It's official. No more new DCs! With the addition of Memphis this week, we have finally reached the end of the line for additional people calling in. After these past 3 months of rapid expansion and little extra help, we now seem to have come to somewhat of a calm in the busyness of the day. I am sure that it is the proverbial "calm before the storm", but I am still able to relax a bit more now even with a total of 11 DCs to service.
One of the most surprising (and yet it really shouldn't have been a surprise!) elements is that fact that most of the customers from the other DCs mostly had no clue on how to do anything in relation to the DC. They depended on the people at their own DC to do everything for them. They really have a I-need-someone-to-hold-my-hand mentality that is still shocking for me. I used to get aggravated at the Raleigh customers for some of the things they wanted me to do, but I have to admit that I had them trained pretty well. Most of the newer customers didn't know their account numbers, barely knew which DC serviced them, and wanted Kenneth or myself to look up their parts. Since there is no possible way he and I can do every little thing that each customer wants from us in a day's time, we have to make sure they understand the ground rules from the beginning. Sometimes it is difficult to educate them when the ladies that answer most of the calls don't want to be a bit firm with them during the initial calls. I can tell it's going to be a long, uphill battle with some of them beacuse they are spoiled brats that whine when they can't have their way, but I will perservere and re-train them in the proper manner!
In addition to their spoiled ways, there have been some of them that have been downright rude and ugly. They make no bones about how much they don't like this big change in the way business is run. What ticks me off is that they vent their frustrations out on the people that answer the phones. I can tell you one dead on fact: We customer service agents at the Raleigh DC definitely did not ask for all these extra calls. And we certainly didn't need anymore attitude. Raleigh already has its fair share! Since we are all rowing in the same boat, please leave your attitude on the shore!
Well, now that we are all one big "happy family", I am sure we will get to know each other more and more. I hope the bumps in the road will smooth out over time. When the busy season hits, we certainly don't need anything that would knock us into the ditch.
Have a blessed day!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Driving
When I turned 16, getting my driver's license was one of the top priorities at that time in my life. Since I grew up on a farm, I had been driving for a while, but getting my license was a rite of passage for me, a chance to drive across the open range without the constraints of having to rely on someone to take you where you wanted to go. Well, I have learned a lot since that time in my life that seems so long ago and yet just like yesterday. Below are some observations that I have made over the years.
When one is at a stop sign/light and sees someone coming his or her way, one just doesn't pull out in front of the moving vehicle and start moving down the road at a slightly accelerated pace. One needs to high-tail it on down the road so as to not cause the oncoming car much reduction in their forward cruising speed. People that can't calculate the speed of a car need to move to the passenger side of the vehicle.
When using a turn lane, one needs to make sure he or she is getting out of the driving lane as quickly as possible. It's not the time to apply the brakes too excessively while maneuvering into the turn lane because the person behind you needs to continue his journey and really, really gets uptight when he has to slow down for the turtle making a left turn in front of him. Weren't turn lanes created to avoid the slowing down of moving traffic on a busy street????
When one turns into a driveway, parking lot, or any other such turn off, one should get off the road as quickly as possible. Many people turn as if they have a hot pot of soup in the back of the car and don't want to spill a drop. The quicker the turn is made, the happier the drivers behind you will be.
When one drives, one should never stare, gawk, or rubberneck and anything that would distract him from the task at hand whether it be a woman, accident, or a Christmas tree sticking out of the sun roof of a Camaro. One's mind needs to stay focused on driving and not viewing the passing scenery outside the window.
When driving, one should never ride the brakes of a car. It really, really, really annoys the driver behind because the said driver is never really sure if the person in front is going to stop, turn, or keep going. Besides, riding the brakes can send your car to the repair shop a lot quicker.
When driving, one should never constantly adjust his foot on the gas pedal causing the car to speed up or slow down. In addition to giving any potential passengers a mild case of whip lash, it annoys any drivers behind him as much as riding the brakes and does nothing at all for good gas mileage.
When one is behind the wheel of a vehicle, one really needs to pay attention to driving. Not to the cell phone, not to the radio, not to the person riding in the car. Only to driving. I'm not saying that one shouldn't talk on the cell phone, or bee-bop/sing to the tune blaring out of the speakers, or sit in morose silence with your rider for four hours coming back from the beach, but the main task at hand is maneuvering several tons of metal and plastic along a path that is already fraught with dangers. Keep your eyes and ears tuned to them and you will make it home safely.
Of course, there are several more observations I have made, but time nor space allow me to continue. The next time you drive, please remember these passing thoughts and use them to make sure you never hinder me in my journey. I will be watching! :-)
When one is at a stop sign/light and sees someone coming his or her way, one just doesn't pull out in front of the moving vehicle and start moving down the road at a slightly accelerated pace. One needs to high-tail it on down the road so as to not cause the oncoming car much reduction in their forward cruising speed. People that can't calculate the speed of a car need to move to the passenger side of the vehicle.
