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snarfblat
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Name: the Snarf
Country: United States
State: Texas
Interests: guitars, sailing, exasperating others
Expertise: yeahrightwhatever
Occupation: Customer service/support
Industry: Computers (Hardware)
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
9/17/2003
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| News item this morning on the way to work...and I'm looking for a source other than the radio station.
Tarrant County ambulance services have seen a 181% increase in the number of calls so far this year. What's driving the calls? People calling with the flu.
What?!?
An ambulance for the flu?!? How much of an overkill is that?!?
I heard of a guy way back when that moved around quite a bit so when he got a cold he would head into his local emergency room and sit for hours just to get some prescription strength meds. That was back before the day that there was a clinic of some sort on every corner. I can almost understand that. New in town, no doctor, no clinic, where are you supposed to go. He no longer does that since the introduction of the CareNow, CareMed, FirstCare, etc clinics that are everywhere.
Calling an ambulance for the flu?!? What kind of waste of money is that...your money, the insurance company's money, and, if the New Guy has his way, soon to be my money.
One of the local ambulance services has announced their plan of action for these new callers. If it is clear that the caller is calling for the flu then they are going to call them a cab so that the ambulance can be reserved for real emergencies. And then bill them for the cab fare. I think that's more than fair.
And while I'm on the subject of some sort of health care, let me go ahead and make everyone mad that I haven't already...
Your health care, your kid's health care, your mom and dad's health care, and your great aunt's best friend's mother-in-law's dog walker's health care are NOT my responsibility, and, yes, I resent the fact that you think I should foot the bill for any of it - even if you can't afford to pay for it yourself. The only health care for which I should be responsible is that of my family and myself.
And that guarantee of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness doesn't promise you what you think it does. It promises you that you are free to have the best life possible in your pursuit of whatever makes you happy. Like it or not, it doesn't promise you health care. Or a new car. Or to have your mortgage paid. Or, while you're wishing, a new pony.
I've heard some say that the philanthropy of the people isn't enough to pay for the hurting and afflicted in this country. I totally agree. But that doesn't mean that I should be forced to pay someone else's way.
It really wouldn't surprise me if the politicians manage to pass this whole health care thing. And if they do, I promise that it is going to be chock full of pork (or discretionary spending or whatever they're calling it now) to the tune of billions upon billions of dollars. Which while I'm talking about resenting folks, I resent any politician in Washington (or Austin or even the chambers in Fort Worth for that matter) trying to tell me what they think is best for me. Until they have stood next to me for a week to see where I live they have no idea what's best for me and should just keep their mouth shut.
Heartless jerk? Maybe I am. But while you're cogitating what a cad I am for not wanting to pay your way, let me give you the address of a buddy of mine that just managed to accumulate a medical bill that all of us together probably couldn't pay off today. For all your noise about my heartlessness I haven't seen you volunteering to help him out. So since you're not really willing to help out either I guess the gov't may be on to something in wanting to force all of us to pay for everyone else. Oh wait. It's still a bad idea!
But I digress... | | |
| Snarf's Top 5 Random comments for today:
- Ran 3 miles last night. And felt really good. I should have kept going. Not sure if it's the cool weather we've had recently or that I'm running the first mile with Jess and then speeding up after that, but the last couple of runs have been really good. I've stopped just short of saying that I've really enjoyed them - I'm almost afraid to say that I "actually enjoy running." After all, it's still exercise right? My new goal...5 miles by the end of the year. That's adding a mile a month...a quarter mile a week. Certainly I can do that. Right?
- I looked looking back at my lone Facebook comment this morning, I evidently has have grammar issues.
- Last night Jess and I were discussing books we've read this year. We started naming off what each of us have read. Seems that most of mine were either Star Wars novels or on Excel/VBA. And there're still two Star Wars novels coming out before the end of the year that I really want to read. The first one actually came out a week or two ago. Deathtroopers. It looks like it might be an interesting departure from the usual Star Wars story. The second comes out in December and is the new Darth Bane book. Reading the last Darth Bane book got me to wondering why I seem to have such a fixation on the Sith (the bad guys for those of you from College Station) and I think I finally figured it out. I find it really interesting to see their progression to the dark side. And for anyone wanting to just try out a Star Wars novel, Death Star (I think is what it was called) is a really good one to start with. It follows Grand Moff Tarkin and several others from the start to the finish of the first Death Star.
- I sometimes forget how much I enjoy GLAD back when they were still a band...the first time. That Hymn Thing will always remind me of the carefree days when I was a teenager.
