I wonder if there's a chance that I will ever have a job when I don't have to interact with and/or humor stupid people. I don't necessarily use the word "stupid" to sound mean; in fact, I use it to be descriptive. In my opinion, "stupid" people are people who don't pay attention to their surroundings that in doing so complicate things for those of us that do. I suppose I could use the word "imperceptive" to describe these people, but I feel that there's a certain sense of blatant ignorance that these people have. It's not that they just don't notice things, it's that they choose not to notice the things that would give them important information and make it so that I do not have to interact with them on a daily basis.
Today's examples include the phone call from the girl who called to inquire about the only remaining studio apartment we have available for lease. She doesn't live in Colorado, but has a friend here who went to look at the studio for her one day. She saw that we'd recently updated our craigslist ads and website to include interior pictures of the studio apartment, but she wanted some clarification of what she was looking at. She asked if the photos were of the living room or the bedroom. And when I told her that it was both the living room and the bedroom, she asked, "There's no wall that separates the living room from the bedroom?" Apparently, somehow she missed the fact that the apartment is a STUDIO. She felt it necessary to tell me that she is coming to Colorado to be a TA before she began asking her unbelievably stupid questions. It was all I could do not to ask her how in God's name she managed to graduate from college when she is clearly lacking a brain.
This was all, of course, after the series of phone calls I received from a man who had made it his personal mission to ruin my day. He called yesterday to ask questions about what we call "virtual office." Virtual office means that people or companies pay money to our property management company to make it look as though they have an office in our building. The can use our conference rooms, and mailing address. Sometimes they'll even pay for me to answer their phone calls and transfer them to a cell phone or home office. Since I am not involved in the commercial leasing part of the property management, I cannot give information regarding office space, or virtual tenancy. I told him to leave a message for my boss, the property manager, because yesterday she was out of the office. He asked why I couldn't give him information and I explained to him that I had no information to give him. Then left a voicemail. He then called again this morning, right around 10am, complaining that Barbara had not yet returned his phone call. Barbara did not even arrive at the office until close to 9:30 this morning, which is pretty normal. She pretty much left again right away (without telling me, also pretty normal), so by the time this guy called, she wasn't here. I told him that she was away from her desk but he's welcome to leave her a message. He said he'd already left a message - to which I asked, "When?" knowing full well that it was yesterday - and that if she didn't want to return his call, should he perhaps just take his business elsewhere? I replied that I would try to track her down so she could speak with him, which I did, but to no avail as she was not actually in the office anymore. I told him that I couldn't find her, but perhaps if he could not wait for her to return his phone call then perhaps it would be better for him to take his business elsewhere, to which he replied, "Oh, okay, thank you," and hung up. Momentarily, I felt a little better about the whole thing, and I was pretty proud of myself for being direct and forward while maintaining an air of cordiality. I feel like I told him he was being an ass without actually saying those words.
BUT THEN......
He then called back not 6 minutes later to say to me something along the lines of, "Since you don't want to help me, and since you seem not to want my business - and I don't know why - I'd just like to talk to the gal who does the leasing," to which I said that she was not in the office but he could leave her a message. Which he did. He then proceeded to call back another 18 minutes later, as though nothing had happened. He asked for Barbara, I told him she wasn't available, asked if he wanted to leave a voicemail, he said no, he'd just call back.
I was mad! He'd insinuated that I was purposefully trying to prevent him from using our services or something! What good would that do anyone!? I so badly wanted to tell him what an ass he was being, how ridiculous he was making himself look and where, exactly he could shove his business.
I waited for my boss to get back and called her and told her all about the guy, and about how mad I was over how rude he was, and that she probably had a couple of messages from him, including a complaint about me. All she said was, "Okay, I'll call him back." And she did. She came up and told me that she spoke to him a little but told him he'd have to wait for a call back from her while she thought about whether or not to allow him to use us for virtual services. She waited about an hour and called him back, but his voicemail box hadn't been set up yet so she couldn't leave him a message so she warned me that if he called back, that would be why.
It took me awhile to settle my feathers after that. But I've managed. I think one thing that's helped me is that I am quite enjoying the illusion that I live in a very rainy place. It's been raining almost all day long, and quite heavily for most of it. I love it. We don't get enough solid rainy days in Colorado, and it's been a dry year. Most of the precipitation we get is in the form of snow, which really messes things up all over the place for at least a couple of days. But the rain - the rain is nice and neat. No traffic jams, few accidents. Plus the moisture does wonders for my hair.
Tomorrow is my last Wednesday off for over two months. I start school next Tuesday. Working 5 days a week at 7:30am is going to be hard, but I have to keep telling myself that it's just temporary. I thought I would have a hard time working 3 days a week that early would be hard, but I didn't have any problems with it. Then I started working 4 days a week that early and I still haven't had a problem. Sure, getting up that early is tough, but it's going to help that I'm only going to be at work for 6 hours each day, and most of that time will be spent working on homework, reading, studying and writing, so it should go quick. Then it's an hour off, and an hour and a half of class and I get home around 4:30pm. So there will be some perks to having a change in schedule like this.
