Dealing with screwups!

 

I've been in the position where I've royally screwed up, and deserved to get laid off from my job.  Today's post covers a screw up that I have to deal with for an upcoming cruise, and a vendor's representative who does nothing but screw up.

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When I booked my Hawaii cruise, I noticed that the cruise line didn't have a place where I could enter my middle name.  Normally, this would not be an issue, as TSA does not get involved (much) in who can (or can't) go on cruise ships.  However, since the cruise line booked my air, I found that they screwed up the booking of my flights.

Sometime toward the middle of the year, NCL sent out an email to inform those people who are using the cruise line to book their air travel that they would need to have their complete legal name on file for their flight booking.  I contacted NCL, and gave them my full name: Marian Ann Johnson.  Well, I found out that NCL sent the name "Marian Johnson" to United Airlines, and not "Marian Ann Johnson." This prompted a call to United, where I needed to get past their unfriendly chatbot to reach a human who could fix my problem.  And even then, they may have created an error, as my name now reads "Marianann Johnson".  When I called United for a second time, their chatbot threw up a gauntlet that got in the way of reaching a human to fix the problem the first agent may have caused.  When I finally reached an agent, she said that TSA should accept this.  I am very skeptical, so I will soon be contacting TSA to verify this claim.  AARGH!!!!

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Just after dealing with my plane ticketing issue, I had to attend a co-op board meeting.  Although I can't say too much about went on at the meeting, we made the site representative of our management company very uncomfortable - his performance does not meet the standards I'd want to see in someone with whom I'd do business.  I asked him about an issue regarding a light that illuminates a sign, and he reported that the light was fixed - the electrician had worked on the light the day before.  Well, I was upset.  He is responsible for verifying that all contractors complete their work to our satisfaction before paying these vendors.  So I said that I'd check this light when I went out later.  And, of course, it was not lit.

At this point, I was livid.  This man had left our meeting early, as he was not up to the criticisms we had about his performance. And now, I had proof that he didn't bother to check that the work was done properly.  I'd bet that he'd pay the bill for work not done if I didn't call him out.  So I wrote a polite letter (with photographic evidence) that the work was not done, that the light was not on, and asked him to get this fixed ASAP.  Of course, I made sure to copy the full board on this issue, and blind copied his boss.  24 hours later, he still have not replied to my email.  So, sometime tomorrow, I will send an email to his boss, saying that I (as an individual, and not as a board member) have no confidence in this man being able to take care of requests in a prompt manner, and that I intend to write to the boss from now on for any services that I might need.

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Please remember that I have screwed up big time in my career, and have paid the price for it - I was dismissed from my job.  Since I have a responsibility to the co-op's shareholders, I will exercise the same kind of responsible decision making that others have had to make when dealing with careers like mine....

Preparing for a Hawaiian Cruise

Thank god for Amazon!  Over the last few weeks, I've been ordering things I'll need for my upcoming Hawaii cruise.  In addition to buying new luggage, I've been buying little things such as water shoes for the time I may be at a beach.  In the above picture, I am showing some of the things I've bought for my upcoming cruise.

There are several minor issues one must be aware of when traveling to Hawaii.  Due to the fragile nature of its habitat, they require that only "Reef Safe" Sunscreens are used. In addition, when I go to Pearl Harbor, I'll need the clear "stadium backpack" to hold personal goods, as they do not allow civilians to carry normal purses on the base.  Given that I'll be in an inside cabin, I bought an inexpensive motion sensitive night light for use in the room, and I've bought a plastic luggage tag to help the baggage smashers route my suitcase to my cabin.  And, in case the suitcase gets lost, I will have a Tile Tracker attached to help in locating the bag.  

There are so many things left to be taken care of before the cruise.  For example, I have to schedule a hotel room with 13 day parking with an airport shuttle.  My flight leaves Newark at an ungodly time of the day, and I won't be able to get to the airport in time if I were to drive to the parking lot from home the day I start my travels.  Hopefully, I won't forget anything.  But I know I'll be writing about my trip in this blog....

I'm counting the days until my next trip.

 

As much as I'd like to be taking my next trip in female presentation, I'll take it as a male because RQS is traveling with me.  This is not the trip I would have made for a first choice, as I would have preferred to go somewhere new.  However, RQS saw a bargain, and we jumped on it.

Going somewhere at the end of a season often means that many attractions, stores and restaurants that cater to tourists will be closed.  It can also mean that one gets a chance to see what a town is like when most tourists are gone and only locals remain.  To me, I've found that going somewhere off-season can be just as enjoyable as going to a place in-season.

Years ago, my late wife and I stayed at her boss' oceanfront house in Bridgehampton.  It was Thanksgiving week, and we had the place to ourselves.  All the rich people were gone, having vacated their summer digs for places in warmer climes. This left us enjoying the area, interacting with the locals.  This was much more enjoyable than had we been there during the busy season.  The year before XGFJ and I broke up, we traveled to Lake George and Bolton Landing for a weekend away from home.  When we left Lake George for the Sagamore, we were able to spend a romantic weekend in the "North Country" unencumbered by throngs of tourists.  These are the types of trips I enjoy most - trips where I can get away from the world and chill out.

