited in studio at 97.1 ZHT to speak to Paula when they interviewed her over the phone and I got to tell her I love her and she said she loved me:) I also got to ask her when she was going to release her music videos on DVD and she said it was all in due time.
• We (my brothers and sisters-in-law...Heather didn't do anything but go get pizza and says she watched Mayson) and some other people re-roofed my parent's house. I didn't think we'd be able to do it but we did a great job. It was HARD work!
• I got a new job at Verizon Wireless in the Customer Service, which I was excited about, because of the benefits and because the Post Office was so boring. I also met awesome people in my training class.

June

• All on the same day, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Mackenzie's niece Sadie passed away. It was such a sad weird day.

July

• After over 20 years, I FINALLY received an apology from Jessica Fitton, via Facebook, for the way she treated me when we "broke up" as friends. It made me feel so good to know that she realized she had hurt me but that she also cared enough to apologize.
• Went to Lagoon with my friends a couple times and it was a lot of fun.
• Found a new Bewitched friend, Dayna, that lives in West Jordan and went over to her house to celebrate the DVD release of the Eighth, and Final, Season when all my friends declined my invitation for a viewing party. It was a lot of fun! However, I had hoped that maybe Dayna and I could start a romantic relationship and I found out she's a lesbian (or at least claims to be...I don't believe it...sorry Dayna!)

August

• My dad started dialysis and it's really strange watching him slowly deteriorate and very painful to see how it's affecting my mom.
• Grandma Pierce suffered a heart attack and stroke on the same day and we were told she wasn't going to make it. I missed many days of work, yet she's still around. It's really sad to see her suffering like that, but she refuses to give up the ghost.

September

• Not much happened except that I was in transition at work and started realizing how much I hated the job.

October

• My 33rd birthday occurred and I had a lot of fun with my friends and family at Pizza Factory again and then seeing one of my all time new favorite movies, "Where the Wild Things Are".
• Got to go to Reno for Halloween for the first time in two years! It was so fun and great to see Andrea and her family and Jone.

November

• Started to work for real at work with no assistance and my supervisor was the biggest ass! Had multiple breakdowns at work and had to come home early just to cope.
• Thanksgiving was nice at the Wilde's again.

December

• Got an earlier shift and a new supervisor, who is so nice, which I thought would help me in my liking my job better, but to no avail.
• The Slack Family Christmas party was a lot of fun.
• Christmas was SCREWED by the fact that I had to work on Christmas Day for four hours missing all the festivities at home.
• The day after Christmas I was violently ill with the flu...projectile vomiting, etc...so I called into work and was out the next three days. Because I decided not to subject my co-workers to my ill-ness, I am now thisclose to being fired because I didn't have enough time to cover it.
• I was thinking I wasn't going to do anything for New Year's, but Michelle came through in a pinch and put together a fun dinner party with a great ham dinner and I brought some awesome homemade Chex mix Mom made. Amanda, Mariah, Natalie and her boyfriend and Kyle were all there. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end the year.

Really, my job has tainted how I view this year along with Grandma Pierce taunting death and my dad just getting increasingly sicker. It wasn't really that bad of year, but it wasn't that great. I just have a feeling 2010 is going to be a stellar year...it has to be starting off with a blue moon!

So Much for the Happiest Season of All

Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of the year. I loved how, generally, the world was blanketed in white, drowning out all the drab colors brought on by the cold, and also the drowning out of all the noise. It's peaceful. I also always loved all the twinkling lights on display, no matter if they were carefully designed or just thrown up pell-mell, I loved all of it.

I also liked the general feeling of good cheer and peace that seems to permeate everyone which I always liked to believe was brought on by the rumination over the Birth of the Savior Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago. That maybe, those who claim to have nothing to do with God or religion, actually take a moment to realize what the Season, and really life is all about.

Christmas has always been going to Temple Square to see the light displays and the beautiful life-size Nativity, having the Slack Family Christmas Party, going to my brother Paul's house on Christmas Eve to celebrate with his in-laws and then having a HUGE Christmas breakfast at my parent's house Christmas morning consisting of sausage casserole, abelskievers (spherical pancakes), and bacon, and orange juice, unwrapping presents and having the thrill of seeing someone who I bought a gift for unwrap it, and then laying around all day and maybe going to a movie that evening. It's also been going to church and hearing the choirs sing and then having the testimonies borne of the Savior's birth. It's just been great.

