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Lyza_Beth
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Name: eBeth
Country: United States
State: Washington
Metro: Seattle
Birthday: 8/10/1970
Gender: Female
Interests: Drums ... Coffee ... Jesus. What else do I need?
Expertise: I am an expert in nothing. I struggle, live, laugh and am constantly craving.
Occupation: Crisis management
Industry: 911 - South KingCounty
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  xoxoeBeth
ICQ:  26318011
Yahoo:  eBeth0870
Member Since:
9/3/2005
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|   My Haeley --
Today you turn 15. I can’t believe how much time has passed and
how long you have been in my life. Was there a life before you were in
it? There is so much I want to say to you, but nothing I haven’t
already told you many, many times. Your life is gearing up to move
faster, become more filled with experiences and choices and it looks
like it’ll be a really fun ride. I know some days you are anxious and
nervous, and then also excited and all jumbled in your head. All I can
tell you is that I know in my heart when you do your best, the best
thing will happen.
Sometimes I come into your room and look at you and smile through
some very heart-felt tears. I remember the first time someone handed
you to me in the hospital, and I had no clue what was in store for my
heart. I remember learning how to be someone's mom... YOUR mom... and
hoping I was doing it right. I remember how scared I was when you had
to have surgery, how sad I was when you wanted to run away and packed
your little bag and walked half way down the driveway - the first day
of school - the first tooth you lost - the first pet you got - your
surprise trips to Disneyland … everything has been a tiny puzzle piece
that is coming together to form a truly fantastic person. I pray for
you constantly and the older you get, the more and more I just enjoy
having you in my world. And as much of my heart is completely filled
with love for you, without a doubt you are loved more and loved
unconditionally by a God who you more than me.
I am so proud of you Haeley. Moments like today make me miss the
child you were, but I also am so excited about the woman you’re
becoming. So much is coming down the road and I want you to experience
it all. Know that it is always okay to cry, to feel anger and sadness
and worry, as much as it is to feel contentment and happiness and to
stand up shout for joy and celebrate life. You never have to do any one
of those things alone because I am right here to join you whenever you
want me. Your friends and other family all have a huge place in your
life and one thing you never need to do is worry that you are alone.
I'm never far from you and always ready when you need me.
Life teaches us many lessons, and some are more difficult than
others. It’s all part of the journey and a process. Sometimes life is
not fair and sometimes it just sucks, Hae. You’ll hurt and things will
happen you have no control over. Loved ones will even disappoint you,
even me… and maybe especially me.
Today another piece of the puzzle begins to form. I want you to
know how amazing the work-in-progress already is. You are learning to
live up to your fullest potential. You are learning to pick yourself up
when you fall. You are learning to accept your strengths and learning
to see your weaknesses and try to do something about them. Listen to
your life lessons, my Loo… they will be with you from here on out and
you will always be able to look back and learn from them again. When
things go wrong, move on and move forward, but don’t forget to look
back and remember the lesson. I will be here to help you, to guide you
and most of all to love you. I cannot protect you from every hurdle
along the way but I can and I will be by your side. I'll wipe your
tears and help lift you up whenever you fall, and totally celebrate
with you when you succeed.
There are so many thoughts in my head and feelings in my heart,
but for now I just want you to have this much. You are beautiful,
funny, thoughtful, talented and kind - and you are my favorite person
in the whole world. Thank you for being mine and for wanting us to have
a great relationship. I can’t tell you enough how really proud I am to
be your mom. Congratulations on turning 15. I love you.
~ Madre
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Let me first say that I do not like politics. I don't really even like talking about
it because people get so emotional and I end up feeling not very educated in the matter. I am striving to know
and understand more from both sides of the road while attempting to
leave my own agenda to the side. What do I look like politically? Well, here:
~ I am a Christian and I am pro-life.
~ I
do not hate gays.
~ I really like wine.
~ I love rock music and dancing. (I
also like rap but not the new stuff)
~ I believe in straight marriage and I
understand that not everyone believes in straight marriage.
~ I
understand the point of view for pro-choice, though I don't agree with
it.
