nohanii | Entries tagged with help?

I have an idea for my parents' Christmas present. They went on a trip to France for two weeks for their anniversary in October. One of those weeks was a river cruise. I am trying to get my hands on the photos from their trip so I can make a scrapbook for them. At first I thought I'd have them bring the camera down when they come next weekend. I would upload the pictures to my computer on the pretense that I'll see the photos on my monitor better than on the camera. Then they could tell me where they were, what they were doing, how much fun they were having, etc. I was going to have them do this at some point anyway because I'm nosy like that. My sister Kelly is willing to help me out by copying the photos to a CD or making a .zip file so Mom and Dad won't know about this idea at all. I think I'll still have them bring the camera down so they can show me their favorite pictures or whatever. That way I'll know which ones to include for sure. The problem is, a good scrapbook isn't just pictures. It includes tickets stubs, metro tickets, fliers, pamphlets, programs, itineraries, menus... basically things that were used and encountered while on the trip that will help evoke the memories. I need to get my hands on those things, too, if they have them. Next weekend is probably the last time I'll see them until Christmas Eve. Should I just have them bring the stuff down? Have Kelly and/or Geena find steal the stuff for me? I guess I could just say "I need it" and hope they don't ask questions... and forget about it by the time Christmas rolls around.

Hrm this idea has a few kinks to work out. Any solutions? I really like this idea and want it to work.

I need to stock up on ink.

I am super mega tired. Absolutely exhausted.

Friday morning or so, a call from the Southern Caliornia Group, Inc., woke me up around 9:30am. They found my resume on Hot Jobs and thought I sounded for a good candidate for their "Account Representative" position, so they invited me to an interview on Monday at 2:15pm. My initial reaction was, what? I had no idea who this company was or what they did or even what an "Account Representative" did. Sounded like a desk job with lots of paperwork to me. Boy was I wrong.

I went to the interview yesterday. I got there right around 2 o'clock and filled out a brief application/questionnaire. Then I waited. A little while later, this guy named Ted came out and called for me. We went back into his office and had a chat about a couple different things, mostly stuff like why I'm a good leader and how I handle people, etc. He said they would be making call backs right around 4:30pm same day, and if it was him on the phone, it was good news; if it was one of the front office girls, it was bad. I left the interview feeling like I hadn't made a particularly wonderful impression and thoroughly expected a call from one of the girls, if they kept to their promise.

4:29pm, Monday. I got a call. It was Teddy. Apparently, he really liked me or saw some potential in me or whatever. He invited me back for what he termed "the world's longest second interview" the next day, Tuesday, from 8am to 5pm. Okay then.

I set my alarm for 6:15am and went to bed. It felt like it took forever and a day to just get to sleep. I woke up at 5:15am for no reason, realized I had an hour before I had to get up, and went back to sleep. The next time I woke up, it was 6:48am. Frick. Apparently, I'd set my alarm to 6:15pm, not am. So I rushed rushed rushed to get dressed, make up on, threw a snack together (cut up an apple and a carrot, threw a larabar and a fiber one bar in my purse and grabbed some fresh water) and flew out the door. I made it with 10 minutes to spare. Go me.

In all, three of the probably 15 people that went through the first interview made it to the second round. It was just me, Andrew, and this other guy that I saw yesterday. We all filled out a form acknowledging that this was not to be construed as employment at this point in time, then an employee by the name of Lee came out to talk to us. He gave us a brief run down of the company and what to expect that day, then Teddy (who is apparently the owner of this branch) came out with three "superstar" employees and paired us up for the day. I was paired with Robert. We were then included in a morning meeting where they went over a some of their work ethic philosophies and acknowledged some employees who were doing well, then we all dispersed to our cars. The three of us interviewing for the day were to shadow an employee for the day to get a good idea what the job is all about.

Robert and I headed down to his "territory" in Anaheim and got to work. We started going door-to-door talking to AT&T small- to medium-size businesses customers. Our purpose was to check out their AT&T statements to check that all the business updates that AT&T recently made were being accurately reflected in the bills. (Let me clarify: This company, the SoCal Group, Inc., has two major client corporations at the moment: AT&T and Quill. SoCal Group's responsibility is direct customer marketing/sales for these clients.) For whatever reason, most people just weren't interested, or they were busy, or the person in charge of the billing wasn't available. Robert got shut down a lot today. One lady, the manager of a women's health clinic was really hesitant and wary because lots of people call saying they're from AT&T but they're actually resellers and not official AT&T employees. One small business owner got really uppity and in Robert's face because ZOMG Robert "threw" the menu he'd been holding on the counter after he got shut down again. Really, he just dropped it. People do that all the time. But this guy decided to blow it completely out of proportion and act like Robert had been hella rude and all that crap. He wanted Robert's name so he could report his behavior to AT&T, and when Robert proved uncooperative with that, he started going after me. Dude needed to take a chill pill. He ended up harassing us until we left the business complex that we were in and threatened to get property management involved. Really, there's nothing the management could have done since Robert was visiting AT&T customers, not soliciting. All in all, we ended up doing this from about 9am to just about 4pm, which is a little shorter than the normal day for them. Some people were nice, some were rude like that uppity dude. Robert ended up closing one deal. He made $124 off that one sale.