I have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, and that I'm not looking forward to. I really need to get some laundry done. I have to go talk to the Financial Aid people to get everything sorted out so that I will have enough money for school all summer, and make sure I'm set for the fall. I need to get a new student ID. And it's supposed to be similar weather tomorrow. But I have to get it done.
So, Writer Guy is interested in applying for the Peace Corps. He's hoping that he can be sent with me someplace. The adobe acrobat reader on his computer isn't working, so I copied the Health Requirements for him to look at and emailed them to him. During which time, I looked again for myself, which just renewed the feelings of apprehension I have for my own application and my own acceptance. Endometriosis is listed as something that will defer an applicant if it's something the applicant is currently "dealing with." Major depression - recurrent is something that it says that the "Peace Corps is typically unable to reasonably accommodate." I think I've said before that I'm hoping that I'm applying early enough to have a 6 month period of record for both of my conditions being under control enough for them to let me go. With each day that passes, though, my optimism for my acceptance is decreasing as I am rationalizing what the Peace Corps will consider "under control."
I'm still concerned about my uncertainty about Writer Guy. There is so much that should be supporting factors for my giving the whole thing a go, with both feet, but there is so little that is keeping me so uncertain that I have to pay attention. I keep saying it, but can't say enough that I just don't know what my problem is. I think I'm looking for a sign or something to help me make a decision either way. All I can do is just keep enjoying his company.
OH! Last night was great. I got home, took Phoenix on a walk - in which I ran around with him to give him more exercise - then fed him a ton of food, and made myself dinner, or brinner. Bacon and eggs with ham and onions. While I was fixing my dinner, though, Meredi asked me if I would like to join her and Braden for some dinner that they were cooking on the new grill out back. So, I said yes, even though I was already making myself something. Braden came over with Bart, his ginormous great dane. Bart likes to walk around and sort of growl and intimidate Phoenix, but it's okay. Phoenix was submissive to begin with, and he's a mama's boy and I already knew that. Anyway, we had some brats for dinner (along with my bacon and eggs) and it was delicious and really fun! Meredi made some red-wine spritzers with Sprite. While we were sitting and eating and talking, we decided to have some people over for Memorial Day for a BBQ. So I'm excited about that! I'll need to borrow things from my parental units to pitch in, but I think it will be okay. And I think the weather is supposed to be beautiful. After that last night, I felt like I had been given a second chance. At life. I did everything right yesterday. I walked my dog, I made dinner. I socialized with my roommates. I made plans. I didn't hole up, I didn't fall asleep, I didn't spend hours doing nothing. And that means that I can change things whenever and however I want to. I don't have to wait, I don't have to prepare. It's all in the small choices I make every day.
If I can just keep that in mind, then maybe I have a chance.
Today's examples include the phone call from the girl who called to inquire about the only remaining studio apartment we have available for lease. She doesn't live in Colorado, but has a friend here who went to look at the studio for her one day. She saw that we'd recently updated our craigslist ads and website to include interior pictures of the studio apartment, but she wanted some clarification of what she was looking at. She asked if the photos were of the living room or the bedroom. And when I told her that it was both the living room and the bedroom, she asked, "There's no wall that separates the living room from the bedroom?" Apparently, somehow she missed the fact that the apartment is a STUDIO. She felt it necessary to tell me that she is coming to Colorado to be a TA before she began asking her unbelievably stupid questions. It was all I could do not to ask her how in God's name she managed to graduate from college when she is clearly lacking a brain.
This was all, of course, after the series of phone calls I received from a man who had made it his personal mission to ruin my day. He called yesterday to ask questions about what we call "virtual office." Virtual office means that people or companies pay money to our property management company to make it look as though they have an office in our building. The can use our conference rooms, and mailing address. Sometimes they'll even pay for me to answer their phone calls and transfer them to a cell phone or home office. Since I am not involved in the commercial leasing part of the property management, I cannot give information regarding office space, or virtual tenancy. I told him to leave a message for my boss, the property manager, because yesterday she was out of the office. He asked why I couldn't give him information and I explained to him that I had no information to give him. Then left a voicemail. He then called again this morning, right around 10am, complaining that Barbara had not yet returned his phone call. Barbara did not even arrive at the office until close to 9:30 this morning, which is pretty normal. She pretty much left again right away (without telling me, also pretty normal), so by the time this guy called, she wasn't here. I told him that she was away from her desk but he's welcome to leave her a message. He said he'd already left a message - to which I asked, "When?" knowing full well that it was yesterday - and that if she didn't want to return his call, should he perhaps just take his business elsewhere? I replied that I would try to track her down so she could speak with him, which I did, but to no avail as she was not actually in the office anymore. I told him that I couldn't find her, but perhaps if he could not wait for her to return his phone call then perhaps it would be better for him to take his business elsewhere, to which he replied, "Oh, okay, thank you," and hung up. Momentarily, I felt a little better about the whole thing, and I was pretty proud of myself for being direct and forward while maintaining an air of cordiality. I feel like I told him he was being an ass without actually saying those words.
