While at work the other day, we were discussing coffee and other general Work at Home topics. I have no clue how we went from coffee to Roombas but it gave me a brilliant idea!
I want a Roomba to bring me coffee with the push of a button!
Now, I can certainly bypass that and just purchase a coffee maker for my office and get on with my life but this is in the category of NEAT! I have always wanted a Roomba because they are just....cool. However, I am cheap, and I squeak and it is not likely that one will be in my future. UNLESS (so the Lorax says, Love the book by the say. I can read it emphatically to you, with my voice, without the book, right now, and LOVE it. Ah, but I digress) someone buys me one then I will happily put it to use!
Add in the coffee integer....I push a button, send it out to "navigate the heckacious hallway traffic" and get fresh, hot, coffee and bring it back to me. Oh the joy! I would even go so far as to install a little "RooombaDoor" for it to come into my office without human intervention. OMY that would be soo cool. I could bring it out when we entertain and it would be great!
Alas, things like that have yet to exist but it is cool to think about. What neat gizmo would you want to bring YOU coffee?
What do YOU think?
(Note: Ya, this is a short one. My brain is fried today. Poo.)
Reader suggested posts. Other blogs I write and prompts from my readers.
Showing posts with label work at home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work at home. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Day 3: Quarter machine bouncy balls in my brain and I went to work
I went to work yesterday and it was Friday, my day off. I get one day off a week and you would think I would take great care to avoid the office when I don't have to be there. For those of you who DON'T know what I do for a living. This may seem laughable.
She gets up, gets dressed, eats breakfast and has coffee. She gets in the car, drives ALL the way to work, sits down, turns on her computer to start her day. THEN she stares mouth agape at her computer screen realizing she could have slept in and avoided the whole work place thing. You had ONE job girl, to enjoy the day off and you flubbed it up. However that is nothing like how it actually went down.
Background! I work from home. I have done so for many, many years. I have a very small hallway from the bedroom to the office which encompasses about five steps or ten shuffles. There is also access to the bathroom in said hallway and that is why I sometimes say "navigated the hallway traffic." Ya, that is supposed to be funny. Though, I think I have used that so often that I don't find it as hilarious as the first time I said it. (TINY digression there. Hehehe.) Any way, this is more of how it went:
I woke up, brushed my teeth, got dressed, made coffee, navigated the traffic in the hallway, sat down at my desk and started to get my workspace up and running. As I navigate my way to the support chat that I have to utilize, I announced to the fellow employees the following important message:
She gets up, gets dressed, eats breakfast and has coffee. She gets in the car, drives ALL the way to work, sits down, turns on her computer to start her day. THEN she stares mouth agape at her computer screen realizing she could have slept in and avoided the whole work place thing. You had ONE job girl, to enjoy the day off and you flubbed it up. However that is nothing like how it actually went down.
Background! I work from home. I have done so for many, many years. I have a very small hallway from the bedroom to the office which encompasses about five steps or ten shuffles. There is also access to the bathroom in said hallway and that is why I sometimes say "navigated the hallway traffic." Ya, that is supposed to be funny. Though, I think I have used that so often that I don't find it as hilarious as the first time I said it. (TINY digression there. Hehehe.) Any way, this is more of how it went:
I woke up, brushed my teeth, got dressed, made coffee, navigated the traffic in the hallway, sat down at my desk and started to get my workspace up and running. As I navigate my way to the support chat that I have to utilize, I announced to the fellow employees the following important message:
Morning..........DO YOU KNOW WHAT I DID? DO YOU KNOW WHAT I JUST DID? I AM SUPPOSED TO BE OFF TODAY!!! WTFLIP! GOOD BYE! **Michele has left the support chat.
I was so mortified that I was at a loss for what to do next. So I wrote. All of my blogs got something yesterday. I know on one of them I already told this story and if it was this one, I apologize, however this is going somewhere I promise. I even had the intention to study and that would have been great had I actually did it but all that writing made me tired and I ended up sleeping the day away anyway. (Except for the part where Cal's best friend came home after five years and I was rudely awakened by him to get up and watch him hop like a rabbit down the driveway to greet his friend. I needed the air so I was ok with that. ACK! Digression again! You are all in for it today!) Now we turn down the road I wanted to talk about in the first place. You know me, back story and all.
