Looking forward

So I need some sort of a plan. I don't know whether it needs to be a short-term plan, a medium-term plan or a long-term plan. Perhaps I need all three. Who knows. I guess I should.

I want to go to Canada

I want to go to Europe

I want to go driving to outback South Australia

I'd love to do the Top End again.

I want a job that's fulfilling and hopefully, where I earn more money. I mean, nobody wants to earn less money, do they?

I have fitness goals

I have weight goals

I have money goals

 And I definitely plan to have a baby at some point.

I think the gap between the ideas of goals that I have, and what I need to make them into plans is the plan part. How I'm going to make those things happen. Lots of life relies on things out of my control. Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Right there, not one of my strengths. Control freak. I think that sometimes that stops me from having the strength to change the things I can, or perhaps it's just the motivation that's lacking at the moment. I'm not a patient person. Once I've made a decision, I like to be able to see results right away. I know that's not always practical, so that's something I'm going to work on. Don't be deterred if things don't happen right away.

Create the plan, stick to the plan.

Feast vs. Famine

For what seems like forever, I've had very little to do. Actually, when I think about it more closely, it hasn't been forever, but it has been a few months. Basically since I came back to work after our wedding and honeymoon. It's funny how the less you have to do, the longer it seems to take. I'm possibly experiencing the much spoken about "post-wedding depression," but I think there's more to it than that. I'm someone who likes to be busy. In fact, often I'm busy to the point of ridiculous. I plan things, I organise things, to the point where at various stages I have to actually plan to do nothing. If I'm not busy, I get sad. I have too much time to think. Lately I've been like that because I've had a massive void in my life... hours and hours to fill with mindless nonsense. That time has been Monday to Friday, generally between about 8am and 4.30pm.

WHAT? I hear you say. Are those not the typical "work hours". Yes they are. You are correct dear friends. I've had nothing to do at work. As a combination of a restructure, post-end of financial year (read: post-projects finishing) and general timing issues, I've been floating. It's been a veritable famine of work.

However, in looking at my calendar for the next 2 1/2 weeks until I go away, I am either away or out of the office for every day except one. From one extreme to the other. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased I'm going to be busy. I'm actually really, really looking forward to it. I just wish that I hadn't had to endure the famine in order to get to the feast. Now I just hope that once I'm back from holidays, the fun will continue!

Customer What?

This morning I heard a story about bad customer service. You know what that is.... in fact, many people are probably more familiar with bad customer service than they are with good customer service. So I wondered....what is it about customer service that makes it so difficult to get right? Surely it's not that hard to hire people who are polite, friendly, and who genuinely want to create a positive experience for and interaction with their customers.

Unfortunately, it seems to come down to individuals. Some individuals will bend over backwards and go out of their way completely to make sure a customer is happy. Others clearly won't, and seem just not to care. A recent experience with Telstra provided me with examples of both within the same 35 minute (!!!!) phone call.

After my husband having to ring Telstra to have me added as an "authorised" on our account for the SECOND time (no problem with once, but when it's already been done and they've spoken to me many times previously, "um, hello, look at the notes on the account" it makes me cross), I finally was able to speak to someone about an internet bill that was higgledy-piggledy. To begin with, the first person I spoke to spent an entire 15 minutes asking me to read out the account number, then to read it out again, then telling me that no, that's not correct, i must be reading the wrong account number. Can't I see it? It's at the top right hand of the page. By this stage, having read out the account number AND the mobile number associated with the account possibly 5 times, I was beginning to get rather agitated because in fact, I am not an idiot, I can read where it says in bold letters ACCOUNT NUMBER. She then asked me t he bill number. Apparently this is also a bill number that doesn't exist, and I must be reading the wrong thing. Was this in fact my first bill for this account? Despite me having told her that I had two bills in front of me, both with the same account number, and yes, in the same place at that.

Thankfully, she then put me on hold, and without saying a word, put me through to another "customer service operator." This person admitted right up front that they were unable to help with this kind of account (honesty that I appreciated by this stage), and put me on hold while they found somebody who could help me. Finally, I found someone who spent 5 minutes talking to me about the bill, what had happened, and put me on hold while he worked out what to do. Apparently in this time, he spoke with another colleague who is an expert in these accounts (who would have thought a wireless internet account could be such a challenge?), and whilst I was on hold for longer than I was expecting, when he came back to me, he apologised for the extra wait, but he had wanted to make sure he had a solution.

So, after $10 a month telstra credit to account for the difference in what I was TOLD I would be getting initially, fixing the current bill, telling me the new amount to pay and generally being pleasant to talk to, what started off as a negative experience turned into a completely positive one. The lovely guy apologised for the wait, apologised that the mistake had been made in the first place, and made sure I understand what was happening next.

Surely, that's not so difficult?

A little list.

I've been inspired to start writing again. It's been some time, as anybody who looks back through my previous posts will realise very quickly. It's been a busy time, and lots of things have changed.

Anyway, I thought I'd re-start my blog with a list (inspired by Jeanie).

A list of things I never thought I'd do (or do again):

1. Live in the country.
Melbourne city girl, that was me. Ah, how love changes us. I'll be a Melbourne city girl again one day, but I'm a country girl for now, and I'm happy about that.

2. Have a career.
I've never known what I wanted to be when I grow up. I have worked lots of different jobs, one for 6 years, but still, I was never quite satisfied. I'm not quite satisfied in my job right now either, but I can see that it's heading somewhere. The only reason I'm not satisfied now is that I've been in this position long enough and learned enough. Now I need a new challenge. It's coming....

3. Insist that our bed be made every morning.
Not only does it have to be made, but it has to be smoothed out and be straight. Inevitably this leads to me being the one who has to make the bed every morning, because dear husband just can't seem to get it quite right. Don't ask me why, but it irritates me immensely to come home from work in the afternoon to a bed that is all skewiff. As a child, I would rarely ever make my bed. I never understood people who did it every day, I didn't see the point. My mum would laugh to read this.

4. Get up 4 mornings a week to exercise.
I honestly thought that all those years of getting up at 4.30am to swim 6 mornings a week had ruined me for normal exercise forever. Now I do group training 2 mornings a week and pilates 2 mornings a week. I so enjoy my sleep in on Wednesdays!

5. Think that having muscles so sore that it hurts to walk is a good thing.
Kind of related to number 4, but currently every movement causes me pain, and yes, it's a good thing.