This year seemed like Christmas never even happened. Because of my new schedule at my job that I detest, I haven't been to Church in over four months. I haven't had any semblance of feeling any of God's love because I get to hear morons day in and day out complaining about their bills, their service or what have you, and tell me how horrible the company is that I work for. I also had to work not only Christmas Eve, but on Christmas Day!!! What in the hell is wrong with people??!! Granted, I only had to work four hours, but just working one minute on Christmas is a travesty. And that four hours came right at the time Christmas breakfast is meaning I missed out on most of breakfast and ALL of the gift opening.

Because I've been so depressed about my job I haven't felt like doing anything Christmasy. I never went to Temple Square, never went and saw all the lights, was pissed off because the lights I did hang on my own house looked terrible because of the way the new roof was put on. Granted, I did get to enjoy the Slack Family Christmas party and the party at Paul's house, but I just didn't seem as excited. I miss it.

So I'm saying this right now: I will NOT ever work on Christmas again...EVER!!! There is no reason for it! In fact, I will find employment that will be shut down Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and will not require me to be there on Sundays. I don't care what people say about church, how it's man made and boring and blah, blah, blah. It's what you make of it. That is where God wants you to be one day out of the week so that you can think on spiritual things with your fellow man instead of the constant crap going on day in and day out. True, I've complained about getting ready to go to Church, but once I'm there, with rare exception (I refer to the day crazy homeless guy got up in testimony meeting speaking of killing cats), I love it.

My Grandpa Slack

"E Potz!!"

That is something my Grandpa Slack would often say just to be silly. I have been thinking of him often lately as I am currently in possession of his history that he wrote that comprises THREE 3-ring binders! Now, that is impressive even for long hand but keep in mind that my Grandpa typed on an old type-writer all the pages with the last binder holding pages with type on both sides!

The marvelous thing about Grandpa is that he hadn't always kept a journal. He began writing it while recovering from having his one lung removed in 1975. He had the most intricate and detailed memory his whole life and so it was quite easy for him to relate of his early boyhood, his meeting Grandma and starting a family and everything up to that point, after which he pretty much wrote two to three times a week until the month before his death. And it was fitting that the last entry in his journal was about the night of his and Grandma's 50th Anniversary Celebration, which was a good time had by all.

Grandpa didn't provide many details as far as feelings and that goes, however he went into intricate detail when describing his massive garden that was envied by all the neighbors and whenever he built something he described the exact length and precise size of nails or screws he used. But when he did describe his feelings they were sweet. Almost every wedding anniversary, he would always say if he had to do it all over again he would've chosen the same sweet beautiful woman. He also always went on about how much he loved his children. And I don't know if it's because she's my mother, but it seemed he always described how Beverly brought sunshine into any room she was in and how she made him so happy. Other times that would elicit feelings from him were when he would describe the symphonies and concertos that he loved to listen to. He played the French Horn in the BYU orchestra, which is where he met my Grandma (she played violin), and most of his entries about when he would listen to music on his massive record collection or when he would see a relative playing an instrument would thrill him to tears.

Also in reading his journal, I've realized just how spiritually great he was too. It was so wonderful reading of how when he was being introduced to give a talk one Sunday in the last years of his life, the person introducing him said, "Brother Slack keeps all of the commandments." I have never heard a truer statement. I never heard, nor read, of my Grandpa speaking ill of anyone, even if they hadn't treated him well at all, he never swore, and he always had that glow of someone great, a glow you could only have by following in the Lord's footsteps.

Grandpa also had a quirky sense of humor which I briefly mentioned at the first, but he was always up for a good natured laugh. I believe it was the day before his death, my mom and my brother, Paul, and my aunt Carol were visiting him at home and he was telling us about how he and his brother Lawrence had this language they made up. He would speak it and it was hysterical.

All of this has reminded me of how much I have been blessed with to have been related to him and only hope that I can be remembered as fondly when my time comes. I have taken a page from my Grandpa (and not his journal's) and have kept a journal off and on over the years since I was 13. I hope that my progenitors get as much a great feeling reading those as I have had reading his.

What a Difference the Day Makes

This week I've begun my new shift at work and it's been the GREATEST spirit lifter! As you all know, I've not been too kind in speaking of my job and it's because I feel like I've been trapped and left for dead working with customers that, for the most part, resemble nothing close to civilized human beings. That and the fact that my shift started at 2:30 PM and dragged on through the evening until 11 PM, Sunday - Thursday. It's been horrible to say the least.

