And I think I am turning into her.....Lately I have discovered that if you write a letter or let someone know you are dissatisfied, sometimes, they will try to make things right. In the last month alone I have: received 10 journal magazines and 6 books from a professional organization I joined this summer. Apparently, all of my mail was delivered to my former place of employment-and it was never forwarded to me. Big surprise there!!contacted membership, and they called me, spoke to me personally, and told me they would re-send everything I had missed-free of charge!!I was pleasantly surprised to receive these goodies. Next time I will pay attention to my mailing address when I sign up for stuff.
I also received a voucher with LUV- Southwest Luv, that is...my airline of choice. After the price of my ticket dropped almost 200.00 when I flew to California last month, I wrote them a letter and, after a 50.00 service charge, I now have a flight to Houston to visit my recently relocated daughter. Hooray!
And I have been living with an insanely drippy coffee pot from Mr. Coffee for a almost a year. The gasket around the top has always leaked..and so, I did a little digital detective work and contacted the company through a third part website-was I surprised when I received a reply saying they would ship me a new decanter!! I received it last night and words cannot express how happy it made me to pour my coffee this morning and not end up with a drippy coffee mess all over my counter!!
So there you have it, ask and you shall receive. Or, if you don't ask, you will never know what the answer would have been. I am batting 1000. And I have ben pleasantly surprised with the corporate responses to my concerns. These three companies, at least, have done the right thing and that has made me a happy girl.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Time Heals All Wounds
It really does. But when you are in pain, time can go very slowly, so much so that time is measured in the minutes and hours of every day, and the goal of each day is to get through it to get to the next day, so that it can be over as well. But then one day you think to yourself,"Hey, things are good!Life is good! I am no longer wishing and hoping and dreaming about things getting better, because they are. Just like that, it happens.
I can say from personal experience this is a fantastic phenomenon, and one that works for both physical and emotional pain. Take for example the huge bump on my shin that resulted from my collision with a moving golf cart. That occurred 10 months ago. At first, several times a day I thought to myself, "That bump is with me for life. I have a deformed shin with a bump." The other night I had an itch, and when I scratched my leg I noticed the bump was barely noticeable. Just like that, time healed my wound.
There's a slight issue with my tennis elbow, too. After 6 months of OT that seemed to render negligible results, I would have to say that 2 months after my last treatment during which my therapist proclaimed me cured..I guess I am cured! Well, about 85-90% cured. Every now and then if I lift heavy weights or sleep with my arm all crunched up, it is painful, but the pain goes away. Time heals all wounds.
And those are just the most recent, obvious physical ailments. Then there are the times in the last few years I thought I would die from misery. Clearly that didn't happen, because here I am writing about it. But when you find yourself counting days, weeks, months and years, and thinking and remembering the evil twisted events of the past, or you cannot sleep at night because your heart hurts and your head is full of memories, it is a miracle when one day you wake up and realize you have not thought about any of it for days or weeks. When anniversaries of dreaded moments come and go and are no longer celebrated and thought about with dread, when voices and people from the past no longer cause stomach pain and anxiety, and when you no longer daydream about things to be the way they used to be, you will know time has healed.
It has not been months...but as time goes by, days and weeks will turn into months and months into years. And then one day it will seem so far away and long ago it will barely be a scrape.
One day the thing you thought you would never get over and never forget, will be a whisper, a dream, a memory, and you will have to really think hard to remember the awfulness. Time truly does heal all wounds.
I can say from personal experience this is a fantastic phenomenon, and one that works for both physical and emotional pain. Take for example the huge bump on my shin that resulted from my collision with a moving golf cart. That occurred 10 months ago. At first, several times a day I thought to myself, "That bump is with me for life. I have a deformed shin with a bump." The other night I had an itch, and when I scratched my leg I noticed the bump was barely noticeable. Just like that, time healed my wound.
There's a slight issue with my tennis elbow, too. After 6 months of OT that seemed to render negligible results, I would have to say that 2 months after my last treatment during which my therapist proclaimed me cured..I guess I am cured! Well, about 85-90% cured. Every now and then if I lift heavy weights or sleep with my arm all crunched up, it is painful, but the pain goes away. Time heals all wounds.
