To the women in my life…

Recently my extended family’s online bulletin board has been having a conversation about which gender was better. It all started when my younger cousin posted, saying that boys have it easier than girls. She said,

“girls are all worried about looks, popularity, fashion, styles, friends and so on.
boys, well, that is a different story. they don’t worry about looks.
they just grab something and throw it on. they are all on the same level
so no one is more popular than another. they also don’t really care (no
offense to those who do) about celebrities.[…]”

I decided that that required a reply, and several of my family have suggested that I share what I wrote with a slightly broader audience. So to all the women in my life, I simply say that these are my words, and my beliefs.

I work for State Farm, a good example of “typical big business”. I have two bosses; one is a man, the other a woman. The man had a boss who is a woman. She got promoted and now his new boss is a woman. There are more women than men in my unit (which is a technical field) and more women in the unit above mine.

I went to Illinois State University where the women outnumber the men by well over 2:1. (It’s actually a selling point to the men)

I have a sister who walked away from a job making as much as I do simply because she doesn’t like it, a mother who works because she likes it, and a grandmother who worked where she liked and still enjoys it. I have female cousins who create, heal, support and aspire, and I have female friends who continue to out pace me in both career and salary.

I’ve had friends, crushes, and girlfriends who have been more beautiful to me in a hoodie and pajama pants than they ever could be in a ball gown. I’ve seen women look more gorgeous the moment they wake up than after 3 hours of “getting ready”, and I have seen women who, with a mere glance, can capture a man’s heart.

Men don’t worry about what we look like, because we know that we can never be as good looking as the woman we are with… no matter what she has on. Men have their popularity contests, but can never be as popular as the woman in the room. If men go first, it is only so that women can go with style.

What I’m getting to, is that while this argument is as old as the genders themselves, from my experience, it is the men who have much to envy of the women. I’m a self described romantic and I’ll admit to still believing in chivalry. I open women’s doors (to the point that one of my friends had to threaten me to get me to stop opening hers). I pull out chairs when appropriate, rarely allow women to pay (even friends – another argument or two), and often pay compliments simply to make someone smile. None of this is done in order to lessen women, but is rather my way of saying thanks to those who’s mere presence is often enough to lighten the heart.

So next time you talk about men having it better, think back on this and realize all you don’t even know you do.

Where is Christmas?

(for those of you tagged in this, if you get bored, the message to you is in the end) 

I’ve  been sort of moping around the past week.  What has become somewhat of a family tradition for me, and what usually is the kick-off of my christmas season got scrubbed this year.  It’s called Pizza and Candles and it’s when many (but never all) of my mom’s side of the family gather at my grandma’s to have pizza, talk, and play cups.  The only light that’s allowed in the room is candles, and my grandma has something like 50 candles scattered throughout the place.  It’s beautiful, relaxing, and a great way to remind me that it’s christmas.  Anyway, this year it got moved to after christmas because so much of our family has moved out of chicago that the tradition has to change due to travel stuff.  It’s funny how moving one little day can change your perspective on the holiday.

Anyway, with nothing to kick off my christmas spirit, i’ve been listening to christmas music at work and trying to “get in the mood”.  So far, it’s been failing to do much.  All week in the atrium at corporate they’ve had holiday stuff and i’ve sat and listened and gotten a kick in the spirit, but then i realize that it’s 4 days before christmas and I havent bought gifts for anyone but mom, I have broken glasses that becoming more of a pain each day, and just all the little things.  With this cheerful attitude, and not many people left in town, i decided to take matters into my own hands.

I hung up my christmas lights tonight.  That’s something totally out of character for me these past few years.  I’ve not been the “christmas spirit” person in the apartment.  Christmas used to be my favorite holiday when I was a kid, but now I never decorate because I usually am not in the apartment what with school and work and such.  Well, when I put up the lights this year, a whole ton of memories flooded back, and they were a warm welcome on a cold night.