My family has Family Dinner every other Sunday and I've missed them pretty much since the middle of summer. That has been the worst part of my previous shift. The other part is that the days that I would work I'd wake up around 10:30 - 11 AM and stew over the fact that soon I would have to be at work and then I'd be at work just dreading every minute. I would never see any of my friends or family, and if I did, it would have to be carefully choreographed because I had so little time on Friday and Saturday to fit everyone in. Not to mention I had to quit going to the Ward I was going to, that I was teaching in and loved, to do this crap.

The other horrible part was my supervisor, a red-headed bearded fellow with the manic energy of a fly on crack. I believe I tune into other people's energies and his was too much to handle even in the first moments of meeting him. He seemed to always be on the look out for failure and wouldn't keep eye contact when you would speak with him. Needless to say, he made me nervous.

But now, on to New Shift!

New Shift is 7:30 AM - 4:15 PM Thur - Mon with a new supervisor!! I thought I would dread changing my sleep schedule considering I am NOT a morning person, but it's been a blessing because I don't even really gain consciousness until about 10:30 AM. Before then, I'm on auto-pilot so by the time I've fully realized where I am and what I'm doing, I've all ready been at work for three hours! To be able to leave work in daylight has made me tingle all over with excitement knowing that I'll be able to see my friends and family, the latter especially on those every-other-Sundays. My new supervisor has a calm, sweet energy that is a complete 180 from Old Supervisor. She knows how to get the job done and wants to help us get the job done and so far, knock on wood, it's been pleasant.

I'm still missing Church, which makes me sad. And the customers are still crazy as an outhouse rat, but having a better energy around me, and being able to just be at work and not have to think about it before I actually go, is going to help me handle their crazy much better...and my crazy too:)

40 Years of Sunny Days

On November 10th one of my all time favorite TV shows celebrated it's 40th anniversary, and no, it's not Bewitched, it was Sesame Street. I don't think any show has been more influential on myself or my family than this show. It seemed to be always entertaining and quite funny, even now. And I'm speaking more about the earlier years than what has happened with the Street now, all though I do recognize it's doing a lot of good. But those earlier years seemed to have a magic all their own. I once asked my mom when I was younger why was there Sesame Street and she told me it's so you can watch it when you're bored. Which I did for many years until I realized I could count in Spanish:)

In honor of Sesame Street's 40th I wanted to share 6 favorite moments via video clips. I chose 6 because that's how old Big Bird always is and 10 is just too many:)

I remember this one so much from being really little because I had a huge fascination with Grandfather clocks when I was little. To see this one destroyed was morbidly fascinating! I even had a large Lego like set that I would build a clock with and then destroy but always have the two parts of the outercase of the clock left standing like this one did:)

This one represents the brilliance of Jim Henson for me. It's so basic, from the rhyming, to the set, to the puppets,

but so wild and awesome and just plain hilarious!

Cookie Monster was always one of my favorites because he was blue and a monster and he loved cookies.

This one is so precious!! I just want to give that little girl, Joey, a big hug. When I was little I was totally blown

away that not only when they spoke the letters did they appear but when she threw in Cookie Monster, he

appeared as a letter!

This song has to be one of THE coolest songs! And I loved that all these famous people were in it, including the Simpsons!

Cookie Monster kills me with his trying to be polite but also not understanding that not everywhere would have cookies!

Jesus, Tell Me What's Up With That?!

The other night my friend Michelle found out that a good friend of hers had committed suicide. It was really sad and it brought up a lot of questions like suicide always does. We were discussing the whys and hows of life and death, particularly what happens to someone when they commit suicide on the other side of the veil.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure, though I believe it's really not up to us to decide, it's just up to us to know, that we have no business committing suicide.

That got us to thinking about what we would ask God about if we had the chance. That is something I've thought about often because I've got a TON of questions!

The way I imagine it though is that we will get a time for questions right after the Judgement takes place, our own Personal Priesthood Interview, if you will, with Jesus Christ. After we've reviewed my life, everything has been weighted and decided, I think Jesus would say, "Now, what questions do you have for me?"

Mine are, as follows:

1. Why is that some people die young and way before their time and yet others *cough, Grandma Pierce, cough* live years and years in sickness and loneliness?

2. Can I see what would've happened in certain circumstances had I made a different choice? Quite frankly I think the answer to this would be "no" because I think seeing the outcome of most things would be too painful and regretful.

3. May I see my father's life from his birth to pretty much when I was born? That one is important to me because I don't feel that I know why my father is the way he is, though I definitely know why my mother is the way she is. Her sisters have always said that our household was just like theirs growing up plus all of them talk about their lives so much I pretty much know it anyway.

3.a. and b. In addition to my dad's life, I would like to see my Grandma and Grandpa Pierce's life.