~ I am not a war monger but I'm glad Hussein is out of power even if
that's not what the "war" is all about. I'm glad we went to Iraq but I
think the time to leave is overdue.
--- I could write more but
let's get to the point of writing something so serious.
I hate all the tension that interrupts great fall tv because of elections. This one in particular is driving
me crazy. I'm talking about the specific political race that's heating up
between Obama and McCain. I'm not talking about the candidates
themselves as much as I'm talking about their supporters. First off,
why are so many open minded liberals so close minded when it comes to listening to
other people's points of view? I don't think I could have a political conversation with a
liberal. It always, in my experience, becomes a lecture or soapbox rant
about how sheep-like conservatives are or how conservatives have got to
stop pushing their beliefs onto everyone else. Let me ask this. Isn't
that pushing your beliefs onto everyone else? My favorite, however, is
how much stock liberals seem to put into public speaking. Maybe it's
just me and the people I've talked with but let's get off the public
speaking thing already. I really don't care if Barack Obama is a good
public speaker, or Bill Clinton, or Palin, or McCain. I care about
their leadership, their character, integrity, ability to make decisions
under pressure, and how much they really care about my family, my
country, and other Americans. Yay, Obama is a good public speaker.
Let's vote for him. Guess what? There is a guy on Sunday morning in
church (my pastor) who is a great public speaker. Let's vote him into
office instead. Why not, if that's your criteria? (oh ... he can also
balance his checkbook, so that's good too.)
How about it conservatives? Maybe all you really need to do is get
tortured. Apparently that's what makes a good president (no offense to
McCain or anyone else who has endured torture). Let's all get on board
with whoever is pro-life. I can see the thought process now. "Okay, who
is pro-life? Oh, it's good old what's-his-face from some state in the
south. Ok, so maybe he is all for jacking up taxes, fighting a war
that's gone on way too long, or just plain dumb. He is pro-life so
there's my vote." Please tell me you're joking.
I'm not sure which side of the road you stand on. According to an online quiz I took, I am classified as a Libertarian. That would likely upset my mother, but who can argue with the divine wisdom of an internet quiz? My supposed party affiliation is defined
as such: "Libertarians support maximum liberty in both personal and
economic matters. They advocate a much smaller government; one that is
limited to protecting individuals from coercion and violence.
Libertarians tend to embrace individual responsibility, oppose
government bureaucracy and taxes, promote private charity, tolerate
diverse lifestyles, support the free market, and defend civil
liberties." Apparently I lean towards the conservative side of being a
Libertarian.... whatever that truly means. I don't really care. I just know I want the best
person in office. I would really like to hang out with both candidates
for about a week and make my decision after that. I don't have that
luxury so the next best thing is DVR. Now I can watch their speeches
any time I want. That's what I have to think on. And the grownup in me needs to focus on the content, not
the style, or delivery, or smoke and glitter, but the content. What I
see in their eyes when they speak. That's all I've got. That comes
with all the great things they say and do... things that we voted for and all the
other crap that comes along with it. So maybe for once we can put our
parties aside and vote for the best person.
Disclaimer: SmartAss is not a political party, but I am that first and foremost. This verbal cleanse is very general and I clumped party thoughts together on
purpose. I am well aware that not all people from the political parties I mentioned subscribe to the fictitious thoughts I created above. Stop being so defensive. Sheesh!
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Me: 9-1-1
Caller: < silence >
Me: Hello? 9-1-1
Caller: What? Hello? Who is this?
Me: This is 911. You called. Is everything ok?
Caller: Do I know you?
Me: Sir, do you need police, fire or medical help?
Caller: I don’t need anything. If I needed that stuff I’d call 911!
Me: You did call. Someone from your house dialed 911. Is there something you need?
Caller: You'd better stop calling here!! We have caller I.D. and I’ll call the police!! <click>
This is my job. People are by and large decent, but occasionally they are moronic and annoying. Unfortunately I can’t tell them that, so I have now vented and told you.
Thanks for listening.
