New car on Wednesday that is now insured

Yesterday, I got word towards the end of my workday that my new car will arrive next Wednesday. My hope that it would be ready next week came true!

The last time I had to deal with my insurance company, I was on hold for nearly two hours. This time, I decided to call at 7 pm. I got a representative immediately.

The downside? There was so much feedback on her end. I could hear a male colleague and a female colleague more clearly than my representative. It was frustrating and difficult, but I managed to get through this call that lasted nearly fifty minutes.

At least it's done. Some cool things happened:

• Because I use an app to monitor my driving habits, I got at 25% discount on my insurance rate for the year. I saved roughly $1,100.
• My insurance rate has dropped $13 a month with the new car.

I thanked the woman for helping me out. I let her know that it wasn't her fault that the background was super noisy, but her manager may be able to do something.

I hope to get a survey. She'll get a high rating, but hearing all that noise in the background and envisioning the call centre's sound setup needs help.

It's the Labour Day long weekend coming up. I'm glad that I can spend some time with my car before it gets traded in.

Packing and restoring my iPod classic

I am packing light for my trip. I am away for three days and I am in the Twin Cities for two of them. I am technically done. I'll I need are snacks.

As of late, I want to return to simpler times. I spent some time last night restoring music on my iPod classic. Yep, folks say that it looks like a brick. However, it holds my entire digital music collection.

I like it because I don't need to stream my music. I don't have the option to check my e-mail or do searches online. I am removed from plenty of distractions.

The fact that it is probably over a decade old and still works well is nice. I am contemplating getting the newest iPod touch. It would be a distraction, as it has bluebooth, wifi, and messaging capabilities.

I'll stick with my iPod classic for now.

Productive weekend and WhatsApp for my laptop

Weekends blow by so quickly. Just like that, this weekend is over.

It was a productive weekend. I am doing some writing for a side business project. I got excited about it in the past, got distracted, and then lost some of that excitement. However, it all came back this weekend.

I am to provide content for a Web site. In past jobs that I held, I did both writing the content and putting the content up on the site. It was the case with all Web sites that I designed for me.

I don't control the Web site for this project, so I have to feed the content to a person. It's difficult to visualize how everything will fit. I asked him to post everything and then we can review the site.

The other reason why I lost interest is that most of my writing happens on a laptop. Our little group uses WhatsApp on our phones to chat. It was such a turnoff to provide the content through this app by copying this content from a document on Google Drive.

I managed to install the desktop version of WhatsApp and it made a world of difference. Yay!

Here's to another week.

Dealing with an inept colleague while on vacation

The new writer manages to still get on my nerves even when I am on vacation. She has no clue about respect for those who are on vacation.

On Christmas eve, she said that she'd wish everyone a nice Christmas. It seemed like a thoughtful gesture on her part.

We have an instant messaging tool that we use at work. I have it installed on my phone, as I take teleconferences while I am driving into work. I frankly don't like instant messaging apps. I find getting text messages to be a distraction.

Guess what she does? While I am preparing fixings in the kitchen on Christmas day, I get a text message on this instant messaging app from her. She's wishing me a merry Christmas. I have mentioned to her in the past that I don't like being contacted through this app. Obviously, this tidbit didn't register in her head, as with most information that my interns and I have relayed to her.

Two days later, I get a status report from her on this instant messaging app, saying that she's "holding down the fort." You would think that this app saying that I have been away for three days would mean something to her. Nope.

I wrote her an e-mail, copying our manager, on instant messaging etiquette. I pointed out that instant messaging is used to contact someone quickly to get a response and when it's urgent. Providing a status report or wishing me a nice Christmas over Skype while I am on vacation is not proper etiquette. I had to spell it out that I do not want to be reached on this work instant messaging app when I am on vacation. I want a work-free vacation. However, writing this e-mail to tell her to stop it and to explain how instant messaging etiquette works wasn't in my vacation plans.

I then indicated to look at our manager's e-mail that wished everyone a merry Christmas. He sent it as an e-mail, not through an instant messaging app. She does not comprehend that instant messages that she sends goes to my personal phone while I am on vacation and she is not. The last person I truly want to hear from on my vacation is this woman.

I got a reply back from her to my e-mail saying that she understood what I had said. I doubt that she truly does. It is so frustrating dealing with someone who seems to be shielded from the world and does not understand what is common courtesy.

Turfing the diva... yay!

My manager and I had a confidential talk about our troublesome new writer. Before I dive into those details, this writer decided to indicate that she was taking a sick day on Thursday.

Having her away from the office felt good. None of us had to deal with her diva-like tendencies.

My manager indicated that he had spoken to his manager about this writer. They both agreed that she needs to be canned. She has her own agenda, doesn't listen, and is a loose, unproductive cannon.

