Today was the first day of training. Last night I was a bit anxious because this is the first time that I brought Vance with me. I really enjoy having him with me. He's my little travel buddy.
Got up pretty early today. I was anxious to hear from my back up child care rep to let me know that the daycare center that they've booked for Vance had a vacancy. I have to say, they were extremely helpful and executed things in a timely manner.
I got a call informing me that the daycare center is ready to go. What a relief!
Arrived at the training with plenty of time to check e-mail, make phone calls etc. That was not quite as stressful as I thought.
Today and tomorrow is all about loans. We're covering policy and guidelines for all sorts of loans/lines. Consumer, car, home, etc. Leaning about the federal regulations, compliance, procedure and what not. It got pretty slow and very boring towards in the middle that I had a hard time staying awake.
It's really good for me to go to this. Not only that it's a paid training, it is also good for my career advancement.
Not to brag or anything but the "asian" side of me prevails when it comes to lending, finance and banking matters. My fellow team members love asking me questions and asking me for help--especially during the final assesment. LOL. I love helping of course.
Of course there are boring and mind numbing topics to cover such as Reg-D, Reg-E, Reg-Z, Reg- DD, HMDA, RESPA, etc.
For the most part, it's pretty interesting actually. Our trainer is great. He's very knowledgeable and full of resources of course. It feels like dejavu for me of course. I was just here 7 months ago.
Tomorrow is our last day here. Vance and I will check out in the morning and I'll pick him up from the day care after work. And from there, we'll head back home.
I want to take this boy to the museum but the weather is is extremely cold!! I might bring him back here this summer..
Alright, getting tired. Going to do down the lobby and hang out by the fireplace with Vance while having some soda (milk for him). lol
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sailing along
Going to summarize everything that has happened the past two days. Friday was pretty hectic. I was supposed to leave town to go to Huntsville Thursday night but due to the weather condition, I was told by my manager to wait until the following morning. Thursday night, I didn't get much sleep at all. Probably a total of 3 hours.
Woke up the following morning, reported to work just to find out that I had to leave that morning to go to Huntsville to attend my first day of training as a Personal Banker. Went to my office and grabbed the stuff I needed to bring. There's a banker there who's spotting me while I'm gone; needless to say, it's quite strange seeing someone in my office with my stuff laying around and my son's picture frame right next to my computer. ha!
Drove to Huntsville. Got there late. But of course, my instructor was informed already that I'll be running late.
Sat in class all day. Surprisingly, I was able to absorbed and take in so much information that day. Considering how stress I felt especially from the night before, I managed to get 92 on my last test. I can tell everyone was anxious to go home since it was Friday. A fellow team member was lagging behind. As a good samaritan, I decided to help her with her test. With me helping her, she was able to pass the test and allowed everyone to be dismiss. So she was grateful of course.
I was in a hurry to get out of class because I have to drive back to get my son from his day care, drive to Anniston and drop him off to his dad. I probably drove a total of 400 miles that day. Proudly to say, I did it and did it well...
Following morning (Saturday) I had to work. We had set up a booth at the Black Magic expo at BJCC. With 4 Personal bankers on duty and three branch managers and one district manager, we dominated and had a good outcome from the event.
We represented the company. I got several boost from my managers telling me that I was very successful in generating prospects. I probably talked to 50 business owners and got 15 appointments from them to come to the bank and talk to me about their business banking needs.
I stayed there until it was time for me to leave.
Now, it's Sunday afternoon. I am packing to leave for Huntsville. I am waiting for Vance to be drop off. I made some major negotiation with his dad that I am going to CEASE driving every Sunday but rather have him drive here to drop him off.
With Friday being the same, I think I'm NOT really doing Vance a favor by driving all the way to Anniston every Sunday. If anything, he gets to spend more time with his father if he gets drop off to me.
I'm doing his dad a favor, and as of right now, that favor is costing me a lot of money. So I am going to continue the Friday drive but Sunday drive back is pretty much NOT an option for me. So there's that....
I'm going to leave here as soon as Vance gets here. I have made back up baby sitter in Huntsville where he will be staying while I'm in class. Fortunately for me, I work for a company that offers back-up child care--it's one of our benefits. So the center is booked and Vance will spend 2 days there while I'm in training.
Things are coming along. I spent some time with my friend last night and spoke to several over the phone. The house is clean, I have this new kick-ass laptop, I got a new phone, and bills are paid on time. Life is good and the basic is taking care of. For now, I'd give myself a five star and count this as a blessing considering the stress, ordeal and mishaps that I have to deal with lately.
Will try to attend Church tonight if possible. If not, next Sunday for sure! I was supposed to go with a friend to her church but she came down with a cold so I spent my morning configuring my laptop and cleaning the house.
Being able to handle, juggle, multi-task all this stuff and do such a great job at is is empowering!
Woke up the following morning, reported to work just to find out that I had to leave that morning to go to Huntsville to attend my first day of training as a Personal Banker. Went to my office and grabbed the stuff I needed to bring. There's a banker there who's spotting me while I'm gone; needless to say, it's quite strange seeing someone in my office with my stuff laying around and my son's picture frame right next to my computer. ha!
Drove to Huntsville. Got there late. But of course, my instructor was informed already that I'll be running late.
Sat in class all day. Surprisingly, I was able to absorbed and take in so much information that day. Considering how stress I felt especially from the night before, I managed to get 92 on my last test. I can tell everyone was anxious to go home since it was Friday. A fellow team member was lagging behind. As a good samaritan, I decided to help her with her test. With me helping her, she was able to pass the test and allowed everyone to be dismiss. So she was grateful of course.