When using a turn lane, one needs to make sure he or she is getting out of the driving lane as quickly as possible. It's not the time to apply the brakes too excessively while maneuvering into the turn lane because the person behind you needs to continue his journey and really, really gets uptight when he has to slow down for the turtle making a left turn in front of him. Weren't turn lanes created to avoid the slowing down of moving traffic on a busy street????
When one turns into a driveway, parking lot, or any other such turn off, one should get off the road as quickly as possible. Many people turn as if they have a hot pot of soup in the back of the car and don't want to spill a drop. The quicker the turn is made, the happier the drivers behind you will be.
When one drives, one should never stare, gawk, or rubberneck and anything that would distract him from the task at hand whether it be a woman, accident, or a Christmas tree sticking out of the sun roof of a Camaro. One's mind needs to stay focused on driving and not viewing the passing scenery outside the window.
When driving, one should never ride the brakes of a car. It really, really, really annoys the driver behind because the said driver is never really sure if the person in front is going to stop, turn, or keep going. Besides, riding the brakes can send your car to the repair shop a lot quicker.
When driving, one should never constantly adjust his foot on the gas pedal causing the car to speed up or slow down. In addition to giving any potential passengers a mild case of whip lash, it annoys any drivers behind him as much as riding the brakes and does nothing at all for good gas mileage.
When one is behind the wheel of a vehicle, one really needs to pay attention to driving. Not to the cell phone, not to the radio, not to the person riding in the car. Only to driving. I'm not saying that one shouldn't talk on the cell phone, or bee-bop/sing to the tune blaring out of the speakers, or sit in morose silence with your rider for four hours coming back from the beach, but the main task at hand is maneuvering several tons of metal and plastic along a path that is already fraught with dangers. Keep your eyes and ears tuned to them and you will make it home safely.
Of course, there are several more observations I have made, but time nor space allow me to continue. The next time you drive, please remember these passing thoughts and use them to make sure you never hinder me in my journey. I will be watching! :-)
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wanted
This past week, a local radio station held a radiothon for Duke Children's Hospital. They held it to raise money for the children at the hospital for various needs such as stuffed animals for the sick kids, medical equipment, and anything else that they would need in the treatment of some very sick children. I wasn't able to listen to most of it because I was at work, but some of what I did hear made me think about our society today.
Several of the stories that were shared were about kids with cancer or other terrible diseases and how they learned to deal with the huge inconvenience of having it in their lives at such a young age. Some were always trying to cheer others that they saw as in worse shape than themselves. Other kids were cracking jokes and always looking at the positive side of the whole ordeal. But the stories that caught my attention were the ones that some of the parents shared about their time at Duke with their premature infants. All of their worry, anguish, and dread was focused on the precious little treasures hooked up to all the machines needed to keep them alive. From one minute to the next, they would go from elation at progress to wondering if they would ever be able to touch them and bring them home.
From there my mind went to how the timing of those births made all the difference. For many people today, if they had been younger, busier, or just not in the mood, they wouldn't have thought twice about killing the same baby that they were wanting to take home now. It is such a sad oxymoronic thought that at one point in someone's life, he or she wouldn't think twice about aborting the baby, but a few years later when another baby is premature, they would fight tooth and nail to save the life of the baby and bring him or her home. What's even worse are those people that have been at Duke with a premature baby and will turn around and scream out that a "woman must have the right to choose"!
Choose what? Choose my career over the life of my baby? Choose my boyfriend over my baby? Choose to kill the innocent growing inside me because I am not ready for the responsibility? Choose death over life because the timing is off? The whole situation boils down to this one word: wanted.
When we want something, we will give it our all to get it. When we don't want it, we will give it our all to keep it away.
God help us to see that each baby is precious to Him and that He has a reason for them being conceived no matter the circumstances involved. We should never try to second guess God.
Several of the stories that were shared were about kids with cancer or other terrible diseases and how they learned to deal with the huge inconvenience of having it in their lives at such a young age. Some were always trying to cheer others that they saw as in worse shape than themselves. Other kids were cracking jokes and always looking at the positive side of the whole ordeal. But the stories that caught my attention were the ones that some of the parents shared about their time at Duke with their premature infants. All of their worry, anguish, and dread was focused on the precious little treasures hooked up to all the machines needed to keep them alive. From one minute to the next, they would go from elation at progress to wondering if they would ever be able to touch them and bring them home.