Christmas lights actually remind me of college… as Shannon probably recalls they were always up in our dorm room..and served as a pretty decent source of light.  They remind me of all the people who made college a wonderful experience, and they remind me of all the experiences I had with those people and how they touched my life.  A great roomate in Shannon, awsome neighbors in Drew, Nick, Ian, the wonderful women of Colby 7 - without whom i’m not sure i’d still be sane, and Charity and Lauren — the only two women i’ve ever met who have the uncanny power to always know what i’m thinking, and still appreciate me.  And to all the rest who are too many to mention, some of you I’m still very close to, some of you have faded into the background of my life, but all of you know that you are and will continue to be my friends.  I never would have made it through college without all of you, and I consider myself lucky to have friends like you.   I wish you the very best both in this holiday season and always.  Thank you all for being the memories and friends who helped kickoff to my holiday season this year.

Yours Always

~Brian

State Farm Week 3

Sorry it’s been awhile since i’ve posted — After the long week of emergency management i’ve just been settling into my new job and trying to get my life in order.  It’s a bit more drastic of a shift than one would think - moving from retail to real world.  I can come home and eat dinner at the same time every day, I can know that i’ll have weekends to take trips or do work, and I also have to drag my butt out of bed way earlier than I used to.  All of that, coupled with the fact that old friends keep popping up, has pretty well drained my days and nights.

I just finished week 3 at State Farm and I’ve just discovered a few remarkable things.  I called dad (as I tend to do quite often) and told him that i’d discovered something remarkable as I was walking out of work on Wed or Thurs…. I don’t hate my job.  I dont think I ever realized that I truly hated best buy (while it had it’s moments, that would be the default condition) and in the short time I’ve been at SF it’s been cool - I dont mind going to work (other than that whole time of day thing).   I’m afraid it may get boring, but the calls we get are of a decent variety that hopefully it will keep me interested. 

The people I work with are all older than me (by a good quantity of years) but I still am accepted as far as I can tell.  I’ve been doing good work and they see that.  I’m starting to get the feel for the job, I’ve actually “gone live” and started helping people on the hotline.  I’ve closed about 40 work tickets in 2 days and I tied for most calls answered (31) on friday.  It was a crazy day friday.  See, I got to learn more about the other aspects of our job.

We maintain several 800 numbers that provide service in the event of a catastrophe (like you’d call them to make a claim) and because of the events in the pacific northwest on friday, those got turned on.  We had to setup call routing from those area codes to call centers across the us.  We then had to monitor them and make sure they continued to work, and fix problems in a timely manner.  It’s nothing huge, but ontop of our day-to-day business, it let me experience what “busy” really is there.  Hurricane season is apparently like that way more often. 

I’m able to get around the building pretty well now, and I’ve become pretty good at the basic understanding of the acronym list that is a huge part of state farm culture.  I’ve still got months and months of learning ahead of me, but I’m liking it where i’m at for now.  Even though I swore i’d never stay in this town, and that I’d NEVER work for State Farm, I find myself happy for now.

Now that work is starting to stabilize and i’ve begun to figure out a routine, It’s time to look to my social life.  I’m cleaning my apartment today, looking over my finances and doing my laundry.  After that comes the hope that I can start to get reconnected with friends who are out of town (I can visit now!) and stay connected with those who still work a retail schedule (stayin up till 2am and going to work at 7 is harder than it looks!).  It seems i’m on the right track so far.

Hope to see you all soon!

~Brian

A Long Weekend of Emergency Management

So… Friday was one of the worst winter storms to hit the midwest in a freakin long time.  Let me try to get down everything that I did this weekend.  First off, I should mention that state farm closed for the first time in several years, IWU closed for the first time ever, and ISU closed for the first time in about 20 years.  I managed to keep busy though…

Thursday night I was at home trying to decide if I was going to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for my usual dinner with my Best Buy friends.  We decided to cancel because there was a ice storm going on…literally ice falling from the sky.  It hurt to be outside.  I settled in to a warm night at home.  about 8:45 I recieved a call from my GSAR Coordinator asking if I was available for two missing children in LeRoy.  Yes, in the middle of an ice storm and pending winter storm two children wandered off.   I was rolling towards the garage in about 15 minutes (even with the fact that I broke my ice scraper on the 1/2 inch of ice on my car).  I responded to the garage and got sent to the EOC to be a communicator.  Turns out the kinds got found about 5 minutes before we made it to scene… end of Thursday.

