Oh what a week...

Sorry I don't blog much anymore but work is really taking over.

Yesterday I worked from 6am til 10pm. I was exhausted. However, my dedication has been noticed by higher management so maybe when our contracts are up...

I am back in tomorrow from 7am. Then (hopefully) back to my normal shifts.

I had so many plans for today but have just ended up doing housework. May settle down on the settee later for a cuddle with my dog and cats... Will probably head to the spa next weekend...

I will also try to come up with some more interesting blog posts!

Ah, looking good...

Literally!

Last weekend, I had my lashes permed and tinted. They look absolutely stunning. It means I don't need to struggle with mascara and the old Alice Cooper look every morning. It also means I look more alert, younger, and generally just great with little effort. Score.

I had a pedi the week before. I really need to get them more often. I reckon once a month or 6 weeks would be good.

Didn't bother with anything yesterday as I was a bit too busy dealing with family stuff but next week I may indulge in a facial and either a hot stone or a Swedish massage. I've had a horrible stiff shoulder for about ten days now so I really need to do something about it...

Work was good today. Started at 7am. Left about 2:45. I will volunteer to work every Sunday from now on. It isn't exactly taxing and the boss played music all day so it is fairly laid back. And I still hit my targets...

One of the lads who is on the same contract as me basically works from 6am til 10pm every weekday and from 7am til 3 every weekend. He is absolutely rolling in it but he has no life. We need a compromise...

Aside from a little FMF issue (first in ages), everything is good...

Skiing, Tromboning and 16 inch pizzas...

One of the best things about working in a new office is having a whole new set of young minds to corrupt...

At my last place, one lad would come in every morning and regale us with stories of his latest exploits with his prostitute friends. I learned so much...

At my new office, though, no one is that depraved so we have a laugh and everything but I am not exactly expanding my mind... I am, however, blowing everyone else's...

Yesterday, one of them made a reference to skiing (the art of giving two handjobs at once) so I asked him if he knew what tromboning was... After a quick explanation, he and his mate walked out singing "I am the music man..."

Then we had en elevator race and me and my mate won but the lads wont admit that...

There's this one girl... She's just unpleasant. Like deliberately unpleasant. She fancies the boss. I may have to do him to spite the bitch... Anyway, her birthday is coming up and she has demanded a present. I suggested Horn On The Cob -

But then my mate pointed out that she just doesn't like vegetables... I responded with "Yeah but unfortunately they don't make vibrators shaped like sixteen inch mighty meaty cheese feast pizzas"...

We now can't talk about pizza...

Or the boss getting crushed to death by this chick...

Or phone sex. Not since she was off and called the boss in work and I turned to my mate and said "I bet she is masturbating furiously right now"...

And don't you dare try to use the women's loos at 8:45pm each day. "Smells like death", according to one of the new girls...

Ten years

I moved to Los Angeles on August 2nd 2001.

On September 11th, I was awoken by a frantic phone call from my roommate who had already left for college - turn on the TV and don't go Downtown.

I don't like to talk about it; it was a trauma that you could never predict. I was 6000 miles from home and very alone. My roommate went to stay with friends. That was supportive of her. I considered moving back to the UK and finishing my degree in Swansea.

I didn't leave the apartment for 4 days.

Then I thought... I grew up in a major British city under the ever-present threat of the IRA. I would never be intimidated by something so close to home so I was certainly not going to be intimidated by a threat from half way around the world.

I started embracing life in America and met a lot of very accepting people (some hated me for being "foreign" but most did not). I, of course, got my tattoo in tribute to my new country and all those that were lost. I spoke out for the victims back in Europe when the political tide turned...

Ten years on, I have refused to watch any of the extensive TV coverage as it is still too much for me. I even had to switch Facebook off today because of the puerile comments some idiots were making.

I will continue to remember in my own way. Forever.

Happy Birthday Freddie

Today would have been Freddie's 65th birthday

Life in a call centre, Part 25

Ah, callers. Where would we be without them? In the pub, mainly. And happy. Very happy.

This is such a vast topic that I do not even know where to start and I just know I will miss out important cases and have to edit at a later date. I'll give it a go, though...

Of course, I have already told the story of the caller who threatened to rape and kill me. He was arrested and we declined all future custom from him. This was nothing knew, though; we once had a guy drive to the call centre and beat up a manager for no real reason. Then there was the usual "I hope your mother dies tonight", "I hope you never have children", "Cancer would be too good for you"... all purely because we were doing our jobs.

Let's just clarify something. I worked for a major company that offered a service. We never forced anyone to buy our products. We generally provided good service and we were a popular brand in the marketplace.

So why did so many people hate us?

I am inclined towards thinking that most people that call looking for an argument are just socio-paths.

Teachers were the worst. They would talk down to us and try to belittle us, even though 2 thirds of the floor were educated to a higher standard than them.

Porsche drivers. Wankers.

Aston Martin drivers too.

Most of the celebrities I spoke to were absolute tossers. One former Blue Peter presenter was the rudest person I have ever spoken to in my life. So was Boris Johnson's secretary who thought that the Data Protection Act should not apply to her. Nothing like having someone yell "Don't you know who I am?!!" and being able to go "Actually, no. Now get your boss on the line or hang up".

