Seagulls and Turkeys and Bears.... oh my!

You know, I used to think you knew when you were in Northern Ontario when the roadkill changed from raccoons to porcupines. After this weekend I've decided there are other indicators that are perhaps more accurate (ok, so part of that is because we didn't see a single porcupine until we were already well on our way home).

Like a black bear sprinting across the 2 lane highway in front of your car. Like seeing Wild Turkey and not being in a bar (yeah, I know... bad booze reference). Like being the only car visible on the Trans-Canada (yup, seriously... no cars visible ahead or in the mirror). Like bare Canadian Shield. Like glass-smooth lakes sprinkled with islands of bare rock with a single pine tree and no other vegetation or dirt.

I love the parts of this province North of "cottage country" (well, what Torontonians consider "cottage country")... if it weren't for that pesky winter element, I think I could be quite happy living up there. Well, winter and income... but since I still don't have a job, that's not necessarily so much of a concern *laugh*

Now to wade through all the pictures and see if we got anything good!

$0.01? Seriously?

So, D and I are off on another random road trip (yesterday's excitement really started when we saw a black bear run across the road right in front of us). Having reached destination #1 last night around dinner time, we thought we'd treat ourselves to a little slot-machine action and then grab some dinner. Yay! Slots! Gotta luv 'em... you get the thrill of gambling without risking large sums of money (which is good, because we don't HAVE large sums of money ;) ).

So, we played the machines for a while and won ourselves a tidy little bonus.

Now, for those of you who haven't played the slots in a while, around here, they've moved away from tokens (thank gawd, those things were hideously filthy) and now have machines that print out vouchers for your winnings. This means that you don't have to go see the cashier to collect your money from the machines any more, either... they have machines scattered through the hall which you feed your vouchers into and it spits out real money.

So... we're on a high from having more than doubled our money for the evening and we head to the nearest cashier-machine. There's a woman ahead of us, but we're still thrilled about our haul, so we just did a little happy dance in line. Until we heard the coin drop. Literally. One coin. A copper one.

Yes, boys and girls, this woman had a voucher for $0.01. Ok, so maybe she just didn't want to see ALL her money go down the drain into the casino's pocket... I get that. BUT, the only way to end up with that kind of voucher is if you're playing the penny slots... so why not just give the darn thing that one last spin?

It gets better. She had several vouchers that she was cashing in. The highest denomination, though, was $0.30. I think in total she walked away from that machine with about $0.60 from about a half-dozen vouchers. But man did it feel good to go up after her and walk away with paper!

Our seafood dinner was lovely... and effectively paid for by the house, since we dug into our winnings to cover it. :)

And now... off on another adventure in the Wilds of Ontario.

(still waiting for the go-ahead to discuss the other topic on here)

Gah...

So I have a topic I want to share... but right now I'm waiting for permission from the other person it directly involves. *sigh*

Don't ya just hate when that happens?

What ever happened to "Customer Service"?

Yup... you guessed it... another rant coming.

What ever happened to the notion of Customer Service? Did it fall victim to the same killer as "company pride", "pride of work", and the notion of employees being more than mere numbers? Or do people just not care any more?

My most recent dealings surrounding my car are what prompt this wondering.

Those of you who've known me for a while, or read past blog posts (not sure if I wrote any of them here, but I'm pretty sure I did at least once on the old blog), will know that I lovingly refer to my car as my "citrus fruit on wheels". This is not really fair to my car... there's remarkably little fundamentally wrong with my car, other than it being a Ford ;) I just had a series of very bad experiences with the dealership where I purchased it and who were responsible for its maintenance until we moved.

Our move pretty much coincided with the expiry of the extended warranty, so after that I just got into the habit of having the bare minimum maintenance done on it until I could find a decent mechanic.

Well, things reached a 'crisis point' when I realized that there was a distinct possibility the car wouldn't pass the emissions test required to renew my plate due to an exhaust issue that I was pretty sure existed, but which hadn't been diagnosed. So, I bit the bullet and took it to the dealership my parents deal with.

That was yesterday. And yesterday went well... they seemed to accept that I might have a brain and know what's going on with the car of which I am the sole driver. They were kind enough to give me a ride all the way home (they're not the closest dealership to me... there are 3 that are closer, 2 of them between me and them), and when they diagnosed my exhaust problem, the actually used the words "you were right" (I had suspected a small hole forwards in the exhaust system... the actual problem was a flex hose from engine to exhaust). BUT... they had to fix it before it could go for an emissions test and they had to order a part and wouldn't be able to fix it yesterday. I explained that it had to get done, because the plate expires on Thursday (yup.. .that's tomorrow).

Not a huge inconvenience for me yesterday, as D was going to be home in the evening. I did, however, want the car back in time to get the sticker today, so that I could treat myself to some birthday pampering tomorrow before heading downtown to meet up with D for a Cirque du Soleil performance.

Yeah... not going to happen.

