The second time I got fired

I got a job out of high school at this Dot Com called MediConnect. It was a call center, my first call center. I remember being freaked out about making those first outbound calls. I ground my teeth through the anxiety, and ended up getting pretty good at it. We would make calls to hospitals and doctor's office to collect copies of medical records for law firms. We had affidavits signed by their patients, it was all legit.

We worked out of tiny cubicles, barely over eye level. I knew the top of all my coworkers heads by heart. I had a computer with a phone attached to it, which would automatically load up the client profile and make the call for me. I also had two drawers, one for pencils and crap, the other for files. I took out all the stupid files and filed it with Legos.

Despite my initial fear of having to talk to people and convince them to release sensitive client information to me, I became pretty good at this job. My confidence grew. I even became a team leader. The day that they were secretly choosing them, I had happened to write a encouraging phrase on a post-it and stuck it to my monitor. This apparently impressed someone. The phrase was something like:

I became so good at making these calls that I won a contest for bringing in the most records in one day. I got a really big TV, I couldn't even fit it in my car.

My mastery of this job eventually became my downfall, a common theme with me it seems. I got to the point where the work became really automatic. I had my opening spiel, which I would deliver while reviewing the profile and playing racing games on my glacier colored Game Boy Advance.

It went something like this, "Hello, this is Ryan Fretz calling from MediConnect. I was calling today to...", always, every time, to a human voice or when leaving a message. I would say this like a robot. This would give me the few seconds I would need to review the last note and see what to say next.

As you would expect, we had escalated cases. These were the sort of calls, where we were having a really hard time getting the records for one reason or another. The client profile would tell us how many days the case had been opened, and the notes would give us an idea of what had gone on previously. One day I came to one of these, several months out, and the notes were nothing but us leaving voice mail after voice mail without any response.

The call went like this, "Hello, this is Ryan Fretz calling from MediConnect. I was calling today to... tell you that I hate you!"

It just came out, click, the call ended and the next one queued up, and I continued to rock at my job. Honestly, I didn't even give it a second thought. Until the next week when the floor manager called me into the operation manager's office.

My manager started, "Ryan, I got a disturbing call from a doctors office the other day. They said that you called and told them that you hated them. I didn't believe it at first, but then I pulled your audio files and sure enough, you call them, state your name and then say you hate them! They were all freaked out, they thought that maybe you were a terrorist!" This was shortly after 911.

The Ops Man stared me down, "Why would you do that?"

"I don't know, it just came to me." I explained that the call was escalated, etc.

"If you were going to do that, why would you even say your name?", my manager asked.

"Well, I wasn't really planning on hating them, but then I did."

"We are going to have to let you go" It was already decided. "We are having your desk packed up right now. You can leave after this meeting."

But wait, "They called back didn't they?" I turned to the Floor Man, "Did you get the records from them?" They exchanged a look, and I saw their resolve falter a moment.

"Your numbers have been falling as well", the Ops manager looked to my manager, who looked away.

I took the moment, "Actually, I'm at the top of the list."

"We have to let you go.", the final blow came from my manager.

So okay, I left their office and our HR woman handed me a file box full of my legos and other personal effects.

Done in again. Though, I learned to avoid becoming a replaceable cog in the business machinery. Even if I'm good at the job, I'll still be at the mercy of ass-holes. You have to be integral!

I've been reading about a lot of Punk lately

Why do I get fired? Because I'm a punk. I push boundaries, challenge convention, become defiant to authority.

The first time I was fired was from a job working as a security guard for the gated community Pepperwood in Sandy, UT. All of my friends had lived there and I protected them. Green uniform, clip board and pen.

Actually, a few of my friends living there worked with me. We all sort of made the rounds thru the Pepperwood guard shacks during high school. There were two, an East and a West Gate. The East Gate was stoic, cold, a spartan tiny office with stairs down to a bathroom. East was usually much more quiet than the West Gate. Which was an older, larger building. With a large desk, space to stretch out, recline and watch for the cars to come up the hill and past the church.