4. Please tell me the purpose of dinosaurs...leftovers from other worlds used to create the Earth, practice for future animals, what?

5. How did John F. Kennedy really die?

6. How do the gays work into all this? It's quite plain in the Bible that homosexuality is a sin yet it seems like not many people believe that. And I know quite a few homosexuals that are very great people whom I love dearly. What's going to happen to them?

7. What happened to my kitties Kizsha and Snowy?

8. Are there certain people that truly share a flow of thought constantly though they have no contact with each other?

9. What really happened during the Salem Witchcraft trials? Was it all just a horrible game or was the devil and his minions really rampant in that area? And why?

10. Were some people just born attracting all the great things and others born repelling all great things? What for? And if not, why does it seem like that?

I'm sure I have million others but I really want to know the answers to those.

Hopping My Broom to Reno!

Right now I am in the midst of packing for what once was my Annual Trip to Reno for Halloween. Because of money I haven't been able to go the past two years which has been VERY depressing. I'm SO excited that I'm going this year!

Why so excited, Dave?

Well, let me tell you. The reason it's Reno is because my dear friend Andrea lives there. Actually, she lives in Sparks, a suburb of Reno, but nobody ever knows where Sparks is. She lives there with her husband and two boys, Cody and Zack. Andrea loves Halloween as much as I do, if not more. Andrea also loves Bewitched but I'm gonna say not as much as I do, but she loves it enough to care to post on Bewitched boards, which is how we met way back in 1999. Oh wow! I just realized that's 10 years ago! HOLY COW! Anyway....

In 2000 some of us on the Bewitched board decided to have a get together to meet face to face. Andrea wanted to host it in Reno since she was the only one with kids and couldn't get away. The get together was set for August. I had never seen a picture of Andrea before so I didn't have any idea who to look for when I got to the hotel where she was going to meet us to take us out to her house. However, when I saw her shiny eyes and red hair I knew immediately it was her. She hadn't seen a pic of me before either but she said she knew immediately who I was and this was before I ever had a Bewitched shirt. We all had a great time and she said that I must come back in October for her Halloween party that she throws every year. I accepted and so Heather and I did go back that October.

I was blown away by how much all of her friends went all out on their costumes! Even more so by all the decorating she does. It was just like in the movies where there are tons of people with awesome costumes, games and tons of dancing. In fact that night Andrea and I danced from about 7 PM to 2 AM with maybe a bathroom break. We were both so tired and crippled from dancing but we had so much fun! And so every year after (with the exception of one where she was mad at her friends and decided not to throw it) I've been.

Aside from the awesome party, I just love hanging out with Andrea and her family. I feel as though I've known them my whole life. They are part of my family and I definitely feel a part of theirs. Our friend Jone also joins us and I would be remiss in not mentioning that I also get to see her as she flies in for it too. Jone and I have always been room buddies on our get togethers.

But the past two years, money has been tight so I couldn't justify going and it was really depressing.

So tomorrow I will be flying to Reno for five days/four nights and I can't wait!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

So Maybe "Deplore" Was a Bit Much...

I have to say that when I last blogged I was in a frightful mood. What you saw there was the equivalent of an emotional HUGE zit that popped - satisfying, yet disgusting. It was the culmination of many days of frustration and just over all raw nerves.

The following day I was shown how to do something at work that I hadn't been doing because I felt there wasn't an effective way to do it. This is because I had either been misinformed or misunderstood. I choose to believe the former as there were several others in my training class who believed as I did. Now that I know how to do the particular task, which leads to more money for me and happiness for my customers, my mood has improved considerably! Do not take this change in mood for my actually liking my position, cause I don't. However it is much easier to deal with.

I DEPLORE my job!

There is no other word for it...well, yes, there are, like "detest", "loathe", and the not-so-violent "hate". Honestly, I cannot remember the last time that I hated a job as much as I hate this one. Actually, yes, I can...when I worked at McDonald's when I was younger, but since then, this one takes the cake.

I work for a major telecommunications company known world wide. I will say that I love the company, I like what they stand for, and they do have great benefits. However, all of that is being over shadowed by my current position as a customer service representative. Of the five days a week I go there 4 1/2 of them are absolutely awful. There always seems to be that 1/2 day that comes where people are pleasant and things just go right which gets me thinking, "You know? Maybe you really don't hate this job." But then it delves right back in to days like this. I spend most of my nights having panic attacks about what I should do about my job and if I'm going to last there and that's just not right. I HATE every minute that I'm there and I hate the hours leading up to all those minutes. I work an evening shift so my sleep schedule is all messed up. I get up around 11 - 11:30 AM every day and for the couple hours before I go to work all I think about is how much I would rather be hit by a train.