From there my mind went to how the timing of those births made all the difference. For many people today, if they had been younger, busier, or just not in the mood, they wouldn't have thought twice about killing the same baby that they were wanting to take home now. It is such a sad oxymoronic thought that at one point in someone's life, he or she wouldn't think twice about aborting the baby, but a few years later when another baby is premature, they would fight tooth and nail to save the life of the baby and bring him or her home. What's even worse are those people that have been at Duke with a premature baby and will turn around and scream out that a "woman must have the right to choose"!
Choose what? Choose my career over the life of my baby? Choose my boyfriend over my baby? Choose to kill the innocent growing inside me because I am not ready for the responsibility? Choose death over life because the timing is off? The whole situation boils down to this one word: wanted.
When we want something, we will give it our all to get it. When we don't want it, we will give it our all to keep it away.
God help us to see that each baby is precious to Him and that He has a reason for them being conceived no matter the circumstances involved. We should never try to second guess God.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Fever
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
FEVER!
In the morning
Fever all through the night
I have been singing that chorus all day long today because I have the fever! The sun's warmth has kissed me and the gentle breezes have caressed me each day until I am burning up with Spring Fever! With these last few days of warm temperatures, I am even more waiting for spring than I was when I was driving to work through the snow. It's only a little over a month away! YEE HAA!!
With thoughts of spring, I now begin to think about the garden and what needs to be done. Dad has already begun working in it and has added lime to the soil. We will also add more compost/manure before planting. As always, I am excited about the possibilities that may happen this growing season. I am hoping that we will be able to get the trellis set up properly this year so that we can grow more varieties of squash and cucumbers. I pore over each new seed catalog that comes my way to find anything that might be worth considering for the garden. Since I have limited space, I have to rein in my desires!
Come, Spring, come! Warm the soil with your gaze and moisten it with your tears. I am waiting your arrival!
Have a blessed day!
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
FEVER!
In the morning
Fever all through the night
I have been singing that chorus all day long today because I have the fever! The sun's warmth has kissed me and the gentle breezes have caressed me each day until I am burning up with Spring Fever! With these last few days of warm temperatures, I am even more waiting for spring than I was when I was driving to work through the snow. It's only a little over a month away! YEE HAA!!
With thoughts of spring, I now begin to think about the garden and what needs to be done. Dad has already begun working in it and has added lime to the soil. We will also add more compost/manure before planting. As always, I am excited about the possibilities that may happen this growing season. I am hoping that we will be able to get the trellis set up properly this year so that we can grow more varieties of squash and cucumbers. I pore over each new seed catalog that comes my way to find anything that might be worth considering for the garden. Since I have limited space, I have to rein in my desires!
Come, Spring, come! Warm the soil with your gaze and moisten it with your tears. I am waiting your arrival!
Have a blessed day!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Happy Birthday, Mom!
P is for the patience you exhibit day by day.
A is for the advice you have given along the way.
T is for the tenderness you have shown to each of us.
R is for the readiness to help anyone with little fuss.
I is for the industriousness you have always displayed.
C is for the character you refuse to masquerade.
I is for the instruction you dole out as it is needed.
A is for the abiding love you give us unimpeded.
Together, these qualities create a very unique lady. This lady is my mother and I am proud to be her son. I would not be the man I am today if it wasn’t for the long hours of work, teaching, sweat, and tears shed on my behalf.
Thank you, Mom, for always being there when I needed you and when I thought I didn’t need you. Thank you for showing me what it means to be a person of substance. Thank you for always loving me.
Happy Birthday to a most deserving lady. I hope your day is special beyond anything words can describe.
I love you.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Not Again!!!
Yesterday was a good day until I left work. Not long after leaving the parking lot, I heard a noise under my hood that sounded like a snap and a clunk. I didn't really know what it was, but I knew it wasn't a natural engine noise (Seventeen years in the auto parts industry helped me come to that conclusion!) Well, I thought it would be OK until I got home because the engine was still running and the car proceeded to move down the street when the light turned green. I did notice immediately that the power steering was gone so I figured that the belt had broken or something similar.
As time passed and traffic hindered, other strange noises started coming from under the hood. During the downtown portion of the journey, a loud knocking sound began but stopped when I started moving again. By the time I made it to Lake Wheeler Road, the engine was hot (still in the normal range, but definitely not "normal" for just driving down the road) and the knocking was getting worse. There was also another sound coming from the front of the vehicle and I decided to pull off at the Grocery Boy Jr. at Lake Wheeler Road and Carolina Pines Avenue. After stiffly maneuvering the vehicle into the parking lot, I just cut the engine right where I parked without bothering to park it in a perpendicular fashion. The sound finally stopped after a while and that's when I realized that it was the water boiling in the radiator. Naturally, I immediately called Dad. Who else??