I was in a hurry to get out of class because I have to drive back to get my son from his day care, drive to Anniston and drop him off to his dad. I probably drove a total of 400 miles that day. Proudly to say, I did it and did it well...
Following morning (Saturday) I had to work. We had set up a booth at the Black Magic expo at BJCC. With 4 Personal bankers on duty and three branch managers and one district manager, we dominated and had a good outcome from the event.
We represented the company. I got several boost from my managers telling me that I was very successful in generating prospects. I probably talked to 50 business owners and got 15 appointments from them to come to the bank and talk to me about their business banking needs.
I stayed there until it was time for me to leave.
Now, it's Sunday afternoon. I am packing to leave for Huntsville. I am waiting for Vance to be drop off. I made some major negotiation with his dad that I am going to CEASE driving every Sunday but rather have him drive here to drop him off.
With Friday being the same, I think I'm NOT really doing Vance a favor by driving all the way to Anniston every Sunday. If anything, he gets to spend more time with his father if he gets drop off to me.
I'm doing his dad a favor, and as of right now, that favor is costing me a lot of money. So I am going to continue the Friday drive but Sunday drive back is pretty much NOT an option for me. So there's that....
I'm going to leave here as soon as Vance gets here. I have made back up baby sitter in Huntsville where he will be staying while I'm in class. Fortunately for me, I work for a company that offers back-up child care--it's one of our benefits. So the center is booked and Vance will spend 2 days there while I'm in training.
Things are coming along. I spent some time with my friend last night and spoke to several over the phone. The house is clean, I have this new kick-ass laptop, I got a new phone, and bills are paid on time. Life is good and the basic is taking care of. For now, I'd give myself a five star and count this as a blessing considering the stress, ordeal and mishaps that I have to deal with lately.
Will try to attend Church tonight if possible. If not, next Sunday for sure! I was supposed to go with a friend to her church but she came down with a cold so I spent my morning configuring my laptop and cleaning the house.
Being able to handle, juggle, multi-task all this stuff and do such a great job at is is empowering!
Monday, January 31, 2011
New Life- New Year 2011
Tonight seem very peaceful. Suffice it to say, I am utterly drained. Had about 4 hours of sleep last night. I wonder how people survived now days with that much sleep....
Anyway, back to my thoughts..Michael and I reconnected for almost 7 months now. Things are splendid for the most part. Our dealings with each other has drastically changed. Not so much drama like it used to. It shouldn't be. Michael and I are in a much better stage of our lives now. Things are much more clear between us. We've found a true definition to our relationship...I know we've always loved each other. Our desire to be with each other was so strong that it manifested in so many ways. It was so obvious to those who's watching from the outside. We tried to abate and plastered our obvious feelings for each other with denial, but it only made things worse.
Things fell apart between us over a year ago. I drove our love to end unknowingly. I didn't know what to do at the time. I was very confuse and lost of direction. I was back and forth and simply cannot make up my mind. I confused Michael as well to a point where he thought I was just playing games and that he got "played". For the way I acted then, I wouldn't blame him for thinking and believing so...
Michael's love was always solid and unwavering towards me. It stayed like that until I pushed him away. We fell apart for several months (close to 10 months). Our last encountered left us with NO closure. We barely said goodbye. In fact, it ended very bitterly and quickly. Needless to say, that temporary break was "necessary" and vital. It helped us do the right thing and it gave us a more clarity to make lucid judgment and decisions.
Almost a year later, him and I reconnected. Michael attempted to contact me so many times while we were apart. Via text, facebook and sometimes a call. I've painfully declined all contact from the beginning by not responding. It took every strength that I had NOT say anything but I knew it had to be done. I firmly believed that it was destructive for him and I to be in contact with each other while we were having to deal with a lot of things in front of us. So I made him a bargain--and that was to tell him NOT to communicate with me and to come to me only when things are taken care of from both ends (my side and his side). The process took a while especially on his side due to the "mishaps" that he had to deal with. He explained the dilema, and the "SITUATION" that he was faced against on his first few e-mails but I ignored it.
As months passes, things started to become more clear. As intended, I wanted to clear my mind before I wanted Michael back in my life again...Furthermore, while taking a break and dusting myself off, I also did a lot of self reflection as far as where I stand, how I feel about relationships and how I really felt about us.
I did not want him to distract me while I took the time to recognize some important things about me and what I want.
Suffice it to say, those months of break was essential for healing (at least it was for me). It was such a crucial stage in my life where I really needed to be alone, ponder about a lot of things.
I eventually made it through the rough patch and decided to return the correspondences from him "slowly". Then from there, the channel of communication was open between us again. But this time, it was different. We have both been through a lot. A LOT of changes that is...And from there, we picked up where we left off but this time, it was so much better and clearer (at the very least, it was for me). LOL
Taking you to our present life--things have not been perfect. We have our quarrel and problems. Actually, now that we're husband and wife, life is more realistic. Dealing with the daily grind, kids, work, house chores, bills, and a lot of day to day mundane routine.
We haven't seen Michael's girls in a while. I miss them. Someday they will be here again. We're having to jump through hoops to get this taken care of. But I pray that someday, he will have his 3 girls closer to him.
Okay, enough with the boring, mellow dramatic, soap opera part of this blog. I'm not going to fail to recognize the fact that my "love story" with my current husband is almost as good as the movie "The Notebook". LOL. It's unconventional, unique, intense, real, a roller coaster, full of hardship in the beginning but finally became a happily ever after story.