Friday Morning, I recieve a call around 8:00am.  I hadent been called out at 5 with the rest of the team (dont know why) and they now needed me to respond to Miller Park to become Liason Officer for a shelter there.  It took me 20 minutes to de-ice my car and remove the packed snow from the base of the wipers (i even had to pop the hood to get at some of it).  Then it took 40 minutes to travel in town a distance that usually takes 15-20.  When I arrived, I found out that it was our shelter (we opened it) and that I was the shelter manager for this warming center.  I spent my day confering with our shelter coordinator and the red cross…. turns out no one showed up at the warming shelter, but it was good to know what we could get a shelter fully activated in under 1 hour.  That was friday.  During this time, we also had road patrols pulling people from stranded cars, helping with traffic control at accidents, identifying problem areas, and assisting other agencies.  One of the busiest days i’ve seen for us… LOVED IT!

Sat was an off day, no callout.  Sunday however, I get a phone call at 1pm asking if i’m available… i start laughing.  We’ve been activated more in the past 3 days than in the past year.  We respond to the garage with orders to bring the command post and every vehicle to Colfax to help them.  We will be checking the wellbeing of every single person in the town because they have been without power for 3 days.  The local EMA is exhausted and we are stepping in to give them a rest.  It’s my first time alone as a communicator and my captain says I did a great job…. that makes me happy.  I serve as “command” communications, coordinating all four teams in the field.  We literally go house to house identifying people who need to be checked on, areas who dont have residential power lines (while power has been restored to colfax, the lines from a residence to the power grid may take up to 12 days).  It was a busy 5 hours, but we got the job done.  Colfax was very happy to see us.

this has also given our agency some of the best press it has ever recieved.  I hope that both in the public safety community and in the community as a whole this helps our image out.  Anyway, it’s been a crazy weekend for EMA and i’ve gotten almost nothing done at home.  IT’s given me about 20 different policy documents to write, but I’m up to the challenge.   Time for sleep right now though.

More later….

~Brian

Emergency Management

As I sit here eating pizza, I thought I should tell you about EMA.  Not only am i starting at state farm this week, but I also recieved a call on Wed from my captain at EMA letting me know that we are back in the winter weather patrol business.  This means that on friday morning (5 hours from this post) we are expecting to have to activate to patrol roads for the morning commute.  This would not suck, except for the fact that this means that I will go to bed now and in 5 hours be at and EOC for 3 hours before going to work for the day. 

This is further made interesting by the fact that at 9pm tonight, I recieved a call that placed me in stand by and then activated me.  Not for winter weather as one may thing, but rather for a ground search and rescue… during an Ice Storm.  My initial response was “you’ve gotta be kidding”. 

Upon arrival, I find that there are two kids who have wandered from home.  I am to report to the EOC and act as a communicator.  As we are getting setup (around 10pm) we recieve notice that they were found in a neighboring town.  They were trying to walk from LeRoy to Bloomington as best as I can tell….

GSAR in an Ice Storm…. near as I can tell… thats like the worst one I can think of. 

Gonna be a long few days - off to sleep for about 4.5 hours before possible activation then work.

Brian

State Farm - Day 4

So my grandmother asked me if it was a good idea to be writing criticism of corporate procedure on the internet…. I suppose my reply would be that I really dont feel that i’m writing criticism, but rather simply writing about my experiences in getting hired - perhaps there is something to learn from them.

So, Day 4 has ended.  During day 3 we had our first unit meeting.  We talked about customer service.  It reminded me of every other customer service meeting i’ve been to… I was happy cause i knew what I was talking about having come from retail. It was a good meeting to start with.  Later, I was called up by our psudo-secretary (she is owned by a different department and unit but she helps us out because our secretaries are in a building 15min away).  Jorja wanted to let me know that security wanted to reissue my badge in order to give me access to my office. 

I was confused since the RF chip in my badge was unique to me and could simply have it’s security profile updated.  I said as much to security as they were about to re-issue my badge… they said “wait, thats what you wanted, heck hold a minute”.  They clicked 4 buttons and I got into my office and the switch room across the hall.  I’m learning how to get things done at corporate :)  It’s important to fill out the paperwork, but also to make sure that that paperwork is understood.

 Later in the day, I recieved an email from my boss telling me that she had worked it out with the equipment movers and that my laptop, monitor, docking station, printer, mouse, and keyboard would arrive tomorrow (11/30) and that I wouldnt have to do anything.  One of my co-workers suggested that I follow her to do some stuff, so we left to help me get oriented with the building and find a file cabinet 4 stories above my office that I would need access to.  We were gone about 10 minutes.