The compulsion to write struck me in the head like a baseball bat. Every little thing I did was followed with a voice in my head going "Hey, that would be a great post! Whip out the phone and write it RIGHT NOW cuz you got time and its your day off!" That is all good but I usually stew on a post for a day or so because I have to think about exactly how to word it. Sometimes I will fork it out right there but it falls short of my own expectations and I am never satisfied. The ones that I think about for at least 24 hours are the best ones to me because I have had time to contemplate the course of action. Still, I only fork out my posts in one sitting because that is how I believe a blog should work. (Warning: I DO have a post coming that I have been a week working at. It is a serious post and nothing like this. Probably why it is taking so long.) I know, not everyone blogs like that but this is just me. So, yea, the voice. While they were all great ideas, it made me tired. I never realized the creative process could whoop you azz like that. Of course, I never had an over burst of creativity like that either. No wonder artists and writers are sooo....different when they are about their craft. I have to learn to use this to my advantage. However, I do not do sleepy tired well. My Cal will tell you I can fall asleep within seconds of laying down. Once I am sleeping, that is it. TKO. Game Over.
I wish there were a way I could sit down, get it all out and NOT be tired when I am done. It makes me tired because when there is more than one story in there (and there always is, I am trying in vain to finish this book that's not on paper yet,) it feels like those quarter machine bouncy balls just recklessly bouncing around inside my brain cavity. It just turns everything in there to mush. I have to sleep that tired off and while I am asleep, I imagine my body is un mushing my brain and making it whole again. Once I am whole, I wake up. I must say that when I wake from that kind of sleep it is a deep, hard sleep. I assume its because it takes a lot of work to un-mush a brain huh?
Until then, when I have days like that, steer clear because I am having an 'artist' or 'writers' moment.
Horrible, horrible feeling.
What do YOU think?
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Leadership Posting number 1
I write several blogs among other things. I like to think that I am right up there with my favorite author Stephen King, with the fifty or so pages every day. I am published and am currently working on book number 2. I write for here and WordPress. I write letters to my children (for their own stories) all the time and I have a paper due for Doctorate studies each week. I have social media as well. Finally, I have a blog for work that I have started over the past year.
The following is a new feature in my work blog. Leadership posts. It is based upon the idea that good leaders have specific traits and I want to share these traits with people. Even if the reader is not interested in being a leader and wants to remain amongst the sheeple, that is ok. This will still help make you a better human being. Certainly true if you deal with the public at all.
Here it is:
One of the most redeeming qualities I have found in the leaders that have the most effective teams is that the know how to listen and can listen well. This is something that can roll over into making a customer happy. Sometimes an angry customer just wants to vent and it is most effective at someone who will LISTEN. While you do not have to agree with them, a great deal of supervisor calls are resolved by just listening to the frustrations of the customer. Their issue may not get any further than what the agent has already done, but the listening part is key to get them to calm down most of the time.
(Back story because I always have one....I came across the below information cleaning out my briefcase that I found in the attic last night. For those of you who don't know me, I was a paralegal and have a PhD in Law. Yes, I like to argue. That is why I had this paper in my briefcase because listening was something that was vital when it came to flushing out the real issues in the legal field.) While I scanned it and posted a pic of the document below, I will write it out for you so that you can read it clearly as some of it is fuzzy. Yes, there is a spill. Disregard that, stupid attic weather....
HOW TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER
1. STOP TALKING: You can't listen while you are talking.
2. ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME: Don't try to engage in two conversations at once. You may hear two people at one time, but you can't effectively listen to two conversations at once.
3. EMPATHIZE WITH THE PERSON SPEAKING: Try to put yourself in their place so that you can see what the speaker is trying to get at...YES, this is not as easy as it sounds but a restatement of what you've heard or an appropriate question will often uncover areas of miscommuncation.
4. ASK QUESTIONS: That's right, we did just mention asking questions. But it's so important it bears restating. When you don't understand or when you need further clarification, ask questions. Don't ask questions that are a form of a statement about how smart you are on a subject. If you have information to offer, make a statement.
5. DON'T INTERRUPT: Don't interrupt when someone else is speaking. Give the speaker time to say what they have to say. THEN, and not before, ask you questions or take issue with what the speaker has said. MIND HOW YOU TAKE ISSUE WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S STATEMENTS.