Soon, I'll be on my next trip and I expect that RQS and I will be able to chill.  Hopefully, she's enjoying it as much as I do....

I find it hard to believe, but I applied for a job

 

The other day, I saw an email from indeed.com suggesting that I apply for a job I have the skills to do.  No, this would not be a technology related position, but that of an office worker.  And I sent in the application for a job which I would go to work in my female presentation.

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Ever since I quit the job at the document imaging firm, I have very little incentive to get up in the morning.  Getting up early in the morning is even harder for me.  I realize that I need a little incentive to get moving, and work can be that incentive. Do I really want to go back to work?  Well, with inflation rearing its ugly head, I could use a few extra dollars coming in.  Now is not the time to start draining the 401k when the market is going South.  Instead, it's the time to add money to the nest egg while I'm healthy enough to be able to do so. 

If I were to go back to work, I wouldn't be able to take vacations where and when I want to do so.  This would cramp my style as I go further into my "golden years".  At least, I'd again be able to present as a female in an office setting, and be able to get more use out of my female business wardrobe.

Taking care of some items found in the mess on my desk

 

This will likely be one of my shorter posts.  

Recently, I mentioned that I had to file some paperwork so that I can get $100 cruise credit on each of two cruises, simply for being a cruise line shareholder.  To do this, I had to wade through the mess of papers found on (and near) my desk to find a recent brokerage statement.  Most of the time, I don't bother to print this statement.  Nor do I always file the ones I receive in the mail when I receive them.  So, it took me a while to find September's statement amidst all the clutter.

However, I have a simple procedure for dealing with my bills.  I pay several at the beginning of the month (one/two is/are on auto pay), some more as they come in, and then the rest at month end.  By handling the bulk as they come in, I don't have to worry much about finding the bills when I get around to paying them.  (I use an oversize clip to hold bills, and then pay them in batches.)  If I were to ever get my desk straightened out, I'd likely use a different method.  But until then, I'll continue to do what has been working for me so far.

Yet, even essential things have been known to go missing for a while.  Ever misplace a wallet on a messy desk?  I have.  What about glasses?  Yup, I have done that too.  Even house keys have gotten lost in my desk's mess.  Luckily, I've learned how to deal with the mess and use boxes to hold things while I conduct my searches.

Aren't glad you don't have me for a bookkeeper?

A last minute dinner with a friend

 

I found the above Garfield comic on the internet today, and felt it captured the spirit of today's dinner with a friend.  But first....

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Last night, I found that the scanner on my "all-in-one" scanner/printer stopped working when I tried to scan documents needed to be given a $100 cruise credit by the cruise line's shareholder relations department. Today, I started tearing apart boxes of stuff I stashed behind my loveseat to find the single purpose scanner I used to use.  After making a total mess in my living room, I found the scanner and tried to install it on my computer.  Unfortunately, there were no Windows 10 drivers for the scanner, and I ended up tossing the scanner in the trash.  

Once I was done with scanning futility, I decided to get showered and dressed to have dinner with my friend from the meetup group, MAR.  This woman is young enough to be my daughter, and works in a services field.  (I don't want to say too much more about what she does for a living here.)  We discussed many a thing, including my upcoming cruises.  And she surprised me by asking if she could come along with me on one of my less expensive trips.  (This woman has never traveled.)  There is no way I'd do this while seeing RQS, and I wouldn't ruin my relationship with RQS to do so.  (I wonder if my cruising with FCP negatively affected my relationship with XGFJ.  If so, I don't want to make that mistake again.)  I told MAR that if we were to do so, she'd find out much more about me than I think she'd like. (I've never mentioned that I am transgender to her, and I think that she believes that I am a cisgender female. Why ruin that image?)

So why did I mention Garfield and lasagna?  Like the cartoon cat, I love lasagna, and polished off a large portion at dinner.  Yum!  We may have lost a good pizza shop in town, where one could get a quick slice.  But we have a good Italian joint in its place, where I have never had a bad sit down dinner.

Thinking of a street in Portland, ME.

 

About a week and a half ago, we were exploring the shore front in Portland, ME, and we came across the above sign.  Unlike my past trips to Portland with my former cruise partner (FCP), I was able to take the lead with RQS and found a street which time left alone enough to have a pleasant, unique character.

You'll note that the street is unevenly paved with cobblestones, and that there are old buildings with an excess of character on both sides of the street.  I'd never have gotten to explore this street had I been with FCP.  But, with RQS, we had a great time exploring this street on our way back to the ship.

 

 

One can easily tell that the above is an old building left from the days when Portland was a major seafaring town.  This street is way too short.  But for its length, it has more character than many old streets in NYC.

 
I didn't bother taking too many pictures here, as I'd have needed more time to plan my shots, and we wanted to get off of our feet.  There was a "coffee shop" on this street near the above establishment that RQS captured on her camera.  (The "coffee shop" is a hybrid of a coffee shop and a "medicinal" cannabis dispensary.)  I didn't think the place was too interesting, and I didn't want to disturb the privacy of people wanting to enjoy their time at the shop.

Hopefully, we'll be able to go back to this street soon.  There were several places where we could get a good lobster at a reasonable price.  Who knows, maybe we'll get a prescription at the coffee shop the next time we visit.