To those who has witnessed and have seen us back then can testify the same thing. My husband DID EVERYTHING to chase after me, to show me he wanted nothing but me, to make me his and only his, and sacrificed EVERYTHING just to be with me. I can confidently say and validate that I have NEVER seen nor have I known anyone who pursued after someone so hard as much as Michael pursued and have worked so hard just to be with me. It was two forces and gravity that even the world cannot seperate. From the very first day we met, our life was forever changed---I changed his and he changed mine. THAT WAS US, AND IT WILL REMAIN THAT WAY. Nevertheless, every effort, struggles, and frustration was ALL worth it! My love only grows stronger each day for him.
Michael wasn't EXACTLY part of my plan when we first met; but things ended up that way anyway.... LOL. I never pre-meditated or plan anything. In fact, I used to think he was insane, out of his mind, delusional whenever he would pull me aside and sneakily tell me his feelings. Each time he would divulge his emotions, I remember rolling my eyes, poking fun of him and laughing.
Heck, he thinks back then (and now) that I am WAYYYY WAYYY out of his league and he still have a hard time believing in the beginning (and presently)that a girl "like me" would even look at him and married him for that matter!. But I proved him WRONG! Absolutely wrong! hahaha. And yes, I have ceased the poking fun of him and obviously have taken him seriously (when appropriate). LOL
Hmmm...sleep deprivation sure have a significant effect on my ability to keep my thoughts together. I can't seem to stay awake so I'm going to close this blog for tonight.
Wow, this is my best attempt to condense everything that has happened with me in the past 7 months....I'm going to vaguely add here that Vance is growing so fast!!! He's such an intelligent, sometimes stubborn, witty little boy. He's just like me and sometimes just like his dad too!!
Talking about his dad, he is temporarily residing in Atlanta. He graduated law school last year and is now practicing law. He gets Vance every weekend. He's engaged to a fine young woman from here. Unfortunately for me, I am stuck here in the south until Vance is at the appropriate age (whenever that might be).
This boy is the center of mine and his dad's life right now. His mom is a Personal Banker and his dad is an Attorney, I have a good feeling that he will be spoiled rotten.
Oh yea, my Personal Banker training starts this Friday in Huntsville. Michael and Vance are coming with me. We will be spending our 3 days in a hotel that my company has booked for me. I will be in class/training during the day and Michael and Vance will find things to do while I'm in class. Fortunately, the hotel is close to the space museum. So I could imagine they'll spend quite some time there.
Anyway, back to my thoughts..Michael and I reconnected for almost 7 months now. Things are splendid for the most part. Our dealings with each other has drastically changed. Not so much drama like it used to. It shouldn't be. Michael and I are in a much better stage of our lives now. Things are much more clear between us. We've found a true definition to our relationship...I know we've always loved each other. Our desire to be with each other was so strong that it manifested in so many ways. It was so obvious to those who's watching from the outside. We tried to abate and plastered our obvious feelings for each other with denial, but it only made things worse.
Things fell apart between us over a year ago. I drove our love to end unknowingly. I didn't know what to do at the time. I was very confuse and lost of direction. I was back and forth and simply cannot make up my mind. I confused Michael as well to a point where he thought I was just playing games and that he got "played". For the way I acted then, I wouldn't blame him for thinking and believing so...
Michael's love was always solid and unwavering towards me. It stayed like that until I pushed him away. We fell apart for several months (close to 10 months). Our last encountered left us with NO closure. We barely said goodbye. In fact, it ended very bitterly and quickly. Needless to say, that temporary break was "necessary" and vital. It helped us do the right thing and it gave us a more clarity to make lucid judgment and decisions.
Almost a year later, him and I reconnected. Michael attempted to contact me so many times while we were apart. Via text, facebook and sometimes a call. I've painfully declined all contact from the beginning by not responding. It took every strength that I had NOT say anything but I knew it had to be done. I firmly believed that it was destructive for him and I to be in contact with each other while we were having to deal with a lot of things in front of us. So I made him a bargain--and that was to tell him NOT to communicate with me and to come to me only when things are taken care of from both ends (my side and his side). The process took a while especially on his side due to the "mishaps" that he had to deal with. He explained the dilema, and the "SITUATION" that he was faced against on his first few e-mails but I ignored it.
As months passes, things started to become more clear. As intended, I wanted to clear my mind before I wanted Michael back in my life again...Furthermore, while taking a break and dusting myself off, I also did a lot of self reflection as far as where I stand, how I feel about relationships and how I really felt about us.
I did not want him to distract me while I took the time to recognize some important things about me and what I want.
Suffice it to say, those months of break was essential for healing (at least it was for me). It was such a crucial stage in my life where I really needed to be alone, ponder about a lot of things.
I eventually made it through the rough patch and decided to return the correspondences from him "slowly". Then from there, the channel of communication was open between us again. But this time, it was different. We have both been through a lot. A LOT of changes that is...And from there, we picked up where we left off but this time, it was so much better and clearer (at the very least, it was for me). LOL
Taking you to our present life--things have not been perfect. We have our quarrel and problems. Actually, now that we're husband and wife, life is more realistic. Dealing with the daily grind, kids, work, house chores, bills, and a lot of day to day mundane routine.
We haven't seen Michael's girls in a while. I miss them. Someday they will be here again. We're having to jump through hoops to get this taken care of. But I pray that someday, he will have his 3 girls closer to him.
Okay, enough with the boring, mellow dramatic, soap opera part of this blog. I'm not going to fail to recognize the fact that my "love story" with my current husband is almost as good as the movie "The Notebook". LOL. It's unconventional, unique, intense, real, a roller coaster, full of hardship in the beginning but finally became a happily ever after story.