I called the dealership at about 10:15 this morning to get an update. I'm told my Service Advisor was with a customer and would call me back right away. So I got involved in some other things and at 1:15 called again. Told the receptionist that I had called 3 hours earlier for an update and Dino (the SA) hadn't gotten back to me. She said he was on lunch, but she'd talk to the service guys to see what was happening.... came back and said she couldn't get in touch with "the tower operator", but she'd call me back "in a couple of minutes". 90 minutes later I FINALLY got in touch with Dino (having explained to the third receptionist of the day that I had called 90 minutes and 4.5 hours earlier for an update on my car and still had no info)... upon me identifying myself, he immediately said "they're working on your car now, so that should be done soon and then we'll send it for the emissions test". Hrmm. Yeah... Excuse me for not quite believing that, 'cuz I know you can't see the bays from your desk. So I asked if he'd gotten either of the previous messages requesting an update. Or at least, I tried to ask... but was interrupted with "I've been really busy and haven't checked my voicemail". Nice one... if you were that busy, then you would have been checking your voicemail on your lunch break if you had any sense of customer service. So I told him they weren't voicemails, they were messages left with reception.

Yeah... 30 minutes later he calls and tells me they're just working on it and it'll be done "in a bit" and then they'll send it for the test.

Well, since D isn't home tonight, they'll have to come pick me up to get my car... it'll take them 30 minutes to get here, and 30 minutes to get back (assuming traffic doesn't become an issue) then another 30 minutes (i have no faith in speed) to process the paperwork and my payment. It's 3:30 now... the sticker isn't getting done today, methinks. Which means I now have to make another trip tomorrow morning to get the damn sticker.

So what? So now I don't get to do the majority of my birthday pampering because of where it would have to happen, not having been able to make an appointment because of this fiasco, and when I'd have to leave to meet up with D. It was also something I wanted to do before an event I'm going to on Saturday... well, D and I have had longstanding plans for Friday, so that puts a crimp in THAT plan, too... all because these fucknuts couldn't grasp the notion of customer service enough to return my first call of the day and get my car in BEFORE the ones that came in today (since it was there since yesterday morning, I figure a little "priority service" isn't an unreasonable expectation).

CUSTOMER SERVICE, people... it means providing SERVICE (fixing my damn car) to the CUSTOMER (the person paying the not small bill... that'd be ME!). Gah!

3:45... still no word on it being done.... *sigh*

Intimidation Tactics

So... I thought I was going to be a Road Rage statistic today. Fun, fun, fun!

Those of you in the GTA will be familiar with the 401/DVP interchange. I, from experience, chose the correct lane when I left the 401 to get onto the DVP without having to merge. The merges are pretty clearly marked. I have little to no sympathy for people who insist on waiting until the last moment to merge.

Traffic on the DVP was backed up and moving slowly... as a result, there was a fairly orderly merge going on... each car let a car in front, the next car was let in by the car behind, etc.

Well... I let in a very large truck and then closed up behind it. The minivan that was trying to force its way in behind the truck didn't appreciate that.

How do I know?

Because first the driver laid on the horn. Then he pulled up beside me (fully on the shoulder at this point) and had his passenger call me (and I quote) "Stupid Fucking Bitch". He then pulled in behind me and tailed me (closely) all the way down the DVP. Mirrored my lane changes. I know for sure that this was an intimidation tactic, because at one point I was behind a slow moving truck, doing 70 (in a 90 zone) and inspite of the lanes on either side being clear, this minivan did not pull out and pass... he stayed on my tail. Right until the last moment at my exit (my lane exited before he really wanted to, but he waited until he actually had to cross solid lines at the bull-nose to change lanes.

I speculated to my friend (male) at lunch that if they had seen a male driver I have little doubt that retaliation would have been to swiftly pass and cut me off and that would have been the end of it... but because they saw a woman they resorted to the kind of intimidation tactics used by stalkers and rapists. Nice, no?

Too bad I couldn't get a plate number.

Asshats.

Humiliation

Ok... so it's been a while since last I wrote. In the intervening time, my parents went to China (and were there during the earthquake... thankfully they came through unscathed and in fact didn't know there'd been one until I texted them to ask if they were ok), D and I went on a cruise (one quite different from our previous Caribbean experiences), and I was humiliated by my former employers.

Yup. You read that right.

And yes, you did read a few posts back about me marking my 10 year anniversary with my employers. These would be the same ones.

I returned from vacation on Monday May 26th. Had some computer issues, checked in with my manager, went to start some testing for a project due to launch in August for which testing must be completed by June 20 to launch on time and for which they do not have enough testers. Waded through a week's worth of emails. Went home at the end of the day.

