Getting Back on Track

It's been so long since I was on a regular blog schedule that I feel all discombobulated about what to write. And as every writer knows, the longer you procrastinate the harder it gets to regain your focus. So with absolutely no forethought, I present my grab bag of thoughts on this Friday before Thanksgiving.

Yesterday my internet went down for most of the day. This little annoyance was doubly aggravating to me given the fact that I've been searching for a new ISP. I have called my phone company (who provides my DSL, as well) several times in recent months to attempt to lower my billl by taking unused features off of my phone line. My phone is mainly installed to provide me the escape of my online folly. Yeah, I use it once in awhile for the few local calls I need to make, but my cell phone is my main source of phonery.

But I digress. Somewhere in my cluttered mind I realized that I was paying too much (even with all the stripping down I've done) for my phone. In checking around the net, I found I could save a cool $25.00 a month with a national provider. A gal at work told me they had said company and they loved the service! When I called the nationally-recognized phone company, I learned that the company I have right now is actually regulated. As far as I can tell, regulated means that a company is given carte blanche to own certain parts of every city in which they offer service. In other words, they control my online service and I can't do anything about it.

Don't believe me? Let's review what I've checked into, shall we? No national ISP's will work on my street with DSL service. I can get dial-up until the cows come home. (I don't want to downgrade to dial-up). No cable companies offer internet in my area. Satellite internet is on my short list of people I won't deal with. Oh, it's a long story as to why, so I'm going to ask you to trust that the shoddy treatment from the past is reason enough not to go down that road. Wild Blue (the dedicated satellite internet of its own) is over-the-moon expensive!

So when the provider had outages in my area yesterday, you can imagine my rancor. After executing all of the "fix" options on the window displayed in my browser by the ISP, I called them. After no less than five minutes of waiting, and five minutes of giving information that the woman couldn't seem to understand, I was finally informed of these regional problems that the technicians were working on as we spoke. I'm sure I was on the list of cranky callers she dealt with yesterday. They were on my shit list before they dropped the ball yesterday. Now I'm just plain pissed at them. I haven't given up my search for a new ISP, but I'm dejected about the possibilities. Maybe I'll move come spring; I have been here for over a year. (Note to readers who don't understand: I have moved almost every two years for the last decade)! :p

Another thing that has been derailing me is the time change. I just hate the early darkness, the cold that greets you when you walk outdoors, the gray days that string themselves together. I want sunshine and green and warmth! I notice the lack of drive in myself every year about this time. I'm working hard to find a cure for this annual disruption of my body rhythm, but it seems inevitable that I will go through this phase of sleeping nine hours every night and requiring an afternoon nap. Please don't tell the people who think I am a boundless bundle of energy and production.

Not everything is blah and oy in my world though. Thanksgiving is the best holiday of the year for me! I love that Thanksgiving is simply about being together. Think about it. As great as Christmas is, the whole gift-giving thing has put a spin never meant to be as the focal point on a holiday that is deeply sacred to Christians. Giving thanks on Thanksgiving is all that is required of you! Just show up at your mom's house with your casserole, pie, hors d'oeuvres, whatever it is you always bring to the table, so to speak. Maybe you just bring the new grandbaby, or the dog who is like a member of the family. Or perhaps you are the host to your family and friends on the best Thursday of the year. In that case, you will rise early and begin preparations for the dear ones who will arrive later to enjoy your home, your company, your meal. There's a lot of joy in welcoming folks into your home for a great feast.

Yeah. I love Thanksgiving. I'll probably do a whole blog next week on the holiday so I'll shut up for now.

Work has been interesting. I could probably do a whole blog on it too, but I won't. We had a business consultant review our restaurant and its workings for about six weeks. The results are in, and oddly enough, he listened to a lot of our suggestions from the survey he made us complete. I can only surmise that what many of us pointed out were things this business consultant also noted. Hmmm. Ya think the owners might have listened to us instead and saved a bundle on what this man told them? A few things from my own answers that are coming to fruition: supervisors beyond the "trinity" we currently have are being implemented, POS (point of sale computers for those who don't know the term), small training seminars in our products, plus a few other techniques that were no-brainers.

Sure, they'd rather listen to some outsider who thinks he knows their business. It's annoying. Or maybe I'm annoyed that my expertise hasn't been called upon? I've got around 12 years in at this place. I moved away, moved all over, and moved back, and they welcomed me back when I called looking for a job. Classic case of not burning your bridges, that. I used to do bookwork--including weekly deposits, bartending, hotel check-ins/check-outs, waitressing, and lots of other jobs before I left. They even asked me to be a manager at one point. And now? Apparently my status is that of a one year employee again.

Ah, I must be thinking too much again. Maybe when winter really sets in, my brain will get numb or freeze. For now, I'll just keep plodding through the days that seem to tax me so much. Even my writing is strained. Or rusty. There's a film over too much in my life. Pass the Windex, it's time to spruce up the view. There's always next time...and the next blog should be better.