6. SHOW INTEREST: Look at the speaker - Their face, mouth, eyes, and hands. All these things will help the speaker communicate with you, and this effort will help you concentrate. Eye contact is significant.
7. CONCENTRATE ON WHAT IS BEING SAID: Actively focus your attention on the speaker's words, ideas, and feelings related to the subject. If you are in doubt as to the subject, a question is in order.
8. DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS: When you do, you tune yourself out from the rest of what the speaker has to say. You may tend to think to yourself, "Hurry up and finish because I've got your point." or by rudely interrupting and saying, "Yes, yes. I know what you mean. What else is new?" By doing either, you run the risk of misunderstanding the entire conversation because of a premature conclusion you drew. Yes, there are some people who drone on and on. At the appropriate break or pause, ask if you've got the gist or point by summarizing what you've heard. This is a polite way to test the point.
9. CONTROL YOUR ANGER: Try not to get angry with what they are saying. Your anger will most likely prevent you from understanding what is really being said. Plus, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DEAL WITH YOUR FEELINGS!
10. REACT TO IDEAS, NOT TO THE SPEAKER: Don't allow your reactions to the speaker to influence your interpretation of what is being said. Their ideas may be good even if you don't like them as a person or like the way the look or speak or move.
11. LISTEN FOR WHAT IS NOT SAID: Sometimes you can learn just as much by determining what the other person leaves out or avoids saying as you can by listening to what is actually being said. Pay attention to how it is being said, also.
12. SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMMUNICATION: Only part of the responsibility for effective communication rest with the speaker. You as the listener, have an obligation to actively listen to what is being communicated and ask questions when you do not understand.
If you make note of the above tips and put them into action, your are on your way to becoming an effective leader. Even if leadership is not in your future, it still goes a long way to use some of these to listen to our customers. After all. They ARE the reason we are here!
What do YOU think?
The following is a new feature in my work blog. Leadership posts. It is based upon the idea that good leaders have specific traits and I want to share these traits with people. Even if the reader is not interested in being a leader and wants to remain amongst the sheeple, that is ok. This will still help make you a better human being. Certainly true if you deal with the public at all.
Here it is:
One of the most redeeming qualities I have found in the leaders that have the most effective teams is that the know how to listen and can listen well. This is something that can roll over into making a customer happy. Sometimes an angry customer just wants to vent and it is most effective at someone who will LISTEN. While you do not have to agree with them, a great deal of supervisor calls are resolved by just listening to the frustrations of the customer. Their issue may not get any further than what the agent has already done, but the listening part is key to get them to calm down most of the time.
(Back story because I always have one....I came across the below information cleaning out my briefcase that I found in the attic last night. For those of you who don't know me, I was a paralegal and have a PhD in Law. Yes, I like to argue. That is why I had this paper in my briefcase because listening was something that was vital when it came to flushing out the real issues in the legal field.) While I scanned it and posted a pic of the document below, I will write it out for you so that you can read it clearly as some of it is fuzzy. Yes, there is a spill. Disregard that, stupid attic weather....
HOW TO BECOME A BETTER LISTENER
1. STOP TALKING: You can't listen while you are talking.
2. ONE CONVERSATION AT A TIME: Don't try to engage in two conversations at once. You may hear two people at one time, but you can't effectively listen to two conversations at once.
3. EMPATHIZE WITH THE PERSON SPEAKING: Try to put yourself in their place so that you can see what the speaker is trying to get at...YES, this is not as easy as it sounds but a restatement of what you've heard or an appropriate question will often uncover areas of miscommuncation.
4. ASK QUESTIONS: That's right, we did just mention asking questions. But it's so important it bears restating. When you don't understand or when you need further clarification, ask questions. Don't ask questions that are a form of a statement about how smart you are on a subject. If you have information to offer, make a statement.
5. DON'T INTERRUPT: Don't interrupt when someone else is speaking. Give the speaker time to say what they have to say. THEN, and not before, ask you questions or take issue with what the speaker has said. MIND HOW YOU TAKE ISSUE WITH SOMEONE ELSE'S STATEMENTS.
