So just a little follow-up to the previous post. As I have said, I declined the promotion offered to me for the reasons of making sure I stay focused in school. One week later, a friend of mine at work, Robert, who trained with me and did accept the position, is struggling to keep up. He is trying so hard to meet his call goal but he can't. Now Robert is a good agent, under normal circumstances there isn't any reason why he couldn't meet the goal. He has been coming into work three hours early to take calls before he has to work floor support. The problem is, since he is present, they decide they need to pull him off the phone for floor support anyway. He is being pulled in a million directions and the stress is visibly written on his face. He's tired, well, more so exhausted. His personal life is suffering. He and his partner just bought a house in Monticello, IN and they're also trying to get it up and running, so on his days off he is going up to work on it. In addition, he's being pressured to come in on his days off to work even more. I keep thinking to myself, where does it stop?
Certain I made the right decision. Glad I didn't take the position.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Declined.
November 5th, 2010
So this past week, I interviewed for a promotion at work. The title: Senior Agent. The job: essentially it's an internship on the way to being a supervisor. Responsibilities include taking supervisor calls for less than supervisor pay, meeting the obligations of your position such as supporting the floor, making call backs to customers, learning the tricks of the job by shadowing a current supervisor and doing some of the tasks they perform like quality checks and such. Then you have your own call goal to meet.
Such a task I could meet head on, were it my primary focus, but it's not. I am completely focused on school and finishing this time. The last time I left school for a semester to take a break, it ended up being five years before I returned. I can't let that happen again by being distracted. At 26 years old and a couple more years left of school, I will thankfully graduate before I'm 30, but I have no desire to put out any longer than that. Right now I work a lot of hours and it is tough on me, mentally, physically and emotionally, but I am comfortable and "coasting" in a way. I'm maintaining good grades and standing, but I fear that if I do anything that will pull my focus away that it will all come crumbling down. I am comfortable where I am, though I wish the money were better. For now, just being an agent is good enough.
So when they offered me the position, I respectfully declined.
So this past week, I interviewed for a promotion at work. The title: Senior Agent. The job: essentially it's an internship on the way to being a supervisor. Responsibilities include taking supervisor calls for less than supervisor pay, meeting the obligations of your position such as supporting the floor, making call backs to customers, learning the tricks of the job by shadowing a current supervisor and doing some of the tasks they perform like quality checks and such. Then you have your own call goal to meet.
Such a task I could meet head on, were it my primary focus, but it's not. I am completely focused on school and finishing this time. The last time I left school for a semester to take a break, it ended up being five years before I returned. I can't let that happen again by being distracted. At 26 years old and a couple more years left of school, I will thankfully graduate before I'm 30, but I have no desire to put out any longer than that. Right now I work a lot of hours and it is tough on me, mentally, physically and emotionally, but I am comfortable and "coasting" in a way. I'm maintaining good grades and standing, but I fear that if I do anything that will pull my focus away that it will all come crumbling down. I am comfortable where I am, though I wish the money were better. For now, just being an agent is good enough.
So when they offered me the position, I respectfully declined.
Friday, October 29, 2010
OMG TGIF
If I were to express my feelings in acronyms, OMG TGIF!!! Yes, the title is redundant, but I can't ever seem to express in words how thankful I am when Friday comes around. The week is so long for me between school and work, I just can't wait for the day when I can relax. Although, tomorrow won't be so relaxing, but I can take it a little breather at least. I have an inQsit exam tomorrow at noon for my Psysc 277 class, but at least I can still sleep in somewhat. After that I intend on going back to my apartment for a brief moment, and since my job sucks every bit of normal life, energy, and joy I have out of me, I will be going in to work for a few hours on Saturday. Apparently the 45-50 hours of my life I give them a week isn't enough and I'm not meeting the goals they steadily keep increasing. After that I will come home for a nice relaxing evening, maybe do a little cleaning around the apartment and certainly do my dishes. I let them pile up for a few days and finally washed them the night before last. That was a bad idea, because then I had to muster up the motivation to do a massive pile of them.