BUT THEN......
He then called back not 6 minutes later to say to me something along the lines of, "Since you don't want to help me, and since you seem not to want my business - and I don't know why - I'd just like to talk to the gal who does the leasing," to which I said that she was not in the office but he could leave her a message. Which he did. He then proceeded to call back another 18 minutes later, as though nothing had happened. He asked for Barbara, I told him she wasn't available, asked if he wanted to leave a voicemail, he said no, he'd just call back.
I was mad! He'd insinuated that I was purposefully trying to prevent him from using our services or something! What good would that do anyone!? I so badly wanted to tell him what an ass he was being, how ridiculous he was making himself look and where, exactly he could shove his business.
I waited for my boss to get back and called her and told her all about the guy, and about how mad I was over how rude he was, and that she probably had a couple of messages from him, including a complaint about me. All she said was, "Okay, I'll call him back." And she did. She came up and told me that she spoke to him a little but told him he'd have to wait for a call back from her while she thought about whether or not to allow him to use us for virtual services. She waited about an hour and called him back, but his voicemail box hadn't been set up yet so she couldn't leave him a message so she warned me that if he called back, that would be why.
It took me awhile to settle my feathers after that. But I've managed. I think one thing that's helped me is that I am quite enjoying the illusion that I live in a very rainy place. It's been raining almost all day long, and quite heavily for most of it. I love it. We don't get enough solid rainy days in Colorado, and it's been a dry year. Most of the precipitation we get is in the form of snow, which really messes things up all over the place for at least a couple of days. But the rain - the rain is nice and neat. No traffic jams, few accidents. Plus the moisture does wonders for my hair.
Tomorrow is my last Wednesday off for over two months. I start school next Tuesday. Working 5 days a week at 7:30am is going to be hard, but I have to keep telling myself that it's just temporary. I thought I would have a hard time working 3 days a week that early would be hard, but I didn't have any problems with it. Then I started working 4 days a week that early and I still haven't had a problem. Sure, getting up that early is tough, but it's going to help that I'm only going to be at work for 6 hours each day, and most of that time will be spent working on homework, reading, studying and writing, so it should go quick. Then it's an hour off, and an hour and a half of class and I get home around 4:30pm. So there will be some perks to having a change in schedule like this.
I have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, and that I'm not looking forward to. I really need to get some laundry done. I have to go talk to the Financial Aid people to get everything sorted out so that I will have enough money for school all summer, and make sure I'm set for the fall. I need to get a new student ID. And it's supposed to be similar weather tomorrow. But I have to get it done.
So, Writer Guy is interested in applying for the Peace Corps. He's hoping that he can be sent with me someplace. The adobe acrobat reader on his computer isn't working, so I copied the Health Requirements for him to look at and emailed them to him. During which time, I looked again for myself, which just renewed the feelings of apprehension I have for my own application and my own acceptance. Endometriosis is listed as something that will defer an applicant if it's something the applicant is currently "dealing with." Major depression - recurrent is something that it says that the "Peace Corps is typically unable to reasonably accommodate." I think I've said before that I'm hoping that I'm applying early enough to have a 6 month period of record for both of my conditions being under control enough for them to let me go. With each day that passes, though, my optimism for my acceptance is decreasing as I am rationalizing what the Peace Corps will consider "under control."
I'm still concerned about my uncertainty about Writer Guy. There is so much that should be supporting factors for my giving the whole thing a go, with both feet, but there is so little that is keeping me so uncertain that I have to pay attention. I keep saying it, but can't say enough that I just don't know what my problem is. I think I'm looking for a sign or something to help me make a decision either way. All I can do is just keep enjoying his company.
OH! Last night was great. I got home, took Phoenix on a walk - in which I ran around with him to give him more exercise - then fed him a ton of food, and made myself dinner, or brinner. Bacon and eggs with ham and onions. While I was fixing my dinner, though, Meredi asked me if I would like to join her and Braden for some dinner that they were cooking on the new grill out back. So, I said yes, even though I was already making myself something. Braden came over with Bart, his ginormous great dane. Bart likes to walk around and sort of growl and intimidate Phoenix, but it's okay. Phoenix was submissive to begin with, and he's a mama's boy and I already knew that. Anyway, we had some brats for dinner (along with my bacon and eggs) and it was delicious and really fun! Meredi made some red-wine spritzers with Sprite. While we were sitting and eating and talking, we decided to have some people over for Memorial Day for a BBQ. So I'm excited about that! I'll need to borrow things from my parental units to pitch in, but I think it will be okay. And I think the weather is supposed to be beautiful. After that last night, I felt like I had been given a second chance. At life. I did everything right yesterday. I walked my dog, I made dinner. I socialized with my roommates. I made plans. I didn't hole up, I didn't fall asleep, I didn't spend hours doing nothing. And that means that I can change things whenever and however I want to. I don't have to wait, I don't have to prepare. It's all in the small choices I make every day.
If I can just keep that in mind, then maybe I have a chance.
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