To those who has witnessed and have seen us back then can testify the same thing. My husband DID EVERYTHING to chase after me, to show me he wanted nothing but me, to make me his and only his, and sacrificed EVERYTHING just to be with me. I can confidently say and validate that I have NEVER seen nor have I known anyone who pursued after someone so hard as much as Michael pursued and have worked so hard just to be with me. It was two forces and gravity that even the world cannot seperate. From the very first day we met, our life was forever changed---I changed his and he changed mine. THAT WAS US, AND IT WILL REMAIN THAT WAY. Nevertheless, every effort, struggles, and frustration was ALL worth it! My love only grows stronger each day for him.
Michael wasn't EXACTLY part of my plan when we first met; but things ended up that way anyway.... LOL. I never pre-meditated or plan anything. In fact, I used to think he was insane, out of his mind, delusional whenever he would pull me aside and sneakily tell me his feelings. Each time he would divulge his emotions, I remember rolling my eyes, poking fun of him and laughing.
Heck, he thinks back then (and now) that I am WAYYYY WAYYY out of his league and he still have a hard time believing in the beginning (and presently)that a girl "like me" would even look at him and married him for that matter!. But I proved him WRONG! Absolutely wrong! hahaha. And yes, I have ceased the poking fun of him and obviously have taken him seriously (when appropriate). LOL
Hmmm...sleep deprivation sure have a significant effect on my ability to keep my thoughts together. I can't seem to stay awake so I'm going to close this blog for tonight.
Wow, this is my best attempt to condense everything that has happened with me in the past 7 months....I'm going to vaguely add here that Vance is growing so fast!!! He's such an intelligent, sometimes stubborn, witty little boy. He's just like me and sometimes just like his dad too!!
Talking about his dad, he is temporarily residing in Atlanta. He graduated law school last year and is now practicing law. He gets Vance every weekend. He's engaged to a fine young woman from here. Unfortunately for me, I am stuck here in the south until Vance is at the appropriate age (whenever that might be).
This boy is the center of mine and his dad's life right now. His mom is a Personal Banker and his dad is an Attorney, I have a good feeling that he will be spoiled rotten.
Oh yea, my Personal Banker training starts this Friday in Huntsville. Michael and Vance are coming with me. We will be spending our 3 days in a hotel that my company has booked for me. I will be in class/training during the day and Michael and Vance will find things to do while I'm in class. Fortunately, the hotel is close to the space museum. So I could imagine they'll spend quite some time there.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Week ONE training
Last week of training was done. Needless to say, it's been quite an experience. I didn't expect that this training is going to be kinda fun. We're lucky to have an instructor who keeps the class interesting and not boring. God knows that learning about consumer banking stuff can and will send you to sleep.
So tomorrow is a branch observation day. I am supposed to attend and observe the branch that I'll be assign to as a CSSR. This should be pretty interesting.
Good lord..I was just thinking about last week and last Friday. I sure hope that it won't happen again. First thing I need to do is call the branch that I'm training at in the morning to check if my wallet was found. I am sure it's there. I was in such a hurry to get out of there that I ended up leaving my wallet before I could remember to put it back in my purse.
I've got to admit, running out of gas in some town that you're unfamiliar of can be pretty scary. My first point of contact as soon as I realized that I left my wallet and I needed gas was Erik. He had Vance with him and he offered to come get me but needed to pick up Sara Anna (his GF) first. I figured instead of having him, Vance and Sara Anna drive an hour and half away to meet me at some random place, I'd call a single person who can just get in the car and drive--which I did. A friend who always comes to my rescue for anything came to get me. I waited longer than expected due to miscommunication of my location. I gave him the wrong exit number etc...
There I was waiting for over an hour at the gas station. I was tempted to perhaps ask some stranger for some money. I could not do it—simply didn't have the nerve to do so. I sat in my car for over an hour and I even fell asleep while waiting. Woke up and texted my friend again and asked where he was. Sure enough..I gave him the wrong exit thus, making the estimated arrival time a lot longer than expected. Yikes!!
It was getting dark. I decided to get out of my car and lay on top of the hood and gazed at the horizon's full of stars. I thought to myself.."It's ironic how sometimes a joke/prank is handed to me this way". Just when you thought things are going smoothly, then something random and out of the ordinary has to happen.
My friend finally got there and found me all sweaty, messy, and extremely exhausted laying on top of the hood of my car. I didn't want to get up either.
He gave me a great big hug and filled up the tank, drove home and helped me with my stuff.
Got home and found Erik, Vance and Sara Anna waiting for me at the house. ( He has a key for my apartment) I arrived as if I had just gotten back from climbing Mount Everest. (Okay..this might be a bit if exaggeration but I felt like it was on ordeal and it kicked my butt)
I've learned a lot from that experience. ONE: as much as I am a sales person and I wouldn't consider myself shy, with stopping a random stranger and having to explain my situation and ask them for SOMETHING---is an arsenal and an attributes that I don't think I have and completely lacked of. TWO: Regardless how busy you are, always fill up on gas before hitting the interstate. Three: Be generous to those who will ask you for gas money in the future. Some situations are legitimate.
I'm glad to have a lot of people that care enough to offer to get me...And I'm grateful for those who even called the entire time to make sure I was fine and I made it home.
So that was my last week experience. My weekend was great. Vance and I had a lot of fun!! It's kinda of different being home with him on weekend. I'll miss my boo again but this week will fly just like last week.