Her workload won't go back to me. Rather, the other writer who has already taken over a portion of my work will take over her work. Essentially, this writer is my mini-me. She works well and she is okay with taking on my workload, minus the other lead tasks that I do.

That's good. I can continue working on processes and other details.

My boss got word from another colleague that the diva has been saying negative things about both of us. I asked him not to tell me what they were. I don't need to know.

My view is that whenever someone has something negative to say about me, not only is it untrue, but it signals insecurity. The diva gives the impression that she knows everything. She doesn't. Instead, she needs to say horrible things about folks to make her feel better.

She also seems to buy her way to being liked. We recently had a colleague from Brazil visit for three weeks. Although the diva didn't know her, she bought her a parting gift last Friday. Odd.

During her first week, she said that she would buy me a tea. The following week, she did the same thing. She never did. Perhaps she was waiting for me to make the first move. I don't fall for such a trap.

Anyway, my boss is planning to can her either on Friday or Monday. The latter looks more promising. Either way, I feel a weight being lifted.

The diva has been a bad influence on a number of writers. I have noticed this week that as soon as either my boss or I walk into the lunchroom in which she is in, she immediately looks, gets up, and leaves. Ah, such maturity!

The diva is closer to my manager's age. I am wondering whether she feels threatened by someone like me, who is equally as seasoned of a writer, but who is far more competent, be her team lead.

My manager describes her as a poison. I agree. I actually said to him that she is toxic. I avoid toxic folks at all costs.

Course is done and all is well

I completed the second part of my refresher course on Tuesday. It was shorter than I had anticipated. Then again, doing a nearly four-hour course over two days is a decent length.

I have received positive, favourable feedback. I am thankful and pleased.

It's a good thing that I am working from home on Wednesday. I plan on going into productive mode. I am banning myself from our instant messaging tool. It is such a distraction.

Driving home and seeing a pedestrian sprawled on the street

I was driving home at around 20:25 on Thursday night. I was roughly two streets away from my home in a residential area.

I was stopped at the three-way intersection. In front of me was a black pickup truck with its hazard lights blinking. I had to drive around it, on the opposite side of the residential street.

The image in my head still shakes me. In front of the pickup truck was a body of a person. That person was in a starfish position, head up.

The driver of the pickup truck was standing on the southwest corner of the intersection. He was on his cell phone, calling 911.

Part of me wanted to pull over and see how everyone was. I was so shocked that I decided to drive home.

Moments later, I heard the ambulance siren. I hope that the pedestrian is okay. If I am in this state, I can't imagine what the pickup truck driver is going through.

There are a number of problems with both pedestrians and drivers in my neighbourhood:

• At this specific intersection, pedestrians feel that they own it. They will walk diagonally across the intersection. Um, no. You cross one side of the street, and then the next.
• At night, pedestrians often wear dark clothing. For drivers, it's difficult to spot you. The person hit was wearing black pants. However, the person's jacket was red, which should have stood out.
• The speed limit in our residential area is 40 km. I have seen many folks exceed that speed limit. We have speed bumps and I live around the corner from an elementary school. Slow down, drivers!
• I have often seen folks do a left-hand turn in my area and do not see me coming. I have to honk. Drivers need to pay more attention to both pedestrians and cars. Look both ways before you go.
• Pedestrians need to look both ways before they cross the street, too. I deliberately back my car into my driveway. In the morning, I pull out and see everything and everyone. Thursday morning, a woman walked past my car. I waited for her to cross before I pulled out. I was driving and she nearly walked into the side of my car. I don't care if you are wearing a hoodie. Turn your head before you cross the street. Again, as a pedestrian, you don't own the road if you pull a stupid action like this one.
• We are so distracted by our phones, music blasting in the car, and much more. Lose all of it. You're better off doing so.

I just hope that this pedestrian is okay. I keep looking online to see whether there are any reports. So far, I haven't heard a thing.

Kobo Mini e-reader and books on spanking

It took me a while to get on the e-reader bandwagon. I resisted for a long time, mainly because I like reading physical books. I like the feel of the pages between my fingers. I even like the smell of books.

As a little girl, I enjoyed hanging out at libraries and reading. Whether I was happy or sad, being in a library and having access to stories, facts, and knowledge made me feel safe and content.

A few years ago, I decided to get my first e-reader. I have a white Kobo Mini. It's a little larger than my Blackberry Passport. I love it.

Of course, I can also read books using the Kobo app on my various devices, but I like my e-reader. When I read from it, I am not distracted by e-mails or games. I want to read. Period. I don't need to do that with a smartphone.

It has been a while since I used my e-reader. I am charging it as I type. I bought a book tonight and am enjoying the read so far. 

The best part about e-books is that you can preview a chapter before you buy. Naturally, I have been checking out the spanking stories that are out there. I am reading through the preview chapter from Across My Knee. I'd like to be across my guy's knee right now. He is asleep, so this book will do for now.