Both had TV's of course, security camera's, a resident lane. A visitor lane that you faced, and an exit behind you. It was our job to right down the names of people that were visiting other people on streets with names like Shadow Wood, Windsong, and Apple Hill Circle. I was vigilant and complacent at the same time somehow.

So anyway, the big transgression that was the climax of that outfit was asking my friend to work for me, who didn't actually work there any longer, technically. He used to work there, I couldn't cover my shift easily, so I just paid him the $80 bucks, or whatever it was and he worked my swing shift. I'm pretty sure he still even had his own uniform. Then I went on a date or something. Hopefully I got laid that night, I can't remember.

My manager got word, called me up and confronted me about it. Well, I wasn't the first to pull this stunt at the shack, I can tell you that, but I didn't tell him cause I'm no stool pigeon! I think I said something like, "I tried to get it covered, I called around."

"Did you call me?", his reply.

"Yeah"

"No, you didn't", he said flatly.

"Yeah, you're right" Peace out!

   

Shia LaBeouf - the Anticelebrity

I had an epiphany recently, I now admire Shia LaBeouf and continue to find him really interesting.  This Sia video was what recently won me over:

Also, having recently seen this one really got to me as well:

A comparison came to mind when thinking about his public image that perhaps as the anti-hero is to the hero, he is to the celebrity, an anti-celebrity. Lifted directly from Wikipedia, an antihero or antiheroine is a leading character in a story who, unlike a traditional hero, lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, and morality. So, the traditional celebrity strives for what? Fame, fortune, mass media recognition of their talent, and a need for attention. It's sort of a slippery identifier, and the definition can take a lot of forms. For example, sometimes celebrity can happen on accident, or people strive for it endlessly and can't maintain it, like reality TV Stars.

Shia though, an obviously talented actor, with worldwide blockbusters under his belt, started to slip into a Joaquin-Phoenix-like crazy life crisis in 2014. Unlike Phoenix though, it doesn't look like Shia is faking it to make a movie. He is actually cracking up a bit, and we get to watch it all live though social media and the internet.

He goes on Ellen later in the year and opens up to her about the experience. Saying that he ended up putting himself in an installation type environment and allowed the public to come and talk to him about all the harsh things that were being said about him in person. Where is his publicist in all of this?

That is what I mean about him as an anti-celebrity. He is lacking the conventional quality of accepting fame, and trying to deflect it in some way.

Now, we are a critical generation, and have seen many stunts before, but I'm starting to feel like this is genuine. He could really mean it, or just be on a lot of drugs, which we assumed of Phoenix as well. I just get the sense from what I have read about him, and the interviews I watched for this piece, is that he is just a normal guy that happens to now be famous, and is remaining famous. Despite his inability to control himself around Alec Baldwin. He tries but fails at things, where his peers might not. He lacks the finesse and charm of James Franco or Natalie Portman.

He is a product child of the Disney Channel, so he has been in the spotlight for most of his life, maybe he is now questioning his social existence. Let's give him that, and maybe he was having a battle making his way out of The 27 Club last year. At least his is doing way better than Amanda Bynes.

That is all.    

It's time to let these things go

Isn't it weird the things that you remember, or the moments that keep coming back to you. There are a few memories that I would like to dispel from my mind, so I will describe them publicly in a series I'd like to call, Thing's I'm Letting Go.

My first year in Portland, I was walking through the city and a car pulled up to me and shouted at my sidewalk, "Hey, where is Salmon from here?". I was confused, "What?". "Salmon Street, is it North or South of here?"

Now, I was new to Portland at that time, and I knew that Salmon Street existed. It was a few streets away from my old friend Johnny's house, but that was in the SE and we were in the SW. Ah, so the streets carried across the river, I realized in that moment. I vaguely knew the difference from where I stood, which way was North and which was South, and I made a calculation in my mind. I shouted back, "It's that way!" and confidently pointed North.

His wife, in the passenger seat, gave an exasperated sigh as he grunted triumphantly and drove off in the direction of my advice.

