THE TIDE IS HIGH . . .

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you till it seems you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
-- Harriet Beecher Stowe, author

Customer Service Rep or 8 hours of bitchin in my ear . . .

As recently as December 12, 2009 I was working away in a little restaurant in Romeo Michigan with my brother, his wife and youngest son. It was a nice little gig. Busy enough to keep two, maybe three people working hard for a couple hours everyday. Of course, with the prep and cleaning and baking and cleaning and dishes and prep and dishes and cleaning, there was always plenty to do. I must say that dealing with the general public, running the counter as its known, was probably my favorite part. Now don't get me wrong, I like chopping onions and carrots and potatoes for soups and pot roast and the such. I really enjoy cooking. Putting together one of the many Corn Beef Reubens or Steak and Cheese Grinders we sold was challenging and rewarding. Knowing that people came back time and time again because we were serving great food and they enjoyed eating what we created always gave me a positive vibe. My brother, the mastermind behind all of this, will be greatly rewarded for this someday. I am sure of this. I am sure that my ability to strike up a conversation with anybody that walked in is indeed a gift as much as it is a talent. Anyway, serving food to hungry patrons is a service. I enjoy helping people. This may sound corny, but it chokes me up when somebody really appreciates and acknowledges my efforts to help them. As recently as December 14th, 2009 I was hired into Allegra Direct Communications as a Customer Service Representative. There was talk of closing the restaurant and I was getting less and less hours every week. I answered an ad on Craig’s List and got an interview along with about 35 other people. Fast forwarding, I got hired and found out I would be taking calls for a busy Blue Cross Blue Shield Automotive division specifically GM. I get to talk to about 25 to 30 people a day and work with them on various issues they have with their insurance coverage. Now that I have been doing this for about 6 weeks now (after 3 weeks of extensive training) I am realizing that I really do have a knack for helping people. I have been able to do everything from order a replacement id card for someone who lost theirs in a house fire to sooth the nerves of an enrollee who thought they were going to have to pay $35,000 for a hospital bill. They were very grateful when I told them BCBS was going to pay the entire bill after I straighten out a simple billing procedure. This makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Now of course, there are people who are convinced that bcbs is trying to pull a fast one over on them, and we are just a bunch of crooks. But those are just a few compared to the number of people I am able to help. Sometimes an elderly person just wants someone to talk to for 5 minutes. With the Jet Set fast paced life we live in were everything is now, Now, NOW . . . it’s nice to take the time to listen to someone explain what they are going through. I know some may be embellishing the truth a bit, but that doesn’t change the fact that they appreciate me taking the time to listen to them. I have also realized that by hearing all of the shit these people lay on me on a daily basis, my problems are small in relation . . . all in all, I enjoy listening to people and walking them through their insurance woes. Allegra promised the 23 trainees from my class a review after 90 days. According to my calendar, that will be around March 14th. I am excited to see what happens at that time. For now, at the end of the call I will keep asking “have I resolved the reason for your call?”, and I will genuinely care if I have really helped.

Good old fashioned pancakes

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

"This is a great recipe that I found in my Grandma's recipe book. Judging from the weathered look of this recipe card, this was a family favorite."Rate and Reviewfasdfasd

Prep Time:
5 MinCook Time:
15 MinReady In:
20 Min

Original Recipe Yield 8 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions
1.In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2.Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Eating the Elephant

November 23, 2009

Eating the Elephant
By Brian Tracy

You have heard the question, "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer is, "one bite at a time." This metaphor applies to achieving any big goal, as well. How do you achieve a huge goal? You accomplish it one step, one task, one measure at a time.

Identify Your Most Valuable Task
Ask your boss, "What one thing do I do that is more valuable than anything else?" Whatever his or her answer, look for ways to perform more and more of that task and to get better and better at doing it. It is absolutely amazing how much you can accomplish if you break your tasks down into bite-sized pieces, set deadlines, and then do one piece at a time, every single day.

Continuous and Never Ending Improvement
If you want to increase your hourly rate and your income, look for ways to get a little bit better at the most important tasks you do, every single day. Read one hour per day in your field. Listen to audio programs on your way to and from work. Take additional courses whenever you can. These activities will propel your entire career onto the fast track. When you invest an extra one or two hours per day in self-improvement, the cumulative effect on your greater ability to get results can be extraordinary.

Fourth Step Inventory Sheets from Joe and Charlie

I have been asked many times in my recovery, what do you think about . . ., or how should I . . . or what do I do when . . . and most times if not all times, I tell people that I don't give advice on recovery related stuff. And of course, if it has to do with people, places, things or situations, then it is recovery related stuff. What I have come to discover is that the steps relate to all of my lifes issues. If I am struggling with a person, place, institution or philosophy, then my sponsor tells me that it is probably time to do an inventory.

The fourth step of our program says that we take a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves. The fearless part is addressed in the big book by completing step 3. Strengthing our faith removes the fear. We pray about our inventory and the fear disappears. The searching part can be more difficult. Bill explains the process on pages 64 -71. Joe and Charlie took Bills explaination and charted it out. These charts are right from Bill directions taken right from the Big Book. I have used them with my sponsor and have passed them on to my sponsees as well. They are very helpful and I hope that you can use them in your journey towards a better understand of self. I must add though, befor using these for yourself, please run them by your sponsor. Print out an extra copy and give them to your sponsor. That's what I would do . . .

pics of my boys. . .

very old pic

This is a pic of Amy Izak and me taken . . . a long time ago!!! At a Detroit Producers Association Halloween Party. Probably around 1992 I would have to guess.

Amy, where are you now ??????????