Today I went to lunch with a good friend (who incidentally is not enjoying her job either) and I told her that I've decided I'm going to write down everything that happens that leads me down Crazy Town Lane. And I did...I only wrote down the first HOUR of things that absolutely drive me nuts and lead me to believe that I MUST find other employment. Here is the list:

1. 2:30 - 11 PM shift, working on Sundays.

2. First call of the day: I was told that I'm the reason that companies outsource their work to other countries because I'm so incompetent. And when I responded to her that I didn't appreciate her talking to me like that she asked for a supervisor. Keep in mind, I am NEVER to respond to customers berating comments. I'm supposed to move on.

3. When trying to find a supervisor there were none on the floor so I had to call the Escalated Calls team, which looks bad on my stats, and though she was very kind and understanding told me that she couldn't help this customer with what her original reason for calling was, that a supervisor should take this kind of call.

4. A customer's phone has been breaking down the past couple months. He is eligible in two weeks to upgrade to a new phone with a discount in addition to the all ready discounted prices. When I ask my supervisor who had just returned from wherever he was, he said it was too bad, he'd only approve the all ready discounted prices but not the huge additional discount. He'd have to wait the two weeks.

5. Tried helping aforementioned customer troubleshoot his newest problem which was that the ringer had stopped working. One of the troubleshooting steps is to take the battery out. After we did that found that because of one of his previous problems with his on/off button no longer working his phone no longer will turn back on.

6. Tried using the application on the computer to call a customer back as it looks better on my stats rather than the buttons on my phone and ended up getting another phone call, delaying my call to the customer who I had just told I was going to call right back.

7. Received an email saying a meeting was cancelled meaning more time taking phone calls.

8. Supervisor comes around after said email was sent saying to log out to the meeting and he disappears like earlier. So we sit around wondering if we're supposed to go to a meeting and end up taking calls again but it has now ruined our availability stats as well as our schedule adherence stats.

9. Late for another meeting because of problems mentioned in #5 and #6.

10. Customer calls because his bill was sent to some stranger's address who opened his bill and called him to tell him about it. When looking at the comments on his account found that a request for the change had come in on a remittance slip. He said he had no idea what that address was and hadn't moved so why would he do that? He was concerned about security and when I ask a supervisor (who wasn't mine because of course he isn't at his desk) she tells me, "He made the request because there's the remittance slip." I advise her he didn't and she just looks at me blankly and says, "He did. It doesn't matter what he's telling you." So I have to go back and tell him that I honestly don't know how that happened but it looks like he requested it.

That was all within an hour period. And, truly, you multiply that by eight, which gives you a day in my work life. Is it any wonder I hate my job?

Who Once Was Lost...

...now is found via Facebook!

The "Who" to whom I am referring is quite possibly my Uncle John, my mom's youngest sibling and Snoop Dogg look-a-like (white edition, of course). We have not seen nor really heard from John in about 10 years and if you know my mom and her family, this is HIGHLY unusual! You see, throughout the course of John's life he made some very bad choices leading him on a very rocky path which was lined by monetary loans from my Grandparents. When my Grandma passed away in 1999 (Grandpa having died in 1994) my Aunt Irene was left as executor of the estate because of her aptitude in finance. She discovered that Grandpa had written receipts, some of which were signed by John, of how much the loans were and when he would pay them back. However, he never did. He had borrowed upwards of $40,000.00 with no attempt to pay back. Irene held a family council with my mom and the rest of the siblings to discuss the impending inheritance all of them were to get. She brought up the fact that John had borrowed all this money and the fact he had never made any retribution. It is true the rest of them borrowed money from time to time but it was always rendered back. So it was unanimously decided that John had all ready received his inheritance and that he would not have to pay back to the estate.

This did not sit well with John's wife at all and in fact she wrote a nasty letter to Irene accusing her and the rest of the siblings of malice. And that was it. We never heard John's feelings on the subject and any phone calls or letters to him have gone unanswered.

Keep in mind my mother was like his second mother. There is 20 years difference in their ages and when John was little their father had to have massive surgery in Denver leaving my mom to take care of her brothers and sisters. I remember John telling me when I was younger that he thought of my mom as his mom more than his own mother. For John to cut off contact with my mother has been devastating to her. But that's the weird thing...we all think that it's not so much that John has cut off contact so much as it is that Kimberly has all control of that household. My mom has sent them birthday cards and Christmas cards every year and she'll call him on his birthday but her attempts are never acknowledged.

