Myweightlossdiary wrote: »

Today I will

Not let school get in the way of my exercise goals
Kick my butt again with Jillian (day 3!)
Get in more steps by helping my man who's managed to injure his meniscus (he's stubborn - lol)
Drink at least 5 cups of water at work (it's a 12 or 16 oz bottle - I don't remember)
Mentally prepare myself to stay focused on both work and school!

@blitzbis It's so hot over here there's a lot of people's grass dying because of city ordinances not allowing sprinklers but on certain days of the week at certain times. I hope it gets back to looking pretty and green soon!

@chubbard9 I'm sorry but your comment "-Try not to let work/life get me crazy today!" cracks me up! I just thought I'd share. Haha

Myweightlossdiary wrote: »

@chubbard9 Enjoy that hershey!! I'm sorry for the rude customers. I'm so glad I work at a university when the "rudest" customers are students who are upset at the way their professors graded them on some assignment. I used to work for an insurance company a long long time ago (lasted like 2 months before I quit - I was 18 or so) in their customer center and boy, the things people said over the phone were just mind blowing! To this day, that experience has taught me to be really careful on my tone of voice and the words I say when calling a customer center. It's NOT the person's fault for why whatever problem happened. Chances are, people are much more willing to work with someone who's calm and collected than ranting and raving. Yes, you could say the squeaky wheel always get the oil but it also gets you noticed as the top worse customer to deal with. I knew someone like that who I dreaded so much. I dislike dealing with people who complain just to complain. So many people attempt to ruin other people's days just by their sore attitude, but I want to do the opposite!

That reminds me of a story when I called one of my credit card companies about being double charged. I calmly described the situation and the lady was very polite. My account was hit hard but thankfully I had enough money so I didn't incur any extra fees. The lady mentioned near the end of the call that she was surprised at my demeanor because anyone else would be been yelling and screaming at her. I told her I knew it was not her fault and I figured it was some kind of computer error. Why get upset? I just wanted to get the problem fixed and why should I put her in a bad mood in the process? She thanked me for that and told me about how her day had been before she called. I know nowadays they have a script to follow and this lady probably would be fired for saying this out of script, but I must say I appreciated her for sharing. I also kept this credit card for years and still have it because of the way I was treated - in part by this lady.

Myweightlossdiary wrote: »

@chubbard9 You are much stronger than I would have been! I love how you use that energy and momentum to help you reach your exercise goals. Also think of it this way, all these bad experiences teach you life lessons on how not to act. That's how I look at ex-boyfriends too. Haha! I've been cheated on twice (once with my best friend). I think it was because of my weight although I'm not 100% sure. Still, we both got this! Let's focus on the positive and do this together!

RaeBeeBaby wrote: »

Today I will:
Drink my water and herbal tea
Take my supplements
Do at least 20 mins of exercise in all areas of the GoT challenge (cardio, strength, flex)

@chubbard9 - I'm only working from home these days. I left a very stressful job last September and now I am self-employed. It's nice to take a break anytime I choose and I love my little afternoon naps! (Before I quit working, I would sometimes go to my car in the parking garage, set my phone alarm for 15 minutes, and take a little snooze.)

RaeBeeBaby wrote: »

Just reading about your ladies' customer service experiences brought back a lot of memories for me.

I can sympathize as I have had some of the WORST jobs ever. One of my first jobs out of college was working as a Revenue Agent for the state public assistance program. My job was to collect money for welfare and food stamp overpayments, to set up payment plans, and to file legal action against them if they didn't pay. It was completely horrible. First of all, those people have no money to begin with and only got an overpayment because they tried to work (under the table usually) and didn't report it. We would confiscate tax refunds for repayment even if they were making payments. I can't tell you how many times I heard "my child won't have a birthday party because of you" or something similar. People would either be screaming or crying. I was called every name in the book, verbally threatened many times, and nearly attacked in my office. They used to let "customers" come to our desks until this enormous guy almost punched me in the face! My manager came to the rescue and then they changed their policy about one-on-one contact. I did that job for almost 3 years and nearly had a nervous breakdown!