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I come from a family of wordsmiths. Maybe we're self-proclaimed, but generally speaking my siblings and I have a firm grasp on the English language. Spelling was always a big deal and now I'm glad it was because adults, and even late teens who have either graduated or are close to it and yet can't seem to write or blog or speak without making some ridiculous grammatical or spelling error simply astound me. Reading between the lines, most people are trying to convey a thought or revelation when they blog or text message or email... but I'm going to be honest, the message gets blurred when the delivery is flawed. Yes, I'm aware the Aubreys and those like us are seen as petty and judgmental when it comes to our criticism, but being well-spoken is underrated and frankly it makes me pretty annoyed.
The environment I work in is all about communication. Getting information... giving it away... asking questions... making synopses out of people's long and tragic tales of whatever stupid choices they have made. Often I hear someone across the room say "... ma'am, where are you at?" and I feel myself shake my head and cringe. Does the person on the other end of the phone care? No. Does anyone else in the room care, or even notice? Nope. Will it ever reflect poorly on that particular employee if that call is publicly disclosed and people see the words they chose? Unlikely, and yet it still bothers me. It always has and likely always will be a flaw of mine that I am critical of speech. My daughter knows it and will stop mid-sentence when she sees my eyebrow go up (well, actually both of them because I can't do the cool one-brow thing) and she reluctantly says "How am I supposed to say it?" The other day when she was packing for camp she was looking for her rivved tank tops. My face did the tell-tale thing. "Sorry ... ridged tank tops." I closed my eyes and gently shook my head. "It's ribbed. R-i-b-b-e-d.", I said to her. "Seriously? Wow. I had no idea. Anyway...." And there was the teachable moment. I can't help it and ultimately I think she'll appreciate it. I'm sure I used to think it was annoying when my own mother did it, and now look .... I'm inflicting myself on others and carrying on the tradition.
I've decided to point out some of the most common verbal faux pas I hear and just leave them here for you to refer to as you will. Some of you may read one and think "Wow... she's talking about me." Maybe I am, but I can promise you're not the only one. Once you read an example just close your eyes and say it out loud. If it feels foreign to you to say it one way, you likely say it the other... and you can figure out right there if you're right or wrong. It'll be fun, I promise.
Example 1: Fewer and Less
We use the word less when talking about one thing. There is less traffic today. - I feel less prepared than I wanted to for today's test. - There was less of a crowd at the early movie.
We use the word fewer when referring to more than one thing. There are fewer cars on the road today. - That test had fewer multiple choice questions than I was expecting. - There were fewer people at the early movie. See and hear the difference? My husband is particularly bad at this one. "My bonsai has way less leaves than it used to." No, Dear ... it has fewer leaves. Yes, I know what he means, but it just sounds terrible... maybe only to me and my siblings and mother, but still. After 17 years he still doesn’t appreciate the gift of my correcting him.
Example 2: Acrossed…. not even a word!
This one is a huge problem and most people aren’t even aware. In their minds, they may know full well it’s spelled a-c-r-o-s-s, and yet they pronounce it with a “t” or an “ed” sound on the end. If I write an example out here you’ll see it the boldness of the error and will think you never do that, and maybe you’re right. Most of the time it happens when the word is the last in a sentence. Just be aware, ok?
Example 3: Pluralizing things you shouldn’t
Here we have a wide-spread problem. Most often I hear it when people refer to store names. “I went to Nordstroms yesterday.” Yes, the store does belong to the Nordstrom family, but the name is Nordstrom. No “s”. This is also true of WalMart, Fred Meyer, the Pike Place Market, etc. There is no “s” on the end and no need for an apostrophe and an “s” either. If you went to more than one of a particular store in a given shopping trip, then yes, you can say you went to Nordstroms and should then indicate how many. Or if you went to a particular sale at said store you would say “I went to Fred Meyer’s Founder’s Day Sale” Now some stores have the “s” built right on to the name and please feel free to say them loud and proud: Starbucks, Applebees, Macys, etc. All the information you need regarding what to call a store is right there in its signage. No need to add letters.
Example 4: It sounds like it’s right, but it’s not.