Drunk people would call at 2 in the afternoon.

Heavy breathers.

General obsessive masturbators who got off on reading their credit card numbers to women who were renewing their policies...

Screamers. Lots of screamers.

Liars who got caught up in their own lies.

People who pretended to be someone else to try to obtain information.

Fraudsters.

Then there was the nice ones. They were few and far between. We did appreciate them though...

The Cozy Powell Project (Update 9)

Do you ever have a dream so vivid that it actually frightens you?

Had the oddest dream last night about the proposed Cozy documentary...

It started off simple enough - I was watching the doc on my laptop but it clearly was not yet finished as there were some continuity issues. Then it went a little weird... I was distracted for a second and looked away from the screen and when I looked back, a huge part had skipped. I tried to take the video back but it wouldn't let me. It also would not let me see the last 15 or so minutes which were about the accident.

Then I realised I was not actually watching a video but Cozy was showing me what he wanted me to see (still in the dream, of course). He was controlling what I was viewing and that is why the accident was blocked out. Also explained the continuity issues.

What I was seeing was rather interesting though... He showed me a clip of people walking around his childhood bedroom and this was really bothering him. He also showed an image of his parents' home in tatters; the basic shell was standing but the interior had been torn apart. There were people posing in front of the house and this was clearly a symbol of his family being harmed by the intrusion of others (and the symbolism was shown to me in the dream rather than me interpreting it this morning). There was a quick flash of Cozy in a football crowd but this only lasted a few seconds before it all moved on again. There was a photo of Cozy in his garden with some friends that he really wanted to keep private, along with some home movie footage of him being completely relaxed; he showed me quickly and then took the images away again.

Then the videos and images stopped and Cozy pushed me towards his homes in West Berkshire. We briefly visited Boldstart Farm and he made it clear that this was a happy place and that I was free to come back whenever I wanted. But then he wanted me to stay a night at the cottage he was living in at the time of the accident. I went in alone and was immediately met with a feeling of foreboding. There was a dark presence that dominated the whole house. It was strange; the house was empty but I kept being forced to focus on a light-fitting. It was quite an ugly light but it was apparently important. I don't understand the meaning or relevance...

I was met in the house by a woman. She was faceless and very domineering. She was keeping the house empty and this was upsetting Cozy. The house was dirty so I tried to dust and even got a Dyson out but she stopped me from making it presentable. Then we entered a room with a huge stereo (symbolic of his music) and this woman was fighting with everyone over it. She was determined to keep Cozy's name down and anyone that tried to access the house or the stereo was shouted down... And, yes, it is very clear who the woman was supposed to be.

At this point, Cozy met me outside and showed me the surrounding countryside. While we took in the view, he made it clear that he was concerned about his privacy and the country lifestyle and wanted it all to be protected. He did not want the doc to be made because it would show private parts of his life that he did not want to share. He did not want the accident to be discussed at all as he was concerned that Shari would be blamed. Then he left me and I settled in at my own house to watch TV. There was a quick image flash of Cozy waking up in hospital and then the news showed him in a press conference and leaving hospital as he was finally coming home...

He felt very strange to be dealing with things as he felt he was of another time and things had changed too much for him. He was willing to try, though, as long as his privacy was protected...

So then I woke up thinking... umm... what? Throughout the dream, Cozy never spoke and just showed me images and feelings.

Does the dream have any real meaning or am I just projecting my own reservations about the documentary onto others? I still maintain I am open-minded about the doc but I do want Cozy's memory to be protected...

MSG Elite Marketing - Lying to Employ YOU!

Just received a very interesting email -

MSG Elite Marketing
Ivor House
Bridge Street
Cardiff
CF10 2TH

www.msgelitemarketing.co.uk
02921 328227 / 07411363050

Dear Helen,

Thank you for your interest in an opportunity with MSG Elite Marketing. Based in Cardiff, with offices also in Belfast, MSG Elite Marketing have a wide reaching network that spans most of the major centres in the United Kingdom. It has always been our goal to achieve above our industry standards.


I can confirm that we have received your application. The managers would like to learn more about you, and have selected you to come along and meet with them to discuss yourself, all of our current openings and MSG in detail.

Although we will be meeting with a large number of candidates your appointment will be a one to one with one of our management team who will want to learn more about you, then they will break down in detail the opportunities available too.

Please note that we have already started holding appointments for the openings and are looking to fill the opportunities as soon as possible. Please call on the number above to arrange your preliminary appointment as soon as possible.

Please visit our website as shown below for an insight into the company, various positive press releases are there to be viewed also.

I look forward to speaking to you soon.

Kind Regards

Laura
Administration Manager

MSG Elite Marketing

02921328227
www.msgelitemarketing.co.uk

The most interesting thing? I have never applied to MSG. In fact, I have previously blogged about their unscrupulous hiring tactics... So why would they actually lie in their emails to entice prospective employees in?

I have always said I thought direct marketing was a scam, ever since I got caught up with Progressive Global Training. This just confirms it for me.