Years later I got a huge promotion as the Grievance Coordinator for the state child support program. It was such a big raise, I thought I could handle it. I dealt with all the worst problem cases and complaints. I would answer anywhere from 40-50 calls a day and most of them were not nice. We were dealing with very volatile issues - money and children. I was also threatened many times and we'd have to call the State Police. One time a guy came to the office with a gun and we ended up hiding under our desks. I also had a guy threaten to commit suicide while on the phone with me. I always tried to rationalize with them, but if they became abusive or used profanity I was allowed to terminate the call. Sometimes they'd call back 5-6-7 times before they'd finally calm down. I lasted about 2 years at that job before I had an opportunity to transfer to another department. When I left they hired FIVE new people to support the program! FIVE!!!!

So, you can see why I'm very happy to be self-employed and not have to deal with that kind of shenanigans anymore!! Plus, I can do yoga or take a nap whenever I feel like it!!

RaeBeeBaby wrote: »

chubbard9 wrote: »

RaeBeeBaby wrote: »

Just reading about your ladies' customer service experiences brought back a lot of memories for me.

I can sympathize as I have had some of the WORST jobs ever. One of my first jobs out of college was working as a Revenue Agent for the state public assistance program. My job was to collect money for welfare and food stamp overpayments, to set up payment plans, and to file legal action against them if they didn't pay. It was completely horrible. First of all, those people have no money to begin with and only got an overpayment because they tried to work (under the table usually) and didn't report it. We would confiscate tax refunds for repayment even if they were making payments. I can't tell you how many times I heard "my child won't have a birthday party because of you" or something similar. People would either be screaming or crying. I was called every name in the book, verbally threatened many times, and nearly attacked in my office. They used to let "customers" come to our desks until this enormous guy almost punched me in the face! My manager came to the rescue and then they changed their policy about one-on-one contact. I did that job for almost 3 years and nearly had a nervous breakdown!

Years later I got a huge promotion as the Grievance Coordinator for the state child support program. It was such a big raise, I thought I could handle it. I dealt with all the worst problem cases and complaints. I would answer anywhere from 40-50 calls a day and most of them were not nice. We were dealing with very volatile issues - money and children. I was also threatened many times and we'd have to call the State Police. One time a guy came to the office with a gun and we ended up hiding under our desks. I also had a guy threaten to commit suicide while on the phone with me. I always tried to rationalize with them, but if they became abusive or used profanity I was allowed to terminate the call. Sometimes they'd call back 5-6-7 times before they'd finally calm down. I lasted about 2 years at that job before I had an opportunity to transfer to another department. When I left they hired FIVE new people to support the program! FIVE!!!!

So, you can see why I'm very happy to be self-employed and not have to deal with that kind of shenanigans anymore!! Plus, I can do yoga or take a nap whenever I feel like it!!

Oh my god! That is absolutely frightening! I don't think I have it in me to do a job like that! I would quit on the spot! Kudos to you for having the guts to do that!!! If you don't mind me asking, what do you do, as you are self-employed!

I know! It was frightening, but it paid the bills and the benefits were great, especially the health insurance. I had young children at home and my husband didn't have health insurance at his work at all. Things got much better after I left the child support job. I worked for the state nearly 34 years and was just ready to get out. My hubby now works for a company with health insurance and, even though it's not great coverage, at least we have some!

I sell things on ebay and craigslist. I've done it as a hobby for the past 10+ years and you can actually make good money doing this. I used to do it for a few weeks here and there if I needed Christmas money or whatnot. After I left my job last fall I started out selling a lot of my work clothes and shoes and just extra junk around the house. Sometimes family and friends give me their cast-offs instead of taking them to charity. I also go to garage sales, church rummage sales and thrift stores and try to find good quality name brands and unique items for resale. My best sale so far was a sweater I bought at a g-sale for 50 cents. I listed it for $5.00 and it sold for $45.00!! Of course not every sale is that sweet, but once in awhile! It's fun and I only have to work as hard as I feel like. I'm thinking about what I can sell on Etsy as well, but have not listed anything there yet. Etsy is more specific to handmade items and vintage.