Sunday I have no plans, but I do have the opportunity to take my Psysc 277 again if I want to see if I can get a better grade. So we will see how the first one goes and then go on from there. Hopefully the first is good enough that I won't need the second, so I can sleep in as long as my body will let me on Sunday. I need a complete recharge.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Research Topics
So this week we're establishing where our group is in the research process. While I'm sure many groups are still working on finding their topic, our group, consisting of myself, Amanda, Tiffany and Molly, immediately agreed on our topic: The Real Cost of College Textbooks. It's a subject that affects all of us, everyone in the class, and let's face it, anyone who has ever attended college. Now, if you're a trust fund baby, this may not apply, but for most of us, coming up with the money to pay tuition, housing, and dining charges is difficult enough. I only have to worry about tuition and fees, I pay for my own apartment and food. Thousands upon thousands of dollars are poured out of pocket or borrowed in loans to pay for our education, only to be faced with seemingly ridiculous book prices.
Like me, I'm sure many students go right for the used books, so we can get the same content for a lesser price. We choose not to pay for aesthetic appearance, but content and savings. New books can range anywhere from $50 for a light paperback to well over $200 for a new hardcover. Some classes require more than one book. This semester for example, if I had bought all my books new, I would have spent over $500. Instead, I spent an estimated ten to twelve hours scouring various sites on the web and bookstores for the best price. Ultimately I ended up getting my books from three different locations, renting two and outright buying the other three used. Even with all my hard work, I still had to spend over $200.
One of the subtopics we want to touch in our project is the fact that so many books are going electronic, or at least have an electronic version. In a green world, it is a great idea to help reduce the amount of paper and processing that has to be done to print books. But one would think that with the reduced cost of printing, processing, binding, shipping, and even repeated resale (cutting out the middle man) the cost of the text would decrease significantly. I mean after all, the only thing that has to be done once the book is organized and put together is to copy the file and deliver it to the purchaser. The path to consumer is much shorter, and the production cost is much less, so why are the e-books approximately the same price? There are even e-books now that students can purchase for the length of the semester or academic year that expire after a certain time. So why is the cost of these e-books still so high? Where is the money going? One would think that when the cost of production goes down, so would the cost, a way of encouraging the easier sale. Is the money lining the pockets of the publisher, the author, or both? These are the questions we look to answer in our project.
Like me, I'm sure many students go right for the used books, so we can get the same content for a lesser price. We choose not to pay for aesthetic appearance, but content and savings. New books can range anywhere from $50 for a light paperback to well over $200 for a new hardcover. Some classes require more than one book. This semester for example, if I had bought all my books new, I would have spent over $500. Instead, I spent an estimated ten to twelve hours scouring various sites on the web and bookstores for the best price. Ultimately I ended up getting my books from three different locations, renting two and outright buying the other three used. Even with all my hard work, I still had to spend over $200.
One of the subtopics we want to touch in our project is the fact that so many books are going electronic, or at least have an electronic version. In a green world, it is a great idea to help reduce the amount of paper and processing that has to be done to print books. But one would think that with the reduced cost of printing, processing, binding, shipping, and even repeated resale (cutting out the middle man) the cost of the text would decrease significantly. I mean after all, the only thing that has to be done once the book is organized and put together is to copy the file and deliver it to the purchaser. The path to consumer is much shorter, and the production cost is much less, so why are the e-books approximately the same price? There are even e-books now that students can purchase for the length of the semester or academic year that expire after a certain time. So why is the cost of these e-books still so high? Where is the money going? One would think that when the cost of production goes down, so would the cost, a way of encouraging the easier sale. Is the money lining the pockets of the publisher, the author, or both? These are the questions we look to answer in our project.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
TGIF
Another LONG week has finally come to an end and I have the chance to relax again. I expected my schedule to be difficult going to school and working Monday through Friday, but I never realized how tired I would be by the time Friday comes around! There is nothing like watching the clock hit 11:00 PM at work on Friday, walking out the door, arriving home, falling into the couch knowing that tomorrow, I don't have to hear the alarm taunting me, telling me I have somewhere to be. It feels so great to just relax, knowing I don't have to be anywhere. Most of the time I do go into work for some overtime, but usually just for a few hours, and since I'm not scheduled I can leave at any time, which makes it a lot easier to work. This weekend though, I'm not going to work any overtime. I'm probably going to go visit my parents, maybe go to the orchard, weather permitting. I decided I need a couple of days space from work, I need to relax and get some things done at home, and for school.