I'll be staying at a different hotel this time. I'm training with 11 people but somehow we are all spread around town—staying at different locations and different hotels. Oh well...it's an amazing team and we have fun during class so it's probably a good idea that they have separated all of us. LOL.
Oh yea...I am going to sound like a complete dweeb but I took Vance's teddy bear with me. It's reminds me of him and it also helps me sleep better.
I noticed that the maid at Marriott were amused by the fact that a grown woman has this teddy bear in the room. SO each day, eveyrtime I come back to the hotel after training, they put my teddy bear in all sort of funny position. Here's the pic...
Tomorrow I'll drive to Huntsville again after my regular work hours at the branch. Can't wait!!!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
CURVE BALL
This one is called the curve ball. Last week was definitely an interesting week for me. Woke up Monday morning feeling somewhat refresh and ready to take on another day at work. Stepped outside and saw that it was a beautiful day. (Oh how nice it was to see the beautiful sun).
Got in my car and turned on the engine. Hmmmm....the car won't start. Tried cranking it a couple of times--nothing happened. The car started but it won't crank all the way for the engine to start. Saw my neighbor who's about to leave so I walked towards him and asked for help. After examining the car briefly, we both realized that it wasn't the battery that was the problem.
Suffice to say, at that moment, I realized that I was having a car issue but I must get to work. My neighbor's diagnosis was the fuel injector's malfunction. Whatever the case, I must get to work that morning. So there I was, standing in front of my house thinking of a way to get to work. Luckily, the assistant store manager lives close to me and she was able to pick me up.
Granted that my problem was solve as far as getting to work that morning, the car issue lingered in my head all day while I was at work. I thought to myself..."oh my...here we go again, just when I thought things are going smoothly, something has to happen to derailed my routine and throw me off balance"....
Well of course, some spiritual philosopher's may justify and preach that obstacles like this keeps us humble...It helps us realize that no human-kind is superior enough to dodge most daily life issues such as this..We can all be inconvenience at anytime or anywhere.
Be that as it may...dealing with the car issues is not something that keeps me humble. True that it does put some sense of appreciation back into your mind and attitude about vehicle in general, I don't see where it can help me cultivate humbleness. You have to explain this to me conspicuously before I'll agree to such theory bla, bla, bla...LOL
I am a self proclaimed independent person on most things but when it comes to unfamiliar/abstruse issues (particularly automotive problems), I am not enitrely equiped to tackle it all by myself...so I am going to bow out. I don't have the skills nor the talent for a mechanical troubleshooting.
It was time to get some help. After all, there's only so much that I can do. My friend's husband is a mechanic... So I thought it would be an easy solutions. I'll just ask him to look at the fuel injector and things should be working in no time.
Much to my dismay, after a tremendous amount of effort from his side figuring out what's going on and looking at the fuel injector, he couldn't figure out the problem either. So there I was utterly mystified, extremely disappointed and thinking about my next plan....
Decided to give it a rest so that I can presume on dealing with it the following day. Nothing is going to get accomplish that night--NOT my car. But I can at least work on restoring my peace of mine back that can be bestowed by not thinking about car failure..Yes..peace of mind is what I needed to deal with my white Honda Civic the following day.
Ironically, timing was very much in sync with me. My PTO from work was the following day...My only option now is to take it to the dealer/shop to have it look at.
Woke up the following morning and a tow truck was scheduled to pick up my car at 8. A friend came over that morning to give Vance and I a ride to the daycare---thanks god for that. Otherwise, I probably would have had the tow truck stop at the daycare and drop Vance off.
Finally, the tow truck arrived. The driver asked for the key and attempted to figure out what's wrong with my car. The minute he started it, he figured out what's wrong. He told me that the car wasn't recognizing the key. Again, that baffled me to no end. How could it not "recognized" the key. He asked me what happen to the plastic coating on my key? The plastic coating that covers the head of the key was dismantled and obviously been removed. Long story short, my friend removed it (the loop that the key ring is supposed to hooked on was busted, so removing it entirely would allow me to put it back on my key chain.
And to vaguely explain this, that plastic coating has a sensor that the car is not picking up and not recognizing since it's been detached...So voila! We figured it out. Should have not removed that plasic covering....Too late now--it's gone!
We made some progress after we've solved what's wrong with my car. It wasn't an internal mechanic issues after all--thank's god. But the car still needs to get taken to the dealership so that they can make me a new key and reprogram it. So off I went with the tow truck.
Needless to say, it was quite an interesting day for me. An ordeal that I had to deal on my own. As I was inside that tow truck on our way to the dealership, I looked back at my car while it was getting towed. It made me realized how dependent we are on our private transportation. In major cities such as N.Y, DC, Chicago, it's not as hard to get around using a public transportation but for the most part in this country, we rely too much on our private vehicle. We should have a better system to combat any transportation or vehicle issues that some of us are guaranteed to encounter at some point.
America is one of the biggest oil consumer in the world and part of it is because we don't have the public transportation that some countries have been using for many decades now to eliminate the needs of a car AT ALL TIMES--which is something I personally find unnecessary. It makes me question why we haven't yet invented a bullet train like they have in Japan and in Europe. I am a strong advocate of a public transportation because not only that it can reduce our constant--high-volume needs to rely on domestic and foreign oil, it can also help save the environment if we reduce the amount of driver on the road that's contributing to the air pollution.
Our ability to create this is not in question whatsoever. But rather brings the question if this is going to occur anytime soon. When are we going to decide and put emphasis on the importance of integrating the public transportation in our daily needs. So far, we have got the health care on the spotlight. Trying to reform it for the better (hence, for the better--meaning I am ALL FOR IT). A new legislation should be considered and reform as well to fund and implement a better public transportation in our country.