During that 10 minutes, my computer arrived…minus the printer.  During that 10 minutes it was also totally installed.  These guys are insane, they could set records for this.  I came back, sat down, and then went “holy crap i have a computer”.  Impressive.   So that afternoon, I figured out the basics, like how to use my email, scheduler, and the other simple stuff.  I also finally figured out where both benifit stuff was, and where to sign up for my required courses online.  That took up most of the day.

Today (Day 4) I primarly spent at my desk.  I’m starting to get into the technical stuff.  I have access to every telephony reporting tool and switch in the company.  Thats just mind boggling.  We support call centers throughout the united states and I believe canada.  My team lead took me to South today to show me the (Customer Response Center) CRC and the BRC (Bank Response Center).  Imagine two floors of a huge office building just filled with computers and people to take calls.  Bloomington is like one of two or three of these locations nationwide.

The CRC’s take spillover calls and also have calles routed to them from agents when the agent’s office is closed.  We (to the best of my knowledge) are responsible for helping to maintain call distribution, fixing problems, and are pretty much the telephony catch-all callcenter…. all 5 of us.  I started to get into technical stuff today, and honestly i was suprised by how much i understood so quickly.  I’m looking forward to my continued training.

I will spend 3 days next week with different units to learn what they do and how we interact.  I’ll have a day with Zone Telecommunications (ZTSC) and 2 days with Corporate Voice Services and their wireless folks (CVS).  That should be great.

I also made my first visit to our company store, located in the atrium.  I picked up two state farm umbrellas since I lost mine this morning.  That store has a state farm everything!  O so fun!

More Later

~BB

State Farm… Day 2

So, I have just finished my 2nd day of work at state farm.  It has been a very interesting process.  On the first day, I arrived to find that I didnt actually work in corp south as I had been under the impression of, but rather in Corporate.  I then find that my badge is at corporate and will have to be messengered over to south, i am issued a temp badge.  I begin my meeting with Rhonda Smith, my manager, and get told about all the usual corporate stuff that one finds out about first day.  Days off, how to clock overtime, who the boss is and what the reporting structure is, compensation and benifits, pay, and the ever popular, what you will be doing.

We take a  trip over to corporate (they have shuttle service!) and that takes about 20 minutes from pickup to dropoff.  We go in and find that yes, my badge has been moved to south….sigh.  It turns out that I am working in the AB basement.  We enter in the 4 story atrium which is nice, but of a very 70s/80s style (brown).  We proceed to the basement (a process that will later get me lost for the first time alone) and I have a VERY OFFICE SPACE moment.  The basement has bare celings of pipe, concrete floors, and that “i’m a janitor” kinda feel to it.  I say in my head “o crap, what have I gotten into”.

My boss swipes into my office zone (it’s a secured part of a secured building if that says anything).  “O thank god, it’s a actual work area with carpet and a celing and cubes”.  I meet my team (5 of us me included) and meet the 20 or so other people who work there.  All seem like good people, but I am by far the youngest that i’ve found so far.  Truly, I’m still a bit unnerved by the whole environment I am in, but I think i’ll be a good fit after a few months on the job.

So, Day 1 is NEO (New Employee Orientation) for 2 hours and then back to my desk to see if my loaner equipment works.  NEO is like “fill out tax forms, here are your medical packs and you need to do all this in 31 days, and also, do all these required courses within 3 weeks without falling behind in work”.  The reason that I said “loaner equipment” is that I dont have a computer, nor do I have a tape dispenser, stapler, hole punch, or anything else like that.  It’s the end of day two and I just got a pen and pad of paper from the supply cabinet.  I do however have 2 phones, 6 headsets, 1 2005 phone book, 5 out of date training manuals, and a box full of random crap like old batteries, erasers, highlighters, and other garbage.  My favorite find was the 2ft in diameter roll of magnet that I found in one of my cubbies.  The last guy got fired, and my cube has been empty for some time….