A couple years ago I found John's son Stephan on My Space. I didn't really know him that well but I thought it would be a good "in" to see how his dad is doing and possibly get him to call my mom. But Stephan was very evasive when asked about his father.

Just tonight, as I was looking over my cousin Greg's Facebook, I noticed that he recently became friends with Kimberly!! Greg and John were best friends growing up as they were the same age and John hasn't even tried to contact Greg. So this was a shock! Of course, Kimberly's profile is set to "private" however she does have an old photo of her and John. I also noticed that Kimberly has posted comments on Greg's Facebook that make it seem like nothing is wrong.

Maybe so much time has passed that she's not bitter anymore and hopefully this will be the "in" that my mom and her family so desperately want so that they can re-kindle their relationship with their long lost brother. I certainly hope so!

God Loves Even the Pizza Girl

Yesterday I had a hankerin' for Little Squeezers (that's what I call it) $5.00 Pizza! Pizza! so I rolled on into the establishment located in what is considered the ghetto part of town. As I was entering I was first thinking, "I can't wait to eat some pizza! I'm SOOO hungry!" and the second was, "Look at these people working here! I'm glad I'm not one of them."

Yes, it turns out I have a shallow side and I can be judgmental. But I just looked at them having their kinda greasy hair and their seeming lack of hope cooking up my pizza and taking my five bucks. The cashier was a middle aged woman and I kind of had pity for her working in Ghetto Squeezers and for the possible fact that being the cashier in Ghetto Squeezers is her lot in life, when out of nowhere I heard/felt, "You know, she is one of my daughters and I love her more than you can fathom. And the same goes for the rest of her co-workers... and you."

Keep in mind, I haven't done anything more spiritual than watch an hour of General Conference in the past two months because of my work schedule and quite frankly I've been feeling further from God than ever, though I do pray every day. For me to have that prompting, something which I haven't experienced in a long time was overwhelming to me in the fact that I kind of felt since I've forgotten God in the past little while he may have forgotten me. How silly is that?!

I almost started crying there at Little Squeezers and thankfully they are good workers so our transaction time was quite minimal thus allowing me to leave with my composure in tact.

But it is true. I know that God loves me more than I can fathom and that he loves all of my brothers and sisters here on Earth even if I don't know why. And I hope that you all know this too and keep it mind. Though we may get bogged down in the crap at work, the crap at home, and the crap in the world, one thing remains, and that is God loves us!

End of an Era

Four years ago one of my wishes came true in having Bewitched FINALLY arrive on DVD! Which meant every episode, un-edited and crystal clear in both picture and sound (mostly). My friend Sharon decided to pull an Oprah and created "Bewitched Club", just like book club except we wouldn't be reading, we'd be watching! And what we'd be watching is one episode, three times a week (Tuesday - Thursday) and discussing what we had watched. She wanted to be able to watch the series in order as though she were watching it for the first time and wanted to hear what other fans thought. I thought it was a great idea and so I joined along with a few of our other Bewitched friends. Keep in mind, none of us live in the same state or even country, so this was all done through e-mail. We began at the end of summer 2005, just after the First Season had been released.

It was great! I loved hearing what others thought, especially Sharon, because she is so funny and has a way of relating her thoughts in a very entertaining way. Plus there were certain things that would be brought up that I hadn't noticed before or behind-the-scenes info that I didn't know. And sometimes I would know things that they didn't know.

It took us some time to get through the First Season as it has a staggering 36 episodes!! Normally shows today only have about 24 so it took about three or four months just to get through the First Season and by that time the Second Season had been released and it was 38 episodes! Each season through the Fourth would be released about every three months until the Fifth and then it was almost a year.

Over the course of time, pretty much all the other participants fell to the wayside leaving just Sharon and I to discuss, which was fine by me, because most of the time the others simply said, "I love this episode!" or "I hate this episode!" but wouldn't elaborate on what exactly they loved/hated about it.

One of the things I looked forward to most was when we arrived at the Switching of the Durwoods, Dick York for Dick Sargent, because for as long as I've known Sharon, I've also known she cannot STAND Dick Sargent. I couldn't wait to hear her scathing remarks about him. As it turns out though, she grew to appreciate him and when the last season came out most of her scathing remarks were directed, and not without good cause, towards Elizabeth Montgomery who seemingly was not into the part at all anymore.