When he arrived a few minutes later, he opened the hood and found out that the "snap crackle pop" I heard was not the belt as we originally thought but instead it was my idler pulley. The bearing had frozen causing the pulley to quit turning which put too much force on the bold causing it to snap in two. The pulley then broke away and landed near the engine. Thank goodness it didn't fall through the engine! We then had to call a tow truck because there was no fixing the pulley then. The tow truck arrived about 15 freezing minutes later and towed my vehicle home. Dad called a mobile mechanic he knows and he was able to come today to fix it. All he did was replace the bearing and the bolt. I will test drive it tomorrow and hopefully no permanent damage was done.
I was not in the best of moods last night because it's not even been a year since my engine was replaced. But since it was an easy repair (compared to replacing the engine!) I have returned to my normal self. I still think that the pulley should have been replaced with the engine, but what do I know. I certainly am not one to get grease under my finger nails unless it's in the kitchen!
Here's to a brighter day with the Green Machine!
Have a blessed day!
As time passed and traffic hindered, other strange noises started coming from under the hood. During the downtown portion of the journey, a loud knocking sound began but stopped when I started moving again. By the time I made it to Lake Wheeler Road, the engine was hot (still in the normal range, but definitely not "normal" for just driving down the road) and the knocking was getting worse. There was also another sound coming from the front of the vehicle and I decided to pull off at the Grocery Boy Jr. at Lake Wheeler Road and Carolina Pines Avenue. After stiffly maneuvering the vehicle into the parking lot, I just cut the engine right where I parked without bothering to park it in a perpendicular fashion. The sound finally stopped after a while and that's when I realized that it was the water boiling in the radiator. Naturally, I immediately called Dad. Who else??
When he arrived a few minutes later, he opened the hood and found out that the "snap crackle pop" I heard was not the belt as we originally thought but instead it was my idler pulley. The bearing had frozen causing the pulley to quit turning which put too much force on the bold causing it to snap in two. The pulley then broke away and landed near the engine. Thank goodness it didn't fall through the engine! We then had to call a tow truck because there was no fixing the pulley then. The tow truck arrived about 15 freezing minutes later and towed my vehicle home. Dad called a mobile mechanic he knows and he was able to come today to fix it. All he did was replace the bearing and the bolt. I will test drive it tomorrow and hopefully no permanent damage was done.
I was not in the best of moods last night because it's not even been a year since my engine was replaced. But since it was an easy repair (compared to replacing the engine!) I have returned to my normal self. I still think that the pulley should have been replaced with the engine, but what do I know. I certainly am not one to get grease under my finger nails unless it's in the kitchen!
Here's to a brighter day with the Green Machine!
Have a blessed day!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
The List
I was tagged with this list and was feeling so uninspired that I thought I would include it here as well. Here it goes...
1. Where is your cell phone? Chest
2. Your significant other? Lost
3. Your hair? Blond
4. Your mother? Selfless
5. Your father? Crazy
6. Your favorite? Chocolate
7. Your dream last night? Weird
8. Your favorite drink? Horchata de coco
9. Your dream/goal? Travel
10. What room you are in? Office
11. Your hobby? Birding
12. Your fear? Loneliness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Sane
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. Something that you aren't? Athletic
16. Muffins? Any
17. Wish list item? Vacation
18. Where you grew up? Raleigh
19. Last thing you did? Read
20. What are you wearing? Jeans
21. Your TV? Off
22. Your pets? None
23. Friends? Wonderful
24. Your life? Blessed
25. Your mood? Happy
26. Missing some one? Noel
27. Car? Explorer
28. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
29. Your favorite store? Skechers
30. Your favorite color? Red
33. When is the last time you laughed? Today
34. Last time you cried? 2008
35. Who will resend this? Unknown
36. One place that I go to over and over? Work
1. Where is your cell phone? Chest
2. Your significant other? Lost
3. Your hair? Blond
4. Your mother? Selfless
5. Your father? Crazy
6. Your favorite? Chocolate
7. Your dream last night? Weird
8. Your favorite drink? Horchata de coco
9. Your dream/goal? Travel
10. What room you are in? Office
11. Your hobby? Birding
12. Your fear? Loneliness
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Sane
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. Something that you aren't? Athletic
16. Muffins? Any
17. Wish list item? Vacation
18. Where you grew up? Raleigh
19. Last thing you did? Read
20. What are you wearing? Jeans
21. Your TV? Off
22. Your pets? None
23. Friends? Wonderful
24. Your life? Blessed
25. Your mood? Happy
26. Missing some one? Noel
27. Car? Explorer
28. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
29. Your favorite store? Skechers
30. Your favorite color? Red
33. When is the last time you laughed? Today
34. Last time you cried? 2008
35. Who will resend this? Unknown
36. One place that I go to over and over? Work
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