The irony that this ad is made by Dove does not escape me, however it is well worth a watch for anyone with young girls. I was never fat as a child, but my mother was constantly on diets and obsessed with her weight. One day when I was about ten she decided I was fat too and dragged me to Weight Watchers. The result? I ended up fat and have struggled with my weight ever since, once topping the scales at 350lbs! My Mom made food an issue. I was a slightly chubby tween that would have been just fine had she left me alone. Instead she deprived me of everything good and turned me into a craving machine. I do not want that for my girls. They are perfectly healthy now and I plan on keeping them that way. :)
Before moving back to Ireland I was working in the financial customer service centre as a six-sigma team leader for a Fortune Fifty company. It was hard work, but challenging and motivating.
I received extensive customer service training, much of it common sense, but much of it going deeper than that. Going through the training initially, meant enacting role plays. I hate role plays. I don't mind playing leads in the opera, but role plays with peers is annoying, embarrassing and seemingly pointless, but we did it.
It wasn't until a few months later when I had to use some of the skills from these role plays with an irate customer did I realise how well the techniques actually worked. Not only that, but they worked outside of the workplace as well. With family, with friends, with the husband. Empathy is king.
Moving back to Ireland was quite a shock then in terms of customer service. When we first realised we were stranded here without the jobs initially promised to us, we were forced to get temporary work until we figured out what we were doing, if we were staying or going back, or where we would go. I took up some work at a bank. It was a job a monkey could do, but it was a meagre 35 hours a week and decent money. Shock number one. 35 hours = full work week. Wow! I can live with that. However, as a customer I couldn't understand the concept of a bank closing for lunch in this day and age, or one that didn't open for at least a few hours on Saturday. Accessible they were not.
Management at the bank was another notable phenomenon. Apart from being a bit of an old boys club there was no form of staff motivation. It's something I have come across again and again in Irish business. My husband deals with it daily. Employees are not empowered. They are not given a pat on the back when they do a good job, but if something goes amiss, you can be sure they'll be hearing about it.
I interviewed for a job in the bank which would have been similar to what I did in the states only on a much smaller dollar, consumer level. It was the first time I interviewed for something and didn't get the job. The guy who did get the job had no experience at all, he was right out of college. I went straight to the hiring manager and asked why I didn't get the job and was told it was because of my management philosophy. I didn't understand. Apparently I had put much too much emphasis on team motivation.
Bottom line they did not consider their people an asset. How could anyone be so stupid? People are the greatest asset a company has. Treat them right and everything else will follow. Treat them wrong and you're screwed. Where do you think unions came from?
But I digress... I had wanted to talk about standards of customer care...
Shock number two. Employees at the bank answered the phone "X Bank." They laughed at me when I actually told people who they were talking to and which branch they were ringing. This still irks me today. If I call a business line, do not answer "Hello." I should not have to ask you who you are.
Restaurant service. Don't get me started. Refund and return policies. Lousy business hours. Lack of internet presence. Shitty internet presence. The list goes on. And on. And on. GRRR! Ultimately the country is a customer service nightmare. But we all know that and I do think things are s-l-o-w-l-y getting better.
So what's new then?
Now I'm a business customer. Some of you may know from my other blog that I am starting a new business. As such, I am having to acquire suppliers and services, which involves making numerous inquiries. As a business person, making new sales and retaining customers, should be two of your top priorities. This does not seem to be the case in Ireland.
For ingredient suppliers I contacted no fewer than 20 different companies. One got back to me. That's a five percent return. This just blows me away. There is a downturn in the economy - you'd think companies would be embracing new business, especially in a saturated market like food supply. I'm here waving my Laser card at them and they don't want my money!?
I know things are more laid back here, but come on! There's laid back and there's bankrupt.
I've contacted several printers. I got a quote back from one, four weeks later. I just can't get over it. Where is the pride? Where is the professional courtesy?
With the slowing down of the economy these people are in for a big shock. Right now price might be the deciding factor for people to go with a company, but soon they will all have similar prices in order to compete in a sluggish market. Then what? It's their service that is going to sell the product. When are they going to cop on?
If all of these companies came around today and gave me a quote lower than the one who came back to me initially, I'd go with the first guy. If they can't give me a timely quote how can I ensure they will deliver product on time?
I've expressed my frustration about this to lots of people. "Sure that's the way it is" is the standard response. WHY? Why does it have to be like this?
The Celtic Tiger is dying fast. If the Lisbon Treaty goes through the EU will be regulating most of the trade we have previously been able to entice with tax incentives. We need to differentiate ourselves, we need to adopt sound business practices and apply them. Customer service on a business or consumer level needs to be a higher priority. Common professional courtesy needs to be implemented. If someone contacts you, you get back to them ASAP, even if it's to say you will get them full details later. This is a no brainer people!
