It's a little after 9:00 pm on Sunday. My husband and I are winding down our day, in our pj's already. EJ has been fast asleep for a little over an hour, the neighborhood is quiet, and it's dark outside. Suddenly, the phone rings. The first thought that goes through my head is Uh-Oh, what happened? I reach for the phone and barely glance at the caller id before answering.
"Hello?" I say
"Hi, can I please speak to Tara?"
"This is her." (Before I can ask who is speaking, the female caller begins a spiel)
"I'm calling from New Mexico Survey and I have a brief..."
(I cut her off) "Are you kidding me? Ma'am where are you located right now?"
"Where am I located?" she replies
"Yes, what city are you in right now?"
"Well, I, why ma'am?" she asked me
"Do you realize that in Albuquerque it's 9:00? AT NIGHT?"
"Yes I do ma'am."
"You realize how late it is and you are still calling people's houses interrupting their nights?"
"Yes."
"WHO TOLD YOU it was okay to call people this late at night? Do you realize children are asleep? Do you not care if you wake them up? Do you realize only bad thoughts come to mind when you hear the phone ring at this hour? What is the deal?"
To which she replied-"I understand thanks" and proceeds to hang up on me.
She didn't really care. My passionate speech did nothing to persuade her that what she was doing was a complete injustice and horrible inconvenience., The questions I asked should have at least caused her to pause and reflect and realize that I was right, it is wrong to call so late and that she should seriously consider finding a new job.
So then I began to wonder what happened to the do not call list? Did we fall off? Do we have to re-register? So I will be investigating that today.
PS- A little side note
I obviously didn't complete the survey last night because of time. But I do refuse to complete any survey when I am called because of a segment I watched on TV few years ago. It was an investigative report about how burglars, or predators can find out so much about you by asking seemingly harmless questions which happen to coincide with questions many legitimate surveys ask.
For example -
What is your average household income?
This answer is loaded because it can tell them what type of home you may live in, and the quality of things you may have in your home.
How many people in the home work?
This can tell them whether the home is vacant during the day or not
What is the highest level of education completed?
This gives them access to demographic info such as whether you have a professional career or not, and also can give them an idea of your income
What radio station do you listen to the most?
This question allows them to categorize your age. For example statistics show that older, upper class individuals listen to classical stations, while teens and early twenty somethings listen to hip-hop and rock stations.
So just an FYI. I realize not every burglar or predator is dedicated enough to figure all of this out and take the time to actually do this research, but you never know who is on the other end of the phone!
Monday, June 30, 2008
On the quest for justice
Posted by ttm at 11:19 AM 2 comments
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The merriment of commencement has commenced
EJ and his teacher
Playing ring around the rosie
Just jumped in!
Not sure exactly what he's doing, but it's a cute pic!
Posted by ttm at 9:21 PM 1 comments
Monday, June 23, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
The trivial and mundane things in life
So I started doing dishes by hand. And oh, how I drrrreeeeaaaaaddd it. I try and psyche myself out before I start every day, telling myself I should be happy that I am blessed with dishes to wash, and it means we have food to eat, and it means that I have a family who is eating the food. Well that works to make me feel an immense sense of love for my family, but doesn't encourage me to start the dishes. I tried buying really cute colorful dishcloths, telling myself it'll be more fun to do the dishes and use the bright happy colored cloths, rather than boring old plain cloths. Well that worked for a few days. I decided to take a look around and see if what others think about doing dishes, and here's a funny little article I found on how to enjoy doing dishes-
• Listen to music. Putting on your favorite CD makes any cleaning job more fun. Doing dishes is the one time when we really have a chance to listen to our favorite music.
• Use green dish soap that smells great. Scent is a powerful mood elevator. Some of our favorites are Mrs. Meyers Geranium Dish Soap and Caldrea's Citrus Mint Ylang Ylang Dish Soap.
• Make a station for dishwashing supplies so you're ready to go when you need to. We have a wall-mounted basket that holds dish soap, sponge, hand lotion, and dish towel. If you don't mind reusable rubber gloves, they're a good addition to your supply rack and will help to protect your hands.
• Think of it as time alone...or time together. If you need some time by yourself, dishwashing is the perfect opportunity for introspection. If you prefer to make it a joint task, ask your roommate or partner to dry while you wash, and use the time for conversation.
Posted by ttm at 7:46 PM 3 comments
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
That which doesn't kill you, can really stress you out
So in light of everything that has been happening with my husband's job, I have been a little stressed out. I struggle with anger more than any other emotion, and I am daily repenting and repenting for the feelings I have toward a few people in particular at my husband's old job. In the meantime, I have been trying to encourage my husband as much as I can, adapt to a new routine that includes having him home with us, keep EJ entertained so Joey can work on resume stuff and look for jobs, all the while trying to stay patient and still and wait on God. My first response is to run to the computer update my resume and start looking for a job as well. I even halfheartedly looked through the paper with a friend of mine Sunday "just to see what was out there". So today, I received my daily devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries, here is a couple of exerpts-
Van Walton
"Why doesn't the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain?"
Job 24:1 (NLT)
Devotion:
I don't like having to wait. It can bring out the worst in me...
God knows me. He is well aware of my weaknesses. So He calls me to His workout room were my weights are actually waits. "Here lift these. When you have completed this exercise, you will emerge a stronger woman."
So I begin to "strength train" with the waits in my life.
Daily I encounter light waits that serve as a warm up for the heavier waits. How I behave as I wait in line at the post office or grocery store, for example, becomes a testimony to my growing strength and maturity. Sure I sometimes drop the load rather than handle the wait well ... I occasionally give in to impatient eye rolling, snide under-my-breath comments, or quick steps to assure my place in line.
Thankfully, God believes in me as a savvy coach believes in his well-chosen athletes. He hasn't given up on me. He continues to assign me to His wait room where I'm learning daily "wait training" strengthens me for the larger times of waiting. Like the time I had to wait for my first job. As I waited for a call back, my self-esteem plummeted. Yet in God's good timing He opened the doors to the perfect position. Or, the time I waited as my dad's health deteriorated. Sadness threatened to overwhelm me. But I emerged from God's wait room wrapped in my Father's comfort, having learned to trust Him.
I've discovered that waiting isn't a waste of time, but an opportunity to grow my character. When the wait feels impossible I try to focus on building patience and my relationship with Jesus, rather than fretting. I spend a lot of time in God's wait room. Next time you find yourself there, remember that God provides the ability to endure when we willingly yield to His strength training process.
Psalm 5:3, "In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; ...I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." (NIV)
Isaiah 49:23 b, "Those who wait for me shall not be put to shame." (ESV)
Romans 15:4, "...the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled." (NLT)
Posted by ttm at 11:28 AM 2 comments
Monday, June 2, 2008
Summer
I signed EJ up for swim lessons today, since I have to be in the water with him, I figure I'll get my water fix, and I'm hoping I will have a little fishy by the end of the month!
Posted by ttm at 8:55 PM 2 comments
Labels: summer