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the "things you wish you could say" thread

Started by archaeo42, May 30, 2019, 01:30:59 PM

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apl68

I stumbled across your blog posts on a subject I was looking for, and thought that you had some interesting things to say.  As far as I could grasp what you were saying, that is.  Your writing is terrible!  I saw misspellings, poor word choices, sentences that weren't actually sentences--all within a few paragraphs. 

And you call yourself a writer who is working on novels?  If that's the case, then you need to be continually practicing your craft to try to make it better.  Even humble blog posts need to be treated as opportunities for writing practice.  Also, your blog is likely to be the first place where many see any of your writing.  That means that you should be putting your best foot forward as a writer.  In writing terms, with that blog post you pretty much fell flat on your face instead!  If you can't be bothered to try any harder than that on your blog, I for one have no intention of giving any of your books a try. 
All we like sheep have gone astray
We have each turned to his own way
And the Lord has laid upon him the guilt of us all

Langue_doc

Quote from: mamselle on June 24, 2022, 12:15:50 PM
Again, agree overall, but just curious--are these calls from people, or are they automated?

M.

I still get automated emails and phone calls from the previous medical supply provider telling me that it will only take a couple of minutes to reorder the supplies for the CPAP. No, you idiots, insurance needs a prescription from the physician, who in turn needs a visit from me so that he can read the sleep pattern that his office downloads from the chip that I am required to take along.

This is a different provider. When I got the new prescription in March, the doctor's office gave me the contact information--phone number with the extension and email--for an individual in this company. Individual didn't pick up the phone in April or May. I then emailed the individual who responded after three business days to the effect that the CPAP was on the way.

The phone calls, text, and emails were from a single individual in this company. I've never encountered such unprofessionalism from a business. They usually don't return phone calls, but never send multiple messages about the same topic during a short window. I responded late at night and advised individual that I would email them around the middle of the week to schedule an appointment for setting up the equipment. Related vent--I don't need to take the chip along anymore because everything is online. This is the end of my privacy.

Individual who informed me that the product had been shipped provided no shipping information. A few days later, I got a phone message and an email from Fedex advising me that they needed a signature. Cancelled an appointment and stayed home; saw the Fedex truck as it was driving past; checked the tracking again because driver didn't ring the doorbell. Tracking showed that the package was delivered and the (my) electronic signature was obtained! Retrieved package.

AmLitHist

Langue_doc, ALHS's problems have also been with his CPAP company!  Coincidence?

Langue_doc

ALH, hah!

On another note--not sure where to post this, so here it is.

I had assumed that one could vent in this thread and also in the venting thread without having to justify or explain why one was venting. Responding to a vent by making excuses for the person/organization/company/situation one is venting about is not an appropriate response, nor is minimizing the vent, both of which happened to my vents this week. I had vented about the physician not reading my file, but mistakenly dictating that I was left-handed in his medical report, and the response was along the lines of how a similar mistake for a kidney would be much worse (I am paraphrasing here). My vent about the barrage of communications from the medical company was also dismissed because
QuoteThey may be operating, still, with very few actual workers in place to process orders and get them out.

Could we just let people vent without coming to the defense of whoever or whatever we are venting about or being otherwise dismissive of our vents? These two threads are, after all, threads meant for venting regardless of the seriousness of the vents.

hmaria1609

Believe or not, pal, there are folks who pay gas with cash.

mamselle

Just to clarify, I specifically said I wasn't excusing them.

It was more in an effort to de-personalize it, as in, to say, the failures are part of a systemic issue, they're not meant unkindly.

Apologies for the misplaced effort to console.

M.
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Reprove not a scorner, lest they hate thee: rebuke the wise, and they will love thee.

Give instruction to the wise, and they will be yet wiser: teach the just, and they will increase in learning.

fishbrains

Quote from: hmaria1609 on June 25, 2022, 07:13:57 PM
Believe or not, pal, there are folks who pay gas with cash.

