All I've Got

I'm living reclusively these days where it's safe and quiet.
There's something inherantly stressful about family and holidays.
Me and stress are old buddies, but we usually don't get along.

Oh yeah, did I mention that we're moving cross country in less than 10 days and the Navy hasn't given us any money to do it?
I'm sure that can't be helping my emotional state at the moment.

My rattie has a tumor that's grown to the size of an orange. Truthfully, I thought she would die before it got this big. Apparently it's not cancer, so it's not a quick death. This would be one of those rare occasions that anyone would be dissapointed to discover it's not cancer.
I called the vet and since she doesn't appear to be in any pain they said to let her die naturally.
If dying of a large benign preventable tumor is "natural" then I guess that's what they meant. I'm not particularly favoring the idea of dragging Daisy AND two ratties in a cage cross-country.

Ugh.
Getting nauseous just thinking about it.

I keep coming upon this concept of the “universal human element,” the theory being that “all we are we are.”
Perhaps that is a formless assessment of the theory shrouded in simplicity, but the underlying idea being – it is that simple.
Stripped down, bones bared, we tend to obsess with our appearances, and worse, identify with them.
But it is the recognition that we are the human experience, dressed up in whatever hat we’ve chosen to wear, that allows us to see the grand design.
And it’s so brilliant, with an infusive quality that creates an effervescent spirit.
I want to share it and spread it and drink it and live it, ever so thankful that I know it.

The depth of which I feel to be
Significant
Of something portentous and meaningful
is the depth to which I feel
I must write.

There’s nothing casual about it.
Yet I hold it at a distance
To better contain and control
Everything that
moves to the surface.

So what I battle now are demons of my own creation.
I’ve walked into a space of smoke and mirrors
with no sense of direction of
what is within and what is without.
Afraid to look at my reflection for fear of finding that
I am who I thought I was.

There’s nothing worse than discovering
You were the one selling yourself this whole time.

You forfeit your right to cry
when you are the cause of your own tears.

How unfortunate.

Everyone has them, nobody wants them, and often times you'll remember them with either a sigh or a grin. But I've learned that there's always another worse one out there - just be glad these weren't your bad days...

"Curiosity Drowned the Human"
It's something I'd yell at my child for, shake them by the collar and say in a barely contained voice, "What were you thinking?" I know that curious hands do curious things, and often times there's no other explanation for strange accidents. But there comes a point when a mature adult is old enough to know better than to let curiosity get the better of them...and stick a wire hanger into an electrical sprinkler system that is wired throughout the condominium building, triggering the alarm, and causing massive flooding the type of which the fire department has never seen. This is the only time you would curse your highly efficient sprinkler system. I'd hope that my husband would die of embarrassment so I wouldn't have to kill him myself. Let him explain this to the insurance company (which he did with appropriate embarrassment)


"Let's Try That Again"
Do you ever have those moments when you're quietly laying in bed, and imagine what the day might have in store? Let's just say sometimes it's a good thing we don't have intuition.
When the neighborhood dogs decide to have a dog fight directly on top of the hood of your car, then in their riled state of canine infused testosterone mania begin to chew off your grill, it gives one enough pause to think that maybe today is gonna be "one of those days." After helplessly watching your vehicle's paint job suffer beneath paws and claws, and leaving your grill in the driveway, you bravely face the day - only to finish grocery shopping and coming out to find your car's rear bumper smashed in by a hit and run. This is when you deserve a kit-kat. In other words, we'll give you a break and a good healthy dose of sympathy on the side.


"He's in - WHAT?!"
There are crazies out there, we've all heard the stories. And for some reason, crazies like call centers. State Farm's longest and most loyal caller, is in fact, not a customer at all. He's a regular guy, a genuine gentleman, until he catches you off guard by asking you, "So, what does customer service mean to you?" Whether you actually get the opportunity to answer depends on how he's feeling that day. Launching into a profanity laden tirade of lawsuits involving State Farm, this loyal caller has not only earned himself State Farm fame, he has also earned himself a name and his very own procedure. "The Rockford Caller" has been calling State Farm every Sunday, through a claims service office located in Rockford, IL, for eight years. If, by chance, you are the lucky winner and recieve his call, just pull up your handy dandy "Rockford Caller" word track, read it to him, explaining that the claims service office number is to be used for claim related issues only, tell him if he has any questions to contact his State Farm agent (as if he had one), and then disconnect the call.
My favorite, absolutely favorite part of this story, is the part where I tell you that State Farm had finally decided they were going to start tracking the calls to find out where they were coming from, in the hopes of stopping them. Imagine the response of State Farm employees (especially those in IL) when we learned he was calling from JAIL!

This raises a host of question. Basic ones, like "What the heck is he in jail for and how much longer?" and "They give you one call a week and you're calling...me?" This goes beyond having a bad day. This guy must be having, like, a bad life.



I can't leave without reminding you there are important lessons to every story. Today those lessons are:

1. "No wire hangers!" may be a good thing.

2. Sometimes the urge to never roll out of bed can be right on.

The last, and potentially life saving lesson?

3. Caller ID, people. Caller ID.

What's the fun of getting to stay home from work and school for two days, stocking up on water and flashlights, and filling your bathtub with water (so you can still flush your toilet in case water goes out) if it's a gentle rain outside with a nice cleansing breeze?
Come on - give us something to remember! Meteoroligists built this one up and really set us up for dissapointment. We hunkered down to weather Ivan in Pensacola - which hit as a Category 3 hurricane, and compared to that, I feel like all this weather is good for is churning up the surf and creating an exciting day at the beach.
It's only noon, so I'll keep you posted.
I might take a nice walk outside. It's the first time in weeks the humidity hasn't made me want to say, "I'm going for a swim around the block."

"A man’s mind stretched by a new idea can never go back to its original dimensions.” Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Our minds have been stretched, our eyes have been opened; may the passionate and courageous lead the way.

State Farm is the place to be.
I'm so excited to get my foot back in the door. It's a wonderful company to work for and have insurance with. I'm only sorry they don't give me an employee discount so that I can afford to have insurance through them.
I guess when you're number 1, you can afford to be a bit snobby:)
But being in the Customer Response Center, filing claims, talking to claim reps, answering policy questions, it's all coming back to me (8 years really flew by!) and I want to make myself a valuable asset to my team and to myself so that when the time comes for us to move to San Diego in the spring I'll have some relocation options.

Speaking of moving to San Diego, I'm hoping we can stick to North County.
Well, actually I have a lot more to say about the whole experience and all that goes into it, so I'll leave that for another blog.
Happy Tuesday!