- I really need to trim the hedges, but am just so incredibly unmotivated to do so. The scary-bushes that are right at the gate are beginning to get really scary. If we do end up buying that house one day, those are the first things I'm going to rip out.
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| Wow!! I'm sitting here at work having a bit of a melancholy moment. Suddenly a bit pensive if you will.
One of the things I have had to come to grips with in working at Accenture is that God is in control of my future. It hasn't been an easy thing to learn, and it's almost like I have to take a moment each day and recenter myself, but my company doesn't control my future, and my hope is not in the company. Not to sound pompous, but I have always been amazed at those I have worked with that have totally freaked out or fallen apart when they find out that they have come under the axe. It may be tough, and I may be wondering from where the next check is going to come, but God is in control. So even if I'm sitting there with the rest of the team wondering if I'm going to be the next one called out and given a release date, I can still have a quiet confidence that it really doesn't matter if my name is called. God has always provided in the past. He will always provide in the future.
And that's not just positive, optimistic thinking. I sometimes think I've got more examples of God specifically providing than anyone else in the whole world. Everything from groceries to school tuition to money to fix the car to the entire car itself. He provides.
Accenture's big thing is to go into a company and, often through a massive state of upheaval, make the company more profitable. And Accenture practices what they preach. As an example, when I was on the help desk, if a partner ever complained about the help desk, he would usually find himself with the desk under his list of responsibilities in short order. And when that happened, most of the upper leadership was shuffled around too. It has also meant that during my 8 1/2 years with Accenture, I have been threatened with "workforce reductions" of some sort at least annually. And those reductions have hit close to home and caught members of my team no less than 4 times. Heck! I even left the help desk because senior management saw that some big changes were coming and encouraged those of us that did a good job to find something else before we were forced to due to additional reductions and the eventual moving of the desk to San Antonio.
I've known since May that the project I'm on is coming to a close. The client did not re-sign...
SIDEBAR: And yes, I know that a hyphen is not needed, but I'm putting it there to distinguish between resigning (putting pen to paper and writing your name again) and resigning (leaving your job voluntarily) since the announcement of the client not re-signing has led to numerous folks on the project resigning.
Anyways, the client did not re-sign their contract, and with the economy in the current state in which it is new business hasn't been breaking down the door. At least it hasn't for our portion of the project. So, since the current round of reductions was going to start in June, the project lead figured he may as well let all of us know up front what was going on rather than us hear it from the first bunch that were cut. So I've known since May that my last day would be December. I got back from vacation today and found out my last day is actually the 15th of December.
I now know the date. Despite me sending resume after resume, I haven't scored an interview since July. But that's ok. God will bring me the right job in the time that He chooses. Yes, it's tough to wait sometimes, and when I let myself I can get pretty dang frustrated, especially with the end date looming, but God is in control.
But all that's not really what's got me in this moment of pensivity - if that's a word. There's a lady here that started as a contractor the day that I did. She and I went through the same training class. When the new contractors were assigned out to teams we were assigned to the same team. We were hired on the same day and went through orientation together. We worked together on the desk, and when developmental training was assigned, somehow we always seemed to be sent to the same training. She went out on medical leave several years ago, and while she was out I was the one responsible for her queues. When her leave became an extended leave I somehow was assigned the one to look after her personal belongings when they had to clear her desk to make room for someone to take her place while she was gone. She moved to the project where we currently work, and shortly thereafter I followed. On this project we've been on different teams, but we still interact quite a bit. Throughout our careers here at Accenture we've looked out for each other and always tried to help the other when we could.
When it was announced that the project was going away and that most everyone was going to be cut we both knew that, because of what we do, we were not going to be one of the ones that survived this time. Since it was announced in that infamous meeting that my team would be last to go, she knew my end date would be December sometime, but I never talked to her about when she was being forced to move on. None of us on the project have really discussed that. We just know that every few days we'll notice that someone else isn't in their spot, and later that day we'll get their "thanks for the memories" e-mail.
I got hers today. We've been here for 8 1/2 years, and, in so doing, have managed to be at the top of the curve. From what I understand, someone usually only lasts with this company for 3 years before they move on. So we've beaten the system. Or so it seemed. But it finally caught up to her today. And I know that if I don't find something else before December 15th it'll catch me too.