Yikes! How big a cash-roll are you carrying around these days to do that? I can't fill up the law mower with the cash allowance my wife gives me.
I wish I could find a way to show people how much I love them, despite all my words and actions. ~ Maria Bamford

hmaria1609

Quote from: fishbrains on June 26, 2022, 02:05:21 PM
Yikes! How big a cash-roll are you carrying around these days to do that? I can't fill up the law mower with the cash allowance my wife gives me
At this local gas station where I regularly go, I'll hear folks go to the counter and tell the employees how much they filled up and pump number.

Harlow2

Dear Grad Student whose exam I just graded, I wish I could say you passed. I know you'll be fine with a little more work.

OneMoreYear

Dear the powers that be,
Look, I realize I'm the idiot that signed a one-year fiscal year contract last year during this time of administrative turmoil. I was told I'd be renewed and the contract was in the works. Today is my last day of employment. I've not seen a new contract. Could someone just formally tell me if I'm gonna be employed after 5pm today? It's kinda relevant to the tasks I decide to take on today and the ones that I say "screw it, not my circus, not my monkeys."
No love, Dr. OMY

I sent a "checking-in" email to someone whom I hope will send back a "yup, you're employed or nope, pack your office" email."

AmLitHist

Good grief, OneMoreYear.  I'm so sorry to hear about your situation (and you're not an idiot; lots of us get cornered into the lesser-of-two-evils deals sometimes).  Here's hoping the contract is just sitting on someone's desk waiting for you.

OneMoreYear

Thanks ALH. It's after 5pm here and no contract has appeared. The response to my email this morning was yes, "we'll have that for you today."  Ummm, guess not.  I wouldn't be surprised that it was disapproved last minute and no one bothered to tell me. The termination decisions over the last few years have just made no sense, as so many staff members with so much institutional knowledge were let go. We also, likely many places in higher ed, have not been able to replace faculty lines when NTT and TT/Tenured folks leave or retire.  For me, I suppose they'll just hire some adjuncts.  Good luck to those tapped to teach my crazy classes next year.
Now I'm in the weird position of not actually knowing if I am currently employed. Since I did not sign the contract, as one was not sent to me, I suppose I'm now unemployed. But, I still have access to my email and LMS (so far).  Perhaps I have until 11:59pm.
Guess I'm packing up my home office and driving in to meet with HR tomorrow.  It's a truly crappy ending to a very difficult year.

mamselle

YUCK!!!!!!!

THAT IS SO MEAN!

Question to ask oneself: If this is how they're treating people, do you really want to work for them? (Or are they the only game in town?)

Commiserations and consolation.

Yuck.

M.
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Reprove not a scorner, lest they hate thee: rebuke the wise, and they will love thee.

Give instruction to the wise, and they will be yet wiser: teach the just, and they will increase in learning.

Langue_doc

OneMoreYear, what does your chair have to say about this? If they sent you an email to the effect that the contract is being sent to you, perhaps as ALH pointed out, it's probably in the works. This is the long weekend, so whoever needs to sign/formally approve the contract is perhaps on vacation? Admincritters and their offices, especially here in NYC, get Fridays off in summer.

Sorry to hear that your institution is putting you through this.

OneMoreYear

My chair had said it should be coming. One of my friends who is an admin in a related department said this is occurring for faculty there also, and she was able to talk to one of the business managers who says things are going through. So she talked me down from worse case scenario, and I guess I'll operate on the assumption that everything is fine.  I've always had a contract to sign before the other one expired, even if on the very last day, but maybe this is just how we are doing business now. We do not get Friday's off (that would be fun!).
It's just a weird limbo, and I've dealing with health issues, so I'm just out of spoons at this point. I know our staff in the business office are feeling the pressure of all of the staffing cutbacks also, so can't really blame them for delays. I think I just needed someone to say "It's coming on this date/time."
In answer to your question, mamselle, the faculty in my department are great colleagues, many of our students are wonderful to work with, and I really love teaching (most of the time). But (as the moniker suggests), it's always just one more year.
I've been burned before (not here) in which I was told a contact would be offered, which was pulled, so that makes me wary to believe anything until I see it in writing. I also had a grant end, so there initially was a question of if I could be offered another year as part of my salary was soft money.
Sorry for over-venting and for rambly posts, folks. It's been a rough week month year. 
It will be fine. And even if something goes awry, hubby is stably employed with health insurance, which as definitely not always been the case, so we can deal.