Well, anyway just this past summer the Eighth and Final Season was released and just yesterday we watched the last of the 254 episodes and now I'm sad:( No more Bewitched Club! It was like mini-Christmas waiting for a season to be released and even more so to wonder what Sharon would think of the episodes. Sharon and I have a joke about us sharing One Brain because most likely one of us will send the other an email about something that the other sends about the same time and on the same subject (not necessarily Bewitched). But it was surprising how many times we totally disagreed on the brilliance or horribleness of an episode. But even if we did, it was still fun discussing.

Sharon and I are in a "mourning" about no more Bewitched Club but I suppose we'll get over it. Maybe we'll start I Dream of Jeannie Club!

A Quarter Century Sister

Tomorrow my sister, the only sister I have and youngest sibling, Heather, is turning 25 years old! Want to know what I think of that?

CRAZY!!!

I was just about to turn eight years old when she was born. It seemed the whole world was in awe that my parents, after three boys, finally received a little girl. I even remember Great Great Grandma Blackburn, who was around 101 years old, saying she couldn't believe that my dad was finally going to get a baby girl. It was also a miracle that another baby was born as my parents had been trying for another baby for over two years and it seemed that another wouldn't ever happen.

Our house was crazy town forever what with the entire neighborhood over constantly to see the beautiful new girl. I also thought I was never going to be able to hold her.

Heather was seriously so cute! She had the prettiest blue eyes and a cherub face. It also seemed she was very smart because she started speaking in full sentences when she was just under two years old. She was also very girly and had to have everything purple or pink. She even had what she called her "sexy suit" which was a black and purple pin-striped jump suit with a plastic purple belt and poofy sleeves. And she called it her "sexy suit" at just two! Very smart and funny!

I always used to read to her, mainly the Little House on the Prairie books, and think that had a huge part in her love of literature and writing. It made me sad when she grew older and didn't want me to read to her anymore.

One of my favorite memories was the night before we went to Disneyland for the first time as a family when I was 10 and she was 2, she was laying in bed with me as we were trying to fall asleep and I would ask her, "Are we going to see Mickey Mouse?" And her little voice responding, "Yes." "Are we going to see Winnie Ah Pooh (that's what she called him)?" "Yes" and going through a whole list of characters until she fell asleep.

Heather has always had a marvelous sense of humor and a very contagious laugh. If you ever think something may not be remotely funny, just watch with her.

She's also been my traveling buddy when I would go on my "Bewitched" vacations, specifically to Reno to visit our friend, Andrea, for Halloween. We always had fun singing along to the tapes/CDs we brought or laughing our fool heads off at the sign for Pioche, which Heather pronounced (with a whole lot of phlegm) "PEE-auggh!!" LOLOLOLOL

Anyway, I just thought I'd post some memories of my sister. I can't believe she's not a little girl anymore.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEATHER!

Update on Grandma

The day after I posted last I went to visit Grandma who had somewhat come out of her coma. She looked terrible! Which is to be expected when 1) you're close to 90, 2) you've just experienced a heart attack and 3) a stroke. But still, it was shocking.

I held her hand and told her I was there and she said "That's nice." I stupidly asked her how she was feeling, cause what else are you supposed to say, and she groggily replied, "I'm fine. Don't you worry." And then she fell back into her coma/sleep.

Since then she's been talking about how she forgot to make dinner for her mother, who's been long dead and the other day my cousins went to visit her and I guess she wasn't conscious at the time they arrived so they came back later and told her they were sorry they missed her before. She said, "It's OK. Grandpa told me you stopped by." Keep in mind Grandpa left this world in November 1991. So the veil is quite thin.

The doctor said that he gave her a week, and that was last week. I was very glad to have seen her and been given the chance one more time to tell her that I loved her.

It's been quite stressful, though, thinking that every phone call is going to be "the One". Especially at work, and you see that someone in your family has called multiple times in a short span, only to find out they just had something else to say but were hoping to catch me on break. Not to mention trying to stifle the emotions so you can function somewhat normally at work only to have all those efforts shattered when a customer, in response to "How are you doing this evening?" say, "Not very well, my mom just died." Luckily, she had a sense of humor and knew the awkwardness of the predicament she just put me in. Unfortunately though, her mother's situation was quite similar to Grandma's, and therefore I had a little breakdown at work...it's so embarrassing.

I just wish Grandma could leave right this minute. But I'm thinking she's being stubborn and that's why her mother and my Grandpa have been hanging around. I believe that one person comes to escort you beyond the veil and for some reason Grandma's being stubborn about it necessitating two people. We'll know it's really bad if she starts mentioning her father or any of her mostly deceased siblings.

But all kidding aside, please pray that she'll be released from her body so that she can finally have peace, and also that me and my family can have some peace.