We got back to the office just after 5pm. Robert had to go in and talk to Teddy about our day (and to tell him about uppity dude). They really wanted a firm yea or nay from me right then, but I still wasn't entirely sure. Robert apparently had awesome things to tell Teddy about me, so I got this "extension" time. Teddy asked that I email him by tomorrow evening regarding three topics if I'm interested. If I say yes, I'll start a two week long training period with Robert, kind of as a trial period. If I make a sale during that time, I get the money. If I sign on to the company after those two weeks, I get a $100 bonus. Sounds good, right?

Here come the drawbacks: It's a sales job. Meaning, I would pretty much be putting in 12 hour days. Robert apparently gets to the office by 7am and doesn't head home until after 6pm. Most of that time is spent hitting the pavement and knocking on doors. Secondly, this is a commission-only position. Meaning, I could end up working 12 hour days and coming home without a dime to show for it. If I make a sale, I get that money in commission. If I don't, I walk away with nothing. Robert's already made over $300 between today and yesterday, so it's possible to do well in this job, but it's not guaranteed. It would be entirely up to me. Third, this is extremely similar in structure to a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) corporation. In MLM companies, you start out at the bottom and work your way up. Once you're second level or higher, you start hiring people under you and you train them, and you get residuals from whatever commission they make, so you end up getting a fatter paycheck. This job is like that, but minus the residuals. MLM companies work for some people, but they're not for everyone.

I ended up getting home today around 6:30pm. I called Dad to talk over my interview and to get his thoughts on the whole thing since he's in the sales department for his company. He said he'd had a feeling this was a commission-only job. He also said that some people do very, very well in commission only jobs, but others like knowing they'll be getting X amount come payday. With commission only positions, paychecks can and do vary remarkably week-to-week. Robert said the good weeks tend to balance the bad, and he usually ends up making $500+ averaged every week. Other people who have been there a bit longer routinely make $1000 a week average. Dad also said that the hours are very typical of a sales job (remember in an earlier post I said he wasn't around too much? Yeah, that was because of his job). Dad thinks I could do very well in this type of position, but he also says it may not be for me, and that's fine too.

Essentially, I don't know. I would love to make $500 to $1000 every week. That would allow me to (very easily) pay my rent and other bills every month, and allow me to save money for things like emergencies and paying back my student loans come January (and maybe a nice vacation within the year, that would be sweet). I just don't want to put in 12 hour days. I don't know if I'm pushy/persuasive/whatever enough to make the sales that I'd need to make in order to get that kind of money. I'm very on the fence with this job. I'm considering say yeah, I'll put in the two weeks and see where I stand then. The worst thing that will happen is I'll lose 80+ hours of my time. If I make a commission, I'll get that money even if I don't stay with the company.

I really don't know what I'll do, but I need to decide within the next 18 or so hours if I'm going to give it a shot.

Thoughts?

My shoulder feels like it's burning. Started about an hour ago and I have absolutely no idea why. Moving it doesn't hurt any more than normal. There's just a burning sensation starting at one of the scars on the front of my shoulder boring into the joint and down the arm itself. I don't see any bites, I haven't been near any poisonous plants, and I haven't put anything on the skin lately. Any theories?

We have a situation and we need advice. I'll let my sister explain it, since she knows what's going on:

The day started normally enough. Soak in the tub, watch Heroes with Geena, vegetate while she cleans, then get up and ready to go to the complex and Wal-Mart.

Errands run, dinner made, get a cramp, back to soak in the tub again, then to bed. Take all night meds, including Ambien, and then the phone rings. It's Cynthia. "I need to get in touch with Mom," she says. "Harold and Reuben are saying I'm an unfit mother and they're going to take the girls."

"Wait. What happened?" I sit straight up, phone pressed tight to my ear.

"I stood up for myself." Her voice cracks under the strain. "I told them I need them to pay more child support, and their families got together and decided to take the girls, and my car doesn't have tags, the dealer never sent in the registration, so I'm afraid to drive anywhere, and they said they're gonna come here tomorrow and take my kids." She sounds worn, almost resigned. I am not. I have not had days of this coming at me.

"We'll come get you. We'll be there soon." I hang up and dash off an email to my dad before calling, "Geena, we have a crisis!"

I explain to her before I dress. Teddy claims my robe as his bed as soon as I drop it in the bathroom. Then, once I'm dressed, I have to re-explain to Matthew. We're out the door in no time and on the road, Geena reiterating that she's not comfortable with me driving after taking an Ambien. I tell her Cindy will drive on the way back and the Ambien won't kick in on the half-hour drive.

We take a wrong exit at first, so Geena calls home and has Matthew get us Cynthia's number. She calls while I get us back on the freeway, and the next exit is the one we want. We're there within five minutes of leaving the freeway.

Cynthia looks terrible. She's only thirty-three, but looks at least ten years older. She's lost weight, and her eyes have deep, dark circles under them. "Did you get ahold of Dad?" she asks.