Rant over.
I've been ranting a lot lately. Lighter stuff soon.
In a country notorious for crap customer service, the multi-national companies sometimes surprise you with fairly good service. Not so with Dell Ireland. I ordered a laptop on January 31st. Over six weeks later it has not arrived. My concerns and appeals keep going to random people in Bombay who, while extremely friendly, don't get it and have no desire to help. Here's how it's gone down.
January 31st - I order computer and select the financing option. According to the website I should have a credit decision in 48 hours.
48 hours later is a Saturday, so I give them the benefit of the doubt and leeway of "business hours" and assume I'll hear Monday.
Monday - nothing. Well, maybe Tuesday, it is Monday afterall.
Thursday Feb 8th - phone call from Dell. Excellent. Late, but relieved to hear from them. Approval decision? No, they wanted to verify my address, the same one I had to enter twice during the order process. Apparently the fact that I'd ordered my previous computer to an old address was confusing. I asked when I would hear back and I was given the magic 48 hours again.
February 11th - More contact. This time they wanted a land line number. I inquired into what was taking so long and got no response. This was via email.
February 15th - Another email. Asking for a bank statement and ID. I send them over.
February 17th - Phone call saying bank statement not allowed as it's not original. I had gone to the bank to get a printed one which they stamped with a stamp saying it was an authorized official bank statement. Not good enough for Dell apparently. I rang the bank and was told I couldn't have a n official "blue" statement until month end. Bugger. So now the ball is in my court, but still 17 days to get to this point when they initially promised 48 hours!?
March 11th - Bank statement FINALLY arrives and I scan it in and send it over to Dell.
March 17th - I send an email to the sales rep I've been in contact with expressing my frustration, fully acknowledging that it did take me awhile to get the statement, and wondering what the hell was going on.
March 18th - She sends me paperwork saying lease has been approved and asks me to sign and return the documents. Finally! I sign, scan and fax them over. Get email a few minutes later saying fax was unclear. I email documents and send original by post. I also look at Dell website and see that not only is the exact same laptop €20 cheaper, but comes with a free colour upgrade and oh how I wanted the lime green one! I emailed saying that since I had had to wait so long that I think the least they could do was offer me the colour upgrade. I'll eat the price differential.
I then get a phonecall saying the only way to do this is to cancel the order and start the process over. Hell no. Just get me my damn computer already. So I tell her to go ahead as is, because at this point I JUST WANT MY FUCKING COMPUTER!!!!!! I assume everything is finished and the order has finally been placed.
March 20th - I get another form letter from Dell with the lease paperwork for me to sign and return, only with different numbers. WHAT THE FUCK? I have sent an email wondering, again, what the hell they are up to, and am awaiting the answer.
I just had to vent my frustration somewhere and here it is. My main issues revolve around the fact that the financial decisions are taken in Dublin, yet someone there has to ring someone in India to tell them to ring me requesting more data. What a load of bollocks. If you have any questions about the data needed, the person in India has to go back to the person in Dublin. Very frustrating. If I could just talk to the person in Dublin at the get go it would have saved everyone a lot of time and effort.
Also annoying was the fact that my emails were never confirmed. I would send the info and never got a response. Even just a "got it- leave it with me" would have been appreciated. Initial contact was to confirm details they ALREADY had and again a dubious time period was claimed.
I understand that the credit process in this country is more drawn out than most, but having worked in finance I know that 48 hours is an entirely reasonable time frame. Credit approval is usually offered subject to receiving a bank statement and copy of ID.
Now granted my bank were a pain in the ass during this process, but if you take that time out of the equation it's still taking Dell over three weeks to do something they promise to do in 48 hours! Absolutely ridiculous, and it's still not resolved.
I'll be upfront. I think the whole global warming thing is a load of bollocks. Yes, the climate is changing, no one disputes that, but it's also been doing that forever. A trip to Céide Fields in Mayo - also known as the world's most boring museum - will tell you that 10,000 years ago Ireland had a tropical climate. It's a cyclical thing. I don't believe that energy saving light bulbs and hybrid cars and fucking paying someone to neutralise your emissions is going to help anything.
The latter really pisses me off. Whoever came up with the idea is an entrepreneurial genius. People are actually forking over money to these people who supposedly plant trees to counteract your plane trip. I think people buying into that are pretty stupid, but it's their money, so what do I care? When I start caring is when the government starts doing it with my tax money! But I digress...