And those are just the most recent, obvious physical ailments. Then there are the times in the last few years I thought I would die from misery. Clearly that didn't happen, because here I am writing about it. But when you find yourself counting days, weeks, months and years, and thinking and remembering the evil twisted events of the past, or you cannot sleep at night because your heart hurts and your head is full of memories, it is a miracle when one day you wake up and realize you have not thought about any of it for days or weeks. When anniversaries of dreaded moments come and go and are no longer celebrated and thought about with dread, when voices and people from the past no longer cause stomach pain and anxiety, and when you no longer daydream about things to be the way they used to be, you will know time has healed.
It has not been months...but as time goes by, days and weeks will turn into months and months into years. And then one day it will seem so far away and long ago it will barely be a scrape.
One day the thing you thought you would never get over and never forget, will be a whisper, a dream, a memory, and you will have to really think hard to remember the awfulness. Time truly does heal all wounds.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
I'm Back
So I am all recover from my vacation..and it's on to the next vacation. This time it's a vacation with a theme: Golf or die trying. 3 and a half weeks to Myrtle Beach. Me and the guys...the goal is to beat John, and to lose weight, which just may happen if I can stay away from the 9am beer.
I bought a new driver-a Taylor Made Burner with a 10.5 loft and senior shaft..and I can crush it. If I practice putting, life should be good. But that' s in May. Let's talk about now.
I am in the final days of my Microsoft March Madness series of 8 basic Office classes for teachers. It has been an overwhelming success...so much so that I am getting hugs at the end of class. I have held 6 workshops,; some have been at every workshop. They drag themselves to the High School library,after working all day, and I have to kick them out at 4:30. I was sick one day and had to cancel a class and they are insisting on making it up. Their heads are spinning with information, but they come back to me every other day for more.
Today I am working with teachers who created their very first PowerPoint EVER on Monday..and I am going to show them how to add animation and slide transitions.
This has been a very humbling experience. Here I have been making a major assumption that everyone had basic technology skills and was ready to advance to the next greatest idea. How presumptuous of me! How can teachers possibly be confident enough to use technology with their students every day if they do not know how to open MS Office, create a new folder, save and rename files, and insert clip art? It has been a wonderful experience, as they learn, their confidence grows. They are not afraid of trying new things, they are asking all the questions they feel too dumb to ask their friends, and they are learning web 2.0 at the same time! We are enjoying rich discussions about Creative Commons, Flickr, Delicious, Twitter and Internet copyright laws.
So it may seem funny to some, that there are actually folks out there that do not know where the "ON" button is, but how will they learn if w don't take the time to teach them? So every day I know I made the right decision to move on in my career. I am there for a reason, and it is just the beginning of great things to come. I no longer take for granted what I have worked hard at and learned how to do. I love technology, I love teaching, and I love education. I am thankful for the opportunity to share it with others. Do something amazing today-I plan to.
I bought a new driver-a Taylor Made Burner with a 10.5 loft and senior shaft..and I can crush it. If I practice putting, life should be good. But that' s in May. Let's talk about now.
I am in the final days of my Microsoft March Madness series of 8 basic Office classes for teachers. It has been an overwhelming success...so much so that I am getting hugs at the end of class. I have held 6 workshops,; some have been at every workshop. They drag themselves to the High School library,after working all day, and I have to kick them out at 4:30. I was sick one day and had to cancel a class and they are insisting on making it up. Their heads are spinning with information, but they come back to me every other day for more.
Today I am working with teachers who created their very first PowerPoint EVER on Monday..and I am going to show them how to add animation and slide transitions.
This has been a very humbling experience. Here I have been making a major assumption that everyone had basic technology skills and was ready to advance to the next greatest idea. How presumptuous of me! How can teachers possibly be confident enough to use technology with their students every day if they do not know how to open MS Office, create a new folder, save and rename files, and insert clip art? It has been a wonderful experience, as they learn, their confidence grows. They are not afraid of trying new things, they are asking all the questions they feel too dumb to ask their friends, and they are learning web 2.0 at the same time! We are enjoying rich discussions about Creative Commons, Flickr, Delicious, Twitter and Internet copyright laws.
So it may seem funny to some, that there are actually folks out there that do not know where the "ON" button is, but how will they learn if w don't take the time to teach them? So every day I know I made the right decision to move on in my career. I am there for a reason, and it is just the beginning of great things to come. I no longer take for granted what I have worked hard at and learned how to do. I love technology, I love teaching, and I love education. I am thankful for the opportunity to share it with others. Do something amazing today-I plan to.
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