I know now that I was way off, and it was just a few streets behind the direction I sent them. I was too timid to admit that I was new in town and had no idea what they were talking about. This scenario comes up in my mind every once in a while and I grimace a bit, because I know what I did. That woman told the driver that he had to get directions, he must have refused several times and finally, to stop her nagging, stopped and asked me. I completely validated the universal justification of why men don't ask for directions.

Oh well, it's time to not feel bad anymore. I know where SW Salmon St. is now, there's a huge fountain at the bottom of it!

I believe in the power of words

I've started entering contests. I originally got this idea to do so in Middle School, I thought it would be an alright career to just constantly enter contests.

More recently, I started with this one that arrived in my Natural Gas Utility Bill. @NWNatural #neverendinggrill

The idea is to try to bank on this good luck that frequently occurs during my days. To cash in on my tall, white male dominance in this World. I know that I enjoy many blessings in this life, namely my home life, good health, acceptable looks, my general intelligence and charm. I bring this up not to boast, but to be publicly grateful. Also, I'm aware of the tendency to hex oneself where luck is concerned, so allow me to grin and knock on wood here. Why not seek out and find contests and use my success, or lack thereof, as a barometer of how Karma is doing.

For example, I recently filled out an online review of my dentist office, and I won two tickets to the Blazers game on Sunday, October 9th with the Denver Nuggets. Alright, winning! Also, when Katherine and I needed a new bed, I found this Simmons® Beautyrest® contest and we both entered via text and online everyday for 6 weeks and ended up getting a mail-in-rebate of over $350. That's something!

So I will shamelessly be promoting brands that have contests through my social network. I'll be asking you to like my photos, and trying to get stuff started. Just a warning that I'm jumping into this market and I'm taking you all along for the ride.

Leveled up at life! Taking Leroy back to SxS

This is the next chapter and update to my last post, Daycare Dilemma.

We had Leroy home for some time. Between Julie and Mike being here until Monday, and Katherine and I splitting his care on Tuesday (which is his typical day off during the week), we didn't have to have to take him back until Wednesday of this week. In typical Millennial fashion, we waited to the last minute to try addressing our concerns to the Director at SxS. Katherine wrote a great, respectful email the morning we took him in and I dropped him off on my way to work. She spelled out our concerns, even empathized as a fellow manager. She was firm, but not unreasonable. I was proud, she nailed it!

The director wrote back within hours. Her response was apologetic, respectful, and her tone matched ours with humility. She took responsibility, and shared our our horror at what happened. It turns out that they actually let that employee go over what happened. It wasn't the first lapse that management had to address and apparently the employee wasn't responsive to the criticism. She didn't take it seriously, so they let her go. I only feel a little guilty, but mostly I feel empowered by our approach to our dilemma.

Katherine and I talked it out, we freaked out a bit, we discussed our options and processed the situation. We confronted them like adults (I feel like), and they responded in kind. I mean, there is still a ways to go, and we have to work towards perfecting our relationship, making SxS into the provider we expect for Leroy. But I can't help but feel like we have made a positive step from our first reaction which was angry and reactionary. I'm embolden towards reason.

Coming out of my wide eyed, optimistic youth, I have so often been disappointed in my adult life with the sort of reactions I get from the World. Many times when I find myself in challenging situations and I try to act as my morals dictate, I don't find my intentions reciprocated. Or I even find myself being taken advantage of. Especially when viewing larger cultural events, I tend to see things played out negatively. Or I become appalled at people's seemingly sinister self preservation over humanity. I have to admit that I'm becoming jaded.

However, no! People can be reasonable. We can stand up for ourselves and ask for what we expect. Our first step doesn't always have to be reaction. I guess this is over dramatic, but hey, I'm just feeling a bit pumped this week.

Our next step is going to be to really outline (as in write and deliver) what we expect from SxS, and what Leroy's schedule should ideally look like. We can reiterate our appreciation too, and talk about what has been working for us so that it continues. It doesn't have to be a contract, just a syllabus. We can set the tone for our expectations. I'm feeling much better.    