You can argue away with me on this one, but ultimately I think the global warming movement is tantamount to right-wing fundamentalism. I'm completely with Michael Crichton on this one and I ain't changing my mind. So there. Click here to read his much more researched and eloquent position and save your breath yelling in the comments.
So why am I blathering on about this? Well, you needed a bit of background. I don't want to be considered some weird eco-hippy. Global warming aside, I am a strong proponent of living sustainably. It is a big dream of mine to someday be able to produce and grow my own produce and even rear my own meat. I would like to produce my own power, recycle and compost my output and generally live "the good life." And so it with awe, admiration and a profound respect that I follow Dan and Rebecca's journey to live a sustainable life. It's absolutely fascinating stuff and I anxiously await updates on their various projects, the most recent being hatching Easter chicks. Judging by their comments, I don't think I'm alone in that dream either.
Unfortunately financially, a small holding is not an option now or at any time in the near future. And himself thinks I'm on crack. In my hippy days I really wanted to join a commune in Tennessee. I love the idea of living in a community where everyone has the same goals and ideals, although I couldn't deal with the vegetarianism thing! It was with great surprise then that I recently discovered The Village, a planned "eco-village" in Tipperary. It is such a cool idea that to be honest, I am a bit gobsmacked. From what I gather, it's going to be a contemporary eco-friendly village with living space and community features such as weekly markets, farmland, allotments, playgrounds, a town park and river walk. It sounds incredible. And it's not all some idealistic drivel either, it's actually happening and building will start this month. A site averages €81,000 and then you have to build. I would so love to do this. We've been renting since moving back to Ireland and effectively throwing away a third of our income each year. A village like this would allow me to live out aspects of my dream, but maintain the sense of normality the husband would need.
Imaging bringing up children in an environment like that? Not only would they learn respect for their environment, but they would be able to actively participate in a sustainable life. With allotment space they could grow produce and with the farm space they could help rear animals, all in a community atmosphere. It's also just an hour away, so himself could commute. Defeats the point? Nah, did you skip my global warming disclaimer above?
So how does one convince one's husband and one's bank that this is a great idea? There's a €15,000 deposit and obviously payment for the site and of course the build. Dealing with eco-friendly building is likely to be pricey as builders might not be familiar with the techniques required. The husband has very bizarre and contemporary ideas about design which makes things even more complicated. And then there's the bank. Getting approved for a mortgage in this country is hard, even harder when it involves a build and bridging loan. I should know, I used to work for the bank. Doesn't matter that you've faithfully forked over €1200 to a landlord for 3 years and can thus afford the lower mortgage payment, that is something lost on banks. Then you have the question of market stability. Himself does not want to buy in Ireland, as he hopes to eventually go back to the States, but I don't see the logic of throwing our money away on rent.
What would you do? Buy a normal house, try for the semi-dream environment or keep renting?
Growing up in eighties Dublin, there were three types of people known to me; Protestants, Catholics and Chinese. Being just kids when we moved there, we thought the same applied in America. Shortly after we arrived, we went to visit Detroit. It was our closest big city and the car was born there. We thought it would be great craic. Not so much. We got lost in the ghetto. It was not good, but eventually we found ourselves at Red Lobster, who's mass-produced slop was - at the time - exotic music to our bland palates. We had heard of lobster, but never met anyone who ate it, yet alone seen a lobster tail for $9.99! I don't really remember what we ate, but I do remember being acutely aware that we were different than all the other people in the restaurant. My only previous sighting of African-Americans had been watching Roots with my Mam. My little brother, who would have been about five or six at the time, was very loud and rambunctious. He was drawing glances to our table, but it was only when he loudly wondered "why are all these Chinese people here" that people began to stare. I think it was our Dublin accents that saved us. We ate and left. Quickly. Not good.
Religion was also a confusing factor when we moved to America. We lived in a tiny town that falsely claimed it had more churches per capita than any other city in the world. Later on in my life I would often wish we'd moved to Madonna's birthplace two towns over, as they boasted the largest number of bars per capita, but that's another story.
I could not in my life fathom how many churches there were. Literally one on every corner. I couldn't understand why we kept going to the same one, when there were loads to try. What if the priest was better in another one? The parents explained they were all protestant. My parents were not the type of people to voice prejudice, but I definitely think it was there in some sort of stealth manner. When I brought the husband home, his English surname was less of an issue than the fact that he was protestant, and even worse, not baptised. My mother has even had the gall to suggest I baptise him in his sleep.
I suppose that gives you a little background of where I am coming from. Yes, I did get to attend an international high school in Belgium and was friends with Muslims, Jews, Sikh and Hindus, but somehow there was always that "ooooh, you're protestant" factor. Weird.