I do not remember (for better lack of word) the feeling of being "crippled" when my car is having issues when I lived in Asia. Here is a completely different case. When I realized that my car wasn't working, a sense of "crippleness" and the feeling like my freedom was amputated suddenly hit me from every angle. It was a terrible feeling. I literally can't go anywhere without costing me an arm and a leg if I don't have a vehicle.
Anyway, the dealership was able to make me a new key and re-programmed my car. It took pretty much all day. It was indeed a stressful and an eventful day but to some degree, I am somewhat thankful that I had to go through that. It may sound insignificant but handling random obstacles like this can help you appreciate a lot of things..It makes you realize as a person how strong you are, praise your ability to put a nonchalant face in the middle of some of the most stressful and frustrating situation like I had. For me it did--thus, I found some positive outcome from this entire ordeal.
In conclusion---watch out for curve balls that life throws at you. Just when you think you're doing great, a curve ball can be thrown your way and you have to be prepare for that. Personally, I'd take any curve ball. Just not any car issues. I love my Honda Civic and I hope this won't happen again. ***Below is the image that I took from inside the tow truck. I managed to find some humor in my ordeal and found several moments to be comical; such moments when I was taking this picture and talking to the tow truck driver about my key.
Got in my car and turned on the engine. Hmmmm....the car won't start. Tried cranking it a couple of times--nothing happened. The car started but it won't crank all the way for the engine to start. Saw my neighbor who's about to leave so I walked towards him and asked for help. After examining the car briefly, we both realized that it wasn't the battery that was the problem.
Suffice to say, at that moment, I realized that I was having a car issue but I must get to work. My neighbor's diagnosis was the fuel injector's malfunction. Whatever the case, I must get to work that morning. So there I was, standing in front of my house thinking of a way to get to work. Luckily, the assistant store manager lives close to me and she was able to pick me up.
Granted that my problem was solve as far as getting to work that morning, the car issue lingered in my head all day while I was at work. I thought to myself..."oh my...here we go again, just when I thought things are going smoothly, something has to happen to derailed my routine and throw me off balance"....
Well of course, some spiritual philosopher's may justify and preach that obstacles like this keeps us humble...It helps us realize that no human-kind is superior enough to dodge most daily life issues such as this..We can all be inconvenience at anytime or anywhere.
Be that as it may...dealing with the car issues is not something that keeps me humble. True that it does put some sense of appreciation back into your mind and attitude about vehicle in general, I don't see where it can help me cultivate humbleness. You have to explain this to me conspicuously before I'll agree to such theory bla, bla, bla...LOL
I am a self proclaimed independent person on most things but when it comes to unfamiliar/abstruse issues (particularly automotive problems), I am not enitrely equiped to tackle it all by myself...so I am going to bow out. I don't have the skills nor the talent for a mechanical troubleshooting.
It was time to get some help. After all, there's only so much that I can do. My friend's husband is a mechanic... So I thought it would be an easy solutions. I'll just ask him to look at the fuel injector and things should be working in no time.
Much to my dismay, after a tremendous amount of effort from his side figuring out what's going on and looking at the fuel injector, he couldn't figure out the problem either. So there I was utterly mystified, extremely disappointed and thinking about my next plan....
Decided to give it a rest so that I can presume on dealing with it the following day. Nothing is going to get accomplish that night--NOT my car. But I can at least work on restoring my peace of mine back that can be bestowed by not thinking about car failure..Yes..peace of mind is what I needed to deal with my white Honda Civic the following day.
Ironically, timing was very much in sync with me. My PTO from work was the following day...My only option now is to take it to the dealer/shop to have it look at.
Woke up the following morning and a tow truck was scheduled to pick up my car at 8. A friend came over that morning to give Vance and I a ride to the daycare---thanks god for that. Otherwise, I probably would have had the tow truck stop at the daycare and drop Vance off.
Finally, the tow truck arrived. The driver asked for the key and attempted to figure out what's wrong with my car. The minute he started it, he figured out what's wrong. He told me that the car wasn't recognizing the key. Again, that baffled me to no end. How could it not "recognized" the key. He asked me what happen to the plastic coating on my key? The plastic coating that covers the head of the key was dismantled and obviously been removed. Long story short, my friend removed it (the loop that the key ring is supposed to hooked on was busted, so removing it entirely would allow me to put it back on my key chain.
And to vaguely explain this, that plastic coating has a sensor that the car is not picking up and not recognizing since it's been detached...So voila! We figured it out. Should have not removed that plasic covering....Too late now--it's gone!
We made some progress after we've solved what's wrong with my car. It wasn't an internal mechanic issues after all--thank's god. But the car still needs to get taken to the dealership so that they can make me a new key and reprogram it. So off I went with the tow truck.
Needless to say, it was quite an interesting day for me. An ordeal that I had to deal on my own. As I was inside that tow truck on our way to the dealership, I looked back at my car while it was getting towed. It made me realized how dependent we are on our private transportation. In major cities such as N.Y, DC, Chicago, it's not as hard to get around using a public transportation but for the most part in this country, we rely too much on our private vehicle. We should have a better system to combat any transportation or vehicle issues that some of us are guaranteed to encounter at some point.