I'm not frustrated with the whole process today. But seeing her e-mail thanking everyone and wishing them well has just put me in a reflective mood. We started together. Got hired together. Always worked on the same or closely related teams. And now, with her departure, it kind of brings it home that my time is drawing near. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. It just means that life moves on. And that always makes me stop down and consider things for a little while.
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| So Jess and I made it to the beach and back relatively unscathed. I'm too distracted to actually write out a real blog post so the bullet points below will have to suffice in making up for the last couple of weeks.
- Headed to Corpus on Sunday a week ago. Drove through torrential rains all the way from Fort Worth down through Bell County.
- Saw a bunch of the old Texas Crossing gang Sunday at lunch at the Grist Mill. No matter what anybody tells you, they're all stand up folks.
- Despite the rainy forecasts, I don't think it rained once while we were down there...until the morning we left.
- I think Jess got her first real sunburn. Me, knowing how to apply proper sunscreen, spent hours sitting in the sun and have little to show for it. Funny to think that 15 years ago I was pretty much anti-sunscreen...even if it meant I was going to blister-burn.
- The hotel had a breakfast bar thing that was pretty good. We kept the waffle iron going. I think I've pretty much waffled out for a while.
- The Lexington was pretty cool.
- The Aquarium was pretty cool - as always. After all, they have sharks.
- The Modern Art museum ain't got nothing on the Modern here in Fort Worth. However, they did have an exhibit from Cheech Marin's private Chicano art collection (yes, that Cheech Marin) that was really cool.
- The Science and History Museum...I was really looking forward to that one. The history side of it (with the Columbus ships) was cool, but the science side of it was more of a naturalist museum. It was ok, but totally not what I was hoping for.
- Hit the Guitar Center there in Corpus, and Jess and I were laughing because it was about the size of the acoustic room at the GC I go to here over in Arlington. It was little.
- Running on the beach seems like such a....well I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but I figured it would be super cool. Let me say right here, right now, that I only made it about a quarter of a mile. The sand was either too loose or it was too wet (and I went splashing around) or I was having to jump beach debris or a wave that was washing up or a washout from the water et al. Give me the sidewalk and asphalt anyday. Course I can't say that Matt didn't try to warn me at lunch on Sunday.
- Didn't use my beach umbrella the last day we spent on the beach because, if I had to guess, the wind was blowing about 25 or 30 knots. We got a kick out of watching the sea foam on the beach get blown all around.
- We always stayed on the beaches up north of the National Seashore. After David and Tif and one of the guys at work told us that we should head down there we decided to check it out out last day down there. We should have done it sooner. From now on when we head to Corpus to hit the beach we'll be driving down to the National Seashore. I can't believe I hadn't done that before. I also didn't realize that Texas had beaches like that.
- Drove through torrential rains from Corpus up to about Bell County again. What was with Bell County and the rain. Actually, I guess it quit raining just outside of San Antone, but it started again (although not nearly as hard) about the time we hit the north side of there on 35.
- Had planned on making a weekend of it and heading through home and seeing my folks and Jonesy, but the BRAKE light came on as we were headed out, and, after checking everything I knew to check I couldn't find out why. So I opted to bring it home to carry it to the shop. It turned off the south side of FW and hasn't come back on since.
- Speaking of car problems, Jess' is now fixed. That was $1300 I wasn't planning on spending yet.
- Speaking of car problems, whatever genius at Ford that decided it was a good idea to put the fuel pump in the fuel tank obviously never has to pay for his own repairs.
- Sent that resume to the company up in Lewisville yesterday. They finally posted for that job. I am really praying about that one...it would let me be off on Sundays and get back in church. That would be a good thing.
- I still have one more day off before it's back to work. I think I'll watch some MST3K tonight. It just feels like that kind of night.
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| So I get this in my e-mail today. Not sure how it made it past the spaminator. Do people really still fall for this crap??
Reference Number: UK/9420X2/68
Ticket number:56475600545299
Cash on file: £850,000.00
Dear Email owner,
Your email address on ticket number 56475600545299 has won a total cash
prize of 850,000.00 Great British Pounds and consolation prizes.The draw
was done (on the request of Her Royal Majesty The Queen of England) electronically with several email addresses
provided to this office by webmail providers to enhance the utilization of the internet.
For claims and due remittance of funds. Please contact the claims officer
for more information.
Claims Officer: Philip Hargreaves
Email: agphilip@live.com
Phone: +44 7024 082 907
**Note: All replies ,queries or questions concerning your claims should be sent to agphilip@live.com
Dr Martha Maria Cuenca Quicazan
THE PROMOTION COORDINATOR
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