I'm sure Monday will come all too soon, and I kind of dread it already. Another week will pass, Friday will come again, and the entire cycle will continue. How very exciting...
Friday, September 24, 2010
Nothing too exciting...
I don't have much to report or share this week. Seems to have been a pretty normal week for the most part, although work seemed to be exceptionally stressful. They say ignorance is bliss, but for someone else it's most likely a headache, and stupidity? Well, let's just say there's no excuse for it. I won't beleaguer anyone with the details, but if you ever want to, I'll provide full information. Some of the stories are quite funny really.
My plans this weekend are to work for a few hours Saturday (surprise, surprise), then come home, clean my house, catch up on some reading and try and relax some. Sunday I'm picking up my sister from Johnson and driving down to my parents and we're all going to go to the orchard and pick apples, maybe have some hot apple cider to really get into the swing of fall. Hopefully the weather outside will permit and the air will have the right chilly crisp to give the full effect.
Sunday night I'll be heading back home, finishing up any homework left to do, heading to bed, and starting the grind all over again. I don't even want to think about it though. Right now, I am just so looking forward to the weekend.
So today, when you are feeling that twinge of stress, just stop, close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it in for a second and think not about all the things you don't have in life, but about the amazing things you do have: your friends, family, health and the beautiful world around you; smile and let it out. Remember that when you feel like it can't get any worse, think of that glass half full, not half empty and say to yourself, "it's only going to get better from here!"
Benny
My plans this weekend are to work for a few hours Saturday (surprise, surprise), then come home, clean my house, catch up on some reading and try and relax some. Sunday I'm picking up my sister from Johnson and driving down to my parents and we're all going to go to the orchard and pick apples, maybe have some hot apple cider to really get into the swing of fall. Hopefully the weather outside will permit and the air will have the right chilly crisp to give the full effect.
Sunday night I'll be heading back home, finishing up any homework left to do, heading to bed, and starting the grind all over again. I don't even want to think about it though. Right now, I am just so looking forward to the weekend.
So today, when you are feeling that twinge of stress, just stop, close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it in for a second and think not about all the things you don't have in life, but about the amazing things you do have: your friends, family, health and the beautiful world around you; smile and let it out. Remember that when you feel like it can't get any worse, think of that glass half full, not half empty and say to yourself, "it's only going to get better from here!"
Benny
Friday, September 17, 2010
Piling on more...
So this week I thought I would write about a new venture I have taken on. Beginning last Saturday, my sister Marissa and I have finally followed through with the promise we made to each other, that when she came up to Ball State, got moved into her dorm and settled into her classes, that we were going to start going to the gym and working out. Last Saturday was our first workout together. We go to the new Rec Center here on campus. Why wouldn't we, both of us already pay a fee on our tuition and cost, there is no additional fee to use it, meaning there is no monthly member fee, and it has state-of-the-art equipment.
I used to work out on a regular basis a few years ago. It started with a biggest loser contest at work, then I just continued on, working out, dieting, shedding the pounds and increasing the muscle. At my best, I had lost around sixty-five pounds. Then a change in my routine came; I transferred to another location within my same employer, and I could no longer go to my old gym. I said I was going to start at another right away, then I put it off for a few days, then a week, then a month, and so on. Before I knew it, it's three years later and I am just now seeing the inside of a gym again. I think the reason I put it off was because of security and comfort issues, but that's another whole issue that we won't delve into today.