Day 2 is my first day reporting to corporate fully.  I arrive a half hour early because i’m still thinking drive time to south, which is about an extra 15 minutes.  Get to my area and my badge wont let me into my area (no suprise, it takes like 2 days to process and I got added one Day 1 morning).  I knock and get let in, drop my stuff and go to a “New Neighbor” meeting.  Here I learn about the different aspects of the company for about 4.5 hours.  We have about 72,000 employees with about 17,000 agents, 6,000 in systems, 15,000 in Bloomington/Normal and process something like 6million claims last year.  (i think i got all that right).  We also recieve a copy of “the Farmer From Merna” about our founder and the history of state farm.  I may even read it someday.  We hear about how to become an agent, a banker, a systems person, and a claims rep.  All in all, interesting though long, and I really liked listening to the video from catastrophe team.  Honestly, at moments I really did feel like I was happy to be at State Farm….wow.

At the end we recieve, in true corporate fashion, a “puzzle piece” pin to remind us that we are part of the great SF team.  I’m off to lunch then… we eat up on C4 if we stay in the building, and it’s got a chic-a-filet, pepe’s, blimpies, a “cafiteria” thing, and a pizza hut.  Kinda like college.  Huge dining room with a window (nice for us basement dwellers).  I like the food better at south, it’s down in the basement but it’s new, modern, and has a sabarros (sp?) pizza.  Plus systems folks are my easiest people to understand, and there are not many of them at corporate.

I then spend the end of the day doing new employee training at my desk, cleaning stuff out of the desk, and putting training manuals together.  In theory, I should have all my access and equipment by the end of the week… but i’ll believe that when I see it.  They put a “rush” on it.  My chair sucks, but i’ll probably ask for an ergo review in a few months because of my back anyway.  I finished late today, but late is still only 8.75 hours as opposed to 8.25 that we should work.  I’m getting to work at 7:30 and leaving at 3:45… quite the change from best buy.

All in all, I like it so far, it’s just a lot to change.  The part i’m most unnerved by is the technical stuff because i’m so far behind in voice services, but I start that tomorrow and thats when i’ll find out if I can swing it - I dont worry too much.  Well, 8am meeting at south, so that means that I have to drive down there (extra 15 minutes) and then drive back to corp to start the day….sigh… up early tomorrow.

~Brian

PS: perk of being in the basement… my office is about 500ft from where the exec underground parking enterance is, so I’m told we see Ed Rust and those folks about once a month or so.  Should be fun.   

~BB

BBY / State Farm / Maggie’s

So today, I went back into best buy to let them know about my injury a
bit more and to tell them that I would be getting my glasses checked as
well.  Some of the managers had not heard about what had happened and
started laughing when they found out about it.  Honestly, I laughed
along with them.  We all thought it was just hilarious that on my last
day, my last hour, I had to file an accident report.  My direct manager
just started smiling when he saw me, he had been called by the manager
on duty last night because the MOD knew that Darek was up and knew how
to fill out an accident report.  I couldnt keep a straight face either.
 He just kept patting me on the back and chuckling as he signed the time
edit stating when I should have punched out last night.

I was also in to clean out my toolbox since I didnt have time to do that
last night, and that was a strange feeling.  I took home my dust mask,
my vending machine change, my drugs, and my extra ID badge.  Crazy
feeling after a year.  My boss offered to keep me on one day a week
until I figured out what was going on with SF, but I told him to go
ahead and process me out because I wasent sure that I wanted to stay.
In truth, I’d already said many of my goodbyes, hugged a ton of really
great friends I’ve made and didn’t want to figure out what it would mean
to stay.  I think I may just call that chapter over for awhile.

BTW - The only reason i stayed on the step ladder was that I was holding
onto the railings at the time.  What’s even more interesting is that I
hadent been holding on to them at all prior to that.  I didnt even know
i was bleeding until I touched my nose.  It’s like in the movies where
someone shoots someone and they dont know till they reach down and touch
 the wound…well, except for the bullet an all that.  Mom’s right
though , i kept telling my friend “naw, I dont need to go to the
hospital” ….he kept saying “dude, it’s on your face, you need to go”.
 He’s been hit by a couple of cars and had lots of surgery, so I decided
he was the expert.  He was the one who took me.

I went out to my favorite bar with my best friends from HS tonight.  It
actually made me realize that I’m much more happy than I thought to be
done with BBY.  It was 6pm, I was not working, it was a weekend, and I
could go out and get drunk and have a good time with my friends (which I
did by the way) and not have to go to work in the morning.  All in all,
it’s been a wonderful night of fun and friends.  It made me realize that
I can start having a life without worring about 7am shifts and no two
days off in a row.  I’ll miss the stress of best buy (yes, I said i’ll
miss the stress / Black Friday was one of my best work days ever… cut
nose and all) but i’m not sure i’ll go back.