America is one of the biggest oil consumer in the world and part of it is because we don't have the public transportation that some countries have been using for many decades now to eliminate the needs of a car AT ALL TIMES--which is something I personally find unnecessary. It makes me question why we haven't yet invented a bullet train like they have in Japan and in Europe. I am a strong advocate of a public transportation because not only that it can reduce our constant--high-volume needs to rely on domestic and foreign oil, it can also help save the environment if we reduce the amount of driver on the road that's contributing to the air pollution.
Our ability to create this is not in question whatsoever. But rather brings the question if this is going to occur anytime soon. When are we going to decide and put emphasis on the importance of integrating the public transportation in our daily needs. So far, we have got the health care on the spotlight. Trying to reform it for the better (hence, for the better--meaning I am ALL FOR IT). A new legislation should be considered and reform as well to fund and implement a better public transportation in our country.
I do not remember (for better lack of word) the feeling of being "crippled" when my car is having issues when I lived in Asia. Here is a completely different case. When I realized that my car wasn't working, a sense of "crippleness" and the feeling like my freedom was amputated suddenly hit me from every angle. It was a terrible feeling. I literally can't go anywhere without costing me an arm and a leg if I don't have a vehicle.
Anyway, the dealership was able to make me a new key and re-programmed my car. It took pretty much all day. It was indeed a stressful and an eventful day but to some degree, I am somewhat thankful that I had to go through that. It may sound insignificant but handling random obstacles like this can help you appreciate a lot of things..It makes you realize as a person how strong you are, praise your ability to put a nonchalant face in the middle of some of the most stressful and frustrating situation like I had. For me it did--thus, I found some positive outcome from this entire ordeal.
In conclusion---watch out for curve balls that life throws at you. Just when you think you're doing great, a curve ball can be thrown your way and you have to be prepare for that. Personally, I'd take any curve ball. Just not any car issues. I love my Honda Civic and I hope this won't happen again. ***Below is the image that I took from inside the tow truck. I managed to find some humor in my ordeal and found several moments to be comical; such moments when I was taking this picture and talking to the tow truck driver about my key.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
More randomness
Here's a bunch of random thoughts for tonight. Certain situations that I've ran into lately has given me a better understanding of my own personality and my own perception of the world...Experiences on the daily basis--some are funny, crazy, happy, disappointing, hopeful and some are even shocking. I'm amaze how much I'm learning different things everyday along with learning a different side of me.
When I'm being put to the test, situation and challenges, whether it's benign or critical, I sometimes get shock with my own ability to response appropriately...
Bubbly, (and this is going to sound so cliche) but I love to laugh and make people laugh. I find such joy in making someone smile and laugh. It's a talent of mine to turn a stressful/tense situation into something funny and repose.
Talking about funny. Here's another Jamie moment that most people would undoubtedly expect from me. Especially those who knows me well--knows that I am never dull to be around. There's always something to laugh about and talk about whenever you're around me.
So another moment of mine lately involved realizing that my dear customer at the bank had accidentally taken the copy of the document that I was supposed to keep for my own record--a very important record that I get whenever I process this kind of transaction. After handing him everything, it dawn on me that there's something missing--the copy that I was supposed to keep for my record. The minute I realized this, I immediately locked my work station, sprinted to the door to see if I could catch him but he was no longer in the building. I looked across the street and there he was, he made it all the way to the other side of the street. Trying not to lose sight of him, I had to run across the street while yelling "Mr. Smith!!!" (last name had been change for privacy purposes)....I haven't ran that fast in a long time with my heels on!!! Again, I was amazed how talented I was at doing this. I got the traffic to comply by doing the stop hand gesture. (Whew!!)
I finally made it across the street and this time, someone saw that I was chasing Mr. Smith all the way from across the street and they helped me got his attention. Mr. Smith finally stopped and I was able to catch up to him. Out of breath and exhausted, I told him he needed to give me the other copy of the document that I gave him. He was so sweet and asked if I was okay. He made a joke that he never had such gorgeous woman chasing after him before. Literally chasing him down the street. Fortunately, he works at the hospital across the street and he walked to get to the bank.
I got the copy that I needed, shoke his hands, thanked him and finally walked back to the bank.
This entire time, my best friend (who's also my co-worker)was watching me in the camera from the break room. She was on her lunch break and she saw me sprinted out of the door and ran across the street. Extremely eager to tell her the ordeal that I had just gone through, she just laugh and told me she watched me the entire time in the camera....
Such an insane day that was. I know that someday wherever my path takes me, and what my destiny will be, I will always treasure this memory. This part of my life right now is definitely VERY INTERESTING in all sorts of way...The adjustment that I had to quickly adapt and get used to. Moving here from California almost three years ago, now living in the south and working in downtown Birmingham was something I never projected. The future has a lot of unforeseeable situation and this is one of those..What to do?? Roll with the punches.....
The point of the matter is, everyday is a surprise to me. I am finding more irony in every situation that I encounter--mundane routine turns into something more interesting. Why shouldn't it be? Life is too serious as is it..so whenever you find yourself in situations that is not necessarily life threatening, I'd say laugh it out. Mix some humor into it, handle the serious part and the rest should be fairly simple.
More randomness as of today, as I was driving 280 today, (the worst traffic in Birmingham), I thought I'd fill my curiosity by asking one of the workers what they're doing/planning exactly. I was hoping for something productive that can reduce traffic, which could potentially lead to less aggravated drivers, equals healthy sanity gain by everyone who's on the road, minus road rage from a filipina chicks (that would be me). I decided to ask the guy (while traffic was stop) what's the deal with the ongoing road work on 280...Much to my dismay, I didn't get the answer that I was hoping to hear. Apparently, there's such a thing now as classified road works. They can't disclose to the public if they're building new infrastructure. I wonder how much does that really matter. Given the fact that it's public project, I think the public has every right to know if a zoning and demolishing is about to happen?. Isn't this part of a city ordinance to disclose???...