This one is straight-forward. You know what the word means, if you type it out the spell-check will alert you to the error and you’ve heard it said and likely just started saying it wrong. The words are supposedly and undoubtedly. People say “supposably” or “undoubtably”. And see? My spell check just doesn’t like them. Say them out loud in a sentence. The wrong pronunciations even sounds ok when you’re not aware… but now you are, so you’ll get the hang of it and even begin to hear it in others.
I will leave the lesson here and give you all a small amount to think on. I don’t expect people to change how they speak overnight, but sometimes just being aware of something heightens one’s awareness and the change begins.
Own Your English!
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So ... when I said I'd update more frequently I really meant more than a semi-annual report, but clearly not "frequently". What can I say? I'm still adjusting to my schedule as it morphs and changes, but the settling will come after the next couple of weeks and I get into the groove of graveyard life. My 2 days of phase 4 were stressful and not-such-a-big-deal all at the same time. I think the stress of it comes from other trainers telling you you're ready to go it alone, but not feeling it yourself. All the tools are there, you have resources galore and still the safety net of knowing that someone else is going to bail you out before you cause harm to anyone - but still, it's supposed to be all you. My first couple of hours were a disaster of clumsiness and continuous second-guessing of myself as I sat there being observed by someone who had never seen me in action. The comfort in that is supposed to be that there is no pre-conceived idea on their part, so it's supposedly an objective opinion - but the other half of that is little things your other trainers have gotten used to and a new trainer may see as annoying. It's basically not a fun 2 days, but it went by rather quickly and then it was done. I finished at about 1pm on my second day and was "released" without fanfare, and spent the last 3 hours of that day sitting alone... and feeling a little weird about it. You get used to riding shotgun with another person, or having another someone else ride the shotgun with you. It made me feel like answering the phone and saying "911...please don't be having an emergency." To some extent, that's faded... but it's still a pretty big deal to be sitting there alone. I've been through a lot of training and have come a really long way since my first day at ValleyCom. In some ways I celebrate the freedom and accomplishment of being a full-fledged call receiver, and in other ways I miss the safety and newness of academy. Know what gets rid of that feeling? Seeing another academy class come in and start. Suddenly I did not wish that weekly stress on anyone, nor did I miss being in that constant state of intestinal ill. Not being new is pretty sweet.
The biggest heartache of the release has come in losing a couple of my academy mates. One of them hardly deserves an ounce of my sadness because she just got fed up with the process and decided to not come to work because of it. If you're that miserable and are sure something in the system is holding you back and it's so bad you're going to quit, why do you not at least tell someone that? Maybe they won't care and they'll tell you to quit... maybe they'll try to fix it and you won't be interested... but really, to just not show up to work without a word and basically sever your ties and make it impossible to ever use ValleyCom as a reference just seems stupid to me. On the other side of that tragedy is the sadness and shock that one of my other academy sisters was just let go yesterday, and it was completely unexpected. I'm taking it personally because I care about her. I'm mad because it seems to me she was completely let down and then made to think they were going to try and make it right, only to blind-side her by terminating her. But mostly I'm sad because I'm going to miss her. Connecting with people isn't always easy to do. Unless you run in the same circles, have a ton of things in common or at least bond over some sort of tragedy that cements you to them for life... keeping up a relationship with someone you don't see all the time is hard. Struggling together for 3 months in the classroom and then celebrating success with each other out on the floor was something I loved and don't really have anything to compare it to. Knowing that I have lost a day-to-day visit with someone I care about, and that its happening could have been avoided so easily make me sadder than I can explain. In the history of the place I work, it's known to happen and some just will chalk it up to the harsh reality of the business, but business aside - why do you get rid of a fantastic person who is compassionate, decent and willing to put in the work to correct whatever issues the powers-that-be think she may have? What happened to the "we want you here, and we're willing to work with you to keep you here..."? What I really am not looking forward to is hearing the spin that gets put on her termination and how it will likely get painted in a way that is nothing close to the truth.
So - in short, celebrate with me in my accomplishment, and commiserate with me in the realization that the workplace in general is a sucky reality all its own. What's the number you call for that kind of emergency?
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