6. SHOW INTEREST: Look at the speaker - Their face, mouth, eyes, and hands. All these things will help the speaker communicate with you, and this effort will help you concentrate. Eye contact is significant.
7. CONCENTRATE ON WHAT IS BEING SAID: Actively focus your attention on the speaker's words, ideas, and feelings related to the subject. If you are in doubt as to the subject, a question is in order.
8. DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS: When you do, you tune yourself out from the rest of what the speaker has to say. You may tend to think to yourself, "Hurry up and finish because I've got your point." or by rudely interrupting and saying, "Yes, yes. I know what you mean. What else is new?" By doing either, you run the risk of misunderstanding the entire conversation because of a premature conclusion you drew. Yes, there are some people who drone on and on. At the appropriate break or pause, ask if you've got the gist or point by summarizing what you've heard. This is a polite way to test the point.
9. CONTROL YOUR ANGER: Try not to get angry with what they are saying. Your anger will most likely prevent you from understanding what is really being said. Plus, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DEAL WITH YOUR FEELINGS!
10. REACT TO IDEAS, NOT TO THE SPEAKER: Don't allow your reactions to the speaker to influence your interpretation of what is being said. Their ideas may be good even if you don't like them as a person or like the way the look or speak or move.
11. LISTEN FOR WHAT IS NOT SAID: Sometimes you can learn just as much by determining what the other person leaves out or avoids saying as you can by listening to what is actually being said. Pay attention to how it is being said, also.
12. SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMMUNICATION: Only part of the responsibility for effective communication rest with the speaker. You as the listener, have an obligation to actively listen to what is being communicated and ask questions when you do not understand.
If you make note of the above tips and put them into action, your are on your way to becoming an effective leader. Even if leadership is not in your future, it still goes a long way to use some of these to listen to our customers. After all. They ARE the reason we are here!
What do YOU think?
Thursday, September 18, 2014
The Zombie Apocalypse is Among Us
As a person who works from home, my exposure to natural sunlight is limited to what I actually allow myself. Sometimes, I can go for days without so much as opening the door to my home because I can do everything from the comfort of my home office. From work to social media, even shopping and paying the bills, I never have to leave my house if I want to. (Remember Reclusivity is Possible?) As a result, I notice my body undergo changes if I do not get some sunlight exposure. I am going to share this observation with you in an effort to curb the Zombie affect.
Since the interwebs have become mainstream in our society, certain things have occurred. Society has become so dependent on electronic devices that even our Supreme Court has so noted that aliens will one day come and observe our culture via archaeology and will come to believe that our cell phones are an appendage to our bodies and not some separate device used for its convenience. I am no UFO or digging expert but I think I will agree with our Supreme Court justices on this one. Also, I am no scientist but (returning to my topic) when I go days without getting some natural sunlight on my skin, I notice that, when I get an itch and I go to scratch it, it feels different.
This can be a passing itch or even one from a mosquito bite. When I go to scratch, it feels like the first layer of my skin is going to tear like it is a thin sheet of bible paper. Seriously! It feels just like that. I go t scratch the itch, ever so gently and I feel like I am digging for china and that my skin will simply rip open and there will be a valley in my arm, leg, neck, whatever, that will be beyond repair.
Those of us who ignore minimal signs like this are the Zombies among us. They end up scratching. Then they get sores and become pale and sickly. When they do decide to become human for a moment, they have become unkempt, smell, and REALLY need to change their fading clothes. Yes folks, the interwebs have made Zombies of us all. It is the few (like me) that occasionally visit the healing rays of the sun (IN moderation!) to allow our skin to repair and strengthen almost like plants do when they photosynthesize.
These are the conclusions as I walk to the store for my soda allotment for the week when I return to my cave to work. Maybe I AM a Zombie too. Should I just submit to the inevitable?
What do YOU think?
Sunday, April 6, 2014
I did it! I am now published! Check it out!
I wrote a book and finally had it published! I am soooo excited!
Check it out.
facebook.com/MicaaMilesAuthor (Please like my page if you have a Facebook.) :)
You can also find "WAH Professionals" by Micaa Miles on Amazon, Kindle, and create space stores.
It is also available on Amazon UK!
Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/WAH-Professionals-Micaa-M-Miles/dp/1494828685/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396800654&sr=8-1&keywords=wah+professionals
Check it out.
facebook.com/MicaaMilesAuthor (Please like my page if you have a Facebook.) :)
You can also find "WAH Professionals" by Micaa Miles on Amazon, Kindle, and create space stores.
It is also available on Amazon UK!
Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/WAH-Professionals-Micaa-M-Miles/dp/1494828685/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396800654&sr=8-1&keywords=wah+professionals
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Back to Work Reality Check
I have been back to work about three weeks. I understand that it may not call for a reality check and no, I have not been out of work for years. It has only been about two months. I have finally found another WAH job that I love and it is certainly keeping me at 40 hours a week.
I fail to remember that working at a job you love does take up a great deal of your time and you no longer have the luxury of doing things like you did when you were not working. I feel that people should work at least a little bit. It keeps idle minds from getting up to no good and it keeps you focused and goal oriented. I remember when I was not working it was simply a chore to get up and actually clean the house! Yes! Now that I am working. I still have a momentum built up when I get off work and am able to at least straighten up and get dinner and laundry started.
Of course I sound like a career stay at home mom. I am! Only that I have a forty hour a week (getting a paycheck) kind of job and that is just like getting out of the house and going to the office everyday. Only I do it in my fuzzy slippers!
Working from home is a lifestyle and not many people are prepared for it because it takes dedication and some changes in your current lifestyle to ensure that it is successful. Many people believe (erroneously) that they can work from home and still have the daily interruptions of the dog barking, their children constantly in their face, or even be able to get up and run to the door should someone ring the bell. That could not be farther from the truth. You have to have the gumption to sit at your desk your entire shift and work. That is what they pay you to do. Especially these companies that pay you by the hour and they take out taxes like a regular paycheck. They pay you to work and you need to be at your desk working. Whether it be chat support, phones, or letter writing, you are paid for the time you are working and it is a real job.
Sure, there are draw backs. Nobody wants to have the highlight of their day to be the point when they get out of the house to go to the store for a soda run. That is no fun. There is a delicate balance that needs to be considered and it takes some practice to put it all into play. While the opportunity for more hours is endless, you do need to make time for yourself and your family similarly to how you would do at a traditional office job. It just takes a bit more effort than normal. Also, don't fall into the staying in your jammies all day either. That is a bad habit and not healthy!
So, while WAH is not for everyone, it is a great opportunity to do something that is beneficial to American society and it brings the much needed customer service jobs back home. Just don't mess it up or the great companies that provide this service for their clients and employees will go by the wayside much like traditional jobs have been sent to South America, India, and the Phillipenes. Keep these jobs at home. Literally!
I fail to remember that working at a job you love does take up a great deal of your time and you no longer have the luxury of doing things like you did when you were not working. I feel that people should work at least a little bit. It keeps idle minds from getting up to no good and it keeps you focused and goal oriented. I remember when I was not working it was simply a chore to get up and actually clean the house! Yes! Now that I am working. I still have a momentum built up when I get off work and am able to at least straighten up and get dinner and laundry started.
Of course I sound like a career stay at home mom. I am! Only that I have a forty hour a week (getting a paycheck) kind of job and that is just like getting out of the house and going to the office everyday. Only I do it in my fuzzy slippers!
Working from home is a lifestyle and not many people are prepared for it because it takes dedication and some changes in your current lifestyle to ensure that it is successful. Many people believe (erroneously) that they can work from home and still have the daily interruptions of the dog barking, their children constantly in their face, or even be able to get up and run to the door should someone ring the bell. That could not be farther from the truth. You have to have the gumption to sit at your desk your entire shift and work. That is what they pay you to do. Especially these companies that pay you by the hour and they take out taxes like a regular paycheck. They pay you to work and you need to be at your desk working. Whether it be chat support, phones, or letter writing, you are paid for the time you are working and it is a real job.
Sure, there are draw backs. Nobody wants to have the highlight of their day to be the point when they get out of the house to go to the store for a soda run. That is no fun. There is a delicate balance that needs to be considered and it takes some practice to put it all into play. While the opportunity for more hours is endless, you do need to make time for yourself and your family similarly to how you would do at a traditional office job. It just takes a bit more effort than normal. Also, don't fall into the staying in your jammies all day either. That is a bad habit and not healthy!