On Tuesday the 27th I went in at my usual time. Got to my desk at 7:30. Before I even had a chance to check email, my manager appeared at my desk. Odd, I thought, he's usually a 9:00 starter. He said "can I just see you upstairs for a minute?", so off I went. Walked into a meeting room in which sat our Senior Manager. Alarm bells. "OK... now I'm nervous" I joked. Ha. Joked. They proceeded to tell me that as a result of the recent restructuring of the department, they had re-evaluated the requirements of the Channel Management team (me and my manager) and had decided that they did not require 2 people on the team. My position was being eliminated.

As if that wasn't bad enough, they proceeded to tell me that my employment with the company would cease, effective May 27th (yup... that same day).

No warning. No notice. No opportunity to review internal postings. Because obviously the department I was working in is the only one in the company... so if I don't have a job with them, there's no hope of me finding one elsewhere in the organization. Arrogant idiots.

I had to ask for my damn 10 year anniversary "gift", since my manager has been holding it since April and didn't volunteer to give it to me. I now see it as my "lovely parting gift" (a la cheesy 80's game show).

They delivered the news and immediately left. Left me alone, crying, wondering what the hell happened and what the hell I was going to do. The "employment transitioning" rep who came in was the one to offer comfort. The one to even do the simple thing like hand my a freakin' Kleenex.

It was humiliating to be treated like that by a company I had given 10 years of my life. Humiliating and insulting. As was the severance offer and it's contingencies.

So now, after 10 years with one company... all my post-scholastic working life... I now have to start all over again. I have to draft a resume that includes my most recent employment in a position for which I never had a title or job description. I have to try to sell myself without saying "I know a little about a lot, but not a lot about anything". I have to figure out how to go on interviews (assuming I'm lucky enough to get one). I haven't done this for 10 years. Yes... I've done something of the sort, but really, my job changes inside the company were working connections more than formal application, or were the results of re-structuring and re-organization within the same executive areas, and the 2 interviews I've had in that time were either with people who were familiar with my father (which is how I got into the company in the first place), or someone who effectively recruited me.

I don't even know what I want to do. What I'd enjoy. This sucks.

10 years. With a large, international bank.

9 years in IT (Mainframe System and user Support, implementation and support of a fraud detection system employing 3rd party software and an MS SQL database, user and technical support for a Data Warehouse running on a TeraData platform (you'd be amazed how much information is available for clients of a bank with divisions for US operations, insurance, investments, US investments, US mortgages, and Canadian banking)), then 15 months on the business side of things in Online Strategy & Client experience (first as an online marketing coordinator, then, as a result of a re-org, as a Business Analyst (which I hated, but I suppose wasn't bad at), then as a result of management attrition and re-structuring, as part of the online Channel Management team.

Education history is predominantly in technical theatre with a focus on stage and production management.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I'm not sure if we should even stay in Toronto, or consider moving somewhere slightly less expensive to live.

I have no idea how I'm going to get the same salary I'm losing (and we need me to bring in at least as much). I have no idea if I'm going to be able to go to my friend's wedding up North in July if I manage to find something else before then. I have no idea if we're going to be able to spend the vacation time we had booked for September together or if D is going to be alone, assuming I find a new job.

I'm not even sure how seriously I should be looking right now.

To explain that. They've offered me a certain number of weeks of "Income Protection" where they pay me the same salary I was getting, and continue benefits... or a lump sum equivalent to roughly half the amount. If I decline the lump sum, I have to submit monthly reports indicating that I am actively seeking alternate employment... otherwise the pay out ceases. If I find alternate employment, payments and benefits will cease immediately and I'll get a lump sum equal to HALF the number of weeks remaining. So, the incentive seems to be... to try to look for work and fail miserably until the end of Income Protection. A challenge... and not one I'm sure my personality will accomplish. I don't think I could stand being off work that long.

Gah. I don't know what to do.

I'm just so pissed off, and humiliated by the whole thing.

Assholes.

Pot Holes

You know... I'm told it was a really bad winter and that's why the roads in Toronto (and surrounding areas) are so bad. But somehow, I don't buy it. Why not? Because we've had worse winters... I remember worse winters. And there are areas that get rougher winters than we did and don't have crap-tastic roads like ours.

To give those of you not in the GTA an idea of what I'm talking about, I'll tell you about the current road works.

First... our roads. Our roads are built roughly like this (and this is both city streets and highways): gravel & sand, then reinforced concrete, then asphalt, then another layer of asphalt. When the crews go out to resurface the 401 (as an example), they grind off the top layer of asphalt, let it sit for weeks on end and then resurface (nobody's really sure why... in some areas they grind and resurface immediately).

Well, lately, the summer road-work pre-season has started to 'fix' the potholes. Except this year... they've ground off BOTH layers of asphalt and there are STILL potholes!!! Yup, that's right, the potholes this year go right down into the reinforced concrete. And it's not just on the highways where there are heavy trucks increasing the problem, but also on streets that see almost exclusively passenger vehicle traffic. Right down to the concrete.

Madness, I tell you... sheer madness! I'm so glad I pay taxes for these outstanding quality roads. *sigh*