"No, but I can call them." Geena passes me the cell phone, and I dial Dad's number. He's gotten the email I sent him, and I fill him in on what I know. He starts saying he doesn't want these people to show up at our house, telling me to order them off the property if they do and to call the police on a domestic disturbance complaint. All of which I know and plan, but make him feel better to say. Eventually, I pass the phone onto Cynthia.

The plan, as of now, is to take the boys to school as usual in the morning. Cynthia's going to call a friend of hers to see if she can take the girls. If not, Geena and I will keep the girls while we run errands and go to appointments. Cynthia will file restraining orders against Harold and Reuben (they both made death threats) and probably some others, and hopefully, finally start divorce proceedings against Reuben. She'll also be making calls to the dealership and Legal Aid to find herself a lawyer to protect herself from backlash from her moves.

I just. I don't know how these situations form around her. They're always around her. None of the rest of the family attracts this sort of drama. She has a magnet. It's insane.

So they're working on getting restraining orders against these two guys. I told them to make sure she documents everything that is happening. Keep logs of phone calls -- what was said by who and when -- keep copies of notes and emails received as proof of harassment. I can't think of anything else right now other than contacting a lawyer, and they're already doing that. Is there anything else we can do in this situation?

Does anybody know how to fix a Dell Inspiron 600m laptop? It's been a bitch about charging for almost a year now. It's not the battery or the adapter; those have both been replaced. It's an internal component, probably something that takes the input from the adapter to either power the computer or charge the batter (or both). For several months I had to fiddle with the exact positioning of the adapter to let it charge at all, but now, no matter how I adjust the adapter, my laptop doesn't get any juice. I have a bunch of files that I need to get! Hours of music, years of photos, documents from school and whatnot. I need these files, but I can't get to them because my damn laptop turns off the moment I turn it on. Argh.

Dan tried to fix my laptop last weekend by soldering the internal component thing back onto the motherboard to give it a better connection (as opposed to none at all). It worked!... for about 15 minutes. Now it's back to being a stupid piece of crap. Any other ideas? Is there any way I can hook up my laptop's harddrive to my desktop? Anything?

I posted 11 days ago about having to schedule an apointment for the dreaded yearly exam. I still have not done it. It's been on my mind pretty constantly for about two months, and I have yet to actually do anything about it; I always get anxious and squicky-feeling in my girly bits whenever I think about it. I heard recently that the FDA states that a pelvic exam is actually not necessary and has very little to do with safely prescribing hormonal birth control -- the only mandatory test is for blood pressure. I have also been told that a healthy woman under 30 years of age can get the exam once every two years: "The difference in relative risk of an important lesion progressing to invasive disease between two- or three-year screening intervals compared with a one-year interval is significant; however, it is important to note that the probability of disease is quite small even among women screened every three years." And the "USPSTF states that there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against bimanual pelvic examination in asymptomatic women at increased risk of developing ovarian cancer" (great because it creeps me out and makes me feel even more violated**). Apparently, the entire exam is up to me, though doctors conveniently forget to mention that and insinuate that it is required in order to obtain birth control. LIES.

Even knowing all this, I get really anxious thinking about it. My heart feels funny now, like it's in my throat and there's a hole in my chest where it's supposed to be. I'm afraid that I'll be denied my birth control if I schedule a normal apointment with my general practitioner and that they'll try to force the exam on me. I also feel like if I get the exam but insist they skip parts (like the bimanual), they'll refuse to write the prescription because I didn't submit to the entire thing. I'm at the point where I don't know if that's a rational thought or not. I only have a few days left in my pills, then the placebo week. I have no more refills lift, and my previous gyno is a dick and won't give me a refill unless I go into the office, presumably for the exam, which I DO NOT WANT. It's been suggested that I schedule the apointment and ask for a Valium or other sedative to take beforehand, but I feel like it will be even more of a violation if I'm out of it during the exam.

**Somebody mentioned elsewhere that this could indicate that I was sexually abused at some point. I have no memory of anything like that ever happening, and don't believe that this is the case.

Damnit, my arm still hurts. Bursitis has been acting up for two days straight. This is unprecedented and annoying.

I have a bad habit. I let every little thing get to me, and it's really stressing me out. Seriously, everything is annoying. I get annoyed when my roommate takes a shower right after I go to bed at 2 am, or when a car pulls out right in front of me because they didn't want to wait, or when people take up the entire sidewalk and refuse to move even when they see someone else coming. I'm annoyed that my roommates use my really expensive knives then don't wash them and dry them right away to prevent rusting. I whine, complain and yell. In short, I'm feeling like frustration and annoyance are taking over my life, and I'm tired of it.

I really need to start focusing on the good aspects of life a lot more. I think if I could do this, I would feel a lot less stressed and be a happier, more peaceful person overall instead being worked up all the time. I really feel like this is affecting me, at least through stress levels. That, and I feel like I'm not a very pleasant person to be around because I let so many things affect me that really shouldn't. Does anybody have any suggestiong as to how I can break this bad habit?