So, while WAH is not for everyone, it is a great opportunity to do something that is beneficial to American society and it brings the much needed customer service jobs back home. Just don't mess it up or the great companies that provide this service for their clients and employees will go by the wayside much like traditional jobs have been sent to South America, India, and the Phillipenes. Keep these jobs at home. Literally!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
The Future of Tech Support
Many of you already know that I am a technical support representative by trade. Good times. Goooooood times! (Cosmoism) It never occurred to me that the children pay attention to what I do when I am at work. Yes, I work from home doing this stuff. In every technical support situation or any electrical "fix it" situation, you begin with checking that it is plugged in properly and unplug everything and then plug it back in one piece of the equation at a time. Simple stuff. That will fix about seventy five percent of your issues then it goes into the more complicated stuff.
Before I began to do this, the way to fix things was to beat the holy crap out of the thing or kick it and pray that it continues to work for at least the next three months or so as you begin to save funds to replace the thing being stupid in the first place. What did your television ever do to you?
With all that background, let me get to what I am ranting about. I often worry about what our number nine is going to do when he becomes a functioning member of society. I would hate to think that he is going to work at a fast food restaurant for the rest of his life as a burger flipper. I know he loves his video games and taking things apart and he can pick apart a game to the very stitch. That is something. There are actually jobs out there developing video games and what not. His math skills are excellent and he loves math period! If reading were to be as fun for him as math, he would be dangerous! (The next Dr. Sheldon Cooper???) So we talk about that a lot and he loves electronics. Great! There is a future there at the moment.
I was sitting in here on FaceBook (what else do I do with my free time?) and there must have been some issue with the living room tv as I heard the following conversation:
Nine: Joshua! Don't hit it! That won't make it stop!
Six: But that fixes the other TV!
Nine: I know but we are going to try something else.
Six: OK.
Nine: Turn the TV off first, then the cable box and let me check something.
Six: ***turns off the TV then the cable box***
Nine: I have to check and make sure it is plugged in to the wall. We may have knocked it loose playing Xbox yesterday. ***Grunts and mumbles as he crawls behind the TV stand to check the plug***
Six: Can I turn it on yet? I wanna watch Robot and Monster!
Nine: NO! Let me get out of here first. We are going to turn things on one at a time!
Six: ***pouts*** Ok.
Nine: Ok, now, Turn the cable box on first
Six: ***pushes button***
Nine: Now turn the TV on.
Six: Yay!!!!! We did it! It works!
Nine: Told ya to listen to me, we have to do it one at a time or it wont work. You don't have to hit it.
For my fellow WAH peeps that have worked in Tech Support. You can imagine how proud I was sitting here listening to that interaction! I was beaming so loud you would have thought the Sun came to visit my office.
Anyone else have a WAH story to share?
Before I began to do this, the way to fix things was to beat the holy crap out of the thing or kick it and pray that it continues to work for at least the next three months or so as you begin to save funds to replace the thing being stupid in the first place. What did your television ever do to you?
With all that background, let me get to what I am ranting about. I often worry about what our number nine is going to do when he becomes a functioning member of society. I would hate to think that he is going to work at a fast food restaurant for the rest of his life as a burger flipper. I know he loves his video games and taking things apart and he can pick apart a game to the very stitch. That is something. There are actually jobs out there developing video games and what not. His math skills are excellent and he loves math period! If reading were to be as fun for him as math, he would be dangerous! (The next Dr. Sheldon Cooper???) So we talk about that a lot and he loves electronics. Great! There is a future there at the moment.
I was sitting in here on FaceBook (what else do I do with my free time?) and there must have been some issue with the living room tv as I heard the following conversation:
Nine: Joshua! Don't hit it! That won't make it stop!
Six: But that fixes the other TV!
Nine: I know but we are going to try something else.
Six: OK.
Nine: Turn the TV off first, then the cable box and let me check something.
Six: ***turns off the TV then the cable box***
Nine: I have to check and make sure it is plugged in to the wall. We may have knocked it loose playing Xbox yesterday. ***Grunts and mumbles as he crawls behind the TV stand to check the plug***
Six: Can I turn it on yet? I wanna watch Robot and Monster!
Nine: NO! Let me get out of here first. We are going to turn things on one at a time!