State farm starts on monday, I’ve gotta get new clothes and get some
sleep tomorrow, but i’m actually intersted to see where this leads.  It
should be interesting.

Brian + Printer = ER

so,

black friday was an interesting day all around for me… got up at 6:30am, left WI about 7:45am, arrived BN around 11:15. 30min nap and a shower, and at work by 12:55. worked until 11:38pm (that will come in later). Anyway, it was about 10:45 and we were top stocking printers that came off the truck. That means that we use a ladder that reaches to above the asile s (where we store stuff, hence “top stock”). I was standing midway on the ladder handing printers up to the guy on the top. A guy came by below and decided it was a good idea to throw a printer from the bottom of the ladder to the top. The guy at the top didnt know it was coming and hit it away. He it it straight down…into my face. I took the printer full in the face with no time to react and it shoved the bridge of my glasses into the bridge of my nose and bent the nose pad arm into the lens. I didnt think i was hurt, it didnt really hurt and it still does not really. They were like “hey, are you bleeding… i discover I am only after i touch my nose and see blood…. first time i’ve not known i’m bleeding.

I go to the bathroom and discover that i’ve got about a 1/4 inch deep cut in my nose from the bridge of my glasses. We fill out an accident report and my friend Erik Janus convinces me that I need to go to the ER. I went and thy put a skin glue on the cut to seal it up and hopefully keep it from becoming a scar. It’s not much of a cut really…but i’ll let mom describe it since i’m incapable of describing my own wound without making it seem like a scratch. Erik was nice enough to stay till it they finished up with me at the ER. All in all an intneresting night.

Interesting Facts:

- The guy who tossed it had to be prompted to say sorry
- This was my first ever workers comp claim
- This happened 1 hour before the end of my final shift with the company
- Erik was good enough to take me to the ER and stay till they finished
- left work 11:38pm and arrived back at work 1:37am not bad for an ER
- This was my first ever trip to the ER “alone”, really the only one I remember at all
- Ice in a party balloon works really well as an ice pack
- Best Buy’s medical kit sucks…alot 

Anyway, i’ll be going back to a doctor they sent me to in a week or so, because they told me i should… and i may have to get my glasses replaced depending on if they think it weakened the metal when the printer bent them. I’ve still got a headache off and on but, thanks to Erik forcing me to put ice on it, I’ve so far avoided the black eye I thought I might get. So yeah, interesting way to end my career at Best Buy.

Colds

I’ve come to a decision…

Upon turning 18 or leaving home, each human should be issued the following:

• Thermometer
• BandAids
• Basic first aid training
• Chicken Soup (i dont even like chicken soup, just the broth)
• Instructions on when to call mom vs when to call 911
• some sort of inflatable mother to take care of you when sick
  (perhaps robotic)
• a book of all those silly things parents just to seem to know… for
  example….
  • Do you Ice or Heat a sore muscle
  • Whats the difference between ibuprofen and asprin
  • Do you drug a fever or let it run its course
  • Is steam good or bad for a head cold
  • etc.

and i’m sure theres more… but thats a good start.  I bring this up
because I have a cold, and i’ve found myself lacking in a few categories
of first aid… the primary being a thermometer.  Now you’d think i
being 23 (almost 24) and intelligent, i’d own such a thing, but instead
i take my possibly fever ridden hand and feel my potentially fever
ridden head as if that would do anything.  I enjoy my stupidity
sometimes ;)  Then again, you’re also talking to the boy who didnt own /
had lost bandaids until the night that i sliced my foot open on a
computer case and had to call mom.  Incidently, that was also when i had
to invest in carpet cleaner…

Anyway, it’s 10pm, i’d like to be asleep but i cant seem to succeed, I
dont have a thermometer, and more to the point I have a cold.  This has
made me disgruntled, since I dont believe in getting sick, and therefore
I thought i’d share my little list with all those who may be just below
the age of 18, or looking for a chuckle.  Pretty sure i dont have a
fever, but I felt my foolishness should be documented :) 

Goodnight All!