I've grown quite disillusioned with religion in adulthood. I go back and forth between being Catholic and the latest trendy A-word. I feel realistically that there is no God. I mean if you look at it abstractly it makes no sense, but after I've been atheist for a year or so, I start to get this feeling like I'm missing something, so I go to mass but never find it.
I like Jesus' teachings, I think they make a lot of sense, it's just that the church seems to be in direct opposition to so many of them. However I still feel like I need some sort of spiritual guidance, that I can't go it alone. I think there's a difference between belief and faith. I have faith that something bigger is out there, but my belief is firmly lacking.
I began to research various religions around town, but besides a few fundamentalist options, there were not many alternatives. Hence my recent foray into the Church of Ireland. I went to their website today and am absolutely fascinated. Turns out they are Catholics who think the pope is an ass. Okay, well, not quite, but they do not accept his authority, something I agree with. They say they are Catholic, just not Roman Catholic. Everything I've been told is lies... ALL LIES! I feel so betrayed. And it gets better...
Transubstantiation also out. Check. Corporal Assumption of Mary belief not required. Check. Same for immaculate conception*. Check.
Wow, this is looking good. What else? The clergy don't have complete control. The laity have a huge role. Just keeps getting better.
It's like they address every issue I have with Catholicism, but still keep the faith and tradition part I like. Oh yeah, and they can sing! Damn how they sing!
So what now? I am booked this weekend to solo at Catholic services, so nothing until next week. And then there's that whole actually-walking-in-the-door bit. Will people stare, will they evangelise? What if I hate it? Will they pressure me to sign up or something?
It just sounds too good to be true. Of course it will break my mother's heart. "What about the children?" she'll say. Yeah, because they are getting such a good religious upbringing right now.
What to do? Well, at least until I decide I'm agnostic again.
* Note, the immaculate conception actually refers to Mary being conceived without sin, not Jesus as many people misunderstand.
So the verdict is in and it appears to be top news on many sites. After four years of marriage she walks away with £24 million pounds. If the judges estimates are correct, that is six percent of his fortune. In one way I wish I'd married a rich man and left a millionaire, but on the other hand it sickens me. It cheapens women everywhere and I have always felt this way. If there are children involved, then there should be some financial obligations made, but other than that, in most circumstances, I think alimony is a crock.
If my marriage broke up tomorrow I'd make sure he was paying half the kids expenses, but otherwise I wouldn't want a penny. I'm intelligent and have skills - I can work - I don't need some man paying my way just because I happened to make a stupid mistake at the altar.
I know several middle-aged men who are today struggling to pay their ex, mortgage and kids. They are neglecting their own health and well-being just to make ends meet. One man in particular, we'll call him Steve, has had a particular round of bad luck. His first wife ran away with a Brazilian drummer and his second left him for a woman. He is paying alimony to them both. How is that fair? They left him, yet somehow he is financially responsible for them.
We constantly talk about equality for women and press for it on most fronts, but these sort of verdicts make us look like hypocrites. If we want to be equal then we better live with everything that entails and stop making ourselves look stupid. Thanks Heather for making us all look like fools.
I finally had my ultrasound on Wednesday at St. Vincents in Dublin. I was called in almost immediately and told to change into a gown and then led to another waiting room where I waited for over two hours with several other be-gowned women. It was a little nerve wracking to say the least. We all got chatting and expressed our frustration at the wait and indignity of sitting there in a cold room for two hours in a hospital gown. Some of these women, like me, were there for the first time and quite terrified. Others were used to it, having to come as often as monthly for check-ups. I was absolutely amazed and astounded by the bravery of these women. They were battling cancer and took time out of their day to encourage us and put our minds at ease.
I didn't think results would be immediate. I had visions of waiting for another few months while the pictures were sent to a radiologist for interpretation. Not so. I had a wonderful female doctor who did the scan and made the diagnosis right there and then. She was efficient, thorough and very sensitive! The accompanying nurse could not have been nicer. It echoed what the women in the waiting room had told us, that once you got through administration, the care was second to none.
Thankfully I do not have breast cancer. I do have a small issue, but it is fully treatable and I should be back to normal in a few weeks. I am so grateful for all your concern and support. This has been a rough six months waiting and the sense of relief is quite overwhelming. I am still appalled at the wait I had to endure. Whilst speaking with the women in the waiting room they were all local and had mostly just waited a month to six weeks. One of the women had a sister who did have to wait over six months to be diagnosed with cancer. She then had to wait just over three months to get the surgery and begin treatment. Thankfully she survived, but still. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering she had to go through during that wait. This is just not on. If you haven't already, please, please head over to Two Tits and a Vote and sign the petition. This needs to change and it won't if we just sit on our asses.