Six: ***pouts*** Ok.
Nine: Ok, now, Turn the cable box on first
Six: ***pushes button***
Nine: Now turn the TV on.
Six: Yay!!!!! We did it! It works!
Nine: Told ya to listen to me, we have to do it one at a time or it wont work. You don't have to hit it.
For my fellow WAH peeps that have worked in Tech Support. You can imagine how proud I was sitting here listening to that interaction! I was beaming so loud you would have thought the Sun came to visit my office.
Anyone else have a WAH story to share?
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Working at home, MY hours this time!
Working from home again and I finally got some hours that I can deal with. Now, lets hope that I can deal with the job itself and the people. It is a family owned company and not very big but it is working with some very national clients. I like that. So far, they are very understanding of the family obligation thing and it all seems kosher for that.
I also like the fact that there are possibilites for more money. Most of the WAH jobs that I have worked in the past pay a flat rate and only offer bonuses or vesting in a 401k or tenure raises. Yech! There is such thing as a standard of living and I do believe you should take care of the folks that have been with you for a while. After all, their spot is something you are not spending the money it takes to train them in their job for the first three months they are with you and they know the flow. Catch me? There are a great many advantages other than tenure, family atmosphere, and the hours. The seem to understand that we are human beings! I love that! I also get to expand my social networks a little more because most of my "friends" are virtual anyway.
I love my little circle of WAH peeps. They make me laugh and they understand the statement: "They don't let me out much." Certainly I don't get out much. But, when I don't feel like getting dressed, I can go to work in my fuzzy bunny slippers! I get a discount on my car insurance because I don't drive back and forth every day and my kids can be in the living room while I work. Now, let me explain that last statement. We have clear boundaries and expectations there. There is not a party going on out there and I have to have zero background noise. BUT, if I do not have a sitter, it is not a disaster, I can get them occupied with a board game with their older sister (shes legally old enough to babysit) and still go to work and not have to miss out on a bill or something. I can also do laundry on my breaks and I don't have far to go to get home.
Right now the only drawback is that sickness is not a call out reason because I have the flu, currently, and I am not dying nor am I going to the ER for something that I know will pass in 7 or 8 days. So I tough it out. It is not affecting my phone voice and I can sit in here and sweat it out. (My office is like a sauna anyway.) So, yea, I have to pretty much call in dead, right?
So, don't knock it until you try it. Just be aware of scams and follow the requirements. Sometimes you may have to pay for a background check but do your homework. If it is legit, you will note that in your research.
WAH its what I do! :)
I also like the fact that there are possibilites for more money. Most of the WAH jobs that I have worked in the past pay a flat rate and only offer bonuses or vesting in a 401k or tenure raises. Yech! There is such thing as a standard of living and I do believe you should take care of the folks that have been with you for a while. After all, their spot is something you are not spending the money it takes to train them in their job for the first three months they are with you and they know the flow. Catch me? There are a great many advantages other than tenure, family atmosphere, and the hours. The seem to understand that we are human beings! I love that! I also get to expand my social networks a little more because most of my "friends" are virtual anyway.
I love my little circle of WAH peeps. They make me laugh and they understand the statement: "They don't let me out much." Certainly I don't get out much. But, when I don't feel like getting dressed, I can go to work in my fuzzy bunny slippers! I get a discount on my car insurance because I don't drive back and forth every day and my kids can be in the living room while I work. Now, let me explain that last statement. We have clear boundaries and expectations there. There is not a party going on out there and I have to have zero background noise. BUT, if I do not have a sitter, it is not a disaster, I can get them occupied with a board game with their older sister (shes legally old enough to babysit) and still go to work and not have to miss out on a bill or something. I can also do laundry on my breaks and I don't have far to go to get home.
Right now the only drawback is that sickness is not a call out reason because I have the flu, currently, and I am not dying nor am I going to the ER for something that I know will pass in 7 or 8 days. So I tough it out. It is not affecting my phone voice and I can sit in here and sweat it out. (My office is like a sauna anyway.) So, yea, I have to pretty much call in dead, right?
So, don't knock it until you try it. Just be aware of scams and follow the requirements. Sometimes you may have to pay for a background check but do your homework. If it is legit, you will note that in your research.
WAH its what I do! :)
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