So here I am, at my heaviest ever and by no means proud of it. There isn't any excuse, there is only a solution and that is to get back to my disciplined routine and hopefully start shedding the pounds. After all, at twenty-six, I'm not getting any younger and this isn't going to get any easier. So, at three workouts in for the week, I'm feeling good, stiff and sore, but good. Yesterday, Marissa and I even got up before dawn, went to the Rec Center at 6:00 AM and did our workout before class. It was hard to roll out of bed at 5:30 in the morning, especially since I arrived home from work at 12:00 midnight and went to bed at 2:00 AM after finishing my homework.
That being said, it also got my blood pumping, the endorphins flowing, and very quickly I was bright and alert and ready to go for the day. I had forgotten how much I used to love working out before work (or in this case, school) because of how good it made me feel. Working out always puts me in the best of moods, and I feel it's the result of both physical and emotional reasons. Physically, your exercise causes your body to release certain hormones like adrenaline and increases the levels of chemicals in the brain like seratonin, which I feel is what greatly contributes to my fantastic mood afterward.
Today is an off day, both because of the intense workout from yesterday and because academically I just had too many other obligations for classes. Tomorrow I'm off work and classes, so you can be assured I'll be in the gym. For now I end this here, and I hope that perhaps others might be inclined to take a step toward a healthier lifestyle with me. Support can be beautiful! Once I actually start to see some results, I may post some before and after pictures to show the progress. Remember, the only person in control of your life is you. I leave you with a quote that I feel indirectly applies to this situation. Ghandi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Most would think that means that applies to intersocial situations and it does, but I think the root of the meaning applies too, which I think generally states that if you want any kind of change, in anything for that matter, get up off your butt and do it.
Change comes from within you.
Benny
I used to work out on a regular basis a few years ago. It started with a biggest loser contest at work, then I just continued on, working out, dieting, shedding the pounds and increasing the muscle. At my best, I had lost around sixty-five pounds. Then a change in my routine came; I transferred to another location within my same employer, and I could no longer go to my old gym. I said I was going to start at another right away, then I put it off for a few days, then a week, then a month, and so on. Before I knew it, it's three years later and I am just now seeing the inside of a gym again. I think the reason I put it off was because of security and comfort issues, but that's another whole issue that we won't delve into today.
So here I am, at my heaviest ever and by no means proud of it. There isn't any excuse, there is only a solution and that is to get back to my disciplined routine and hopefully start shedding the pounds. After all, at twenty-six, I'm not getting any younger and this isn't going to get any easier. So, at three workouts in for the week, I'm feeling good, stiff and sore, but good. Yesterday, Marissa and I even got up before dawn, went to the Rec Center at 6:00 AM and did our workout before class. It was hard to roll out of bed at 5:30 in the morning, especially since I arrived home from work at 12:00 midnight and went to bed at 2:00 AM after finishing my homework.
That being said, it also got my blood pumping, the endorphins flowing, and very quickly I was bright and alert and ready to go for the day. I had forgotten how much I used to love working out before work (or in this case, school) because of how good it made me feel. Working out always puts me in the best of moods, and I feel it's the result of both physical and emotional reasons. Physically, your exercise causes your body to release certain hormones like adrenaline and increases the levels of chemicals in the brain like seratonin, which I feel is what greatly contributes to my fantastic mood afterward.
Today is an off day, both because of the intense workout from yesterday and because academically I just had too many other obligations for classes. Tomorrow I'm off work and classes, so you can be assured I'll be in the gym. For now I end this here, and I hope that perhaps others might be inclined to take a step toward a healthier lifestyle with me. Support can be beautiful! Once I actually start to see some results, I may post some before and after pictures to show the progress. Remember, the only person in control of your life is you. I leave you with a quote that I feel indirectly applies to this situation. Ghandi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Most would think that means that applies to intersocial situations and it does, but I think the root of the meaning applies too, which I think generally states that if you want any kind of change, in anything for that matter, get up off your butt and do it.
Change comes from within you.
Benny
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