Why won't the last grain fall?

I'm speaking specifically about the grain of sand in the proverbial hourglass that belongs to my Grandma Pierce who is currently in a coma after suffering a heart attack and stroke a couple days ago.

Grandma has not had the greatest of years in the past couple. She is nearing 90 years old and essentially gave up on taking care of herself necessitating putting her in assisted living. But when she became violent with the nurses she had to be moved to the most depressing of rest homes. But, really, are there any rest homes that aren't depressing? Anyhow she just sits/lays there in the rest home, day in and day out, waiting for someone to come visit and crying, justifiably so, when visitors have to leave. Her memory is shot so sometimes she doesn't recall the visit anyway. And she has been without Grandpa for almost 18 years...it's time for her to leave.

Yet, she keeps hanging on for some reason and it's been really difficult to function normally knowing that she is in the state she is in and that is, being physically here, but that's it. Right now I feel it's futile to go see her (she does live a little over 120 miles away) because she may not know that I'm even there. Not to mention I was there in the room when my Grandma Slack passed and I do not wish to have the experience again.

Little things are setting off my tears, like a simple song on the radio, someone asking me how I am or how she is, or just some random thought of her.

Grandma and I have a very close relationship. I lived with her for about a year when I went to college and got to know her very well. She isn't the easiest person to get along with, but she still had great moments, and I love her. She was always very kind and nice to me, even when we would have arguments. But I think that's why we got along so good, is that we could argue but knew that we still loved each other.

Grandma also played a very special part in my mission. She wrote quite often and there was one day where she provided great comfort. I was horribly ill with a high fever and a headache that I thought was going to destroy me. In fact, I was in and out of consciousness all day. When I finally came to in the evening I was still feeling bad and couldn't get out of bed. I was quite homesick and was wishing I could speak to someone in my family. Nobody in my family had my phone number because on the mission you're only to communicate through letters and speak to your family on Mother's Day and Christmas. While I was laying in bed trying to rest the phone rang and my companion answered it. I was quite shocked when I heard him say, "No ma'am, you've reached the wrong number. There is no Pamela Reddington here." Pamela is my cousin from the Pierce side who at the time was living in a neighboring state. I immediately told him to hand me the phone and when I asked who was calling, it was Grandma Pierce! She was quite surprised to have reached me, but no more surprised than I was! I told her I was so glad she called, even if it was by mistake, and we chatted awhile and it made me feel much better.

I hate to think of her in the position she's in now and wish that God would just release her from her body. She's told me countless times she's ready to move on, so why doesn't it happen?

Time keeps on slipping...

In the past two days I've had major moments of "time realization" that I am not too happy about, quite frankly. And it's because I hate that time is moving so fast and I seem to have jumped off the train, and I'm really struggling to get back on. That probably makes no sense, but to me it does, and it's my blog!:)

Anyway, August 11th was the 10 year anniversary of the random tornado touching down in downtown Salt Lake City. A DECADE has passed since then! In my mind, it seemed like that happened maybe just a couple years ago.

Then, even more rattling is the fact that yesterday (August 12th) marked the 11 year anniversary of my returning from my mission. I hate thinking about that because when I was on my mission I had my life planned out to where by now I would've been married with at least three children and not working at a customer service/phone job. My mission self would be disappointed in now self.

The worst "time realization" rattler occurred earlier this evening. That is when my sister showed me pictures of these kids I used to babysit, though I erroneously just used the term "kids". When I babysat the Clark family there were four children, the youngest being a baby boy named Jonathan. I remember that before they moved there was another baby born when Jonathan was about two and it was a little girl, who I saw once. From then, until now, I've seen the two oldest children, girls, and marveled at how they've grown and then got depressed when both of them got married. Depressed on account of I should've been married way before they were. Anyway, the pictures my sister showed me were of the younger girls' wedding which included a picture of Jonathan who is now almost out of high school!!! WHAT THE.....??!!! When I think of Jonathan, I think of the little baby, who when he barely learned to walk, would bring me all his toys, and who had difficulty learning to talk. Now he's practically an adult!

It's ill-making...to me all those events like babysitting those children, my mission and the tornado, all seem like things in the very recent past, but apparently I'm mistaken. I guess I need to hop on a horse and try to catch up with the train before I'm lost forever.

Troubling Thought addendum

So Dad came home from work just after I finished the last post. I asked him what he thought about the kidney transplant and he says he's all for it. I said I didn't agree because I feel he's too sick and he, of course, says, "I'm not too sick. What would make you say that?"

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!