Daycare Dilemma

We have been steadily loosing faith in our daycare. A few set backs with Leroy's sleeping, a major safety mistake by the employees, and a little lack of communication has lead us here. We're new parents and Leroy is our main man, so we are ready to go to bat for him.

Up until this month, we have really liked the place, we'll call it SxS. The girls were really friendly and the house was aways clean. I felt like I have a good chemistry with the staff, I was learning everyones names as best I could (especially the other kids). I kept it friendly and felt respected.

I also like how close it is to our home, walking isn't a problem. There is a bit of a hill, but I can always enjoy exercise and scenery (Portland is paradise).  SxS feeds him, diapers him throughout the day. They focus on good local diets, the director assured me. I took the tour during my leave from work. It has also been a staple of the community and has a fairly good reputation.

So get to the dirty right? Katherine's parents were in town this last weekend; we all love it when they visit. Mike and Julie landed at PDX while we were both at work. They got to our place, settled, then walked over to SxS to pick up the boy. This was all pre-arranged, and I let them know that morning when I dropped him off. I wrote down their names and asked if they would check ID. Common sense expectation. I also let them know that he should have his morning nap soon, he had been up early.

Well basically, none of this happened. He hadn't slept by the time his Nana and Papa arrived around 10:45am to pick him up. I was told that they asked if he had napped and the girls laughed it off saying that Leroy never sleeps. They also let Mike and Julie leave with him without checking their IDs'. (No emphasis added) I'll mention now that this was Friday, Halloween, the night of the living dead.

Leroy has recently started moving a lot, and he has ramped up his play and exploration. We read that during this time, it is common for babies to now have a hard time to settle down; their brains become stimulated with problem solving. He has a hard time holding still, even when he is tired, he will roll over or get on all fours. He will sit up, he has been moving all day. We understand that it becomes important at this stage to ensure that he has good naps throughout the day, so that he does not become over tired. Other parents will probably understand what I mean. If he goes too long without rest, the rest of his schedule goes to shit and we are left with the aftermath.

In fact, Leroy didn't take a proper nap until 1pm and he slept for just an hour. Katherine had a bit of a breakdown for the next several hours as she tried to focus on work, coordinate with her parents, and vented to me pleading for relief. I came home quickly once work ended at 4pm to wrestle him down into dreamland. He was so wound up, he kicked and his body jostled to settle down. He kept his eyes closed and cried his mantra moan. Luckily, I had done plenty of his sleep dance over the last 8 months, and I got him asleep in his crib after some time. I patiently fumed though, I replayed what could have gone better.  

I say proper nap, because Mike took Leroy out for a long walk around our neighborhood. It was a lovely day, and he was able get fresh air with Papa, to rest and sleep in his Bob Stroller. In fact, both he and Julie were great with him, I do not critique them. Do not mistake me. Our frustration is with the team that we hired to care for our son. His sleep that night was not good. He was up and down every few hours, from 2am through the morning.

It wasn't just Halloween. His sleeping has been getting more and more difficult. When I went back to work, and during the beginning of his time at SxS, we had a good schedule. He napped at about 9am, 12noon, 4pm, and then most likely he was asleep for the night between 7 - 8pm, generally. At first his daily report cards reflected this too, but in the last month or so, this pattern fell apart. Granted, he started crawling; we also finished switching him to mostly formula. Our concern at this point though, is the perceived lack of concern or perhaps followthrough at daycare. The new director has discussed his sleep training with us, but consistency is really what is most important we feel.

Katherine and I are deliberate in the way that we live, we absolutely reap what we sow, so we try to approach our challenges with perspective. We also work in customer service and have a high standard for what we deserve from our money. It is important to be reasonable. We are now in the position though, to start looking for another option to make itself clear to us.

I want to at least have a discussion again with the directors. I'm not looking to raise Hell, but I don't want this to continue as it has been. Katherine has said that if we do stay, and anything terrible were ever to happen at SxS, then we would say that this was the red flag we should have pulled. She's right. So that's our dilemma.