A is for airhead

It's the first day of the Blogging from A-to-Z Challenge this month, so my topic is about dealing with an airhead.

The post isn't a positive, cheerful one. I don't normally have a rant section on my blog, but I thought that I'd writing about my recent experience driving home.

Last Thursday, after spending some time after work with my guy, I drove home. There is nothing unusual about my commute home. It takes me an hour to drive home on the highway.

I was stopped at a red light at an intersection, waiting for the light to turn green, like the rest of the cars around me. It was completely unexpected, but I felt a tap. I had been lightly rear-ended.

I got out of my car. The woman behind seemed to be slow at it. She asked me whether "[I] had felt it?" Um, yeah. It's not like I frequently get out of my car on a red light and feel my car move forward because another vehicle behind me has hit mine.

So, I immediately know that I am not dealing with the most intelligent person in the vicinity. I asked her what happened. She told me that she "thought that [she] had stopped." Thought? Either you have or you haven't. It was obviously the latter.

I am always prepared for anything. My guy calls me a girl scout sometimes, because I am that resourceful. I pop open my car's trunk and take out the Lysol wet wipes. I proceed to wipe down my car's bumper. I then look at the screws on her licence plate and see whether they have made dents in my car. Sure enough, one screw managed to take paint off my bumper. There were in the form of three tiny dots.

I took pictures and let her know. At first, she denied it by saying that she could not see it. I told her that the screw aligned perfectly with the damage. I then told her to run her finger across the area. She finally did and noticed that she had indeed caused paint damage.

I didn't want to report this issue to the police. It would take hours to file a report. The damage was minor. Instead, I asked her for $15, to get some touch-up paint.

She went back to her car to look for some money. I asked her to put her hazard lights on. Apparently, she was too busy looking for money to hit a button that takes a second to do. So, I had to wave the cars behind her ridiculous BMW.

What did I learn about her? First, she was wearing high heels, so she may not have pressed down as hard as she thought on the brake pedal. Second, she had loud Middle Eastern music playing, so that could have been a distraction.

Frankly, I think that she should not be driving. It was unfortunate that I was in front of her.

She asked me how I knew that touch-up paint was $15. I told her that "an idiot had done something similar in the past." She did not get that subtle insult, which I found amusing.

Anyway, she did manage to cough up the money. Before I got in my car, I took a picture of her car's licence plate. I then drove off, making sure that she wasn't following behind me. I made a right turn at the next intersection. She did not follow suit.

I will be going to get some touch-up paint soon and make sure that my car doesn't rust too quickly.

My guy is back in town!

It's tough being in a relationship with someone who is on the road fairly often. My guy has been away for just over a month. This afternoon, he came into the office after flying home on a bunch of flight segments, which totalled 36 hours.

He looked pretty refreshed when he walked into the office. It was nice to lay eyes on him. Mind you, looking at him is easy on my eyes. Then again, I am biased.

There has been a lot of change since he was last in the office. I have been training a colleague who will be taking some of my workload off my plate. I finally had the opportunity to introduce her to him. He immediately asked me if I was feeling less stressed. It's still early in the game (I was doing the workload of nearly four people), but it's nice that I have someone else to help me out. It's a question of training my new colleague these days.

Although my guy said that he was tired, we continued talking. We have a colleague, Swiss Miss, who is here for a few more months before she returns back to her homeland. Although Swiss Miss seems more confident when she talks these days, she still asks tons of questions about work that she should know by now. Her questions make her seem like she lacks confidence. My guy and I had the following conversation.

"She is young," he indicated. "She hasn't even started university."
"Yes, I know," I indicated, except that when I was twenty years of age, I wasn't that needy.
"She needs a lot of hand-holding," noted my guy. "I would love to be hand-held by you, too."
"You are still the charming, sweet talker that I know," I said, smiling. "You're so smooth."
"I have missed you," he admitted. "I have missed your charming smile, your cute chin, ... you look good."
"You are starting to embarrass me with your flattery," I admitted, still smiling.
"I hope that you don't go into the fetal position," he stated, also smiling.
"I may have to under my desk," I said. "But, thanks [for the compliments.] Not to change the subject, but you look good in baby blue."

He smiled, not because I actually was changing the subject, but that he liked what I had said. He was wearing a shirt that I have never seen him wear. It was a blue, short-sleeved polo shirt. The baby blue colour brought out his eyes. He looked so good in it. He also revealed that it was one of his favourite shirts.

Towards the end of the day, we both walked out the door. I walked ahead of him. My guy didn't realize that another male co-worker was behind him until we all got into the elevator. My guy didn't bother holding the door for him.

Yes, my guy was too distracted at looking at my backside. It's nice that my guy is back. I am sure that my bottom will be sore again once he has had plenty of sleep and rest.