All I got from him was.."Sorry I'm not allowed to tell you". It's not such a taboo my man, it's apparent that you guys are working on the road. Perhaps a simple answer such as "working on making the traffic tolerable for everyone" would've suffice. Whatever the case, I drove away with a straight face...
Why everything has to be a secret nowdays. Too many secrets in this world already. Perhaps, I'm too much of an open book that my personality cannot bare and tolerate secrets. Everything must be revealed!!!! It brings me comfort to know the unknown... Unknown scares me...I must know everything and everyone, and everyone and everything must know me...Ok...Time to step away from Mr. Dell (my laptop) and do something more productive such as putting dishes and toys away.
One last thing...I am stoke that tomorrow is Thursday. This week went fast.!!! Oh yea..lately, I've been so obsess at listening to this song. It's a beautiful song and when I heard it on the radio, it captivated me.
Alright..here is is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB7T3lJ3dZ4
When I'm being put to the test, situation and challenges, whether it's benign or critical, I sometimes get shock with my own ability to response appropriately...
Bubbly, (and this is going to sound so cliche) but I love to laugh and make people laugh. I find such joy in making someone smile and laugh. It's a talent of mine to turn a stressful/tense situation into something funny and repose.
Talking about funny. Here's another Jamie moment that most people would undoubtedly expect from me. Especially those who knows me well--knows that I am never dull to be around. There's always something to laugh about and talk about whenever you're around me.
So another moment of mine lately involved realizing that my dear customer at the bank had accidentally taken the copy of the document that I was supposed to keep for my own record--a very important record that I get whenever I process this kind of transaction. After handing him everything, it dawn on me that there's something missing--the copy that I was supposed to keep for my record. The minute I realized this, I immediately locked my work station, sprinted to the door to see if I could catch him but he was no longer in the building. I looked across the street and there he was, he made it all the way to the other side of the street. Trying not to lose sight of him, I had to run across the street while yelling "Mr. Smith!!!" (last name had been change for privacy purposes)....I haven't ran that fast in a long time with my heels on!!! Again, I was amazed how talented I was at doing this. I got the traffic to comply by doing the stop hand gesture. (Whew!!)
I finally made it across the street and this time, someone saw that I was chasing Mr. Smith all the way from across the street and they helped me got his attention. Mr. Smith finally stopped and I was able to catch up to him. Out of breath and exhausted, I told him he needed to give me the other copy of the document that I gave him. He was so sweet and asked if I was okay. He made a joke that he never had such gorgeous woman chasing after him before. Literally chasing him down the street. Fortunately, he works at the hospital across the street and he walked to get to the bank.
I got the copy that I needed, shoke his hands, thanked him and finally walked back to the bank.
This entire time, my best friend (who's also my co-worker)was watching me in the camera from the break room. She was on her lunch break and she saw me sprinted out of the door and ran across the street. Extremely eager to tell her the ordeal that I had just gone through, she just laugh and told me she watched me the entire time in the camera....
Such an insane day that was. I know that someday wherever my path takes me, and what my destiny will be, I will always treasure this memory. This part of my life right now is definitely VERY INTERESTING in all sorts of way...The adjustment that I had to quickly adapt and get used to. Moving here from California almost three years ago, now living in the south and working in downtown Birmingham was something I never projected. The future has a lot of unforeseeable situation and this is one of those..What to do?? Roll with the punches.....
The point of the matter is, everyday is a surprise to me. I am finding more irony in every situation that I encounter--mundane routine turns into something more interesting. Why shouldn't it be? Life is too serious as is it..so whenever you find yourself in situations that is not necessarily life threatening, I'd say laugh it out. Mix some humor into it, handle the serious part and the rest should be fairly simple.
More randomness as of today, as I was driving 280 today, (the worst traffic in Birmingham), I thought I'd fill my curiosity by asking one of the workers what they're doing/planning exactly. I was hoping for something productive that can reduce traffic, which could potentially lead to less aggravated drivers, equals healthy sanity gain by everyone who's on the road, minus road rage from a filipina chicks (that would be me). I decided to ask the guy (while traffic was stop) what's the deal with the ongoing road work on 280...Much to my dismay, I didn't get the answer that I was hoping to hear. Apparently, there's such a thing now as classified road works. They can't disclose to the public if they're building new infrastructure. I wonder how much does that really matter. Given the fact that it's public project, I think the public has every right to know if a zoning and demolishing is about to happen?. Isn't this part of a city ordinance to disclose???...
All I got from him was.."Sorry I'm not allowed to tell you". It's not such a taboo my man, it's apparent that you guys are working on the road. Perhaps a simple answer such as "working on making the traffic tolerable for everyone" would've suffice. Whatever the case, I drove away with a straight face...
Why everything has to be a secret nowdays. Too many secrets in this world already. Perhaps, I'm too much of an open book that my personality cannot bare and tolerate secrets. Everything must be revealed!!!! It brings me comfort to know the unknown... Unknown scares me...I must know everything and everyone, and everyone and everything must know me...Ok...Time to step away from Mr. Dell (my laptop) and do something more productive such as putting dishes and toys away.
One last thing...I am stoke that tomorrow is Thursday. This week went fast.!!! Oh yea..lately, I've been so obsess at listening to this song. It's a beautiful song and when I heard it on the radio, it captivated me.
Alright..here is is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB7T3lJ3dZ4
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