Normal posting will resume Monday. I have been quite reluctant to post about other things as people seemed to be into following "the story!" Thank you again for everything.
I thought I'd seen it all when I first went to America and saw that there were Christmas lights on a funeral home, on several funeral homes, in fact.
I thought I'd seen it all when I found my parents Joy of Sex book and accompanying video. I shudder just thinking about it.
This was surpassed when I saw a sex show in Amsterdam and learned that babies are not the biggest things that can come out of a woman. But this... this is something I just can't comprehend. Uranium... in a can... available from Amazon.
This would have been very useful to me in high school. For less than US$30 you too can have your own uranium sample.
Supposedly it is to be used for testing geiger counters. I wonder how many people who own geiger counters shop for test samples on Amazon.
Amazon says: Radioactive sample of uranium ore. Useful for testing Geiger Counters.
License exempt. Uranium ore sample sizes vary. Shipped in labeled metal
container as shown. Shipping Information: We are always in compliance
with Section 13 from part 40 of the NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission
rules and regulations and Postal Service regulations specified in 49
CFR 173.421 for activity limits of low level radioactive materials.
Item will be shipped in accordance with Postal Service activity limits
specified in Publication 52. Radioactive minerals are for educational
and scientific use only.
I can't help but wonder how many of these low radioactive samples one would need to purchase in order to have something seriously dangerous. Should we be concerned that customers who viewed this product also viewed this or this or is the Tom Cruise biography the really scary one?
The lovely and talented Sabrina Dent has launched a campaign for better breast care in Ireland. The aptly titled Two Tits and a Vote is a website dedicated to giving women access to the issues and access to their politicians. It only takes a minute to sign the petition that will be presented to Mary Harney in March. There are pre-written templates for letters to your TDs and the HSEor TTAAV will send a postcard on your behalf for a small donation.
Please head over there, read the press release and see what's on offer. Male or female, sign the petition, please - this has gone on too long. Please tell your family, friends, enemies, neighbours to do the same, after all with breast cancer affecting just over one in four women in Ireland, we are all bound to face it one way or another, whether it be ourselves, a friend or a family member. Something has to be done and this campaign is an excellent start.
If you do nothing else worthwhile this week, if you couldn't be arsed to check out the site, for God's sake, just take a minute out of your day sign the petition.
My heartfelt thanks to Sabrina for highlighting my issue. It is my sincere hope that more women will come out of the woodwork and people will know what is really going on and how ridiculous it really is.
I am quite reluctant to post here lately as it seems I am obliged to talk about the boob issue, at least until it's resolved! So here is an update.
The week after Christmas I received a letter in the post scheduling an ultrasound on my right breast for February 27th. That is 6 months and a week from the original referral date.
Today I received a letter telling me I had an appointment with a "consultant surgeon" in Port Laoise on Monday. This letter was a photocopy of the type that used to be done on ditto machines. The name and date were filled in by hand. It had been photocopied so many times, there was no margin and marks all over it. I suppose he saves the stationary for private patients. It has been photocopied for at least three years, as it has the old phone code, that was changed in 2005. Would you put your health in the hands of such professionalism?
The question is however if this is a duplicate appointment. Do they not know that they already sent me to Dublin and I have an ultrasound scheduled? Furthermore wasn't I supposed to be sent to Port Laoise for an ultrasound, not a surgery consultation? The ineptitude of the HSE just continues to astound me. I tried to ring and see what the hell was going on and thanks to ComReg's handy number converter I was able to get the proper number. I got an unprofessional bumbling answering machine saying they were available Mondays or Thursdays for a period of two hours and to ring back then. Fuck me.
Why do I pay for health insurance when I can't even use it unless I want to fork out hundreds of euro upfront, only to have some of it reimbursed later? I do want to fork out the money, but unfortunately I don't have it so here I am - a sitting duck. I much prefer the American way of doing things where the hospital settles directly with the insurance company and sends you a bill for the difference. They are also very good at letting you pay in installments if money is tight.
So where do I go from here? I suppose I will call these people on Thursday during the specified hours and see what is going on. Will explain the situation, see if I can get ultrasound moved up here in the Midlands and if not, just stick with the date in Dublin. I do not want to go to this appointment only to have the same thing happen and take up another womans spot. God know how long she has been waiting.
So there you go. Nothing new really, just more incompetence within the HSE. Nothing new there I suppose.
So the 
The lovely and talented 
Recent Comments